What It Means When a Man Falls From the Sky

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is comprised of at least 250 ethnic groups (the Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba being the primary ones) and as many languages. Great Britain colonized the country in 1861, making English the official language. Nearly 100 years later, Nigeria became independent. However, the differences between the major ethnic groups led to two coups in 1966. In 1967, Lieutenant-Colonel Emeka Ojukwu declared the eastern region of the fledgling federation an independent state called the Republic of Biafra, thus initiating the Nigerian Civil War, which lasted until 1970. Britain, Egypt, and the Soviet Union backed the Nigerian government, while Israel and France backed Biafra. More than 1 million people died during the war, which ended with a Biafran defeat. The author references the civil war and its aftermath in “The Future Looks Good” and “War Stories.”

Decades of military dictatorships, coups, and political corruption kept Nigeria from fully benefitting from its oil industry revenues. Efforts to move toward democracy met with more success after 1999, and as of 2024, Nigeria had the largest economy in Africa. Despite that, it is still considered an emerging market, and many Nigerians emigrate to other countries to seek better opportunities for education or work. In fact, with education a cultural value in Nigeria, in 2016 it sent more students abroad than any other African nation—approximately 95,000. These students primarily studied in the United States and the United Kingdom. Of the Nigerian immigrants to the US, 61% have at least a bachelor’s degree, which is nearly twice that of the US-born population. (Jackson-Obot, Ima. “What Makes Nigerians in Diaspora So Successful.” Financial Times, 28 Oct. 2020). Nigerian immigration to the US plays a role in several of the collection’s stories, including “Wild” and “Light.”