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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Our discussion today would focus on the new politics of constitutionalism and democratization in Africa and Nigeria. While my focus would be on Nigeria, I would draw lessons from other African states. Critical aspects of our discussion would focus on the nature, character and politics of the Nigerian ruling class though one could legitimately ask: Is the so-called ruling class actually ruling? Or is it just governing? We would focus also on the nature and composition and character of the Nigerian state.
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Paper presented at the conference on “The State in Africa: Beyond False Starts” Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, April 11-14, 2002. We are united in our conviction that the crisis currently engulfing Africa, is not only an economic crisis but also a human, legal, political and social crisis… At the same time, the political
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Constitutionalism in Africa: The Issues, Challenges and Opportunities. Text of keynote lecture delivered at the conference on “Constitutionalism and State Reconstruction in West Africa” organized by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) The ECOWAS Secretariat, Abuja ,Nigeria September 13, 2000. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author.
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Beyond Constitution Making Experiences in Africa: Challenges and Prospects. Text of keynote lecture delivered at the conference on constitutionalism in Southern Africa organized by the Southern Africa Research Institute for Policy Studies (SARIPS), Sheraton Hotel, Harare, Zimbabwe, July 24-27, 2000. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author. It is indeed an
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Background paper presented at a conference on “Federalism and the State” by the Program on Ethnic and Federal Studies, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, November 25-27, 2002. 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
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