Shine Your Eye

West Africa is at a crossroads. Boasting tremendous natural wealth, its inhabitants are among the world's poorest. Despite apparent multi-party democracy, there have been coups, conflict and corruption since independence. Where can it go from here?

Journeying along the coast and across the Sahel, from Ghana to Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone to Senegal, Adéwálé Májà-Pearce uncovers a restless region on the verge of great change. Visiting fourteen countries--and seeking out the Nigerian diaspora in each--he reflects on these societies' dramatic shifts since the late 1980s, when he first travelled their roads. Refusing IMF loans and rejecting Western-imposed currencies, West Africa's diverse, expanding and overwhelmingly young population is staging a quiet revolution for its future, and discarding an aging elite still propped up by European power--from demonstrations against police brutality to the forced withdrawal of French troops.

Speaking with local journalists and dissident scholars, street hawkers and immigration officers, Májà-Pearce brings to life the compelling story of a region at breaking point--as told by West Africans themselves.

Born in London, Adéwálé Májà-Pearce grew up in Lagos. The author of The House My Father Built and This Fiction Called Nigeria, he holds an MA from SOAS University of London. Previously an Africa researcher for the Index on Censorship, he has written for The New York Times and Granta.