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100 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
It is totally false to suggest, as we are apt to do, that Nigerians are different fundamentally from any other people in the world. Nigerians are corrupt because the system under which they live today makes corruption easy and profitable; they will cease to be corrupt when corruption is made difficult and inconvenient.The Trouble with Nigeria is an impassioned plea by Achebe for things to change in his home country of Nigeria. Sadly, I think that little has changed since he wrote it in 1983 (I'm thinking in particular of Louis Theroux's recent documentary about Lagos). The case for Nigeria is very similar to that of any country with high levels of underdevelopment and corruption: basically, someone (a leader) needs to stand up and radically change things, change the whole spirit of corrupted politics. But even this is no guarantee for lasting change. It requires much dedication and hard work - from everyone involved, but especially those in a position of power.