NIGERIA'S SECURITY CZAR PULLED A mobile phone from his white gown to show a video of a man with his head wrapped in a full turban.
Addressing the camera somewhere in the scrubby badlands of northern Nigeria, the figure made a statement from behind mirrored goggles.
"This is one of the biggest bandits," National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu told Newsweek. "And he wants to stop fighting." Any respite from Nigeria's multiple mini-wars is a welcome relief to the giant African country, whose population of 220 million is forecast to pass that of the United States in little over a generation.
By then it could become the world's second biggest democracy after India's, but only if it can survive some of the greatest challenges of its existence. It is beset by Islamist insurgents, separatist movements, kidnapping and robbery.
Attempts at economic reform, along with capital flight exacerbated by cryptocurrency transfers, have led to a tumbling currency and soaring inflation in a nation that was already home to more of the world's extreme poor than all bar one country.
Nigeria sits near the bottom of international corruption leagues and has earned a reputation as a home to scammers who operate globally to trick Americans and others of their savings.
If the world's biggest Black nation can fulfill the potential it has long been credited with, it could become a driving force for the continent and beyond. American companies are in the forefront of those eager to invest. Nigerian authors, musicians, artists, businesspeople and global public officials have given the world a taste of its talents.
But failure and fragmentation could spell a disaster of vast scale, spilling conflict across Africa and sending an even larger human wave fleeing to seek safety and new lives in Europe and worldwide.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Zachary Quinto
ZACHARY QUINTO HAS PLAYED DOCTORS BEFORE, BUT HE'S \"NEVER PLAYED a doctor like\" the one he plays on NBC's Brilliant Minds (September 23).
Adam Brody
NETFLIX KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT MILLENNIALS want, and it's to see Adam Brody and Kristen Bell fall in love.
Partners in Crime
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt shares his delight at teaming up with Shailene Woodley again in new Amazon Prime movie Killer Heat
HOW TO FIND A WORKPLACE THAT LOVES YOU BACK
Insights from America's Top Most Loved Workplaces
MOST LOVED WORKPLACES 2024
AT A TIME WHEN WORKERS ACROSS THE UNITED STATES CONTINUE TO redefine what they expect from their jobs, the companies on Newsweek's annual list of the Most Loved Workplaces in America are setting the standard for what a fulfilling workplace looks like.
Q&A LEE YARON
With 10/7, the professional became profoundly personal.
SDEROT INTERSECTION
How Jewish and Arab strangers united to rescue two little girls amidst Hamas' October 7 attack
No End in Sight
AS TENSIONS CONTINUE TO FLARE AT ISRAEL'S BORDERS, NEWSWEEK DISCOVERS HOW LIFE HAS CHANGED IN THE REGION A YEAR ON FROM THE OCTOBER 7 HAMAS ATTACKS
Thai Scammers Set Sights on US
Newsweek looks inside the Southeast Asian country's $2 billion cybercrime industry and how American citizens are now falling prey to sophisticated schemes run overseas
PARTING SHOT: Sarah Paulson
\"CAN YOU IMAGINE IF THE AIR WAS JUST FILLED WITH DUST PARTICLES and you literally could not breathe?\" That's what Sarah Paulson is tackling in her new film Hold Your Breath (October 3).