Ahmed Adeosun

– Nigeria returned to civil rule on 29 May, 1999 and Nigerians were hopeful that their lots would be improved but twenty-one years after, the country is faced with numerous challenges among which are insecurity, poverty, banditry, leadership failure, corruption, electoral malpractice, among others. All these have affected democratic consolidation in the country. This essay examines the challenges of consolidating democracy in the Nigerian Fourth Republic and suggests ways by which such challenges can be addressed. The paper adopts a historical and descriptive method. Put differently, it is a desk research and relies on secondary data such as books, journals, and internet materials and analyzed using content analysis. The paper argues that the country has not fared better in the last twenty-one years of democratic rule in the country as cases of corruption, insecurity, banditry, and many other social vices have been on the rise. For democracy to be consolidated, there is a need for a...

Think tanks all over the globe have been known to play a pivotal role in the foreign policy formulation of their respective countries. This paper is a comparative study of Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia and seeks to address the following questions: What is think tank? What role Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia play in foreign policy formulation in their respective countries? What are the constraints faced by these two think tanks in foreign policy formulation and how can these challenges be addressed? This is a desk research and it relies on secondary sources of data such as books, journals, newspapers and internet materials. The paper argues that both think tanks have provided expertise, informed opinion and advice to their respective countries and have also reflected the foreign policy corner stones of their respec...

1 College of Administration and Management Studies, Hussaini Adamu Federal Polytechnic, P.M.B. 5004, kazaure, Jigawa, State, Nigeria. *Corresponding author‟s E-mail: babsadeosun90@gmail.com 2 Ghazali Shafie Graduate School of Government, law & International Studies, School of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia. 3 School of International Studies, COLGIS, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah State

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous black nation and ethnically deeply divided state, is confronted with myriad of problems among which are the acrimonious existence among the different groups that make up the country, fear of domination of one group or section of the country by another and the distribution of “national cake” among the constituent units. These problems have resulted in mutual distrust and inter-community conflicts which have hampered efforts at national integration. Although successive governments after the civil war have tried to resolve these problems through policies such as state and local government creation, unity schools, revenue allocation, rotational power sharing and federal character principle, yet these problems persist. The paper argues that the federal character principle has proved inadequate for effective national integration because it discriminates against one group and favours another. The paper concludes that there is need for all and sundry to be co...

Resource Control and Political Restructuring in Nigeria: A View from the South-South Abstract: The oil belt region of Nigeria called the Niger Delta and also known as the South-South has been in the news for some time now. The region is not only the hub of oil in the country but also the epic center of the resource-related conflict. Since the beginning of 2016, there has been a resurgence in violence activities in the region and the new militant groups that have emerged are re-echoing the age-long demands of the people of the region resource control and self-determination. This qualitative study examines the rationale behind the agitation for resource control and political restructuring of Nigeria. The study attempts to proffer solutions as to how the problems identified can be addressed. The study employed both primary and secondary sources of data. Primary data were collected by the researcher through semi-structured face-to-face interview of 12 Niger Deltans in four states of the...

The geographical entity called Nigeria came into existence on January 1, 1914, when the then Northern and Southern protectorates were merged. Since then, successive governments in the country have been trying to unite the diverse elements that make up the country, all to no avail. From the North and South, there have been called for the dismemberment of the country due to the failure of successive administrations to address the national questions.  It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the issues confronting Nigeria’s unity and suggests a way forward. The paper is anchored on elite and frustration-aggression theories and relies on secondary sources of data. The paper contended that injustice, high-handedness, and marginalization of certain sections or regions of the country in the governance of the country accounted for resource control and secessionist movements in the country. The paper suggests justice and inclusiveness of all sections of the country in the affairs...