I bought this book, because a sentence on the back cover stated that it “engages in the heated debate over which West African country makes the best jollof rice.”  In the Gambia, the West African country where my husband and I volunteered in the Peace Corps, that dish is called “benachin”.  And I could see why folks would argue over who makes the best version of that rich and savory rice and tomato dish.  It is a delicious comfort food.  While I might argue with the author about which country wins the cooking contest (oddly, he argues for his country of origin, Nigeria), I learned a lot about the ancient and modern history of countries in Africa from his book. Despite spending time in West Africa, I knew next to nothing about the history of the Gambia, and other countries throughout the continent.   

Faloyin details the history of how many African countries came to be, and how arbitrary their borders were (and still are).  The borders were set up during a conference of European countries arguing over a vague map, and carving up the African continent for economic and power reasons. Those borders split ethnic groups and great kingdoms.  It was a divide and conquer scenario, and the book shares the history of the cruelty and greed of the European governments and their proxy private companies and colonial governments. When the people in the individual African countries started gaining independence from their colonizers, they agreed not to renegotiate the borders, thus maintaining many of the historic tensions between ethnic groups.

Faloyin shares examples of heroic independence fighters, who became authoritarian dictators once in office.  He discusses the continuing governing challenges, and examples of successes in governing.  He notes the stereotypes we westerners have of Africa in general, and the push-back from the artists, writers, and movie makers across the continent, and from the African diaspora across the globe.   

I learned a lot that I wish I had known before I went to the Gambia with the Peace Corps.  I knew that France and Britain decided the borders of the Gambia and Senegal (and the Gambia definitely has an arbitrary boarder, ~10 kilometers either side of the Gambia River and completely surrounded by Senegal).  But I never fully understood the strange challenges of having many of your relatives and ethnic groups separated by borders, and having a nation forced on you.  Emphasis on force. 

I highly recommend this well-written, funny, entertaining, and thought-provoking book.  While I don’t typically gravitate toward books of history, it completely pulled me in.  The history is fascinating and explains and describes some of the continuing challenges, and also successes of various countries across the vast continent of Africa.