Natives Are Confident, Ask No Outside Advice in Africa's Most Populous Nation - Nigerians may be at civil war soon. But does that matter? In an era when the news from Africa seems full of endless coups and rebellions and tribal massacres, why fret about another crisis? The answer is that everything about Nigeria matters. A case for the significance of Nigeria can be made on size, geography and resources. With 56 million people, it is the most populous country in Africa. The third largest country in size, its two ports of Lagos and Port Harcourt can command the Gulf of Guinea and its coast is the outlet for the 2,600-mile Niger River that flows through Guinea, Mali and Niger. Furthermore, it has suddenly become the 10th biggest oil producer in the world. But I am not talking about any of these cold facts when I say that Nigeria matters. Nigeria matters because Africa matters greatly in international affairs, and the ability - or inability - of Nigeria to reconcile its feuding tribal people will weigh heavily in the way Africa goes eventually...

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