Values: Intellectuals and Policy Process in Nigeria: A Theoretical Cum Ideological Explanation

This work studies the intellectuals in Nigeria and their roles in the policy process. After a careful identification of the roles which have been played by Nigeria’s intellectuals since Nigeria’s independence, the paper adopts the belief system framework of public policy analysis together with three ideological categorization of individual personalities. It provides a theoretical cum ideological explanation for the different roles played by these intellectuals in different areas of the political system. These ideological linings of Nigeria’s intellectuals were also seen as contributing both positively and negatively to the actions and inactions of intellectuals in particular and the policy process in general. The paper finally sees the policy process as a rational enterprise which has to be seen as such by intellectuals and the government for meaningful development of Nigeria. Keywords: Values, Intellectuals, Beliefs, Policy, Developmen

DECENTRALIZING PUBLIC SECTOR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AND THE CONTRADICTIONS OF FEDERAL PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

Economic reforms and the quest for efficiency in public administration call for the decentralization of collective bargaining and wages in the public sector in Nigeria. But the effort to decentralize has translated into both a protracted industrial relations crisis and intergovernmental conflict. This situation is traced to the failed effort at institutionalising collective bargaining and the consolidation of the unified wage structure in the public sector by the resort to ad hoc wages commissions. The distorted fiscal federalism and intergovernmental relations under the military in Nigeria complicated the situation, such that resolving the federal question has become critical to returning stability to Nigeria's industrial relations system

Earth System Governance in Africa: knowledge and capacity needs

Traditional approaches for understanding environmental governance - such as environmental policy analysis or natural resources management - do not adequately address the gamut of human-natural system interactions within the context of the complex biogeophysical cycles and processes of the planet. This is perhaps more so in the African regional context where the complex relationships between modern and traditional governance systems and global change dynamics are arguably more pronounced. The Earth System Governance (ESG) Analytical Framework encompasses diverse systems and actors involved in the regulation of societal activities and behaviors vis-a-vis earth system dynamics. The concept encompasses a myriad of public and private actors and actor networks at all levels of policy and decision-making. The existence of, and interaction among, these diverse actors and systems, however, is under-researched in the African context. Various research approaches taken to address crucial global environmental change (GEC) challenges in Africa have proven to be inadequate because they tend to overlook the complex interactions among the various local actors, players, and indigenous conditions and practices vis-a-vis GEC system drivers and teleconnections. Similarly, the regional peculiarities in terms of governance typologies and sociocultural diversity highlight the need for nuanced understanding of the complex interactions and nexuses among multiple actors and interests and Earth system processes. However, this diversity and complexity has often been lost in generalized enquiries. We argue that examination of the governance-GEC nexus through the aid of the ESG Framework would provide a much broader and more helpful insight