BL First published history of the UAC The United Africa Company, formed in 1929, was the largest single commercial organization in West and Equatorial Africa. This is a comprehensive and detailed account of its history based on unrestricted access to the archives.

E-mails proposing an "urgent business relationship" help make fraud Nigeria's largest source of foreign revenue after oil. But scams are also a central part of Nigeria's domestic cultural landscape. Corruption is so widespread in Nigeria that its citizens call it simply "the Nigerian factor." Willing or unwilling participants in corruption at every turn, Nigerians are deeply ambivalent about it--resigning themselves to it, justifying it, or complaining about it. They are painfully aware of the damage corruption does to their country and see themselves as their own worst enemies, but they have been unable to stop it. A Culture of Corruption is a profound and sympathetic attempt to understand the dilemmas average Nigerians face every day as they try to get ahead--or just survive--in a society riddled with corruption. Drawing on firsthand experience, Daniel Jordan Smith paints a vivid portrait of Nigerian corruption--of nationwide fuel shortages in Africa's oil-producing giant, Internet cafés where the young launch their e-mail scams, checkpoints where drivers must bribe police, bogus organizations that siphon development aid, and houses painted with the fraud-preventive words "not for sale." This is a country where "419"--the number of an antifraud statute--has become an inescapable part of the culture, and so universal as a metaphor for deception that even a betrayed lover can say, "He played me 419." It is impossible to comprehend Nigeria today--from vigilantism and resurgent ethnic nationalism to rising Pentecostalism and accusations of witchcraft and cannibalism--without understanding the role played by corruption and popular reactions to it. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

The Nordic Africa Institute has asked one representative from each Nordic country to give an account of how their respective countries have dealt with Africa over the years (in some cases even over the centuries) but with an emphasis on the last 50 years. They were also asked to indicate what role Africa has played in the politics, trade, etc. of their countries. The diversity of the invited authors, backgrounds and fields of specialization is reflected in their contributions, but the authors have one thing in common: a long experience from, and deep engagement in, Africa 's development. Lennart Wohlgemuth has been the director of the Nordic Africa Institute since1993.

This book is a detailed account of the evolution and theory of multinational trading companies. The book features contributions from an international selection of US, European and Asian economists and business historians which demonstrate the importance of trading companies in trade and investment flows in the world economy from the nineteenth century to the present. The authors adopt evolutionary and comparative perspectives to examine diversification strategies and organizational structures. This innovative study provides a major new dimension to our knowledge of the history and theory of international business.

Created as a result of British colonialism, Nigeria emerged as a nation-state during the mid-20th century. Toyin Falola presents statistical data on Nigeria's economy that illustrate the nature of the changes made throughout the mid-20th century.

Combining ethnographic and historical perspectives, Tom Forrest examines the strategies and patterns of development employed by business people from the colonial period to the present. Through a series of highly readable case studies, he provides a broad picture of the various forms of capital accumulation and sectoral advances in trade, transport, manufacture, agriculture, finance and other services. These are set within the context of changing economic opportunities, shifts in power and policy, relations with foreign capital, and attitudes towards private business and the state.

Colonialism and Violence in Nigeria looks closely at the conditions that created a legacy of violence in Nigeria. Toyin Falola examines violence as a tool of domination and resistance, however unequally applied, to get to the heart of why Nigeria has not built a successful democracy. Falola's analysis centers on two phases of Nigerian history: the last quarter of the 19th century, when linkages between violence and domination were part of the British conquest; and the first half of the 20th century, which was characterized by violent rebellion and the development of a national political consciousness. This important book emphasizes the patterns that have been formed and focuses on how violence and instability have influenced Nigeria today.