KENNETH DIKE JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES (KDJAS)
KENNETH DIKE JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES (KDJAS) is a multidisciplinary journal of African studies; the Journal is published by the Department of History and International Studies at Nnamdi Azkiwe University. It is committed to the promotion of cutting edge research in the broad field of African studies. The Journal is particularly interested in researches that privilege African history, demography, politics, culture, economy, languages, and religions.
KENNETH DIKE JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES (KDJAS) Vol. 1 No. 1 (2020)
YOUTH DEVELOPMENT POLICIES IN NIGERIA: PROMISES, PROBLEMS, AND POSSIBILITIES
In recent years, youth development has drawn substantial attention in research and spheres of governance. Although many problems such as youth unemployment, violence, corruption, and ethnoreligious crises, cyber fraud among others have combined to forge a problematic for youth development, to the point that the image of the Nigerian youth is battered, this paper challenges this notion of the negative view of youths in Nigeria. The paper attributes the various challenges of youth development in Nigeria to the paradox of the state and argues that the key problems lie in a wider national difficulty of development. By using descriptive methods, the paper argues that governance structure conditions youth development in several ways. The paper recommends that alternative approaches to youth development should be framed into policy to ensure that the potentials of youths are attained in Nigeria.
THE MYTH OF RELIGIOUS WAR: THE VATICAN INVOLVEMENT AND NIGERIA’S DEFENSIVE DIPLOMACY DURING THE BIAFRAN WAR, 1967-1970
The Nigerian civil war was caused by a number of factors ranging from politics to colonial legacies, as well as the fragile trust existing among the major regional and ethnic groups. All of these reached a crescendo after the coup and counter coup in 1966. The fact that the secessionist region was made up of predominantly Igbo Catholic Christians as opposed to the Muslim Hausa dominated Nigerian Sate also exacerbated the conflict. Indeed, the Biafrans made the most of this factor in selling the propaganda that the war was religious and that the Catholic Igbos were being persecuted by reason of their faith; a claim that won the sympathy of some foreign actors, including the Vatican. While the allegation of a religious war was unfounded, it calls into question how a non-material factor like religion could be so potent as to be a major determinant in influencing international actors. It was not until the religious element was decisively squashed that the Vatican involvement in the war waned, thus reinforcing the strength of faith in diplomacy. It is against this backdrop that the essay investigates the extent to which the Vatican bought Biafra’s religious war propaganda, how this influenced its participation, and the extent to which the Nigerian Military Government (FMG), as a diplomatic tactic, discredited the Pope and Vatican’s interpretation of the war as religious.
CHRISTIANITY, COLONIALISM AND THE CHALLENGE OF NKWERRE BLACKSMITHING TECHNOLOGICAL CULTURE, 1913 – 1960
The advent of Christianity paved way for colonialism in most parts of African communities. These two external variables – Christianity and colonialism – have in no small measures, transformed the communities they traversed. The advent of missionaries and the spread of the Christian faith were accompanied by colonial manipulations. Thus, Nkwerre, a small Igbo community with tradition of blacksmithing technological culture was caught up in Christian and colonial webs. The promising doctrines of Christianity, colonial legislations and the integration of Igboland into a capitalist economy stunted Nkwerre blacksmithing technology. Therefore, the paper appraises the role of the Siamese twin of Christianity and colonialism in the gradual disintegration of Nkwerre blacksmithing technological culture. It argues that African communities should be cautious to embrace Western culture. The data for this paper are derived from primary and secondary sources which include archival materials, journal articles, books and oral traditions. The methodology is narrative, thematic and adopted multidisciplinary approach.
Uzoma Samuel Osuala & Yakubu Soja Jibrin
TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE RITES OF BENDEGHE EKIEM OF CROSS RIVER STATE, NIGERIA, 1900-1999
African traditions are rarely taken seriously nowadays not because they are of no use but merely because of wrong impressions already created in the African over the years. Most young men and young women, for reasons of ignorance and lack of courage simply write off their cultures/ traditions and choose to grow in utter confusion instead. Yet some traditions are highly unavoidable, especially marriage activities. Traditions must be studied and understood before assessing how dangerous, destructive, or even supportive such traditions could be. Lack of documentation introduced confusion in Bendeghe traditional marriage rite. This work studied the traditional marriage rite of Bendeghe Ekiem in Cross River State with the purpose of letting the original method interact with modern marriage activities. The instruments of study included mainly primary sources of oral interview and discussion. Secondary sources in form of published articles and books were also consulted, and information gathered proved useful. The results were eye opening, and mind blowing to know that much of the present practices in Bendeghe Ekiem marriage activities represent a distortion of the old. The study was concluded by highlighting the original aims and practices of Marriage in Bendeghe Ekiem.
CHANGES AND CONTINUITIES IN THE INTERGROUP RELATIONS AMONG THE PEOPLE OF THE IMO RIVER BASIN UP TO 1970
From the earliest times, there existed harmonious intergroup relations among the people of the Imo River Basin. This cordiality continued until the early 1970s when the exigencies of the civil war and the bequeathed colonial structure sowed the seed of discord among the people of this region. This paper submits that the interjection of colonialism and the civil war disrupted the good neighbourliness that existed in the Imo River Basin. The study attempts to examine factors that once united the region that made it strong and cohesive in pre-colonial time. Such factors include common ancestry, language similarities, intermarriages, trade etc. It is believed that a consolidation of the ties that once bound this region would engender positive development and make them relevant in the present political dispensation. The methodology employed in this work is basically analysis of extant literature and oral tradition. The findings of this research points to the urgent need for the people of this region to redefine their philosophy and consolidate their region as this would make them compete favourably with their counterparts in the north and west.
RELIGION: A CLOG IN THE WHEEL OF NIGERIA’S DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE
One of the major factors that have continued to raise questions about Nigeria’s democratic experience is religion. Since the attainment of independence in 1960, religion is often viewed as having a negative influence on Nigeria democracy. Succinctly put, religion has manifested as a source of conflict rather than a resource for peace and development in Nigeria. In spite of the formal separation between the fields of religion and politics, religion has continued to influence Nigeria politics and often times perceived as the bane of democratic progress. Drawing from Yusuf Bala’s Religion Manipulation thesis, it becomes clear that ever since the emergence of Nigeria Fourth Republic; religion has become a tool of manipulation in the political space. For instance, it has served in the process of political mobilisation, voting pattern and behaviour, policy formulation, political appointment and protraction in religious strife and conflicts. This study, which relies on secondary data reveals that religion has assumed a defining role in Nigeria’s democratic process by becoming a social and political force of importance and most importantly a pushback for any meaningful progress of the country.
INTERROGATING THE DISCREPANCY IN THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN PERFORMACES OF THE NIGERIA POLICE FORCE, 1960-2019
The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has since 1960, through its foreign missions, demonstrated in the international arena to be a symbol of excellence. The high level professionalism of men and officers of the force, for example, has earned the nation accolades, especially within the purview of international policing. It is, however, astonishing that such reports of credibility and honour cannot domesticated at locally. Domestically, the police has demonstrated mediocrity, brutality and all forms of unprofessional acts. The NPF is viewed as repressive, and widely despised by the members of the public. This paper examines the contradictions existing between the domestic and international output(s) or performances of the NPF between 1960 and 2019. The paper seeks to understand the reasons for the different performance levels. The study therefore tries to fill a literature gap on the local and international services of the NPF. The paper relies heavily on oral sources. Interviews were conducted with a focus group of Nigerian policemen, who have had both local and international service experiences. Relevant secondary data were also used. The approach used in assessing the data is descriptive and comparative.
THE IGBO IN NIGERIA: HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND THE QUESTION OF RESTITUTION, 1967-2002
The Igbo are part of the constituent units which the forces of the British colonial government welded together to produce the state known today as Nigeria. The Igbo had evolved with the other ethnic groups since the inception of Nigeria. However, the socio-economic and political situation in the country had by 1967 moved them to secession. The move by the Nigerian military to crush the attempt by the Easterners to secede as a separate state known as the Republic of Biafra in 1967 has been seen as the most proximate cause of the Nigeria-Biafra War. The said war lasted for 30-odd months during which most parts of Igboland were turned into theatres of military confrontation. As a consequence, many lives and property were lost and the human rights of the people wantonly abused. In May 2002, the Obasanjo administration set up the Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission of Nigeria, also known as Justice Chukwudifu Oputa Panel to hear and collate the grievances of Nigerians bordering on human rights abuses of successive administrations in Nigeria. At the Panel’s hearing sessions, some prominent Igbo people at the behest of Ohaneze Ndigbo – the apex socio-cultural and political organization of the Igbo, tabled their grievances and made far-reaching demands as restitution or compensation for the series of injustices the Igbo suffered during the war.
FOREIGN AID IN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT DISCOURSE
The paper examines foreign aid as a strategy for the development of African states. It also analyzes how foreign aid became an important instrument of international economic relations between donor actors and African states. The paper discusses the relationship between foreign aid, development and underdevelopment. From the perspective of the ‘World Systems Theory’ the paper argues that despite the positive portrayal of foreign aid by the donor actors to the recipient countries like Nigeria and other aid dependent African countries, there exists a historic contradiction in the business of foreign aid which has not always made it possible for the achievement of the purposes they went meant for. The paper therefore, argues that based on the history of such aid relationships, it is evident that it was basically meant to benefit the donor countries, given, of course, the original motive behind the initiative for the provision of foreign aid, starting with that of the USA’s assistance to her Western allies in the post-World War 11 years. In conclusion, the paper maintains that aid dependent African countries like Nigeria should be courageous in developing local initiatives in their quest for development. It also submits that African economic integration through trade, as well as agriculture-led industrialization is an inevitable path for the actualization of tangible development.
AN ANALYSIS OF AUTHORS’ VIEWPOINTS ON INTER-FEMALE HOSTILITY IN SELECTED IGBO NOVELS
Social relations among women are generally perceived as being hostile. Indeed, women are adjudged to be submissive only to men than to each other. They perpetrate violence against one another over different reasons, including, struggles for material wealth, romance and political supremacy. And one does not only have to experience the behaviour in real life to know it, for it also abounds in various literatures, which can be read. But the problem in reading about the behaviour in literature is that some authors focus on depicting it as a universal character of all women in the world. They create inter-female hostile female characters and, on that basis, make them depict women as such. Yet, that is not always the case in real life, for as common to all women as the behaviour may seem, it also reserves cultural and individual exemptions. Therefore, given variations in cultural values, women from different ethnicities react differently to inter-female disagreements. This means that some authors misrepresent the women’s character in their books. And the problem makes a case for interrogating authors’ viewpoints for their failure to meet an expectation, especially with respect to their language and style of depiction. This study aims at deploying analytic method of literary discourses to interrogate four authors’ views on the subject.
THE HOLY GHOST FATHERS AND THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL IN POST-CIVIL WAR IGBOLAND, 1970-1983
The expatriate missionaries of the Holy Ghost Congregation treaded like a “Colossus”, the Catholic terrain, in what was formerly known as Eastern Nigeria. They, therefore, left a huge legacy when they were unexpectedly repatriated in February 1970 by the Federal Government of Nigeria. The Nigerian Federal Military Government (FMG) in the war with Biafra, intended to use blockades and hunger to decimate and subdue the Biafrans; the missionaries were, nonetheless, supportive to the Biafrans, especially with the daunting humanitarian services which they coordinated with the outside world. The FMG found this unacceptable and thus found reasons to expel the missionaries. Sustaining the deported missionaries’ legacies in Igboland was a huge task riddled with seemingly great challenges and little hope for the young and very few indigenous members they had recruited into the Congregation before their departure. Fifty years after, the absence of published literature on how that young Igbo missionary group abruptly abandoned in 1970 managed to survive, necessitated this research. The method adopted in this work is more or less thematic narrative and critiquing.
NUDITY AND POWER IN NORTH-EASTERN YORUBA: A STUDY OF PRE-COLONIAL AND MODERN TRADITIONAL PRACTICES
In recent years, research into sexuality studies has become popular. It is an inter-disciplinary field that dovetails into many sub-fields like nudity, art, culture, psychology and others. Nudity has generated many debates on the female body in Yoruba. It is culturally symbolic, connoting different meanings and power. Drawing evidence from pre-colonial and modern Akoko in the north-eastern part of Yoruba, this paper engages symbolisms of nudity in the history of north-eastern Yoruba people. Nudity is discussed as ritual dress for festival and protest. While nudity festival is discussed among virgin girls in the pre-colonial period, nudity protest is examined in modern times as a tool for controlling public policy. This paper argues that public nudity has defining power over humans in the society. While female nudity is a common practice in Yoruba, Akoko version stresses the inexhaustible power attached to it, particularly the indispensable value occasioned by the nineteenth century Yoruba insecurity. This research is also important because it straightens out unique specificities of power accrued to public nudity, especially how women transformed their body to sites of power and change. This paper combines historical research method and inter-textual approach to establish the discourse in broader Yoruba sexuality studies and power.
A RE-APPRAISAL OF AFRICAN ANCESTRY IN MEXICO’S ANCIENT PAST
The aim of this paper is to show how African ancestors had made important physical and cultural presence in Mexico years long before Christopher Columbus was said to have ‘discovered’ the Americas, the New World. The conventional but ‘predominantly Western constructed’ history which has continued to shape the perspectives of most African historians suggests that Africa’s first contacts with the Americas were occasioned by the events of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Africa and its people were believed to have had no historical presence in the pre-Columbian America, and anything in contrary to this ‘established knowledge’ is unacceptably considered a hysterical speculation and not history. However, a number of archaeological and cultural evidence bearing irresistible African attributes recovered in some parts of Mexico in recent times have come to put this conventional history and its established knowledge under serious scrutiny. It is, thus, against the backdrop of these new emerging but challenging pieces of evidence that this study derives its motivation and essence. It focuses on the possible attractions of Africans to the Americas in the pre-Columbian period, and the antiquity and impact of African civilisation on Mexico’s ancient past. The paper having organised its discussion thematically adopts an historical method of analysis where some cultural comparisons are interpreted and explained. The paper argues that Africans had maintained contacts with the peoples around the coast of Mexico years before the Europeans came in contact with the Americas and, in that right, made important contributions to the rise of Meso-American civilisations. Sources of information available to the study include archival material, leading intellectual conversations on the subject matter, magazine articles, special reports, journal articles, and a few texts.
COLONIALISM, URBANISATION AND THE GROWTH OF ONITSHA, 1857-1960
There is no gainsaying that colonialism changed the patterns of urbanisation in Africa. What this means is that there were existing patterns of urbanisation in most African communities before colonial incursions and these have inspired scholarly researches of various depth and volumes. Considering an identified problem in African historiography, which tends to give minimal attention to the exigencies that led to changes in patterns of urbanisation in particular African communities, this paper adopts the historical research method, with effective use of primary, secondary and tertiary sources of data that were subjected to qualitative interpretation, to document and analyse the processes of urbanisation in Africa since colonial incursion, with the commercial city of Onitsha as a study area. The study observes that urbanisation in Onitsha was not necessarily an impact of colonialism. Instead, the colonial administration only effected changes on the pattern of urbanisation in the city. Such changes were precipitated by the colonial economic policies, which among other things, used the inland waterways as effective transport facility for primary produce extracted from the various produce centres around the Niger River. However, other factors of change encouraged rapid urbanisation of Onitsha during colonialism in Nigeria. A conspicuous factor is colonial administrative measures, which saw to the establishment of Onitsha as an administrative city.
Mmesoma N. Umeagudosi & Amarachi C. Obidiaju
UNION BUSTING IN COLONIAL NIGERIA’S PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT: A STUDY IN THE DYNAMICS OF LABOUR RELATIONS, 1938-1948
Incessant industrial disputes, an outgrowth of the discord between labour and management, no doubt have had grave consequences for the Nigerian economy. The sour relationship between the two parties has assumed different dimensions over time. In 1938, the Colonial Government enacted the Trade Union Ordinance (TUO) which legalized the existence of labour unions. However, this did not bring about a fundamental change to government’s old anti-unionist stance. It brought only a new dimension to the scenario and thus heralded a change in the dynamics of labour relations in all government departments. This paper enquires into how this new dynamics played out in the Public Works Department (PWD). It finds that during the period under review, labour relations in the PWD was characterized by an increasing effort by the unions to grow their bargaining powers, and the management’s attempts to diplomatically weaken them as a way of balancing powers. A case of union busting in the PWD, which led to the breaking up of the Union in 1947 is presented to justify this claim. The paper contends that this labour relation pattern is counterproductive, and that the management and the unions must work together for better economic result. Primary and secondary sources of information are used for this study.
THE NIGERIAN POLICE FORCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA, 2005-2019
The Nigeria police is the organ of the executive arm of government whose responsibility is to maintain law and order, protect life and property of the citizens. This understanding of the statutory roles of the police as the defender of the rights of the citizens under the law underscores the cardinal, humane and mutual relationships that should better exist between the police and members of the society. However, from the evidence of human rights abuse by the police, ranging from brutality, extra-judicial killing and harassment to molestation and torture, shows that the Nigerian police has increasingly deviated from its constitutional role of maintaining law and order, and the protection of human rights to human rights abuse and violation. This work is an expose on the series of human rights abuses perpertrated by the Nigerian police against the innocent citizens of the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria whom they are meant to protect. This study employs the historical methodology to analyse the actions of the Nigerian police against the citizens. Data for this work was from both primary and secondary sources. We conclude by suggesting that the culprits of human rights violation among the officers and men of the Nigeria Police be made to face the full wrath of the law. The power of the 1999 Constitution and the Police Act which define the roles of the Nigeria Police and penalty for breaching the regulations should be invoked by the federal government for appropriate action.
Festus Chimezie Ajeli & Jennifer Adaobi Iloakasia
INTRA-COMMUNAL CONFLICTS IN POST-COLONIAL IGBOLAND, THE AGULU CASE, 1990-2002
Intra-communal conflict remains a major factor that hinders integration at the grassroots level in Igboland. The phenomenon goes a long way to undermine Igbo solidarity and response(s) to Nigerian issues. Nigeria being a multi-ethnic and volatile heterogeneous society where citizens tend to primarily pay allegiance to their respective ethnic groups, recurring intra-communal crisis within communities tends to have an adverse effect, as regards integration and harmonisation of purposes and developmental initiatives. The crisis in Agulu, a community located in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria, provides an insight into the retrogressive implications of intra-communal conflict towards integration and community development. Considering the enormous impact it had on community integration and development and on inter-group relations, the crisis, which rocked the community for more than a decade, has not been properly placed in the existing history of Agulu. In view of the stated problem, this study explicates the nature and disintegrative tendencies of religious-induced intra-communal conflict in Agulu. The study observes that Christianity actively altered the patterns of causal factors of conflict in Agulu as well as elsewhere in Igboland. The strife in Agulu was particularly embedded in Christian denominational differences.
POLITICAL LEADERSHIP AND NIGERIA’S ECONOMY SINCE 1999
The influence of politics and consequently, political leaders on the economy cannot be overemphasised. The power they wield over their nations creates room for influences on the economic institutions and which could make or mar economic growth. Political leadership has always played a fundamental role in Nigeria’s economy, in relation to growth and development. The Nigerian economy which is largely oil-based, have remained in dire straits over the years, because of poor leadership, corruption, as well as poor monetary and fiscal policies. This paper aims to establish the nexus between political leadership and the Nigerian economy. It examines the role of various administrations towards economic development in Nigeria between 1999 and 2019. The study adopts the qualitative and quantitative methods of research in analysing data. The primary and secondary sources of data were used to buttress the arguments of the authors. The study observes that Nigeria has the human and material resources which could make any economy great, but the desiderata has been the quality of leadership since 1999. Incompetent, corrupt and selfish political leaders, who are more concerned with looting the nation’s treasury than its growth, continue to be uncommitted to economic development.
Ihuoma E. Obienusi & Chinyere P. Chikwendu
THE NIGER DELTA PEOPLE'S VOLUNTEER FORCE IN THE STRUGGLE FOR RESOURCE CONTROL IN THE NIGER DELTA
The Niger Delta region is made up of many ethnic groups among which are Ijaw, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Isoko. Oil was officially discovered in commercial quantity in Oloibiri in 1956; this has turned the fortunes of the Nigerian economy for good. Expectedly, oil spillage and gas flaring are the major challenges confronting the people of the region. This has affected the delicate balance between man, land and water with the poverty, as people’s means of livelihood were affected. Agitations for resource control for the assurance of better standard of living by the people have remained rife. It graduated from peaceful dialogues to unrest, violence and chaos. It subsequently assumed a dangerous trend with the emergence of militant groups, leading to loss of lives and property and hardship on the inhabitants. Numerous attacks on the oil facilities tremendously reduced the production of crude oil as well as loss of revenue to the state on daily basis. Based on existing studies this paper examines the activities of Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force (NDPVF), one of the armed militants groups fighting for the self-determination of the Black-Gold in the Niger Delta and the significance of their insurgence to the region.
IDEATIONAL AND INTERPERSONAL ANALYSIS OF INSTRUCTIONS TO SONS-IN-LAW DURING IGALA TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE
This study analyzes the ideational and interpersonal function of language in the instruction from fathers-in-law to sons-in-law during Igala traditional marriage. The study is premised on the theory of determinism by Yule (1996). The researchers used participant observation and interviews as means of data collection. The data collected were analyzed using ideational and interpersonal metafunction as an aspect of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL). After the analysis, the findings of the study show that the examination of linguistic features of a text not only helps in understanding the structure of the text but also the deep meanings of it. This reveals the hidden-self of the characters bringing out their intentions behind the utterances which may appear difficult for a non-native. The study equally reveals that the interpersonal metafunction’s contextual analysis demonstrates how situational context, particularly the variable register of tenor, plays a significant role in determining interactants’ lexical choices appearing in the clauses used in communication to display their social role relationships. The work concludes that marriage institution is a fundamental Micro Social Component of the Society that requires linguistic attention.
Sunday Sule Emah & Ojonugwa Sunday Joseph
THE 1914 AMALGAMATION: PRE-CURSOR TO MISCONSTRUED UNITY IN POST-COLONIAL NIGERIA
The 1914 Amalgamation is central to the controversies and contentions between the peoples of Northern and –Southern Nigeria. The unsolicited union enthroned seemingly intractable religious and ethnic problems in Nigeria’s socio-political and economic life. As a consequence, the political landscape of Nigeria overwhelmingly began to witness destructive clannish/ethnic and religious activities that are inimical to national development. Similarly, skewed constitutional developments during the colonial era bequeathed a deleterious political structure to Nigeria. The Arthur Richard’s Constitution of 1947 constitutionalized regional politics in Nigeria and created the bases of the future development of the Nigerian polity. This paper focuses on the 1914 Amalgamation and the numerous challenges that make forging a strong unity between northern and southern Nigeria elusive. The paper submits that Nigeria as presently constituted faces an imminent implosion and possible division if the structural errors foisted on the ethnic nationalities since 1914 are not consciously addressed. The method adopted was historical narrative. It was approached thematically and analytically, while presentation was chronological. Keywords: 1914
Chinedu Nnaemeka Mbalisi & Chiemela Adaku Okeke
GENDER AND POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION IN NIGERIAN WAR NOVELS
Female critics of earlier Nigerian literature written by Chinua Achebe, Cyprian Ekwensi, Wole Soyinka and J.P. Clark have accused them of stereotyping women and giving them marginal and inferior roles in their works. They also claim that women in works like Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958), Ekwensi’s Jagua Nana (1960) Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero (1964) and Clark’s Song of a Goat (1961) pander to satisfying the needs of men in a condescending manner. According to Nwapa (2007:528) “the focus has been on the physical, prurient, negative nature of woman.” Ogunyemi (1988:60) claims that the (Nigerian) literature is phallic, dominated as it is by male writers and critics, who deal almost exclusively with male characters and male concerns.” Similarly, the novels of the Nigerian civil war written by men have not been spared of such criticisms by these critics who believe that male authors of the civil war novels privilege the activities of men and gloss over women’s invaluable roles in the war. Arising from the foregoing and considering that literature is a veritable tool for the representation of human experiences, this study critically examines the conception and representation of women in some Nigerian war novels written by male and female authors. It reveals, among others, that the author’s gender has a great influence in their representation of women in their works which in turn affects their objectivity.
DEBT, TIME VIOLENCE, AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA
The objective of this paper is to analyze government‘s borrowings in the purview of time violence with recourse to the adverse effects that bad debts could have on succeeding generations. Using Nigeria as a case, we argue that there is a nexus between debt, its management, time violence, and sustainable development. If the purpose of debt acquisition is altruistic, and the processes of the utilization of its proceeds are transparent, it is likely to be sustainable and self- servicing. Otherwise, debt would become a menace over time and culminate in time violence to generations who neither incurred nor benefited from the debt. Consequently, debt should be conceived and analyzed as a security threat that is capable of hurting and destabilizing a country through a myriad of ways. While borrowing may be inevitable, debt must be properly securitized to foreclose its attendant violence. This study, thus, offers a security dimension to extant studies and analyses on Nigerian sovereign debt. The study is qualitative with data sourced from primary and secondary sources.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND NIGERIA’S POLITICS OF ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION
Covid-19 pandemic obviously took the world by surprise, but it particularly had a devastating effect on Nigeria’s economy given its impact on international trade and the crash in oil prices, upon which the country’s economy depended. Nigeria’s government as a result, introduced some panic measures essentially to cope with the problem. It for instance, withdrew and re-packaged its 2020 National Budget and embarked on massive external borrowing to fund its activities. But the pandemic has once more brought to the fore the country’s lingering politics of economic diversification. Using the Prebisch-Singer Hypothesis and the Mun and Davenant Ideologies, the paper argues in favour of economic diversification, which will engender sustainable development. It however analyses why economic diversification has been reduced to mere political propaganda by successive Nigeria’s leaders, thus revealing the overbearing influence of socio-political factors on economic management. The paper concludes that Nigeria must have to tackle its nation-building challenges to be able to diversify its economy and grow sustainably.
KENNETH DIKE JOURNAL OF AFRICAN STUDIES (KDJAS) Vol. 2 No. 1 (2023)
POVERTY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN WATERFRONT COMMUNITIES IN LAGOS AND PORT HARCOURT CITIES: INTERROGATING THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, 1958 -2015
This study argues that several waterfront communities in Lagos and Port Harcourt cities are polluted. It shows that poverty is one of the causes of pollution of waterfront settlements, most of which are slums. The inhabitants of most of the waterfront communities are low-income earners, who are artisanal fishermen, farmers, and artisans. Due to ignorance, the urban-poor inhabitants degrade the waterways in their daily toil for food and resources. The paper shows that industrial waste discharge in the waterways along the fringes of the coast pollutes the waterfront areas and explains that lack of support from the government to abate pollution in the areas increases the incidence of pollution. The absence of toilet and sewage facilities around the waterfront communities increases the rate of open defecation and waste dumping. This in turn affects the users of the waterways and the people living in the highbrow waterfront communities. The study uses Lagos and Port Harcourt to demonstrate how poverty and ineffective waste management can increase the rate of pollution in the waterfront areas and how their inhabitants are affected by pollution. The study is significant in view of the importance of the waterfront communities as potential areas for tourism, living space, and natural resources. Functionalist and Marxist theories will be employed in the study to show the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in the context of the study areas. The study recommends several ways the government and inhabitants can reduce the menace. This study adopts source criticism as a historical method, to evaluate information sources. This method is based on the historian’s belief that since every source has a part of its own, historians must first examine the history of their sources, a process known as source criticism, before turning to source interpretation.
THE HERDERS’ AUDACITY AND THE ESCALATION OF CONFLICT IN NIGERIA
Since the emergence of consciousness in human being self-preservation has been of paramount concern to man. As an omnivorous animal, human beings cultivate plants and rear animals for self-preservation and sustenance, and resist any threat to the means of its livelihood. It is based on this prism that it employs any action both lawful andunlawful aimedat preserving its livelihood. However, preserving one’s life need not be at the peril of another. However, it is on this basis that cow industry in northern part of Nigeria is examined, and how it constitute one of the life wire of the economy of the region, and determine the relation with other occupational pattern in Nigeria, and also define the fault line of conflict in Northern Nigeria region and other part of the Nigerian state. However, the paper examines the role cow economy play in northern Nigeria and factor how the trade contributes to unending schisms in Northern region in particular and Nigerian state in general. Also examined is the herders’ audacity in Nigeria and Northern oligarchy in perspective. The paper deployed qualitative method in data collection and literature analyzed data using thematic content analysis. The paper concludes that the overbearing influence of cow merchants is largely one of the factors responsible for the destruction of lives and property by herders in Nigeria.
POLITICS OF REGION-BUILDING IN NIGERIA’S DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE SINCE 1999
This research paper examines the politics of region-building in Nigeria democracy since 1999. Since the return of democracy in Nigeria after several military junta that disrupted the nations civilian rule, Nigeria and its consideration on political development, is one of the fundamental benefits anticipated of any democratic system. The thrust of this paper is to bring to limelight why Nigeria democracy since 1999 is yet to fix in motion inclusive mechanism for its non-uniformity, but dynamic regional based politics to nationhood. Therefore, polities of region- building been antithesis for nation-building required for democratic principle towards attainment of unity in diversity. This expose considers some of the strenuous and intractable challenges militating against the Nigerian democracy and nation-building, such as regional political structure, the challenge of socio-economic inequalities, the constitutional challenges, institutions for leadership challenges, poverty, ethnicity and corruption among many others. The paper posits that that major challenge to Nigeria’s nation building and development is politics of region-building. The sources of data collection used were mainly secondary and tertiary. The conclusion is interspaced by proposing considerable mechanism adopted by Nigeria government in relation to nation-building and political development to enthrone and promote good governance, social justice by integrating democracy and divergent nation into nationhood.
Mbalisi, Chinedu N. (PhD) & Chukwu, Hamuel Oti
XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS, RE-APPRAISING THE RECIPROCITY IN NIGERIA - SOUTH AFRICA FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1960-2019
Reciprocity has been considered and practiced as a veritable instrument employed by states in their interactions with other states. Nigeria and South Africa as regional powers operate in an international system where reciprocity is prevalent. Nigeria-South Africa relations gained traction in 1960 when Nigeria attained her independence and South Africa was at the time ruled by a minority white racist regime. Nigeria at its outset adopted an Africa centered foreign policy even though Nigeria-South Africa relations have not been rancor free over time. Many scholarly literatures on South Africans xenophobic attacks merely captured attacks against foreigners generally and no particularly Nigeria. This paper focuses on the misconstrued reciprocity in Nigeria’s foreign policy and Nigeria-South Africa relations, 1960-2019. Using secondary and tertiary sources of data collection, the data are analyzed using qualitative historical methodology. The paper interrogates the contentions in South Africa’s xenophobic attacks on Nigerians despite Nigeria’s Africa centered and “Big Brother” role over time. The paper argues that xenophobic attacks on Nigerians by South Africans negate the concept of reciprocity with regards to Nigeria’s valued contributions to South Africa in time past. This study posits that reciprocity in Nigeria-South Africa’s relations is far too compromised in the light of these xenophobic attacks on Nigerians. It concludes that unless the painful memories of the historical white racist dominated rule in South Africa are suppressed, misplaced xenophobic attacks targeted at Nigerians may remain a continuum.
Udeagwu, C. Okechukwu & Chidiobo, Okechukwu Christian