Contents -- Series Foreword -- Preface and Acknowledgments -- Timeline of Historical Events -- Introduction: Nigeria in Perspective -- Precolonial States and Societies -- European Penetration -- British Conquest and Resistance -- Colonial Rule -- Nationalism and Independence -- The First Republic, 1960-1965 -- Military Rule and the Civil War, 1966- 1970 -- Oil and Politics under the Military, 1970- 1975 -- Reforms and Military Disengagement, 1975- 1979 -- The Second Republic, 1979- 1983 -- The Military, Economy, and Politics, 1983- 1993 -- Predatory Rule, 1993-1998 -- Crisis Management and the Transition to Democracy -- Epilogue: Problems and Challenges -- Notable People in the History of Nigeria -- Selected Bibliography -- Index.