To define Nigeria is to tell a half-truth. Many have tried, but most have concluded that it is impossible to capture the true scope and significance of Africa’s most populous nation through words or images.

Yet here, through personal essays from 24 of its writers, a more accurate picture comes into view, and in her essay, J K Chukwu looks at how she has had to search for her Nigerian identity, where she has found it, and the histories deeply embedded within it.

Powerful, lyrical and entirely unforgettable, the essays from OF THIS OUR COUNTRY weave together a living portrait of Nigeria, one that is as beautiful as it is complex.