How to Become a Big Man in Africa: Subalternity, Elites, and Ethnic Politics in Contemporary Nigeria explores the transformation of Gani Adams, an artisan, into the holder of the most prestigious chieftaincy title among the Yoruba through ethno-regional conflict, violence, and cultural activities. Addressing gaps in anthropological studies of the subaltern and political "big men," Wale Adebanwi, Director of the Center for Africana Studies and Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana studies, offers an in-depth biography and rich social history. Over two decades of ethnographic study and visual representations, Adebanwi follows Adams and other key figures in Nigeria's Oodua People's Congress (OPC). This work invites us to grasp the full complexity of Adams's political journey and how it mirrors the structural and personal realities of becoming a "Big Man" in the contemporary postcolony.