Religious Fundamentalism and Problem of Normlessness: Issues in Value System in Nigeria

Religious fundamentalism following 9 11 attack in the United States has a assumed new a dimension in Nigeria The current wave of religious fundamentalism raises the concern whether Nigeria is a normless society or the problem of normlesness has been inherent in cultures and traditions of the Nigeria inhabitants before the arrival of Islam and Christianity This paper argues that religion in the pre-colonial times was developed with the need to provide a world view for the people to understand themselves and to direct collective consciousness toward achieving societal goals The paper contends that the current wave of religious fundamentalism became fossilized through religious manipulation and politicization in the post colonial era The paper concludes that unless our universal cultural norms and value are resorted to redirect behavioural attitude toward governance in Nigeria religious fundamentalism would thrive o

The United Nations Plebiscites in the Northern Cameroons: Post-Colonial Issues and Challenges in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State, Nigeria

The Northern Cameroons, which the Sardauna LGA of Taraba State constitutes a part, was neither a colony nor protectorate of Northern Nigeria, but a mandate of the League of Nations (1922 to 1945) and later, a trusteeship territory of the United Nations (1945-1961) handed to Britain to administer after Germany was defeated by the allied forces in the First and the Second World Wars. At the close of colonisation and the independence of most African countries, particularly the British colony, Nigeria and the French colony, Cameroon in 1960, the political future of the Northern Cameroons was not decided until the plebiscite of 1961 conducted under the supervision of the United Nations. The plebiscite impacted on the cooperate existence of the various ethnic groups, who on equal bases voted to join Nigeria, by creating identity question that have become a post-colonial dilemma in the area. This paper argues that since their amalgamation with Nigeria, ethnic groups from this region have had their indigeneity and the citizenship rights contested by the authorities.  The problem associated with indigeneity and citizenship questions have persisted because of their transverse nature on the Nigeria-Cameroon borders, lack of historical and political trajectories captured in the Nigeria’s political development, and the constitutional gaps in reflecting their unique status of citizenship in Nigeria. The paper concludes that except these problems are addressed, ethnic tension and conflicts will continue to characterise ethnic relations in the area. Keywords: Plebiscite, United Nations, Northern Cameroons, Indigeneity, Citizenship, Sardauna LGA, Nigeri

Clash of Religious Civilisations in Nigeria: Understanding Dynamics of Religious Violence

This paper examines the clash of religious civilizations in Nigeria to understand the dynamics of religious violence. The paper posits that religious violence in Nigeria dates to the era Islam and Christianity through the activities of the missionaries was introduced among the various ethnic groups from the North and South Poles respectively. The two religions with ‘messianic’ mission of civilizing the world, transformed into competition for converts. In the search for converts the missionaries perpetuated violence against indigenous populations, their cultural and religious systems. The hitherto existing indigenous religion – the African Traditional Religion – cemented relationships between people, society and nature. With the arrival of ‘new religions’ – Islam and Christianity, in their quest to dominate led to conflicting relations among various ethnic groups that make up the Nigerian federation. The collision of these religions gave birth to the clash of religious civilizations, which have become unprecedented in contemporary time. The nature of religious violence in Nigeria is tied to elite manipulation of religious adherents to advance their own interests in the political arena. The paper concludes that putting religious differences to culture is central to curbing religious violence in Nigeria. Keywords: Religious civilization, Islam, Christianity, religious manipulation, religious violenc

Is There Any True Federalism? Revisiting the ‘True Federalism’ Debate in Nigeria

This paper is an examination of the political contestations over ‘true federalism’ in Nigeria. The paper posits that the demand for ‘true federalism’ continue to pose serious challenges to the corporate existence of Nigeria, especially since the return to democracy in May 29, 1999. It contends that the contestations over the quest for the adoption of ‘true federalism’ render prejudicial the conceptualization and contextualization of federalism. The paper concludes that there is no ideal federalism anywhere, as no federal system is ‘true’ or ‘false’, despite the differences across many countries practicing federalism. The paper suggests that inclusive and competitive federalism rather than ‘true federalism’ should be the watchword in the discourse of federalism in Nigeria. Keywords: True federalism, Multiculturalism, Resource control, Colonialism, Nigeria

Neither Citizens nor Settlers: Contested Identity of Northern Cameroons in Nigeria

Citizenship is decisive in determining people’s belonging and claim of rights to tangible and intangible resources. Citizenship links the people to the agency of the state; it is not an end in itself. It provides the political, social, economic and environmental spaces for competition among different people in any political community. In Nigeria, these competitive spaces have rendered citizenship increasingly contested in contemporary times, defining some people as citizens and some others as settlers. The contested nature of citizenship in Nigeria is informed by indigeneity as occupying the centre stage of making claims to citizenship of Nigeria. The case of the Northern Cameroons people in Nigeria is undetermined, given the historical and political trajectories that led to their incorporation after the 1961 plebiscite. This fundamentally raises pertinent questions, whether they are citizens or settlers, which require understanding the dynamics surrounding the contest. Keywords: Citizenship, contested identity, indigeneity, Northern Cameroons, Nigeria

Political Economy of Resource Curse and Dialectics of Crude Oil Dependency in Nigeria

This paper explores the political economy of resource curse with the view of appreciating the development challenges caused by crude oil dependency in Nigeria. Relying on the systematic analysis of secondary data, it posits that Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, a major oil producer and one of the leading member of OPEC, since the discovery of crude oil, have been awash with petrodollar but without sustainable development and industrialization. The problem attributed to the challenges is the crude oil dependent and rentier economic structure of Nigeria, where crude oil surpluses were misappropriated by the successive governments. To unravel the dialectics of crude oil dependency from a resource curse perspective, the paper argues that crude oil discovery and the oil boom of the 1970s and 1990s rather than bringing about meaningful development, under ‘right-talk’ led to a series of agitations and violence in the Niger Delta region. To mitigate the challenges of resource curse arising from crude oil dependency in Nigeria, the paper pragmatically recommends the diversification of the economy, transparency and accountability in government, the establishment of sovereign welfare fund and the restructuring of federalism

COMPORTAMENTO ERRÁTICO DAS NAÇÕES UNIDAS E GOVERNANÇA GLOBAL NA ÁFRICA: O ESTADO COMO UMA CORTINA DE FUMAÇA PARA A SEGURANÇA MUNDIAL

This study questions the erratic behaviour of the UN and Africa’s global governance to understand how the State has become a smokescreen for global security. Using the African case of Cote d’Ivoire and Libya, the study argues that the UN’s role in global governance has been rather reactionary to the challenges posed by the political leadership in Africa without considering the aftermath. Using super-States to execute global governance on their behalf in the global south, the UN’s behaviour has erratically undermined the sovereignty of weaker states. It also continues the geopolitical struggles at the level of the United Nations Security Council between super-States – the United States, United Kingdom and France versus China and Russia –, producing all sorts of undesirable outcomes that shape the process and the execution of the current approach of UN interventions in conflict around the world. The study suggests that the UN and international powers should encourage the strengthening and utilization of internal institutional mechanisms guided by appropriate UN institutions away from military actions to solve problems faced by states and not to use the UN to achieve interests outside the national scope of the weaker states.Este estudo questiona o comportamento errático da governança global da ONU e da África para entender como o Estado se tornou uma cortina de fumaça para a segurança global. Usando os casos africanos da Costa do Marfim e da Líbia, o estudo argumenta que o papel da ONU na governança global foi bastante reacionário aos desafios colocados pela liderança política na África, sem considerar as consequências. Ao utilizar super-Estados para executar a governança global em seu nome no sul global, o comportamento da ONU minou erraticamente a soberania dos Estados mais fracos. Também corrobora para as lutas geopolíticas no nível do Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas entre super-Estados – Estados Unidos, Reino Unido e França versus China e Rússia –, produzindo todos os tipos de resultados indesejáveis que moldam o processo e a execução da abordagem atual intervenções da ONU em conflitos em todo o mundo. O estudo sugere que a ONU e os poderes internacionais devem incentivar o fortalecimento e a utilização de mecanismos institucionais internos, orientados por instituições apropriadas da ONU, longe das ações militares para resolver problemas enfrentados pelos Estados e não usar a ONU para alcançar interesses fora do escopo nacional dos estados mais fracos