Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jul 16, 2023
The paper studied political corruption and 'one chance' democracy in Nigeria. It is acknowledged ... more The paper studied political corruption and 'one chance' democracy in Nigeria. It is acknowledged in the work that corruption is a universal disorder present in different dimensions in all modern states. The Nigerian trajectory of corruption is denoted as atypically challenging in the analysis, as corruption is even communally tolerable in the country. Under the template of the elite theory, the paper explored how corruption has engendered in Nigeria, the brand of democracy denotable as one chance democracy. Under this practice, voters are functionally robbed of their votes through vote buying, by corrupt and moneyed politicians. The antics of these political elites are in tandem with the operational bravado of the original one chance practitioners, who use their commercial cabs to rob, maim or kill unsuspecting commuters. Corruption and one chance democracy have accordingly left the citizenry bewildered at best, and invariably endangered as members of a purposeful nation. The paper concludes that by and large, the aboriginal one chance operators will close in on their political elite counterparts for an epic confrontation that would cause the return of the Nigerian state to the path of true democratic ethos.
Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy
Post-colonial Africa is fraught with myriads of endogenous and exogenous challenges. This paper a... more Post-colonial Africa is fraught with myriads of endogenous and exogenous challenges. This paper argues that decades of deplorable democratic experience in Africa have rather reincarnated some sorts of discontents and rebellious confrontation in some states in Africa. This is exemplified in the recent military coups in Sudan, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso and the failed coups in Guinea Bissau and Gambia. The study utilizes documentary methods of data collection and adopts frustration-aggression theory in explaining the contradictions that appeared to have stultified democracy in Africa which apparently have denied the people the corresponding gains embedded in democratic practice. It concludes that ending the resurgence of military coups in Africa demands urgent steps to enthrone good governance in Africa’s democratic states. The paper recommends the institutionalization of governance in lieu of the prevailing personalization of state institutions in Africa.
Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of in... more Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of insecurity in Nigeria. In the last few years the intensification and rising cases of the herders-farmers crisis, from brush fire to an all-consuming conflagration, raised issues of conspiracy of the state, poor attitude and inadequate preparation to providing security to the Nigerian people. In fact, the protracted violent confrontations between the farmers and the herders have expanded into more worrisome dimensions. This can be seen from the changing patterns of the conflict in which the strategies adopted by the rampaging herdsmen shifted from primitive attacks at farmlands to the use of sophisticated weapons to invade communities and institutions. We are not oblivious of the government’s feeble efforts to address the herders-farmers crisis. Such efforts include the Northern Region Grazing Reserves Law of 1965, the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) in 1989, the deployment of Special Task Force—Operation Safe Haven (STF-OSH) in 2001 to States like Plateau and Kaduna, the failed National Grazing Reserve (Establishment) Bill 2016 and the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017, in States like Benue, Ekiti and Taraba. However, this chapter argues that the seemingly elite conspiracy and government leniency that underlies the inability of the security agencies to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the violence tends to have compounded the monstrous herders-farmers conflict in Nigeria. The chapter adopts documentary methods of data collection and uses qualitative descriptive analysis. It predicates its argument on conspiracy theory. The chapter therefore recommends that the State should rise and perform her primary responsibility and refrain from the present trend of justifying impunity. It also recommends the gradual process of establishing ranches and the government’s proactive response to herdsmen attacks by ensuring decisive punishment of those implicated in the violence in a bid to end the prevailing crisis.
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Jul 4, 2022
Voter apathy is a subdivision of political apathy and has become one of the foremost democracy qu... more Voter apathy is a subdivision of political apathy and has become one of the foremost democracy quandaries especially in developing polities. Participation in politics is an important part of decision making in a democratic setting. Therefore, when voters do not come out to participate in voting, it dsefinitely impacts negatively on the electoral process and sometimes undermines the outcome of an election. It may mean that the majority who did not vote indirectly empowered the minority who voted to make decision on their behalf. This paper argues that the increasing manifestation of voter apathy in the last two decades of Nigeria's democracy leads to a poor democratization process and governance failures in the Nigerian project. It has promoted a condition in which individuals still remain more powerful than institutions. The paper employed documentary methods for data collection, while anchoring its discourses on the decision making theory as theoretical framework. The paper concludes that if the increasing level of voter apathy is not controlled in the country, it will continue to constitute a challenge to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. It recommends among other considerations that the Electoral Management Body (EMB) needs to critically inspire citizens through massive enlightenment and must restore trust and confidence in the electoral process by ensuring that people's verdicts are not thwarted by any means.
Nigerian leaders have severally appreciated the fact that pervasiveness of poverty is one of the ... more Nigerian leaders have severally appreciated the fact that pervasiveness of poverty is one of the major impediments to development. This ostensibly could be one of the reasons that led to the adoption of many poverty reduction policies and frameworks especially since 1999. This paper critically looks at democracy and poverty incidence in Nigeria. It argues that democracy has aggravated the poverty profile in Nigeria. This is as a result of erroneous perception, domestic perforation and redesign of the concept and practice of democracy to suit the elitist rule. All these have contributed to the rising cases of conflicts, crimes, instability and inadvertently to poverty crisis. The study adopted content analysis as a means of data gathering and analysis while relying on good governance model as its theoretical guide. It concludes that inherent contradictions in Nigerian democracy have continued to democratize poverty incidence in Nigeria. The paper recommended that there is need to strengthen democratic institutions to ensure good governance that would provide basic human needs to reduce if not totally eradicate the rising cases of poverty in Nigeria. Key words: Democracy, institutionalization, poverty, Nigeria.
IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 2013
The paper seeks to examine the functioning of local government as a tier of government in Nigeria... more The paper seeks to examine the functioning of local government as a tier of government in Nigeria in the present struggle by state governments to apparently stultify the existence of democratic governance at the local level and assume total control of local councils in Nigeria. This paper situates poor performance of the fourth republic local government system in Nigeria in the present trend of dismantling democratic structures at the local level and usurping the constitutional responsibilities of the local government by the state. It is the view of the paper that for the local governments in Nigeria to perform optimally, the excesses of the state governments would be checked. This in the opinion of this paper demands clearing constitutional clouds and incongruences that fraught the 1999 constitution and ensuring commensurate autonomy that would guarantee autonomous but coordinated local government system in Nigeria. The paper adopts democratic-participatory theory and uses qualitative method of analysis as its methodological approach. It recommends that the legislature should expedite action in the light of the present constitutional amendment to end undemocratic practices at the local level before local governments in Nigeria fully become subsidiary agencies of the state governors.
JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND LEADERSHIP RESEARCH
This paper examined the domestic environment of international relations by conducting a study of ... more This paper examined the domestic environment of international relations by conducting a study of the Nigerian state, under the Buhari administration. It investigated the nature of the linkages between the domestic environment and international altercations or cooperation. Where previous works concentrated on how the domestic setting influenced foreign policy-output and consequent international reaction(s), this contribution focused on how the domestic environment begot foreign policy reaction from the other actors on the international podium. The general objective of the study was to determine the character of the international relations which Nigeria’s domestic environment begets. A specific objective of the work was to identify some trajectories of these general tendencies under the Buhari administration. The study was framed on behaviouralism, bordering on man and his behaviour in states and organizations. The work adopted a qualitative methodology with secondary sources of data ...
In the past few years, the intensity of crisis in Wukari has astonishingly created one of the wor... more In the past few years, the intensity of crisis in Wukari has astonishingly created one of the worse security challenges in Taraba State. This paper examined identity crisis with the view to determining the extent this has exacerbated the crisis in Wukari. The paper observed that understanding the role of identity in Wukari’s multifarious conflicts is a crucial step in establishing the linkages of several other dynamics that underlie its causes and persistency. It argued that identity dichotomy among the Jukuns has deepened grievances leading to seven disastrous conflicts in the last two years. The complex web of dynamics that often provokes these conflicts has also stalled peace-building processes. The paper adopted qualitative descriptive method of analysis while relying on the political economy approach as its theoretical guide. This approach appeared adequate for the study because it emphasized identification of themes in texts and documents that focused on the major propositions...
The paper examines women's political participation in Abia State of Nigeria with a view to d... more The paper examines women's political participation in Abia State of Nigeria with a view to determining the factors that constrain women’s equal representation in the political system. Women's political involvement in Abia State has remained increasingly low in spite of decades of struggle to ensure gender equity and women’s empowerment. This paper in addition to other known factors, situates the problem on the present trend of designating specific portfolios to women, which was intended to provide the women the opportunity of being represented in the policy making positions and processes in the polity. This in the opinion of the paper undermines, if not completely diminishes women’s drive to vie or aspire for other contestable (and even appointable) positions which would advance gender equity. In other words boxing women into one position dooms their chances. It is the view of the paper that there is need for a paradigm shift from the hitherto empowerment agenda to providi...
Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research, 2014
Abs tract- It ha s always been the practice in Nigeria’s unstable party democracy for people to d... more Abs tract- It ha s always been the practice in Nigeria’s unstable party democracy for people to defect to other parties with the intention to secure nominations from the party, and for a good number of them to return after elections to join the winning party to vie for positions in the government. The recent massive party defections by political gladiators in Nigeria were symbolic as it was the members of the ruling party that defected to opposition party and on a non election period. This paper examined the implications of this on democracy in Nigeria. It observed that this particular defection would help build strong opposition that would create a balance in the country’s democracy by checking the excesses of the ruling party at any time. It also noted that party defections are integral part of democratic processes. However, it argued that since the present defections are not driven by fundamental ideological consideration, there is still a tendency that the opposition would still...
One of the major setbacks to development in Nigeria is insecurity. Until very recently, plethora ... more One of the major setbacks to development in Nigeria is insecurity. Until very recently, plethora of explanations on the crawling pace of development in Nigeria tends to pay infinitesimal attention to the centrality of security to national development. It is no surprise therefore that since 1999 when Nigeria returned to civil rule insecurity tends to have hampered national development. Security is evidently the pillar upon which every meaningful development could be achieved and sustained. The development strides in most Western Capitalist States that place premium on security lend credence to this assertion. Whilst Nigeria is endowed with abundant resources, negligence to numerous challenges of insecurity of the environment appears to have created porous security condition that engendered violence and retards development. This paper relies on sequential technique of qualitative analysis as it looks at the imminent security danger posed by Boko Haram in the light of the present onsla...
Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of in... more Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of insecurity in Nigeria. In the last few years the intensification and rising cases of the herders-farmers crisis, from brush fire to an all-consuming conflagration, raised issues of conspiracy of the state, poor attitude and inadequate preparation to providing security to the Nigerian people. In fact, the protracted violent confrontations between the farmers and the herders have expanded into more worrisome dimensions. This can be seen from the changing patterns of the conflict in which the strategies adopted by the rampaging herdsmen shifted from primitive attacks at farmlands to the use of sophisticated weapons to invade communities and institutions. We are not oblivious of the government’s feeble efforts to address the herders-farmers crisis. Such efforts include the Northern Region Grazing Reserves Law of 1965, the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) in 1989, the deployment...
The paper examines the interplay of governance, corruption and development as the greatest undoin... more The paper examines the interplay of governance, corruption and development as the greatest undoing of the Nigerian State. Poor governance and corruption have immensely hindered sustainable development and can be fairly described as being mostly responsible for development crisis that has engulfed Nigerian state. The paper explains the connection between good governance and viable democratic institutions as a means for extricating Nigeria from the present development crisis. It notes the need to strengthen the anti-corruption crusades with clear mandate to the anti-graft agencies to avert undue influence of the executive arm of government. The paper relies on the sequential analytic approach in data analysis and adopted good governance model as a theoretical compass. It recommends stiffer penalties and strong democratic institutions capable of “just application” of rules as deterrence to corrupt practices. Similarly, we advocate for radical re-orientation and development of self consciousness to instigate the emergence of a vibrant civil society that will make leaders act responsibly in the discharge of their duties.
This study examined citizenship, indigeneship and settlership crisis in Nigeria with a view to ex... more This study examined citizenship, indigeneship and settlership crisis in Nigeria with a view to explaining the violent conflicts of February and May 2013 in Wukari, Taraba State. The paper contended that the several inter-ethnic conflicts between the Junkuns and the Tivs, Kutebs, and the Hausa settlers in the past were significant in shaping the dynamics of the recent Wukari crisis. It adopted focus group discussions, observation technique as well as secondary method of data analysis. With the aid of Marx’s conflict view point, the paper argued that the Wukari crisis was as a result of accumulated grievances, anger and frustration arising from suspicion, mutual distrust and manipulative indigeneship and citizenship status in the struggle for power and scarce communal resources between minority Jukun Muslims and majority Jukun Christians cum Traditionalists. The paper recommended that government at all levels and Wukari community leaders would collaborate and constitute a joint reconc...
The paper looks at budget implementation, unspent allocations and crisis development in Nigeria. ... more The paper looks at budget implementation, unspent allocations and crisis development in Nigeria. It focuses mainly on budget implementation in Nigeria with a view to determining the extent unspent allocation and corruption have affected the nation’s development aspirations. The paper argues that budget implementation in Nigeria has become a mere annual ritual that has failed to swiftly propel development trajectories especially since the return to democratic governance in 1999. Consequently, it emphasized that high incidences of corrupt practices have hampered the processes of budget preparation and implementation in Nigeria. Thus, progressive increments on the amount budgeted annually have not translated to a corresponding improvement in the lives of Nigerians. Using qualitative descriptive analysis, this study adopted documentary method of data collection, while relying on elite theory as its theoretical guide. The study concludes that the failure of national budgets is a critical...
The decades of violence in the Niger Delta region has prompted several initiatives aimed at addre... more The decades of violence in the Niger Delta region has prompted several initiatives aimed at addressing the causes of unrest in the region. In spite of the contributions of these initiatives, the crisis appears to have persisted which points to the fact that the initiatives have failed to satisfactorily solve the problems in the Niger Delta. This led to the introduction of amnesty programme by the late President Yar'Adua led-administration. This study critically looks at amnesty programme and the challenges of poverty and insecurity in the Niger Delta. It argued that in spite of the fact that amnesty has halted violence in the Niger Delta, high expenditure on reintegration of ex- militants without a corresponding infrastructural development, poverty reduction and physical environmental transformation will doom the current fragile peace. The paper concluded that the prevailing fragile peace seems not to have only been plummeted but exclusively not driven by amnesty programme rathe...
Nigeria has struggled with several developmental policies since independence in 1960. These polic... more Nigeria has struggled with several developmental policies since independence in 1960. These policies seem to have failed to address numerous challenges that prompted their adoptions, mainly because of the character of Nigerian state, alien nature of the policies, poor implementation and class preferences. This paper examined the gap between class consensus and public choice in Nigeria’s policy process with a specific focus on subsidy removal. It argued that lack of synergy between rentier class preferences and the pressing needs of Nigerians as well as leadership distrust seemed to have remained the greatest dilemma confronting subsidy policy in Nigeria. It concluded that this seemingly disconnect between the rulers and the ruled coupled with unrepentant pseudo and pretences of government have characteristically plunged subsidy removal policy in the morgue where political brigands audaciously plunder the gains accruable from it. The study adopted qualitative descriptive analytical m...
Nigeria’s claim to regional primacy is derived from her strategic location and resource endowment... more Nigeria’s claim to regional primacy is derived from her strategic location and resource endowment. Her continental engagements and efforts towards peace and stability in Africa seemed to have brightened her position as a pivotal state on the continent. This paper examined Nigeria’s role in Africa especially her effort in crisis management vis a vis peace keeping interventions and her capacity to ascend leadership position in Africa. It critically looked at her foreign policy adventures over the years since her return to democracy. The paper observed that Nigeria’s foreign relation modalities since her return to civil rule over a decade has depreciated her global stature. It argued that in spite of Nigeria’s regional efforts, incessant domestic instability has contributed to gross underutilization of Nigeria’s natural potentials to emerge a regional leader in Africa. The paper concluded that Nigeria’s leadership prospects in Africa will depend on the management of her internal socio-...
An enduring legacy of the Trans Atlantic slave trade in Atani and most other communities along th... more An enduring legacy of the Trans Atlantic slave trade in Atani and most other communities along the banks of the River Niger in Igbo land was the institution of domestic slavery which is presently a defining feature of these communities. Principally nurtured by different forms of discrimination, the institution of domestic slavery has created a sort of identity crisis in these communities. The profound socio-cultural and political impact of the identity crisis has manifested in a constant struggle for supremacy in the sharply divided Atani community. This has hindered peace and community development in the community. This paper examines the identity crisis arising from the institution of domestic slavery and its impact on peace and community development in Atani. We adopted post-structural approach as a theoretical model. A combination of the documentary method and interviews was used to generate data for this study. Data collected were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. The paper argues that certain socio-cultural and traditional practices associated with the institution of domestic slavery have continued to undermine peace in Atani. The paper therefore recommended that ending the prevailing ephemeral peace in Atani requires that governments at all levels, community stakeholders and the traditional rulers should discuss and adopt strategies directed towards abolishing socio-cultural and traditional practices that are detrimental to peace and development in Atani .
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jul 16, 2023
The paper studied political corruption and 'one chance' democracy in Nigeria. It is acknowledged ... more The paper studied political corruption and 'one chance' democracy in Nigeria. It is acknowledged in the work that corruption is a universal disorder present in different dimensions in all modern states. The Nigerian trajectory of corruption is denoted as atypically challenging in the analysis, as corruption is even communally tolerable in the country. Under the template of the elite theory, the paper explored how corruption has engendered in Nigeria, the brand of democracy denotable as one chance democracy. Under this practice, voters are functionally robbed of their votes through vote buying, by corrupt and moneyed politicians. The antics of these political elites are in tandem with the operational bravado of the original one chance practitioners, who use their commercial cabs to rob, maim or kill unsuspecting commuters. Corruption and one chance democracy have accordingly left the citizenry bewildered at best, and invariably endangered as members of a purposeful nation. The paper concludes that by and large, the aboriginal one chance operators will close in on their political elite counterparts for an epic confrontation that would cause the return of the Nigerian state to the path of true democratic ethos.
Journal of Contemporary International Relations and Diplomacy
Post-colonial Africa is fraught with myriads of endogenous and exogenous challenges. This paper a... more Post-colonial Africa is fraught with myriads of endogenous and exogenous challenges. This paper argues that decades of deplorable democratic experience in Africa have rather reincarnated some sorts of discontents and rebellious confrontation in some states in Africa. This is exemplified in the recent military coups in Sudan, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso and the failed coups in Guinea Bissau and Gambia. The study utilizes documentary methods of data collection and adopts frustration-aggression theory in explaining the contradictions that appeared to have stultified democracy in Africa which apparently have denied the people the corresponding gains embedded in democratic practice. It concludes that ending the resurgence of military coups in Africa demands urgent steps to enthrone good governance in Africa’s democratic states. The paper recommends the institutionalization of governance in lieu of the prevailing personalization of state institutions in Africa.
Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of in... more Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of insecurity in Nigeria. In the last few years the intensification and rising cases of the herders-farmers crisis, from brush fire to an all-consuming conflagration, raised issues of conspiracy of the state, poor attitude and inadequate preparation to providing security to the Nigerian people. In fact, the protracted violent confrontations between the farmers and the herders have expanded into more worrisome dimensions. This can be seen from the changing patterns of the conflict in which the strategies adopted by the rampaging herdsmen shifted from primitive attacks at farmlands to the use of sophisticated weapons to invade communities and institutions. We are not oblivious of the government’s feeble efforts to address the herders-farmers crisis. Such efforts include the Northern Region Grazing Reserves Law of 1965, the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) in 1989, the deployment of Special Task Force—Operation Safe Haven (STF-OSH) in 2001 to States like Plateau and Kaduna, the failed National Grazing Reserve (Establishment) Bill 2016 and the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law, 2017, in States like Benue, Ekiti and Taraba. However, this chapter argues that the seemingly elite conspiracy and government leniency that underlies the inability of the security agencies to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of the violence tends to have compounded the monstrous herders-farmers conflict in Nigeria. The chapter adopts documentary methods of data collection and uses qualitative descriptive analysis. It predicates its argument on conspiracy theory. The chapter therefore recommends that the State should rise and perform her primary responsibility and refrain from the present trend of justifying impunity. It also recommends the gradual process of establishing ranches and the government’s proactive response to herdsmen attacks by ensuring decisive punishment of those implicated in the violence in a bid to end the prevailing crisis.
CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Jul 4, 2022
Voter apathy is a subdivision of political apathy and has become one of the foremost democracy qu... more Voter apathy is a subdivision of political apathy and has become one of the foremost democracy quandaries especially in developing polities. Participation in politics is an important part of decision making in a democratic setting. Therefore, when voters do not come out to participate in voting, it dsefinitely impacts negatively on the electoral process and sometimes undermines the outcome of an election. It may mean that the majority who did not vote indirectly empowered the minority who voted to make decision on their behalf. This paper argues that the increasing manifestation of voter apathy in the last two decades of Nigeria's democracy leads to a poor democratization process and governance failures in the Nigerian project. It has promoted a condition in which individuals still remain more powerful than institutions. The paper employed documentary methods for data collection, while anchoring its discourses on the decision making theory as theoretical framework. The paper concludes that if the increasing level of voter apathy is not controlled in the country, it will continue to constitute a challenge to democratic consolidation in Nigeria. It recommends among other considerations that the Electoral Management Body (EMB) needs to critically inspire citizens through massive enlightenment and must restore trust and confidence in the electoral process by ensuring that people's verdicts are not thwarted by any means.
Nigerian leaders have severally appreciated the fact that pervasiveness of poverty is one of the ... more Nigerian leaders have severally appreciated the fact that pervasiveness of poverty is one of the major impediments to development. This ostensibly could be one of the reasons that led to the adoption of many poverty reduction policies and frameworks especially since 1999. This paper critically looks at democracy and poverty incidence in Nigeria. It argues that democracy has aggravated the poverty profile in Nigeria. This is as a result of erroneous perception, domestic perforation and redesign of the concept and practice of democracy to suit the elitist rule. All these have contributed to the rising cases of conflicts, crimes, instability and inadvertently to poverty crisis. The study adopted content analysis as a means of data gathering and analysis while relying on good governance model as its theoretical guide. It concludes that inherent contradictions in Nigerian democracy have continued to democratize poverty incidence in Nigeria. The paper recommended that there is need to strengthen democratic institutions to ensure good governance that would provide basic human needs to reduce if not totally eradicate the rising cases of poverty in Nigeria. Key words: Democracy, institutionalization, poverty, Nigeria.
IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 2013
The paper seeks to examine the functioning of local government as a tier of government in Nigeria... more The paper seeks to examine the functioning of local government as a tier of government in Nigeria in the present struggle by state governments to apparently stultify the existence of democratic governance at the local level and assume total control of local councils in Nigeria. This paper situates poor performance of the fourth republic local government system in Nigeria in the present trend of dismantling democratic structures at the local level and usurping the constitutional responsibilities of the local government by the state. It is the view of the paper that for the local governments in Nigeria to perform optimally, the excesses of the state governments would be checked. This in the opinion of this paper demands clearing constitutional clouds and incongruences that fraught the 1999 constitution and ensuring commensurate autonomy that would guarantee autonomous but coordinated local government system in Nigeria. The paper adopts democratic-participatory theory and uses qualitative method of analysis as its methodological approach. It recommends that the legislature should expedite action in the light of the present constitutional amendment to end undemocratic practices at the local level before local governments in Nigeria fully become subsidiary agencies of the state governors.
JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE AND LEADERSHIP RESEARCH
This paper examined the domestic environment of international relations by conducting a study of ... more This paper examined the domestic environment of international relations by conducting a study of the Nigerian state, under the Buhari administration. It investigated the nature of the linkages between the domestic environment and international altercations or cooperation. Where previous works concentrated on how the domestic setting influenced foreign policy-output and consequent international reaction(s), this contribution focused on how the domestic environment begot foreign policy reaction from the other actors on the international podium. The general objective of the study was to determine the character of the international relations which Nigeria’s domestic environment begets. A specific objective of the work was to identify some trajectories of these general tendencies under the Buhari administration. The study was framed on behaviouralism, bordering on man and his behaviour in states and organizations. The work adopted a qualitative methodology with secondary sources of data ...
In the past few years, the intensity of crisis in Wukari has astonishingly created one of the wor... more In the past few years, the intensity of crisis in Wukari has astonishingly created one of the worse security challenges in Taraba State. This paper examined identity crisis with the view to determining the extent this has exacerbated the crisis in Wukari. The paper observed that understanding the role of identity in Wukari’s multifarious conflicts is a crucial step in establishing the linkages of several other dynamics that underlie its causes and persistency. It argued that identity dichotomy among the Jukuns has deepened grievances leading to seven disastrous conflicts in the last two years. The complex web of dynamics that often provokes these conflicts has also stalled peace-building processes. The paper adopted qualitative descriptive method of analysis while relying on the political economy approach as its theoretical guide. This approach appeared adequate for the study because it emphasized identification of themes in texts and documents that focused on the major propositions...
The paper examines women's political participation in Abia State of Nigeria with a view to d... more The paper examines women's political participation in Abia State of Nigeria with a view to determining the factors that constrain women’s equal representation in the political system. Women's political involvement in Abia State has remained increasingly low in spite of decades of struggle to ensure gender equity and women’s empowerment. This paper in addition to other known factors, situates the problem on the present trend of designating specific portfolios to women, which was intended to provide the women the opportunity of being represented in the policy making positions and processes in the polity. This in the opinion of the paper undermines, if not completely diminishes women’s drive to vie or aspire for other contestable (and even appointable) positions which would advance gender equity. In other words boxing women into one position dooms their chances. It is the view of the paper that there is need for a paradigm shift from the hitherto empowerment agenda to providi...
Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research, 2014
Abs tract- It ha s always been the practice in Nigeria’s unstable party democracy for people to d... more Abs tract- It ha s always been the practice in Nigeria’s unstable party democracy for people to defect to other parties with the intention to secure nominations from the party, and for a good number of them to return after elections to join the winning party to vie for positions in the government. The recent massive party defections by political gladiators in Nigeria were symbolic as it was the members of the ruling party that defected to opposition party and on a non election period. This paper examined the implications of this on democracy in Nigeria. It observed that this particular defection would help build strong opposition that would create a balance in the country’s democracy by checking the excesses of the ruling party at any time. It also noted that party defections are integral part of democratic processes. However, it argued that since the present defections are not driven by fundamental ideological consideration, there is still a tendency that the opposition would still...
One of the major setbacks to development in Nigeria is insecurity. Until very recently, plethora ... more One of the major setbacks to development in Nigeria is insecurity. Until very recently, plethora of explanations on the crawling pace of development in Nigeria tends to pay infinitesimal attention to the centrality of security to national development. It is no surprise therefore that since 1999 when Nigeria returned to civil rule insecurity tends to have hampered national development. Security is evidently the pillar upon which every meaningful development could be achieved and sustained. The development strides in most Western Capitalist States that place premium on security lend credence to this assertion. Whilst Nigeria is endowed with abundant resources, negligence to numerous challenges of insecurity of the environment appears to have created porous security condition that engendered violence and retards development. This paper relies on sequential technique of qualitative analysis as it looks at the imminent security danger posed by Boko Haram in the light of the present onsla...
Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of in... more Historically, protracted farmers-nomadic herders’ conflict has constituted a deepening form of insecurity in Nigeria. In the last few years the intensification and rising cases of the herders-farmers crisis, from brush fire to an all-consuming conflagration, raised issues of conspiracy of the state, poor attitude and inadequate preparation to providing security to the Nigerian people. In fact, the protracted violent confrontations between the farmers and the herders have expanded into more worrisome dimensions. This can be seen from the changing patterns of the conflict in which the strategies adopted by the rampaging herdsmen shifted from primitive attacks at farmlands to the use of sophisticated weapons to invade communities and institutions. We are not oblivious of the government’s feeble efforts to address the herders-farmers crisis. Such efforts include the Northern Region Grazing Reserves Law of 1965, the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE) in 1989, the deployment...
The paper examines the interplay of governance, corruption and development as the greatest undoin... more The paper examines the interplay of governance, corruption and development as the greatest undoing of the Nigerian State. Poor governance and corruption have immensely hindered sustainable development and can be fairly described as being mostly responsible for development crisis that has engulfed Nigerian state. The paper explains the connection between good governance and viable democratic institutions as a means for extricating Nigeria from the present development crisis. It notes the need to strengthen the anti-corruption crusades with clear mandate to the anti-graft agencies to avert undue influence of the executive arm of government. The paper relies on the sequential analytic approach in data analysis and adopted good governance model as a theoretical compass. It recommends stiffer penalties and strong democratic institutions capable of “just application” of rules as deterrence to corrupt practices. Similarly, we advocate for radical re-orientation and development of self consciousness to instigate the emergence of a vibrant civil society that will make leaders act responsibly in the discharge of their duties.
This study examined citizenship, indigeneship and settlership crisis in Nigeria with a view to ex... more This study examined citizenship, indigeneship and settlership crisis in Nigeria with a view to explaining the violent conflicts of February and May 2013 in Wukari, Taraba State. The paper contended that the several inter-ethnic conflicts between the Junkuns and the Tivs, Kutebs, and the Hausa settlers in the past were significant in shaping the dynamics of the recent Wukari crisis. It adopted focus group discussions, observation technique as well as secondary method of data analysis. With the aid of Marx’s conflict view point, the paper argued that the Wukari crisis was as a result of accumulated grievances, anger and frustration arising from suspicion, mutual distrust and manipulative indigeneship and citizenship status in the struggle for power and scarce communal resources between minority Jukun Muslims and majority Jukun Christians cum Traditionalists. The paper recommended that government at all levels and Wukari community leaders would collaborate and constitute a joint reconc...
The paper looks at budget implementation, unspent allocations and crisis development in Nigeria. ... more The paper looks at budget implementation, unspent allocations and crisis development in Nigeria. It focuses mainly on budget implementation in Nigeria with a view to determining the extent unspent allocation and corruption have affected the nation’s development aspirations. The paper argues that budget implementation in Nigeria has become a mere annual ritual that has failed to swiftly propel development trajectories especially since the return to democratic governance in 1999. Consequently, it emphasized that high incidences of corrupt practices have hampered the processes of budget preparation and implementation in Nigeria. Thus, progressive increments on the amount budgeted annually have not translated to a corresponding improvement in the lives of Nigerians. Using qualitative descriptive analysis, this study adopted documentary method of data collection, while relying on elite theory as its theoretical guide. The study concludes that the failure of national budgets is a critical...
The decades of violence in the Niger Delta region has prompted several initiatives aimed at addre... more The decades of violence in the Niger Delta region has prompted several initiatives aimed at addressing the causes of unrest in the region. In spite of the contributions of these initiatives, the crisis appears to have persisted which points to the fact that the initiatives have failed to satisfactorily solve the problems in the Niger Delta. This led to the introduction of amnesty programme by the late President Yar'Adua led-administration. This study critically looks at amnesty programme and the challenges of poverty and insecurity in the Niger Delta. It argued that in spite of the fact that amnesty has halted violence in the Niger Delta, high expenditure on reintegration of ex- militants without a corresponding infrastructural development, poverty reduction and physical environmental transformation will doom the current fragile peace. The paper concluded that the prevailing fragile peace seems not to have only been plummeted but exclusively not driven by amnesty programme rathe...
Nigeria has struggled with several developmental policies since independence in 1960. These polic... more Nigeria has struggled with several developmental policies since independence in 1960. These policies seem to have failed to address numerous challenges that prompted their adoptions, mainly because of the character of Nigerian state, alien nature of the policies, poor implementation and class preferences. This paper examined the gap between class consensus and public choice in Nigeria’s policy process with a specific focus on subsidy removal. It argued that lack of synergy between rentier class preferences and the pressing needs of Nigerians as well as leadership distrust seemed to have remained the greatest dilemma confronting subsidy policy in Nigeria. It concluded that this seemingly disconnect between the rulers and the ruled coupled with unrepentant pseudo and pretences of government have characteristically plunged subsidy removal policy in the morgue where political brigands audaciously plunder the gains accruable from it. The study adopted qualitative descriptive analytical m...
Nigeria’s claim to regional primacy is derived from her strategic location and resource endowment... more Nigeria’s claim to regional primacy is derived from her strategic location and resource endowment. Her continental engagements and efforts towards peace and stability in Africa seemed to have brightened her position as a pivotal state on the continent. This paper examined Nigeria’s role in Africa especially her effort in crisis management vis a vis peace keeping interventions and her capacity to ascend leadership position in Africa. It critically looked at her foreign policy adventures over the years since her return to democracy. The paper observed that Nigeria’s foreign relation modalities since her return to civil rule over a decade has depreciated her global stature. It argued that in spite of Nigeria’s regional efforts, incessant domestic instability has contributed to gross underutilization of Nigeria’s natural potentials to emerge a regional leader in Africa. The paper concluded that Nigeria’s leadership prospects in Africa will depend on the management of her internal socio-...
An enduring legacy of the Trans Atlantic slave trade in Atani and most other communities along th... more An enduring legacy of the Trans Atlantic slave trade in Atani and most other communities along the banks of the River Niger in Igbo land was the institution of domestic slavery which is presently a defining feature of these communities. Principally nurtured by different forms of discrimination, the institution of domestic slavery has created a sort of identity crisis in these communities. The profound socio-cultural and political impact of the identity crisis has manifested in a constant struggle for supremacy in the sharply divided Atani community. This has hindered peace and community development in the community. This paper examines the identity crisis arising from the institution of domestic slavery and its impact on peace and community development in Atani. We adopted post-structural approach as a theoretical model. A combination of the documentary method and interviews was used to generate data for this study. Data collected were analyzed using qualitative descriptive analysis. The paper argues that certain socio-cultural and traditional practices associated with the institution of domestic slavery have continued to undermine peace in Atani. The paper therefore recommended that ending the prevailing ephemeral peace in Atani requires that governments at all levels, community stakeholders and the traditional rulers should discuss and adopt strategies directed towards abolishing socio-cultural and traditional practices that are detrimental to peace and development in Atani .
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Papers by Jude Odigbo