LaRay Denzer is a historian of West African sociopolitical history. She has taught history in various universities in the US and Nigeria, including 17 years at the University of Ibadan. Currently she serves as the editor-in-chief of the Program of Africa Studies, Northwestern University. Her research has centered on the evolution of Anglophone West African nationalist politics and gender dynamics during the colonial era and independence.David E. Skinner is Professor Emeritus of History at Santa Clara University where he taught African and West Asian studies and International Relations for 51 years. His research has focused on the development of Muslim communities and the influence of Islamic institutions and ideas in West Africa.