ns.
Why? The Nigerians' most obvious asset has been their per- severance despite such severe national upheavals as repeated coups and the 1967-70 Biafran war. Even in formerly French Africa, the most talented authors either have been silenced by government censorship or have slackened their efforts.
Numerous factors combined to give Nigeria its preemi- nence.* Nigeria's large population (35 million in 1959, just be- fore independence) with its increasing literacy (6.1 percent in 1952, 25 percent...