Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2021.1886049
K. I. Uwaegbute
ABSTRACT This article explores masquerade celebrations among the youth in the Nsukka area. Over a two-year period, youth masquerade celebrations were studied in the towns of Nsukka, Obollo and Umundu, and it was concluded that there were no reservations around participation, despite Christianity maintaining that these are pagan and fetish practices. Many reasons emerged for participation: attachment to Igbo culture, the quest to belong to the community/the question of identity, the communitarian aspect of masquerade celebrations, the challenges of inculturation, cultural revivalism, and the commercialisation of masquerades. Contrary to early (Western) missionaries’ prediction that Christianity would erode the Igbo people’s ‘fetish’, masquerades are thriving in Nsukka, perpetuated by the Christian youth in a bid to keep their cultural practices alive. This indicates that Christianity, despite its longstanding presence, has not succeeded in curtailing this growing phenomenon.
{"title":"Christianity and Masquerade Practices Among the Youth in Nsukka, Nigeria","authors":"K. I. Uwaegbute","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2021.1886049","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2021.1886049","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article explores masquerade celebrations among the youth in the Nsukka area. Over a two-year period, youth masquerade celebrations were studied in the towns of Nsukka, Obollo and Umundu, and it was concluded that there were no reservations around participation, despite Christianity maintaining that these are pagan and fetish practices. Many reasons emerged for participation: attachment to Igbo culture, the quest to belong to the community/the question of identity, the communitarian aspect of masquerade celebrations, the challenges of inculturation, cultural revivalism, and the commercialisation of masquerades. Contrary to early (Western) missionaries’ prediction that Christianity would erode the Igbo people’s ‘fetish’, masquerades are thriving in Nsukka, perpetuated by the Christian youth in a bid to keep their cultural practices alive. This indicates that Christianity, despite its longstanding presence, has not succeeded in curtailing this growing phenomenon.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2021.1886049","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48774139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2021.1886580
Zvinashe Mamvura
ABSTRACT This article interrogates death-prevention names among the Karanga people in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, from an ethnopragmatic perspective. In Karanga society, there is a strong belief that death-prevention names can counter the powers of supernatural forces that are responsible for the death of children. The use of such names is anchored in the Karanga belief that death is caused by external forces and can thus be prevented. The article argues that the bestowal of death-prevention names in the Karanga onomastic tradition is an emotional reaction to infant mortality and a device to facilitate recovery from fear, as the names are believed to prevent the death of the name-bearers. The article evinces that death triggers feelings of despair, helplessness and hopelessness driving name-givers to make entreaties to spiritual forces to spare the lives of the named children. It can also generate extreme frustration that can drive name-givers to express feelings of defiance and, in the case of death allegedly caused by witchcraft, threaten revenge through the names. The article uses data from four predominantly Karanga districts in Masvingo. The article concludes with the argument that death-prevention names are not arbitrary labels but are terse expressions of larger sociocultural meanings.
{"title":"An Ethnopragmatic Analysis of Death-Prevention Names in the Karanga Society of Zimbabwe","authors":"Zvinashe Mamvura","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2021.1886580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2021.1886580","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article interrogates death-prevention names among the Karanga people in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, from an ethnopragmatic perspective. In Karanga society, there is a strong belief that death-prevention names can counter the powers of supernatural forces that are responsible for the death of children. The use of such names is anchored in the Karanga belief that death is caused by external forces and can thus be prevented. The article argues that the bestowal of death-prevention names in the Karanga onomastic tradition is an emotional reaction to infant mortality and a device to facilitate recovery from fear, as the names are believed to prevent the death of the name-bearers. The article evinces that death triggers feelings of despair, helplessness and hopelessness driving name-givers to make entreaties to spiritual forces to spare the lives of the named children. It can also generate extreme frustration that can drive name-givers to express feelings of defiance and, in the case of death allegedly caused by witchcraft, threaten revenge through the names. The article uses data from four predominantly Karanga districts in Masvingo. The article concludes with the argument that death-prevention names are not arbitrary labels but are terse expressions of larger sociocultural meanings.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2021.1886580","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42527104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2021.1904833
Aschalew Abeje
ABSTRACT This article analyses the causes and effects of rural-urban migration in the Amhara Region, one of the nine national regional states of Ethiopia. Data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and questionnaires in the main destination towns and rural areas from which migrants predominantly originate. Rural-urban migration in Amhara is a multi-causal process. The study reveals food shortages resulting from landlessness and drought as the principal factor for rural-urban migration. Debt, information flow and exigent cultural conventions are also important factors. The income from migration enables rural households to supplement poor harvests, service debts and diversify their livelihood. Migration, however, contributes to the spread of disease, as well as socio-culturally undesirable habits producing dysfunctional families and other societal ills. Considering migration is a livelihood option for the rural poor, policy objectives should be to support returning migrants rather than manage its adversities.
{"title":"Causes and Effects of Rural-Urban Migration in Ethiopia: A Case Study from Amhara Region","authors":"Aschalew Abeje","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2021.1904833","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2021.1904833","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article analyses the causes and effects of rural-urban migration in the Amhara Region, one of the nine national regional states of Ethiopia. Data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions (FGDs) and questionnaires in the main destination towns and rural areas from which migrants predominantly originate. Rural-urban migration in Amhara is a multi-causal process. The study reveals food shortages resulting from landlessness and drought as the principal factor for rural-urban migration. Debt, information flow and exigent cultural conventions are also important factors. The income from migration enables rural households to supplement poor harvests, service debts and diversify their livelihood. Migration, however, contributes to the spread of disease, as well as socio-culturally undesirable habits producing dysfunctional families and other societal ills. Considering migration is a livelihood option for the rural poor, policy objectives should be to support returning migrants rather than manage its adversities.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2021.1904833","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46652325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2021.1892476
S. O. Ombere
ABSTRACT Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a major global health concern. Although it is prevalent in Kenya, there is scant literature on what factors contribute to CSA vulnerability on Kenya’s islands. This paper is based on a cross-sectional study of men’s perspectives on factors contributing to CSA vulnerability on Kenya’s islands. This qualitative study, therefore, focused on opinion leaders, children’s officers, male community members, and boat owners from selected islands (Mageta, Magare, Oyamo and Ndeda) in western Kenya. Several factors emerged as contributing to CSA vulnerability on the islands: social stigmatisation and cultural sensitivity of CSA, proximity to social services, unrestricted migration, perceptions of legal costs, lack of committed witnesses, and commodification of sex for economic survival. This article recommends a local, targeted campaign for these fishing communities that promotes common goals, such as a safe and healthy environment for children, and working together to achieve these goals. Such a campaign has the potential to bring together a community to fight CSA and to increase its bargaining power to reduce CSA vulnerability. When a community does not agree on shared principles and expectations, deviant behaviour such as CSA has room to flourish, because community members cannot effectively organise themselves against it. It is hoped that the findings in this article might contribute some key insights on vulnerability experienced in remote areas that might be used by policymakers.
{"title":"Men’s Emic Perspectives on Factors Contributing to Child Sexual Abuse Vulnerability on the Islands of Western Kenya","authors":"S. O. Ombere","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2021.1892476","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2021.1892476","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a major global health concern. Although it is prevalent in Kenya, there is scant literature on what factors contribute to CSA vulnerability on Kenya’s islands. This paper is based on a cross-sectional study of men’s perspectives on factors contributing to CSA vulnerability on Kenya’s islands. This qualitative study, therefore, focused on opinion leaders, children’s officers, male community members, and boat owners from selected islands (Mageta, Magare, Oyamo and Ndeda) in western Kenya. Several factors emerged as contributing to CSA vulnerability on the islands: social stigmatisation and cultural sensitivity of CSA, proximity to social services, unrestricted migration, perceptions of legal costs, lack of committed witnesses, and commodification of sex for economic survival. This article recommends a local, targeted campaign for these fishing communities that promotes common goals, such as a safe and healthy environment for children, and working together to achieve these goals. Such a campaign has the potential to bring together a community to fight CSA and to increase its bargaining power to reduce CSA vulnerability. When a community does not agree on shared principles and expectations, deviant behaviour such as CSA has room to flourish, because community members cannot effectively organise themselves against it. It is hoped that the findings in this article might contribute some key insights on vulnerability experienced in remote areas that might be used by policymakers.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2021.1892476","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44579530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2021.1905504
Anusa Daimon
ABSTRACT For some labourers who joined the colonial labour migration system, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was not or did not become their final destination. Instead, they regarded the colony as a transit zone through which they clandestinely moved towards the more lucrative South African mines and farms. Not all succeeded in this quest. Those who did deployed numerous tactics ranging from engaging in contractual work within Southern Rhodesia to finance their southward mobility, work desertions, use of social networks, bribes, theft, forgery, and manipulation of the Rhodesian labour recruitment infrastructure. In essence, they ‘settled in motion’, as they systematically migrated either gradually or swiftly from Southern Rhodesia’s northern and eastern entry points towards the shores of the Limpopo River and the Bechuanaland (Botswana) border before eventually crossing into South Africa. The colonial archive includes trails of this internal and informal mobility of trans-Zambezian ‘alien natives’, mainly Nyasas (Malawians), between the 1910s and 1950s. The article, based mainly on this archival residue, casts light on the process of ‘settling in motion’ as a form of African worker consciousness through which industrious Nyasa labour migrants navigated the treacherous and restrictive colonial labour regimes in pursuit of better working conditions and prospects. It argues that in as much as Southern Rhodesia tried to monopolise northern labour for itself, this transient labour consciously viewed and exploited Rhodesia as a staging post for spatial mobility towards the promised land of South Africa. The article aims to contribute to the problematisation and condensation of the internal dynamics involved in this informal transit, and its contextualisation as part of the broader regional labour consciousness and how Nyasas meticulously executed it, as well as its potential contemporary parallels in southern Africa.
{"title":"Settling in Motion as Consciousness: Nyasa (Malawian) Informal Transit Across Southern Rhodesia towards South Africa from the 1910s to the 1950s","authors":"Anusa Daimon","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2021.1905504","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2021.1905504","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT For some labourers who joined the colonial labour migration system, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) was not or did not become their final destination. Instead, they regarded the colony as a transit zone through which they clandestinely moved towards the more lucrative South African mines and farms. Not all succeeded in this quest. Those who did deployed numerous tactics ranging from engaging in contractual work within Southern Rhodesia to finance their southward mobility, work desertions, use of social networks, bribes, theft, forgery, and manipulation of the Rhodesian labour recruitment infrastructure. In essence, they ‘settled in motion’, as they systematically migrated either gradually or swiftly from Southern Rhodesia’s northern and eastern entry points towards the shores of the Limpopo River and the Bechuanaland (Botswana) border before eventually crossing into South Africa. The colonial archive includes trails of this internal and informal mobility of trans-Zambezian ‘alien natives’, mainly Nyasas (Malawians), between the 1910s and 1950s. The article, based mainly on this archival residue, casts light on the process of ‘settling in motion’ as a form of African worker consciousness through which industrious Nyasa labour migrants navigated the treacherous and restrictive colonial labour regimes in pursuit of better working conditions and prospects. It argues that in as much as Southern Rhodesia tried to monopolise northern labour for itself, this transient labour consciously viewed and exploited Rhodesia as a staging post for spatial mobility towards the promised land of South Africa. The article aims to contribute to the problematisation and condensation of the internal dynamics involved in this informal transit, and its contextualisation as part of the broader regional labour consciousness and how Nyasas meticulously executed it, as well as its potential contemporary parallels in southern Africa.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2021.1905504","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44883069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2020.1859356
Godlove Lawrent
ABSTRACT In most cases, teachers are the main implementers of educational reforms. These reforms, however, cannot be effectively accomplished unless schools create best-fit environments that enable teachers to better achieve educational improvements in their teaching. The influence of school contexts on perceived teacher professionalism in Tanzania has seldom been investigated. A qualitative approach was applied to explore the implications of school infrastructure on teacher identity. Interviews and documentary reviews were utilised to collect data from teachers and school principals. A critical shortage of teachers’ spaces and housing in newly built schools was observed. While the former forced schools to turn classrooms into shared offices, the latter prompted teachers to rent poor quality houses or rooms off-school premises. The poor state of classrooms was also revealed. These three issues had the effect of reducing the respect of communities for teachers, and lowering the confidence of teachers in their ability to teaching. My research adds to a small, but growing body of knowledge that enhances better understanding about the significance of school infrastructure on developing teacher identity to influence effective student learning.
{"title":"School infrastructure as a predictor of teacher identity construction in Tanzania: The lesson from secondary education enactment policy","authors":"Godlove Lawrent","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2020.1859356","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2020.1859356","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In most cases, teachers are the main implementers of educational reforms. These reforms, however, cannot be effectively accomplished unless schools create best-fit environments that enable teachers to better achieve educational improvements in their teaching. The influence of school contexts on perceived teacher professionalism in Tanzania has seldom been investigated. A qualitative approach was applied to explore the implications of school infrastructure on teacher identity. Interviews and documentary reviews were utilised to collect data from teachers and school principals. A critical shortage of teachers’ spaces and housing in newly built schools was observed. While the former forced schools to turn classrooms into shared offices, the latter prompted teachers to rent poor quality houses or rooms off-school premises. The poor state of classrooms was also revealed. These three issues had the effect of reducing the respect of communities for teachers, and lowering the confidence of teachers in their ability to teaching. My research adds to a small, but growing body of knowledge that enhances better understanding about the significance of school infrastructure on developing teacher identity to influence effective student learning.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2020.1859356","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47864612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2020.1865789
J. Ogundairo, Feyisitan Ijimakinwa
ABSTRACT The pastoral Fulani in Nigeria’s South-West geo-political zone are mostly migrants from the northern part of the country, with some hailing from neighbouring Chad and Niger. This article examines the concept of social exclusion with regards to access to the dividends of democracy in Ibarapa, Oyo State, Nigeria. Interviews were conducted with 22 selected participants, including six Fulani men, six Fulani women, four opinion leaders from Fulani communities, and four from host communities, as well as two government officials. Data was analysed using content and thematic analysis. Findings revealed that the scarce dividends of democracy are distributed to the exclusion of the Fulani due to their status as settlers. The Fulani feel cheated of their rights, even though they vote responsibly during elections. The host communities feel the Fulani are not entitled to the dividends of democracy because they are settlers and thus should return to their homeland. This has promoted division between the settlers and indigenes despite them living side by side. There is a need for the appropriate authorities to ensure the equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy in the study area, so as to engender equity and social justice, and to promote the feeling of belonging and togetherness between settlers and indigenes.
{"title":"Pastoralism and politics of exclusion in Ibarapa, Oyo State, Nigeria","authors":"J. Ogundairo, Feyisitan Ijimakinwa","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2020.1865789","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2020.1865789","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The pastoral Fulani in Nigeria’s South-West geo-political zone are mostly migrants from the northern part of the country, with some hailing from neighbouring Chad and Niger. This article examines the concept of social exclusion with regards to access to the dividends of democracy in Ibarapa, Oyo State, Nigeria. Interviews were conducted with 22 selected participants, including six Fulani men, six Fulani women, four opinion leaders from Fulani communities, and four from host communities, as well as two government officials. Data was analysed using content and thematic analysis. Findings revealed that the scarce dividends of democracy are distributed to the exclusion of the Fulani due to their status as settlers. The Fulani feel cheated of their rights, even though they vote responsibly during elections. The host communities feel the Fulani are not entitled to the dividends of democracy because they are settlers and thus should return to their homeland. This has promoted division between the settlers and indigenes despite them living side by side. There is a need for the appropriate authorities to ensure the equitable distribution of the dividends of democracy in the study area, so as to engender equity and social justice, and to promote the feeling of belonging and togetherness between settlers and indigenes.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2020.1865789","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42076837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2020.1836913
G. Chelwa
Thandika Mkandawire, the towering Malawian economist and public intellectual, went to be with the ancestors on 27 March 2020. Professor Mkandawire liked to be called by his first name, Thandika, ev...
{"title":"Thandika Mkandawire: A ‘young’ African economist’s appreciation","authors":"G. Chelwa","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2020.1836913","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2020.1836913","url":null,"abstract":"Thandika Mkandawire, the towering Malawian economist and public intellectual, went to be with the ancestors on 27 March 2020. Professor Mkandawire liked to be called by his first name, Thandika, ev...","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2020.1836913","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48677205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2020.1865790
Edwin Etieyibo
ABSTRACT There is a common view that democracy is the best form of government. Today, most societies have accepted this view as a truism. In Africa, and consistent with this view, there has been numerous moves towards democratising not just society as whole but also various institutions. Although this push is commendable, the form of democracy that is instantiated in many African nations or societies does not seem to reflect the ‘genuine’ form of democracy. Through conceptual analysis, I explore what may be referred to as the ‘two democracies’ or two forms of democracy, as part of my general discussion of democracy and its problems. One form of democracy is exhausted or captured by the formal elements and the other form by both the ‘formal’ and ‘virtuous’ elements, where the latter may be said to be the genuine form of democracy and the former a ‘pseudo or false’ form. I claim that democracy, as an ideal, contains or embeds elements, which can be understood in terms of the formal and virtuous elements – both of which constitute the necessary and sufficient conditions for democracy. As part of this discussion, I highlight how the failure by African nations to instantiate the ‘genuine’ form of democracy prevents the actualisation of the dividends of democracy. I claim that the problem in many African societies in respect of the practice of democracy seems to be that only the formal elements are emphasised. Ultimately, the conclusion that I gesture towards is that the seeming neglect of virtuous elements may be robbing African states not only of the instrumental benefits of democracy but also the intrinsic benefits of democracy.
{"title":"The ‘two democracies’ and Africa’s burden","authors":"Edwin Etieyibo","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2020.1865790","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2020.1865790","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT There is a common view that democracy is the best form of government. Today, most societies have accepted this view as a truism. In Africa, and consistent with this view, there has been numerous moves towards democratising not just society as whole but also various institutions. Although this push is commendable, the form of democracy that is instantiated in many African nations or societies does not seem to reflect the ‘genuine’ form of democracy. Through conceptual analysis, I explore what may be referred to as the ‘two democracies’ or two forms of democracy, as part of my general discussion of democracy and its problems. One form of democracy is exhausted or captured by the formal elements and the other form by both the ‘formal’ and ‘virtuous’ elements, where the latter may be said to be the genuine form of democracy and the former a ‘pseudo or false’ form. I claim that democracy, as an ideal, contains or embeds elements, which can be understood in terms of the formal and virtuous elements – both of which constitute the necessary and sufficient conditions for democracy. As part of this discussion, I highlight how the failure by African nations to instantiate the ‘genuine’ form of democracy prevents the actualisation of the dividends of democracy. I claim that the problem in many African societies in respect of the practice of democracy seems to be that only the formal elements are emphasised. Ultimately, the conclusion that I gesture towards is that the seeming neglect of virtuous elements may be robbing African states not only of the instrumental benefits of democracy but also the intrinsic benefits of democracy.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2020.1865790","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45290704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-10-01DOI: 10.1080/00020184.2020.1851591
G. Oboh
ABSTRACT The article identifies ways of solving the problem of ethnic bigotry and minority rights in African politics with a focus on democracy in Nigeria. It uses the pluralistic model to demonstrate the need for an inclusive government in Nigeria, cutting across tribes and religion. Desktop reviews of past and present Nigerian leaders were conducted, and content analysis was used as a research method. A correlation was found between the chances of a politician becoming the president of Nigeria and his or her state of origin. Since democracy is a game of numbers, it might be difficult for persons from the minority ethnic groups to become a Nigerian president. So, the article recommends, among other things, that Nigeria adopts a rotational presidency with a non-renewable five-year mandate. The model will enable both the members of the major and the minority ethnic nationalities to serve in key positions in the Nigerian government, as well as parliaments in the subsequent administrations.
{"title":"Ethnocentrism in African politics: The Nigerian experience","authors":"G. Oboh","doi":"10.1080/00020184.2020.1851591","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00020184.2020.1851591","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The article identifies ways of solving the problem of ethnic bigotry and minority rights in African politics with a focus on democracy in Nigeria. It uses the pluralistic model to demonstrate the need for an inclusive government in Nigeria, cutting across tribes and religion. Desktop reviews of past and present Nigerian leaders were conducted, and content analysis was used as a research method. A correlation was found between the chances of a politician becoming the president of Nigeria and his or her state of origin. Since democracy is a game of numbers, it might be difficult for persons from the minority ethnic groups to become a Nigerian president. So, the article recommends, among other things, that Nigeria adopts a rotational presidency with a non-renewable five-year mandate. The model will enable both the members of the major and the minority ethnic nationalities to serve in key positions in the Nigerian government, as well as parliaments in the subsequent administrations.","PeriodicalId":51769,"journal":{"name":"African Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00020184.2020.1851591","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44951952","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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