Democratic Governance and Political Participation in Nigeria 1999-2014 seeks to critically analyse Nigeria's democratic experience since 1999 when the current Republic was instituted. Given the chequered democratic antecedents of the country, the book examines the factors responsible for the resilience of the present democratic dispensation, in spite of forces inhibiting democratic consolidation. It also examines these inhibiting forces and makes recommendations for overcoming them. Finally, the book seeks to stimulate intellectual discourse on Nigeria's democracy and arouse greater research interests in the subject.
Across the ages, technological developments have been accelerated by the military. This results from the fact that able-bodied vibrant youths are generally involved and are also exposed to high-tech training prevailing at their times for assignments (defence and security) that are essential but not desired. They form the Armed Forces for the nations. Such brilliant military officers like Caesar and Napoleon made their marks; and, in contemporary times, the Armed Forces of United States, France, Britain, Australia, etc are making remarkable contributions to technological developments. Such infrastructure as the Internet, the GPS and the cell phones are products that have significant military contributions. This book scans across the major regions of the world, highlights the efforts of representative countries in the regions and observes that nations that have harnessed the efforts of their Armed Forces have progressively developed. It is also observed that developments in America and Europe, though not entirely dependent on their Armed Forces, have been greatly affected by their efforts. In Asia, such countries as the People's Republic of China, Brazil, India, Pakistan and Singapore utilise the human and material resources within the Armed Forces for national growth and cohesion. Development effort is least in the African Region, except South Africa and Egypt; notwithstanding the high potentials as exhibited by Nigeria's Armed Forces. Although attempts to industrialise through the Armed Forces may be able to create economic development for developing nations, such factors as historical background, economic resources, political climate, government policies and infrastructure are equally important. Economic development programme of an aspiring country should: i. promote education and access to knowledge ii. aspire to economic self-sufficiency in economic power iii. allow and promote private sector and foreign participation in defence production, research and development iv. commit itself to the establishment and support of defence industries v. indigenise defence programmes, establish a balance between military and economic development and vi. mobilise the nation's economy through technology partnership with the private sector and foreign investors.
This book presents a snapshot of a major challenge, and shares subjective views on various areas of conflict in Africa and the diverse – theoretical and practical – efforts to achieve peace. Following an essential review of several real-world conflict contexts on the African continent and attempts to come to terms with them critically as a first step, the book explores the lessons learned to date with regard to peace studies in Africa.
Bringing together African and international scholars, this book gives an account of the present state of the discipline of political science in Africa - generating insights into its present and future trajectories, and assessing the freedom with which it is practiced. Tackling subjects including the decolonization of the discipline, political scientists as public intellectuals, and the teaching of political science, this diverse range of perspectives paints a detailed picture of the impact and relevance of the political science discipline on the continent during the struggles for democratization, and the influence it continues to exert today.
Outreach and engagement initiatives are crucial in promoting community development and social change. This can be achieved through a number of methods including public policy and urban development. The Handbook of Research on Civic Engagement and Social Change in Contemporary Society is a critical scholarly resource that examines the unexplored field of applying social change to civic engagement in an effort to enlarge public welfare activities. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as civic education, sustainable development, and child labor, this publication is geared towards academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on civic engagement and public welfare.
Continuous improvements in business environments and available resources have allowed more opportunities for people to pursue new ventures. This not only leads to higher success in new businesses, but it enhances the overall state of the global market. Entrepreneurship: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications provides a comprehensive examination on the latest innovations and techniques to becoming a successful and sustainable entrepreneur. Including research-based studies on knowledge production, social entrepreneurship, and distribution, this multi-volume publication is an ideal source for practitioners, academicians, researchers and upper-level students interested in learning about entrepreneurship and seeking emerging perspectives on optimizing and enhancing entrepreneurial pursuits.
This book provides an important survey of the causes and current state of corruption across a range of nations and regions. Delving into the diverse ways in which corruption is being combatted, the book explores and describes efforts to inculcate principles of ethical conduct in citizens, private sector actors and public sector personnel and institutions. Corruption is a global condition that effects every type of government, at every level, and has bewitched scholars of governance from ancient times to the present day. The book brings together chapters on a range of state and regional corruption experiences, framing them in terms of efforts to enhance ethical conduct and achieve integrity in government practices and operations. In addition, the book addresses and analyses the theoretical and practical bases of ethics that form the background and historical precepts of efforts to create integrity in government practices, and finally assesses recent international efforts to address corruption on an international scale. This book will be perfect for researchers and upper level students of public administration, comparative government, international development, criminal justice, and corruption.
This volume examines how African indigenous popular music is deployed in democracy, politics and for social crusades by African artists. Exploring the role of indigenous African popular music in environmental health communication and gender empowerment, it subsequently focuses on how the music portrays the African future, its use by African youths, and how it is affected by advanced broadcast technologies and the digital media. Indigenous African popular music has long been under-appreciated in communication scholarship. However, understanding the nature and philosophies of indigenous African popular music reveals an untapped diversity which can only be unraveled by the knowledge of myriad cultural backgrounds from which its genres originate. With a particular focus on scholarship from Nigeria, Zimbabwe and South Africa, this volume explores how, during the colonial period and post-independence dispensation, indigenous African music genres and their artists were mainstreamed in order to tackle emerging issues, to sensitise Africans about the affairs of their respective nations and to warn African leaders who have failed and are failing African citizenry about the plight of the people. At the same time, indigenous African popular music genres have served as a beacon to the teeming African youths to express their dreams, frustrations about their environments and to represent themselves. This volume explores how, through the advent of new media technologies, indigenous African popular musicians have been working relentlessly for indigenous production, becoming champions of good governance, marginalised population, and repositories of indigenous cultural traditions and cosmologies.
