National Security Good Governance Democracy In Africa

This book demonstrates that national security and good governance are opposite sides of the same coin. As good governance improves, national security also improves, in that challenges to national security become lesser and lesser in such a society. It concludes that for most of Africa, this is not happening fast enough. Thus, creating fertile grounds for their citizens, especially the youths, to resort to self-help measures, some of which include violence and militancy. These have further complicated the issues of national security, good governance and democracy in Africa. Praise for the Book This book is a must read. Dr. Dan Mou, a world-class trained political scientist, who has served at various ministries and parastatals in Nigeria before retirement, has made stunning revelations. Lead Times Africa Magazine. Dr. Dan Mou, a varsity don and seasoned civil servant, (who) spent over two decades working in Nigerias Presidency, provides deep insights in this book, into the intractable security situation in Nigeria and Africa. He also x-rays economic policies, among other issues. Daily Trust. Having successfully designed and masterminded many workable national schemes in the past in Nigeria, like the memoranda that led to the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Amnesty Programme for the Niger Delta Region, to mention just a few, Dr. Dan Mou, in this book, has (proposed) permanent solutions it is no fallacy to say that no one else could have done it better. Dr. O. W. Bashorun, Provost, College of Education, Lagos, Nigeria.

Southern Africa has embarked on one of the world's most ambitious security co-operation initiatives, seeking to roll out the principles of the United Nations at regional levels. This book examines the triangular relationship between democratisation, the character of democracy and its deficits, and national security practices and perceptions of eleven southern African states. It explores what impact these processes and practices have had on the collaborative security project in the region. Based on national studies conducted by African academics and security practitioners over three years, it includes an examination of the way security is conceived and managed, as well as a comparative analysis of regional security co-operation in the developing world.

Questions surrounding democracy, governance, and development especially in the view of Africa have provoked acrimonious debates in the past few years. It remains a perennial question why some decades after political independence in Africa the continent continues experiencing bad governance, lagging behind socioeconomically, and its democracy questionable. We admit that a plethora of theories and reasons, including iniquitous and malicious ones, have been conjured in an attempt to explain and answer the questions as to why Africa seems to be lagging behind other continents in issues pertaining to good governance, democracy and socio-economic development. Yet, none of the theories and reasons proffered so far seems to have provided enduring solutions to Africa’s diverse complex problems and predicaments. This book dissects and critically examines the matrix of Africa’s multifaceted problems on governance, democracy and development in an attempt to proffer enduring solutions to the continent’s long-standing political and socio-economic dilemmas and setbacks.

This paper examines the broad U.S. National Security Objective of "Promoting Democracy" in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa. Forty-eight independent nations make up the region of Sub Saharan Africa. Within this region there are over 700 ethnic groups with almost as many different dialects. With this vast diversity in the region, "promoting democracy" faces a myriad of challenges. The U.S. National Security Strategy defines three classes of national interests: vital, important, and humanitarian. Using the definitions found in the NSS, it is unlikely that any U.S. interests in Sub-Saharan Africa would be considered "vital". While this "Cold War" paradigm of prioritizing interests was useful during the era of the U.S. and Soviet competition, the global challenges the U.S. faces in the 21st Century are much more diverse and dynamic. U.S. national interests would be better served if viewed within a broad strategic context in which regional instability is a threat to our security and national well-being. Within this framework, democracy and good governance in Sub-Saharan Africa emerge as a vital U.S. regional interest. While most Africans desire democratic government, the challenges to establishing and maintaining democracy in the Sub-Saharan region run deep. Tribal culture, regional conflicts, humanitarian crises, and the legacy of colonialism are all sources of instability presenting challenges to African democracy. Understanding these challenges is the first step toward framing an effective U.S. regional policy.

African Governance, Security, and Development explores the political economy of development in Africa. The contributors examine the impact and implications of the democratization process in Africa with particular focus on issues of economic, social, and institutional development. Through a variety of critical perspectives and disciplines, contributors analyze topics such as the impact of democratization on governance and institutional development, foreign aid and foreign direct investment, terrorism in Africa, identity politics, and the politics of oil extraction. African Governance, Security, and Development features the voices of scholars from institutions of higher learning in Africa and showcases case studies from the continent, bringing much-needed African and Africanist perspectives to current discussions about African political development and economy.

This book argues that the structure of the policy-making process in Nigeria explains variations in government performance better than other commonly cited factors.

This book shows that the security, economic, political, and social problems challenging national security, democracy, and good governance currently in Nigeria would get better or worse, depending on what happens to the 71 percent of Nigerias population still living below the poverty line. This is in spite of the billions of petrodollars that Nigeria garnered as revenue over the past few decades. It reveals that one does not need to be a political prophet to predict that if these challenges are not successfully addressed through good governance and inclusive growth, this country will witness worse civil disobedience, violence, revolts, militancy, breakdown of law and order, more kidnappings, and more of the citizens trying to check out of the country to other parts of the world in the future. It concludes, however, that under such intense pressures, the Government of Nigeria, even if it is simply for its self-preservation, will be forced by the objective conditions to move against the interests of the dominant groups and classes in Nigeria. These are the ones who have, for long, captured and hijacked state power and the resources of the country for their exclusive use. There is this perception that Nigerians dont write and read. This perception is deep-seated, even among intellectuals who see our authors as shallow researchers. But Dr. Dan Mou has debunked that myth and shown that Nigerians can write well-researched and detailed books. It is quite prophetic in its assessment of the Nigerian State (Agbo Agbo, deputy editor, The Nation). Dr. Dan Mou has proven himself a world-class scholar and an intellectual colossus. His reputation as an internationally renowned public policy expert has continued to soar. I congratulate him for these remarkable achievements (Professor Justice Abdul Fatai Kuti, first justice of Abuja High Court and former dean, faculty of law, University of Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State of Nigeria). Dr. Mou is certainly one of the best scholars we have on the African continent. As an educationist myself, before I became a traditional ruler, I agree totally with his analysis and conclusions. I share the optimism Dr. Mou has expressed . . . that once the recommendations therein are adopted and meticulously implemented, with proper monitoring and evaluation of such resultant policies and programmes, Nigeria and indeed Africa would be able to solve most of these challenges (HRH Alh. Dr. Sheban Audu, Nizazo III, Etsu Kwali, Etsu Kwalis Palace, Abuja, Nigeria).