Democracy Shot Dead

In 1965, author D. Richard Truman is a Canadian advertising executive searching for adventure and a warmer climate. When he is transferred to Nigeria, he arrives wide-eyed and blunder-prone. Tossed into the country to promote and encourage free enterprise, Truman is ill prepared for what he finds. Although Nigeria has enjoyed independence for the past five years, a civil war is under way, and Truman is about to witness Africa's first self-inflicted "coup." In a world where Russian Bolsheviks, old and new imperialist powers, big oil and big money, and corruption is ruining the country, Truman must navigate the treacheries of being a foreigner in the midst of a nation turned inside out. Historic gaffes, tribal in-fighting, religious differences, and massive business corruption are bubbling in Nigeria, poisoning the government, and leading to the death of African democracy. Democracy Shot Dead is Truman's recollections of his experiences in Nigeria from 1965 to 1966. Full of gripping detail of a time in Nigerian history when a democracy turned into a military state in a matter of years, Truman's account resonates with the devastation, confusion, and survival of a country suffused with turmoil.