Contributions of Andre Gunder Frank to the Theory of Development and Underdevelopment: Implications on Nigeria’s Development Situation.

This paper is a discourse on Andre Gunder Frank’s contribution to the theory and study of development and underdevelopment with emphasis on its implication on Nigeria’s development. The study exposes the inequality in the pace of socio-economic wellbeing of the people of various societies of the world which led social scientists to call those societies whose socio-economic development is considerably low “backward nations”. They later abandoned this expression as it was considered derogatory, and adopted instead, the expressions “underdeveloped societies,” “less-developed societies” or “developing nations”. To explain the reason for the underdevelopment of these nations W.W. Rostow in 1960 developed his Modernization Theory. This theory conceived underdevelopment as an “original state”, as something characteristic of a “traditional society”, as something that has internal origin. In response to this theory, Andre Gunder Frank in 1966 propounded his “dependency theory which saw the world’s nations as divided into a core of wealthy nations which dominate the poor nations whose main function in the system is to provide cheap labour and raw materials to the core. It held also that the benefits of this system of relationship accrue almost entirely to the rich nations, which become progressively richer and more developed, while the poor nations, which continually have their surpluses drained away to the core, do not advance, rather, they are impoverished; he also asserted that for the underdeveloped nations to develop, they must break (radically) their ties with the developed nations and pursue internal growth. In addressing this thesis, the puzzle is can Nigeria break her ties with the core wealthy nations of the West which have advanced their economies at the detriment of Nigeria and pursue meticulously, internally generated growth? Even though A.G. Frank’s argument that the cause of Africa’s underdevelopment in general and Nigeria in particular is her dependency on the wealthy Western Countries, has been accepted, it should also be noted that these Western Countries are operating in connivance with some unscrupulous elements in the country and that if they are not found and flushed out of the system, the internal growth policy will not survive. These are the issues this paper has addressed and concludes by positing that the Andre Gunder Frank’s Dependency is not the ultimate cause of underdevelopment in Nigeria but leadership problem. Therefore, breaking the ties without a radical change in political leadership style will not salvage Nigeria’s underdevelopment situation. Keywords: Development, Underdevelopment, Dependency Theory, Modernization Theory, Leadership Problem

Human Rights, Democracy and Community Development: The Need for a Nexus of the Concepts in Nigeria’s Development Process

The concepts of human rights, democracy and development as well as community development will ever remain most paramount in the affairs of all nations which cherish liberty and good governance. At present, there is virtually no facet of any diplomatic interactions between one sovereign nation and the other which is not founded on the internationally accepted principles of human rights, democracy and community development. Having passed through many years of agonizing, undemocratic and dehumanizing military regimes; Nigerians have come to realize that genuine concern for human rights and democracy is a viable option for attaining effective community development that is well-recognized by international communities. Unfortunately, this realization is now being manifested in the affairs of Nigeria very much in theory rather than in practice. The meaning and relevance of human rights, democracy and development as well as community development as legal and socio-political concepts, the nexus between them and practical problems besetting their effective application in Nigeria, constitute the core of this work. Keywords: Human Rights, Democracy, Community, Development, Liberty, Good Governance

Quantification of Heavy Metals using Contamination and Pollution Index in Selected Refuse Dumpsites in Owerri, Imo State Southeast Nigeria

Many sites in urban cities are used for dumping of domestic, industrial and municipal wastes because of high human population density in the area. Most often, people use these dumpsites for growing of crops without knowing the level of heavy metal contamination in soils of these areas. This study evaluated the quantification and contamination level of heavy metals in some refuse dumpsites in communities of the State Nigeria. Three replicate soil samples were collected from the dumpsites and at 20 m away from the non - dumpsite which do not receive sewage water within the root zone of 0 – 40 cm depth using soil auger sampler. Samples were analysed for soil properties and heavy metal concentrations using standard methods. The concentrations of the studied heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn and Cd) were compared with the permissible limits of other countries. Results showed that in the three studied locations, soil pH at dumpsites were 40 .6%, 39.4% and 38.9% higher than the values in the control sites while soil organic carbon were higher in the dumpsites by 50.1%, 31.3% and 41.1% as compared to the control sites. Cu concentrations at the three locations were below the standard limits of United Kingdom, European Union (EU), USA and WHO. The concentrations of the studied heavy metals passed the contamination stage and therefore will pose negative effect on plant and soil environment. Use of the dumpsite for crop cultivation or as compost materials should be avoided and construction of shallow wells near these areas should be discouraged