Political Economy, New Media, and Nigerian Popular Cultures

This incisive academic work dissects the complex interplay between Nigeria's political economy and its vibrant digital media landscape, tracing how new technologies have fundamentally reshaped the nation's popular cultures. Popoola masterfully connects the dots between the rise of online streaming platforms, social networking sites, and the explosive growth of Nollywood, Afro-hip hop, and transnational sports fandom. The analysis extends beyond entertainment to probe how these digital spaces foster new forms of identity, from nationalistic fervor to the troubling phenomena of 'yahoo-yahoo' cybercrime cultures and online religious movements.

What makes this study particularly compelling is its unflinching examination of how economic pressures and political structures fuel the very cultural productions they seek to regulate. The author provides a sophisticated framework for understanding why Nigerian youth navigate between global aspirations and local realities, creating a unique media ecology that is both commercially driven and culturally significant. Students of media studies, African politics, and cultural anthropology will find an essential text that illuminates the powerful forces shaping contemporary African digital life and its global reverberations.