River spirit raised in West African state (7)
I believe the answer is:
nigeria
'west african state' is the definition.
(country in West Africa)
'river spirit raised' is the wordplay.
'river' becomes 'aire' (River Aire in Yorkshire).
'spirit' becomes 'gin' (alcoholic spirit).
'raised' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (going up in a down clue).
'aire'+'gin'='airegin'
'airegin' written backwards gives 'NIGERIA'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for nigeria that I've seen before include "African country r" , "Country bordered by Benin, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon" , "In rage I turn to this country" , "West African state" , "West African nation" .)