Arise Nigeria tells the Nigerian story over an approximate 200 year period. Nigeria, like most other countries in the world, was created based upon power play by the European powers. Nigeria came into being when the Europeans came to this land with the hope of harnessing resources from it to fuel their bludgeoning industrial revolution. While slave trade had been largely abolished in the British Isles, Europeans still needed raw materials for their industries and the production lines that were coming out of them. When the Europeans arrived in Africa and Nigeria, in particular, they realized that they must organize the largely scattered nation states that they met on ground into a unit. In the process, they introduced a central government which they manned and protected with a virile army. Using mind manipulations, and in many cases force, the Europeans took over much of the lands belonging to the Nigerian people. But a combination of doggedness, a growing class of educated Nigerians, and the fact that colonialism was fast losing fashion in the eyes of the whole world, made the Europeans relinquish power to Nigerians. I have chosen to write this book with a perspective of hope to the Nigerian story. While the Nigerian story is usually told in doldrums, I have chosen to glean hope from the situation in this country. Some of the things that we would see play out in the Nigerian story is the efforts of ordinary Nigerians calling for an independent Nigerian state. And even after that was granted, Nigerians still sought a nation that was rid from autocratic rule. One of the least told story of an emerging Nigeria is the efforts of the Nigerian Press to see this country emerge from the grips of those who had chosen to use her for their own pecuniary gain. Whether it was during the time of the British, or the time when one ethnic group sought dominance over others; or the time when the military held sway, the Nigerian people always knew what they wanted and they pursued it. It is 105 years after the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria. It is also almost 60 years since this country gained independence from British rule. The usual narration by most Nigerians is that the country is not moving forward. Some Nigerians tend to speak of the "good old days". But the records speak otherwise. Nigeria has made a lot of progress since its amalgamation and independence. It is difficult to appreciate this progress except one takes the time to weigh them. The religious song says to "...count your blessings one by one and you would see what the Lord has done..." Arise Nigeria is a record of God's blessings on a single country. While at the same time narrating the challenges, I have sought to extract hope from the pages of our history. I do wish that those who would read this book will find it enlightening and challenging enough to pursue a Nigeria that we all would be proud of in the days to come.