The Pan-African Nation: Oil and the Spectacle of Culture in NigeriaWhen Nigeria hosted the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977, it celebrated a global vision of black nationhood and citizenship animated by the exuberance of its recent oil boom. Andrew Apter's The Pan-African Nation tells the full story of this cultural extravaganza, from Nigeria's spectacular rebirth as a rapidly developing petro-state to its dramatic demise when the boom went bust. According to Apter, FESTAC expanded the horizons of blackness in Nigeria to mirror the global circuits of its economy. By showcasing masks, dances, images, and souvenirs from its many diverse ethnic groups, Nigeria forged a new national culture. In the grandeur of this oil-fed confidence, the nation subsumed all black and African cultures within its empire of cultural signs and erased its colonial legacies from collective memory. As the oil economy collapsed, however, cultural signs became unstable, contributing to rampant violence and dissimulation. The Pan-African Nation unpacks FESTAC as a historically situated mirror of production in Nigeria. More broadly, it points towards a critique of the political economy of the sign in postcolonial Africa. |
Contents
1 | |
La Mise en Scène | 19 |
The Spectacle of Culture | 85 |
La Mise en Abîme | 221 |
Conclusion | 278 |
Notes | 285 |
309 | |
323 | |
Other editions - View all
The Pan-African Nation: Oil and the Spectacle of Culture in Nigeria Andrew Apter Limited preview - 2008 |
The Pan-African Nation: Oil and the Spectacle of Culture in Nigeria Andrew Apter No preview available - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
African world Arts and Culture Babangida Benin Benin City black and African black world Borno British canoe cbaac ceremonial chapter chiefs choreographic civil society colonial commodities Cultural Library cultural production dance dancers Delta durbar ECOWAS emerged emirs established ethnic European exchange exhibit federal FESTAC FESTAC 77 fetish flag Fulani global Hausa-Fulani historical ibid icons imperial indigenous International Kaduna Kano Ken Saro-Wiwa King Boy Lagos Landers Lugard magic military million Ministry money form naira national culture National Theatre negritude Nige Nigerian Nigerian nation NNPC northern Nupe Obasanjo officers Ogoni oil boom oil capitalism oil economy oil money Olusegun Obasanjo participation petro-state petroleum political Port Harcourt postcolonial precolonial racial regatta regime regional represented ritual River riverine Royal Niger Company rulers Sallah Saro-Wiwa slaves Sultan of Sokoto symbolic tion tional trade Traditional Costumes transformed wealth Yoruba zone