Interrogating an Imposed Constitutionalism in Contemporary African Countries (Published)
The work interrogates an imposed constitutionalism in contemporary African societies. We traced the development of imposed constitutionalism to 1945 when Japan was defeated and American drafted a constitution for Japanese which were described as old fashion and the present imposed constitutionalism been drafted and adopted under the shadow of gun; it happened in Yugoslavia, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq. Since majority of African states constitution are imposed, the work set out to examine the impact of imposed constitutionalism on contemporary African states. We discovered that the attempt by one country to impose a constitution on another country is bound to be a difficult task, more so when the reform is coming from outside. Because impose constitutionalism will bring with it a new culture, the cultural conditions that may not fixed in to the country concern. The work then suggests that the advanced countries should give the African opportunity to try their hand on their own constitution, the constitution that will fit in to the culture of the country concern. And the African on the other hand should endeavor to chose the best out of the crops of learned men endowed the continent to produce a constitution that will not only fit in to the culture but that will take care of the common good of the citizen.
Keywords: African, Common Good, Constitution, Constitutionalism, Contemporary, Continent