Constitutionalism and the National Question in Nigeria Julius O. Ihonvbere The number one political contradiction or challenge in Africa today is how to deal with the national question. The continent’s history and the contradictions and engagements of the post-colonial era have precipitated deep political fault lines and congealed interests on both side of the political […]
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The Nigerian State as Obstacle to Federalism: Towards a New Constitutional Compact for Democratic Politics “Under a true federal constitution, each group, however small, is entitled to the same treatment as any other group, however large. Opportunity must be afforded to each to evolve its own peculiar political institution. The present structure reinforces indigenous colonialism-
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Imperialism and the Encapsulation of the Democratization Process in Africa It is rather interesting to note the way in which debates on the current democratization projects in Africa have been domesticated, encapsulated, and redirected by Western scholarship, media, and institutions. It is no wonder that the initial enthusiasm which accompanied the so-called “opening up” processes
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Political Violence in a fledgling democracy Professor Julius O. Ihonvbere Text of public lecture delivered under the auspices of THE BREEZE MAGAZINE, Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos March 14, 2003 Mr. Chairman, it is not my intention to speak for too long today. I would prefer to be brief and to leave enough time for discussions
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Legislative Duties and Responsibilities in a Democracy Professor Julius O. Ihonvbere, OON Text of Lecture Delivered at the Workshop for Local Government Councilors in Edo State, Benin City, Nigeria, June 19, 2008. Protocol Allow me to begin this discussion by congratulating you all on your election as councilors and chairmen in your respective local governments.
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It is difficult to ascertain when legislatures came into being. I suppose that the difficulty lies in defining what is meant by legislature. In ancient Greece, the people of Athens gathered at the Acropolis, discussed matters affecting Athens and voted on them. Was such behavior legislative? In Igbo land, the entire male citizens above age
Governance, Economics, and Interdependence: Constraints and Possibilities in Sub-Saharan Africa Paper presented at the Summer Institute on “Governance, Equity, and the Global Poor: A Curriculum Development Institute,” Sponsored by Spelman College and Interfaith Hunger Appeal, Spelman College, Atlanta, Georgia, June 9-12, 1994. The breathtaking pace of political change in Africa has surpassed any predictions or
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Paper presented at the conference on “Consolidating Democracy in Nigeria: Promoting Stable Civil-Military Relations” organized by the Yakubu Gowon Center, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria July 4-7, 2000. … while the military may appear for the moment to be in political decline, the problem of the military has not gone away. On the contrary, it is
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Between Policy and Politics: Strategies for Moving Nigeria Forward. Text of Convocation Lecture Delivered at the 13th and 14th Convocation Ceremony of The Federal University of Technology, Akure, October 30, 2002. *Professor Ihonvbere is also Project Director, Constitutionalism in Post-Conflict Societies” Project with the International League for Human Rights in New York; Visiting Professor of
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Text of Inaugural Lecture of the “International Studies Lecture Series” Delivered at Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, November 8, 2001. The views expressed in this paper must not in any way be attributed to anyone else but the author. Globalization is today a very much-abused word. Developments such as the infamous El Nino, the
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