Money Politics and Good Governance in Nigeria

Going by the events of the fourth republic politics in Nigeria from 1999 till date, it has become apparent that the process of seeking elective positions by politicians and their collaborators(sponsors)has reduced the practice of politicking to mere business investment venture solely for the purpose of profit maximization as epitomized by the Ngige/Uba and Ladoja/Adedibu fiasco, besides several other cases of massive corruption and money laundering that permeates the corridors of power at all levels. These situations speak volume of the kind of leadership the nation has had this past fourteen years as manifested by the increasing state of poverty, inequality and poor living conditions of Nigerians who are yet to savour the benefits of democratization. This paper argued that since the quest for material accumulation and consolidation has remained the bane for seeking political power, various shades of persons with questionable moral bankruptcy will continue to flood our politic landscape unhindered in order to manipulate the instrumentality of state power to further their ill-conceived motives of looting the nation’s wealth rather than address the urgent societal problems of poverty, hunger, infrastructural decay, rising unemployment, insecurity, to mention but a few. The paper concludes by stating emphatically that there is urgent necessity to put in place a workable constitutional framework that is people oriented and empowers them with the ultimate sovereignty of choosing those to govern them, otherwise the ‘demon’ called money and its manipulative tendencies will continue to undermine the process of democratic governance in Nigeria

Transformation of the Agricultural Sector: A Strategic Tool For Africa’s Development

The year 2008 had its fair share of woes, what with natural disasters and the financial crisis that led to a near world-wide recession in the economy. In the midst of all these, a pressing issue came to light – the rising prices of food which reached a record high, sparking a food crisis that had been several years in the making. With both the developed and developing countries struggling to make ends meet in regards to food provision, the agricultural sector’s importance became apparent. The developed world sought to make partnerships with countries that have a strong agricultural sector, or the potential for it. The African continent came under the spotlight, for as much as she is developing, plenty of arable land is still available, and the potential to be the world’s food basket is today under serious scrutiny and consideration by all stakeholders. This paper takes a critical look at the agricultural sector in Africa; its past, the present scale of activities, and to find out what, if anything, went wrong in the pursuit to become a powerhouse in the field. In conclusion, the paper provides recommendations for the way forward on how agriculture can be harnessed as a powerful tool for development in Afric

Democratic Governance and Human Development Sustainability in Nigeria

This paper argued that the focus on human and social capital advancement which embodies development should form the basis upon which we appraise the success or otherwise of democratic governance in Nigeria since the return to civilian rule in 1999. This is borne out of the fact that the utility of democratic governance is measured by the values, concerns and priorities of the people as well as their active participation in the pursuit of development and economic transformation. As such, it is manifestly clear that over the past14 years since the return to democratic rule in Nigeria, the nation's 'leadership' has consistently failed to deliver on the instrumental value of meeting the social needs of the people for improved quality of life. This is evidently manifested by its poor human development indicators which include widespread poverty, unemployment, poor health conditions; uneven income distribution, inadequate literacy rates, and low life expectancy.Coupled with this is the realization that the policies of government are not pro poor policies that addresses the very foundational needs of the people in terms of access to qualitative education, healthcare, employment opportunities and security. Consequently, it is very disturbing that the governance process allows relative amount of political freedoms and little or no amount of economic freedoms. In fact, what we have as democracy is nothing more than the· "democratization of disempowerment" characterized by poverty, inequality, and lack of government accountability and transparency. Today, public interests, well-being and empowerment of the people are not the measure of all things that underlie governance to the extent that government agenda and policies are undemocratic an.d have largely been an exercise in alienation. The paper sums with the conclusion that for democratic governance to thrive and be consolidated IYf Nigeria, it is essential to first address the state of the material conditions of the people through aggregating their common interests and conscientiously strive for the attainment ofthese goals

Political Corruption and National Development in Nigeria

This paper argued that the emergence of democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa is rooted in socioeconomic grievances and demand for better standards of living expressed by the people against obnoxious regimes - colonialism, military or civilian. Besides, the form of economic system, internal misrule, the complicity of western governments, development donors and creditors (such as IMF and World Bank) have also influenced the process of democratization and governance in particular directions generating serious implications for the continent's overall development. Thus, since 1999, the expectation of the people of Nigeria that the return to civilian administration would create platform for them to savour the dividends of democracy have not being met. This is particularly so given the high jacking of the processes of political competition and elections by the elite and the middle class who exploit it for their selfish benefits rather than for economic redistribution of resources and improving the quality of life of the citizenry. This realism explains the fact that twelve years into civilian rule, massive corruption, absence of political openness, transparency, accountability, electoral rigging, god-fatherism etc holds sway in the polity, coupled with huge incidence of poverty, inequality, unemployment and poor social infrastructure. The paper interrogates the subject of political corruption and national development in Nigeria through the prism of clientelism, prebendal ism and patrimonial ism, in espousing the bane of continuing underdevelopment in the Nigerian society. The paper concludes on the premise that political corruption will be fought headlong when we create political stntctures where the economic and political rights of the people are justiceable; create an environment where the citizenry can define the kind and type of political change they really desire rather than the one that are foist on them

Revisiting Family Values: A Pathway towards Societal Stability

The family can be regarded as society's oldest and most important social institution. Family responsibilities may include providing guidance, support and a sense of belonging to its members. This was basically the case with the traditional family where children learnt the values of discipline, hardwork, respect for elders and constitpted authority, responsibility, integrity and credibility. Indeed, a good family guarantees a good society and a good society would guarantee a good and stable nation. With modemity and industrialisation the role of the family seemed to have waned considerably as majority of parents have had less time for their children and seemed to have delegated most of their responsibilities to nannies and househelps due to work commitment. The end result have been an increase in juvenile delinquency, high levels of criminality, drug abuse and addiction, high rate of promiscuity, disregard for elders and constituted authority, the get rich quick syndrome, disregard for hardwork, corruption and a lack of responsibility, integrity and credibility. This paper therefore examines the situation critically and proffers solutions on how best to revert the situation before the society derails completely

GLOBAL MODERNITY, SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL DISLOCATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT INEPTITUDE IN AFRICA: THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE

Global modernity or the process of industrialisation where social, economic and cultural relations increasingly take on a global scale has been very uneven between the West and African nations like Nigeria. For many in Africa, it has not brought tangible benefits. Rather, it has led to an increasing disillusionment due to dislocations caused by slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism which today have been made worse by the workings of the global free market economy for which the West are the profiteers and Africa the losers. The paper examines the interface between the national economy and the global economy; the unfavourable role and manipulations of the World Bank, IMF and the WTO in the exploitation and perpetual subjugation in Africa. It also examines the effects of trade liberalisation and the growing inequalities between the rich and the poor in Nigeria. With an overreliance on cntde oil, the price of which is determined by the global market, policies and programmes of government have only helped to worsen the debilitating effects of inflation, unemployment, insecurity, hunger, poverty and hopelessness in the country, especially in the face of current global economic melt-down. A number of solutions have been proffered which it is expected will help capture the interests and needs of the Nigerian people and bring them into the mainstream of true global modernity

Taming the Rape Scourge in Nigeria: Issues and Actions

All through the passage of time women have always been perceived as the weaker vessel, and so have been subjugated and oppressed by culture in most African societies. The culture is defined by inequality and the subjugation of the female folk. Gender-based violence, including rape, domestic violence and other sexual abuses, has assumed serious dimensions globally. In Nigeria, incidences of rape are fast assuming a threatening dimension that requires urgent intervention. Rape, like other forms of violence against women, is an infringement on women’s rights, privacy, self-preservation and dignity. Available data in the print and electronic media reveal that rape issue has become a serious social problem of epidemic proportion and no longer an isolated criminal act affecting just a few women in the society. In recent times the incidences of rape have increased at an alarming rate in Africa and also in Nigeria. There is little or no policy or law that helps protect the victims as they are blamed, stigmatized and humiliated by the public if it is brought to the public domain. This paper interrogates the dynamics, socio-psychological, institutional, socioeconomic and cultural factors accentuating cases of rape on both the victims and the perpetrators of this heinous criminal act. The paper concludes with recommendations on ways and means of tackling this social menace

Psychosocial Health of Adolescent living in Urban Slum Nigeria

The paper examines association of neighborhood characteristics with psychosocial statues of adolescent living in urban slums. Data for the study were obtained from a cross sectional survey among adolescent age 15-19, living in urban slums in Lagos State. Adopted a measuring scale for adverse environment and psychosocial attributes, data were analyzed using univariate and binary logistic regression analysis. Results revealed that neighborhood characteristics were associated with low self-academic performance rating. Both parental process and neighborhood factors such social disorganization was able to predict psychosocial wellbeing such subjective academic performance rating. The findings revealed among others that adverse neighborhood characteristics in urban slum were associated with unhealthy subjective wellbeing which reflects wide personal and social contexts and have implications for public health and social wellbeing. This paper calls for programmes that are tailor to addressing rapidly developing slum settlements in low income area, to secure the future generation

PREDICTING THE ADOPTION OF E-LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: A CASE OF SELECTED PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN NIGERIA

Despite the availability of studies on e-learning management system (eLMS) using information system models, its theoretical foundations have not yet captured social constructs that are peculiar to developing countries including Nigeria. This study was undertaken with the aim of investigating factors that could influence eLMS adoption in higher education. Drawing upon the Social Learning Theory (SLT), Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT), and two other variables which are Technology Culturation and Power (electricity), an empirical based model was developed to identify predictors of eLMS. The study used Smart Partial LeastSquare-Structured Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to examine the pattern of inter-correlation among the SLT and UTAUT constructs. The survey method of research was used by administering questionnaires to undergraduate students of 3 selected private universities in Ogun state, Nigeria with a sample size of 472. The results show that Attitude, Social Influence and Technology Culturation are strong determining factors of intention to adopt eLMS, while Performance Expectancy and Power do not significantly influence the Behavioural Intention to adopt eLMS. More so, Performance Expectancy and Behavioural Intention have positive influence on student grades. The results of this study will provide theoretical information on the intention to adopt eLMS and should be of interest to both researchers and education administrators in terms of planning and decision making