THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF AFRICA’S POLITICS AND THE CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPMENT (Published)
The paper discusses conceptual and theoretical approaches to Africa politics such as the Modernization School; Marxian School; and the Statist School of thought vis-à-vis development and underdevelopment paradigm. The paper uncovers critical argument in various schools of thought, the variables that have caused relative development and severe-underdevelopment in Africa society at present and in the past respectively. Using Nigeria as a point of departure and melting-point, it will critically and objectively identify the problems and challenges of development in Africa and offer suggestions that will move Africa further along the path of development. The paper is aim to write-off the general belief that contemporary Africa countries are poor or underdeveloped due to neo-colonialism or imperialism that has been advance by Marxian scholars and Africa-nationalist in different underdeveloped literature. It has been a contending issue whether formal colonised Africa states can develop? Consequently, the paper concluded with statist school of thought attributing underdevelopment (poverty, unemployment, communal clashes, the rise of ethnic militia and militancy and so no) due to the problem of corruption and failure of governmental policies implementation in Africa created by Africa’s leaders. However, the paper is limited to issues of development and underdevelopment within colonised Africa states and in achieving the above objectives, the paper rely on secondary data. Moreover, Nigeria was adopted as a reference of analyses due to her population placement in the continent of Africa and one of the key players in international politics.
Keywords: Development, Marxian, Modernization, Statist And Corruption, Underdevelopment
Legislative-Executive Dichotomy In The Public Policy Process: A Perspective on Nigeria’s Fourth Republic (Published)
The Fourth Republic will perhaps go down in recorded history as the most durable and eventful in Nigeria’s political and constitutional development. In it, democracy has endured for about a decade and a half. This development has offered the needed impetus to rethink the task of nation building that started over fifty two years ago. In specific terms, thirteen years of unbroken civil rule is significant to the extent that it provides opportunity to reconstruct the political system along strong democratic principles anchored on a durable and inclusive constitutional framework. This paper offers a perspective on the public policy process in the light of legislative-executive dichotomy. Drawing extensively from literature on the subject matter, and against the backdrop of extant provisions of the 1999 constitution, the paper observes that, both actors in the governance project are lacking in sincere commitment to constitutional provisions and settled principles of the law. It concludes that without prejudice to the constitutional separation of powers and the attendant checks and balances, a permissible plank of cooperation and interdependence creates a stable policy environment to promote the common good of all. A number of recommendations are offered, some of which include; an urgent call to promote a regime of constitutionalism, the institutionalisation of legislative activism, and the need for government to pledge a renewed commitment to fight corruption that has become a systemic menace.
Keywords: Constitution, Democracy, Development, Governance, Public Policy