Routledge Patrons and Power: Creating a Political Community in Metropolitan Lagos: 3 (African Seminars: Scholarship from the International African Institute)

Originally published in 1986, this urban political ethnography focusses on Mushin, a large suburb of metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. It explores the mechanisms which bridge the various social categories to bring about political interaction. The book traces the development of Mushin from a collection of rural villages to its full status as a political community. It analyses structures and processes and the ways in which, since the 19th century, the system has responded to colonial, civilian and military regimes. It examines the tactics ordinary people use to meet their needs and the ways in which political aspirants manipulate the system to acquire and wield power. Review 'The courageous men and women who peopled the city's fast-growing urban peripheries decades earlier are no different from the hopeful people who now congregate at the city's margins. For the urban pioneers of Lagos the story is the same. It is a never-ending story of human ingenuity.' Sandra T. Barnes, University of Pennsylvania ...'a masterly and fascinating book which deserves wide readership...' Journal of African History ...'the book offers an insight into a number of subjects of modern African history...' African Affairs About the Author Sandra T. Barnes is Secretary of the American Council of Learned Societies. She is Professor of Anthropology and Founding Director of the African Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of three books and numerous articles.