Nigeria And The Politics Of Survival As A Nation State

This volume addresses the struggles and strategies applied by the civilian and military administrations to resolve the issue of political instability in Nigeria. It examines its political history as an entity before Britain colonized the area, and the constitutional developments since 1914 when Britain amalgamated the northern and southern regions to form modern Nigeria.

Sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing an impressive measure of economic revivalism that is driven by both national and international forces at the beginning of the twenty-first century. That political and business leaders in the region are determined that development in this millennium will not mimic the slow pace of growth in the twentieth is a given. Undoubtedly, the rapid spread of information communications technology (ICT) and contemporary investments of China in the region’s growth agenda bear this thesis out. This book, among other things, advances the theory that improving human rights practices and the democracy project—i.e. democratic consolidation in sub-Saharan Africa will create an enabling environment that is critical for stimulating the current inspiring development objectives.

Nigeria matters. It is Africa’s largest economy, and it is projected to become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, but its democratic aspirations are challenged by rising insecurity. John Campbell traces the fractured colonial history and contemporary ethnic conflicts and political corruption that define Nigeria today. It was not—and never had been—a nation-state like those of Europe. It is still not quite a nation because Nigerians are not yet united by language, religion, culture, or a common national story. It is not quite a state because the government is weak and getting weaker, beset by Islamist terrorism, insurrection, intercommunal violence, and a countrywide crime wave. This deeply knowledgeable book is an antidote to those who would make the mistakes of Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq—mistakes based on misunderstanding—in Nigeria. Up to now, such mistakes have largely been avoided, but Nigeria will soon—and Campbell argues already does—require much greater attention by the West.

This book frames the debates around the pressing desire for some form of unification that found expression in the pan-Africanist movement and formation of the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1963 following the advent of home-rule for many former colonies of the Western powers. Discussions in this volume address the following fundamental issues: nationalism and political integration and how the contradictions between both philosophies can be resolved; the amelioration of corruption in order to attract internal and external investments critical for developing the vast natural resources housed in the continent; the need for Africa’s adaptation to the ideology and practice of capitalism and liberal globalization to suit the character of African states in a projected federal United States of Africa; solutions to ethnic conflicts that are bound to happen over clashes of competing group interests; the indispensability and promotion of information communication technologies and urgent need to strengthen a network of regional electric power grids that would provide constant energy to the Union and lead to improvement in communication and economic growth; and recommendation of social democracy as the genre of democracy suitable for a proposed United States of Africa.

Corruption is alive and well in Nigeria—and it must be eliminated. Moreover, the Nigerian church can no longer watch it go unchecked. Though conscious of his limitations as a priest and theologian, the author takes an in-depth look at how corruption has taken hold of Nigeria and its people in this scholarly work. He challenges the church as a socio-moral actor and the civil authorities that govern Nigeria, arguing that the nation will collapse if corruption continues. He notes that even though the Nigerian people have lashed out against corruption, it has only gotten worse—either because morality has been relegated to the background or not enough has been done to inculcate morality into Nigeria’s politics. The author employs a holistic approach in examining issues such as: bishops and their vision of Nigeria vis-à-vis Nigerian politics; democracy and the power equation among the various arms of government; principal biases that characterize Nigerian politics; and class affiliation and its impact in Nigerian politics. Find out how corruption is ruining Nigeria, and discover how the church and government can work together to fix the problem in Nigerian Politics and Corruption.

Nigeria is a bellwether, in an enormous continent, endowed with natural resources and human capital, whose development and greatness have been marred by political instability since gaining home-rule from Britain in 1960. The contemporary political, economic, and social quandaries that have stultified Nigeria’s growth project flows from difficulties in cultivating patriotic leaders with pluck to enact efficacious policies that will catapult the country to greater heights developmentally. Nigeria in the Fourth Republic: Confronting the Contemporary Political, Economic, and Social Dilemmas, edited by E. Ike Udogu, examines some of the vital issues responsible for the current political malaise and recommends strategies for exculpating the country from her current political quagmires. The contributors to this book argue, inter alia, for the avoidance of false starts reminiscent of the military interventions that aborted the democracy project and advocates the enactment of effective policies to supersede decision dictated by politics. This volume proposes national healthcare strategies to address the country’s healthcare needs and for dialogue to extinguish combustible inter-religious conflicts. The book recommends ways to assuage police highway malfeasance and explains why human rights observance is critical to further national cohesion while creating space for the subalterns to have their voices heard in discourses on how to advance peaceful coexistence.

Political stability and peaceful coexistence among Nigeria's diverse nationalities are imperative for development and democratic consolidation and could serve as a model for the region and Africa as a whole. This volume, put together by leading Nigerian scholars, addresses strategies for taming' the military to avoid future coups; solving the ethnic diversity question through national reconciliation; de-marginalising women in politics and society; reducing human rights violations through the law and many other issues.