9 research outputs found
The Nigerian Wars, Regional Crises and Ethnic Disturbances: Policy Responses and Democratic Implications
Colonial Heritage, Identity-Building and Communication: English and Nigerian Languages in Biafra
The Biafran War (1967–1970) has often been called “the forgotten war”, yet it marked a watershed in the development of the Nigerian foreign policy, gave birth to the NGO Médecins sans frontières and its refugee camps taught foreign journalists the intercultural skills they were to use later to report on other African conflicts. While many books and scholarly articles have been written on the war, its use of languages and impact on post-war language policies have never really been considered. Using media bulletins compiled by the author between 1968 and 1970, data collected by French journalists and published in 1968–1969, memoirs published later by various people involved in the humanitarian efforts of the period and songs recorded by the Biafran Red Cross during the conflict, this chapter will reveal how war years confirmed language preferences built during the colonial period. It will show how the necessity to communicate both with the outside and within the Biafran enclave contributed to gradually shape language practices, and will consider the reasons behind that choice. It will finally confirm the huge emotional and psychological power mobilised by languages during the conflict
Cultural Influences, Modern Changes, and the Sociology of Modern African Political Communication
Against memory-as-remedy to the traumatic aftermaths of Nigeria-Biafra war past: whither justice?
Narrative of governance crisis in Nigeria: Allegory of resource curse and “Emergence” in Tunde Kelani’s Saworoide
Peace and conflict are two sides of this ‘coin’: explaining the persistence of identity-based conflagrations in Nigeria
Challenges of democracy and the (de)memorialisation of the June 12, 1993 elections in Nigeria
The Politics of Intergovernmental Relations: Assessing the Many Phases and Challenges of Nigeria’s Judicial System
The judiciary is an important organ of government as it functions as a counterbalancing institution in states. Notwithstanding the nature of the political system in place, either democratic or nondemocratic, the judiciary plays the essential role of interpreting the extant laws and adjudicating between competing interests whether domiciled in individuals, groups, institutions of government or the various arms of government. The stabilising role of the judiciary in modern governance is exemplified by its ingrained function of checking the excesses of individuals, groups and government institutions through the application of state laws. Since Nigeria’s independence, its judiciary has been discharging its constitutional responsibilities. The journey of the Nigerian judiciary has been quite explosive, considering that it traversed both the jackboot of military authoritarianism and democratic governance in diverse forms, with each presenting its own peculiar bouquet of challenges. This chapter examines the various phases and attendant challenges that the Nigerian judiciary has passed through. It chronicles its many challenges and triumphs as well as low points. In sum, the Nigerian judiciary has acquitted itself admirably in dealing with such challenges as judicial independence, judicial accountability and crisis of condence occasioned by judicial recklessness and corruption. However, Nigeria’s judicial system still has room for further improvement in order to continue to command the respect of the citizens and thus, deserve such epithets as “the last hope of the common man”, “the bulwark of the people’s liberty”, “the defender of the rights of the people” and “the bastion of constitutional democracy,” among others, which demonstrate public acceptance and confidence