Democratic Transition in Africa: Proceedings of the Symposium on Democratic Transition in Africa. Ibadan, June 16-19, 1992

Proceedings of the Symposium on Democratic Transition in Africa. Ibadan, June 16-19, 1992.24 papers were read at the symposium on Democratic Transition in Africa, organized by CREDU (Centre de Recherches et de Documentation Universitaire / Centre for Research, Documentation and University Exchances) in Ibadan, Nigeria on September 16-19, 1992. They have been gathered under seven headings : 1) The international environment of democratic transition; 2) Democratic theory and retionale for transition; 3) The civil society context of democratic transition ; 4) The military context of democratic transition ; 5) Legal and institutional mechanisms for democratic transition; 6) The economic context of democratic transition ; 7) The future of democracy in Africa. Beyond the transition. Contributors include: Victor Adetula; C.O. Ajila; S.T. Akindele; Olabode O. Alokan; 'Kunle Amuwo; Wilfred Jingwa Awung; Sam Obadiah Ayele; Solomon Akhere Aziegbe; Kola Babarinde; Daniel Bach; I.L. Bashir; Gilbert Keith Bluweh; Mathew A. Dayomi; Peter P. Ekeh; Jibrin Ibrahim; 'Sina Kawonise; Abubakar Momoh; A. Niandou Souley; Ben Nwabueze; Kris Obodumu; Biodun Ogunyemi; Chike F. Okolocha; Wale Are Olaitan; Eghosa E. Osaghae; A. Olayiwola Owolabi; Rotimi T. Suberu; Samuel M. Woldu

Perspectives on local government’s place in federal systems and central–local relations

To expand on the themes identified by Tomas Hachard’s paper 'Capacity, voice and opportunity: advancing municipal engagement in Canadian federal relations', the Journal commissioned six personal ‘perspectives’ from a diverse group of other Commonwealth countries – Australia, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa and the United Kingdom. This replicated the model adopted in Issue 26 for Zack Taylor’s paper on 'Regionalism from above: intergovernmental relations in Canadian metropolitan governance'. Similarly, the purpose was to establish a broader picture of issues and trends across the Commonwealth, rather than ‘review’ Hachard’s work

A Re-Examination of the Conception of Ethnicity in Africa as an Ideology of Inter-Elite Competition

The African elite has the advantage in the competition for top government positions and other scarce socio-political and economic resources. The patron-client system which the elite controls, in most cases using the state apparati, provides the major basis for arguing that ethnicity is an ideology of inter-elite competition. While agreeing that the elite is fragmented enough to be masters of the ethnic strategy in a situation where the rest of the society is largely illiterate, this paper argues that the conception of ethnicity as an "ideology" of inter-elite competition is too limited and inadequate. First, ethnicity is not just an ideology; it is a reality of every multiethnic society, and this reality manifests both in cultural and non-cultural ways. Second, ethnicity, as an effective strategy and major manipulative tool in the competition for societal resources, is not an exclusive preserve of the elite. It is also available to the non-elite who are empirically adept at what I call an elite-challenging ethnicity

II. Historical and Sociological Background of Migrant Ethnicity in Kano

The city of Kano was one of the most advanced cities in pre-colonial northern Nigeria, being probably the largest urban centre in Sudanic West Africa in the 19th century (Paden, 1970:250). Accounts of its origins suggest that it was founded between A.D. 1000 and 1200 during which period, according to the Bayajidda legend, centralized political authority evolved (cf. Hodgkin, 1975). By the 15th century, Kano had developed into a major Islamic, trading and industrial centre. Islam was introduce..

Umtata. Résumé

Cette étude envisage le phénomène des jeunes de la rue dans les villes sud-africaines au travers du cas de Umtata, capitale de l’ex-homeland ‘indépendant’ du Transkei et centre d’une urbanisation intense dans une région à prédominance rurale. L’étude examine les facteurs socio-culturels et situationnels qui prédisposent au phénomène et exacerbent le problème des jeunes de la rue en Afrique du Sud en général et à Umtata en particulier. La nature exacte de ce problème complexe et ses relations ..

Federal solutions to state failure in Africa

As a legal-constitutional system of government of fairly rigid rules and practices, federalism in Africa might not have a positive image, but the overall relevance and utility of federalism for state-building on the continent has been grossly underestimated, for reasons related to narrow legal-constitutional standards. This paper shows that federal solutions offer the relevant framework and principles for rebuilding the state as a decolonial construct of collective ownership, shared rule and self-rule. The central argument is that the unravelling of the received state, whose failure is manifest in the contestations, conflicts and wars, and overall inability to function as a state, provides the opportunity for renegotiating and re-bargaining the state.CONTENTS: Foreword. -- Introduction. -- State failure. -- Federal solutions. -- Federal solutions to state failure. -- Conclusions. -- Acknowledgements. -- Bibliography.</p

Colonialism and African Political Thought

No abstrac

Colonialism and African Political Thought

No abstrac

IV. IGBO Migrant Ethnic Empire: The Eze IGBO

On 1 June, 1993, Barrister Ogbonna Tennyson Nnadi, lawyer and businessman, who has lived in Kano since the civil war ended in 1970, was chosen and proclaimed Eze (Sarkin) Igbo of Kano. He was the third Eze Igbo or ‘king’ of the Igbo. The first was G.C. Nwalosi, businessman, who was crowned in late 1987. He was succeeded on 21 October 1989, by David Obi Okonkwo, also a businessman, whose ‘reign’ was brutally terminated when he was murdered on 28 September, 1990. This chapter examines the emerg..

Urban violence in South Africa

FIRST WORDS This study has moderate objectives. It uses existing perspectives on violence in general, as a background for focusing on violence in the urban context. The major thesis is that towns and cities, as the hubs of political, economic and social processes, as well as social change, provide the locale for analysing the usually complex and interrelated forms of violence. The structural and spatial inequalities often found in towns, and the growth of slums and un-and underemployed sub-cu..