Federal Presence in Nigeria. The 'Sung' and 'Unsung' Basis for Ethnic Grievance


Book Description

Minorities of the oil-producing states are seriously disturbed by the inequity that is apparent from the existing principles of revenue allocation in Nigeria. In taking issues with them and other southern advocates of new revenue allocation criteria, the dominant north's organic intellectuals have always relied on the obvious concentration of economic and commercial activities in southern Nigeria to refute the argument that the north is the greater beneficiary of Nigeria's wealth. Scholarly contribution to the ethno-regional debate on the equity of resource allocation has been anchored to the same popular platform, namely, the criteria for inter-governmental revenue allocation. It is as if they absolutely embody the revelation about equity or inequity of resource allocation in Nigeria where the federal government has retained between 48.5 per cent and 56 per cent of the federation account, let alone revenues unpaid into this account. This study marks a departure from the orthodox focus on Nigeria's ethnic problems, including the contentious demand of the southern minorities for an increase in the weight assigned the principle of derivation, by examining federal expenditures to determine the distribution of federal presence, and thus winners and losers, bearing in mind that the entire country is federal government's coverage.







Democracy and Nigeria's Fourth Republic


Book Description

Examines Nigeria's challenges with consolidating democracy and the crisis of governance arising from structural errors of the state and the fundamental contradictions of the society in Nigeria's Fourth Republic reflect a wider crisis of democracy globally. 'Today we are taking a decisive step on the path of democracy, ' the newly sworn-in President Olusegun Obasanjo told Nigerians on 27 May 1999. 'We will leave no stone unturned to ensure sustenance of democracy, because it is good for us, it is good for Africa, and it is good for the world.' Nigeria's Fourth Republic has survived longer than any of the previous three Republics, the most durable Republic in Nigeria's more than six decades of independence. At the same time, however, the country has witnessed sustained periods of violence, including violent clashes over the imposition of Sharia'h laws, insurgency in the Niger Delta, inter-ethnic clashes, and the Boko Haram insurgency. Despite these tensions of, and anxieties about, democratic viability and stability in Nigeria, has democratic rule come to stay in Africa's most populous country? Are the overall conditions of Nigerian politics, economy and socio-cultural dynamics now permanently amenable to uninterrupted democratic rule? Have all the social forces which, in the past, pressed Nigeria towards military intervention and autocratic rule resolved themselves in favour of unbroken representative government? If so, what are the factors and forces that produced this compromise and how can Nigeria's shallow democracy be sustained, deepened and strengthened? This book attempts to address these questions by exploring the various dimensions of Nigeria's Fourth Republic in a bid to understand the tensions and stresses of democratic rule in a deeply divided major African state. The contributors engage in comparative analysis of the political, economic, social challenges that Nigeria has faced in the more than two decades of the Fourth Republic and the ways in which these were resolved - or left unresolved - in a bid to ensure the survival of democratic rule. This key book that examines both the quality of Nigeria's democratic state and its international relations, and issues such as human rights and the peace infrastructure, will be invaluable in increasing our understanding of contemporary democratic experiences in the neo-liberal era in Africa.




Nigeria's Fourth Republic, 1999-2021


Book Description

This book reflects on Nigeria’s fourth republic, the country’s longest democratic period since it gained independence from Great Britain. It argues that although constitutional or political democracy has lasted for over two decades in Nigeria and seen three successful democratic changes of power, Nigeria’s democracy remains largely militarised. During Nigeria’s fourth republic, political and socio-economic affairs have been increasingly dominated by a pervasive military presence and ideology, which has seen a redistribution of resources and government funds away from social programmes into an increase in security budgets, weapons proliferation, and internal military interventions and occupations. This institutionalisation of violence has turned the country into a national security state where the rule of force and violence rather than dialogue and compassion reflect everyday reality. Whilst acknowledging the history of militarisation during colonial and military rule, this book makes a compelling argument for considering the distinct character of the Nigerian nation state’s path to militarisation over the last 20 years of experimentation with democracy. This book’s fresh insights into the fourth republic’s path to militarisation will be of interest to researchers of African politics, security and development.




Terrorism and Political Violence in West Africa: a Global Perspective


Book Description

While it could be arguably stated that West Africa has achieved remarkable and sustainable progress in the areas of democratic governance and economic growth, the sub-region, over the past few years, has been challenged by terrorism and other transnational security threats. Innocent civilians are continuously killed; security operatives and providers of humanitarian assistance targeted; properties and infrastructure wantonly destroyed; thus culminating in significant displacement of people and acute poverty. If these developments are not carefully and timeously addressed, they are capable of eroding progress so far recorded. It is against this background, that this Thesis undertakes a study of the different manifestations of terrorism and related transnational security challenges in West Africa, to explore the internal and external sources and drivers of instability; establish the linkages between terrorism and transnational threats; examine the various steps taken in recent time to strengthen the sub-regions capacity to prevent and address the menace of terrorism and other security challenges, and make necessary policy recommendations based on comprehensive best practices.




Federal Presence in Nigeria. The 'Sung' and 'Unsung' Basis for Ethnic Grievance


Book Description

Minorities of the oil-producing states are seriously disturbed by the inequity that is apparent from the existing principles of revenue allocation in Nigeria. In taking issues with them and other southern advocates of new revenue allocation criteria, the dominant north's organic intellectuals have always relied on the obvious concentration of economic and commercial activities in southern Nigeria to refute the argument that the north is the greater beneficiary of Nigeria's wealth. Scholarly contribution to the ethno-regional debate on the equity of resource allocation has been anchored to the same popular platform, namely, the criteria for inter-governmental revenue allocation. It is as if they absolutely embody the revelation about equity or inequity of resource allocation in Nigeria where the federal government has retained between 48.5 per cent and 56 per cent of the federation account, let alone revenues unpaid into this account. This study marks a departure from the orthodox focus on Nigeria's ethnic problems, including the contentious demand of the southern minorities for an increase in the weight assigned the principle of derivation, by examining federal expenditures to determine the distribution of federal presence, and thus winners and losers, bearing in mind that the entire country is federal government's coverage.







Federal Presence in Nigeria


Book Description

When the Dar es Salaam Declaration on Academic Freedom and Social Responsibility of Academics was made in the early 1990s, African higher-education systems were in a serious, multi-dimensional and long-standing crisis. Hand-in-hand with the imbalances and troubles that rocked and ruined African economies, the crisis in academia was characterised by the collapse of infrastructures, inadequate teaching personnel and poor staff development and motivation. It was against this background that the questions of academic freedom and the responsibilities and autonomy of institutions of higher-learning were raised in the Dar es Salaam Declaration. In February 2005, the University of Dar es Salaam Staff Association (UDASA), in cooperation with CODESRIA, organised a workshop to bring together the staff associations of some public and private universities in Tanzania, in order to renew their commitment to the basic principles of the Dar es Salaam Declaration and its sister document - the Kampala Declaration on Intellectual Freedom and Social Responsibility. The workshop was also aimed at re-invigorating the social commitment of African intellectuals. The papers included in this volume reflect the depth and potentials of the debates that took place during the workshop. The volume is published in honour of Chachage Seithy L. Chachage, who was an active part of the workshop but unfortunately died in 2006.




Researching Conflict in Africa


Book Description

Parts of Africa experience persistent violence and seemingly intractable conflicts. These violent conflicts have drawn researchers seeking to determine and explain why conflicts are prevalent, what makes them intensify, and how conflicts can be resolved. This book examines the ethical and practical issues of researching within violent and divided societies. It provides fascinating and factual case studies from Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa. The authors provide insights about researching conflict in Africa that can only be gained through fieldwork experience.




Paradoxes of Gender


Book Description

In this pathbreaking book, a well-known feminist and sociologist--who is also the Founding Editor of Gender & Society--challenges our most basic assumptions about gender. Judith Lorber views gender as wholly a product of socialization subject to human agency, organization, and interpretation. In her new paradigm, gender is an institution comparable to the economy, the family, and religion in its significance and consequences. Drawing on many schools of feminist scholarship and on research from anthropology, history, sociology, social psychology, sociolinguistics, and cultural studies, Lorber explores different paradoxes of gender: --why we speak of only two "opposite sexes" when there is such a variety of sexual behaviors and relationships; --why transvestites, transsexuals, and hermaphrodites do not affect the conceptualization of two genders and two sexes in Western societies; --why most of our cultural images of women are the way men see them and not the way women see themselves; --why all women in modern society are expected to have children and be the primary caretaker; --why domestic work is almost always the sole responsibility of wives, even when they earn more than half the family income; --why there are so few women in positions of authority, when women can be found in substantial numbers in many occupations and professions; --why women have not benefited from major social revolutions. Lorber argues that the whole point of the gender system today is to maintain structured gender inequality--to produce a subordinate class (women) that can be exploited as workers, sexual partners, childbearers, and emotional nurturers. Calling into question the inevitability and necessity of gender, she envisions a society structured for equality, where no gender, racial ethnic, or social class group is allowed to monopolize economic, educational, and cultural resources or the positions of power.