Africa is a continent ridden by crises, and thus, confronted with enormous security challenges in... more Africa is a continent ridden by crises, and thus, confronted with enormous security challenges in the post-cold war 21st century. Regrettably, the end of cold war did not result in conflict reduction in Africa as predicted or expected, rather it exacerbated suggesting that the problem is more internal than external requiring Africa to look more inward to resolve some of these practices that cause crisis such as ethnocentrism, religious bigotry, political corruption, crisis of regime change or political succession, among others. It was under this state of affairs that African Union (AU) in collaboration with other external actors like European Union (EU) and in synergy with sub-regional security organisations in Africa effectively established the new African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in 2004. APSA represents a paradigm shift from the principle of non-interference of the Organization of African Union (OAU) to that of non-indifference in internal affairs of member states of AU akin to the United Nations' responsibility to protect (R2P). The mandate of APSA includes conflict prevention, management, resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. To achieve its mandate, APSA has tried to harmonise and synergise Africa's regional security arrangements with sub-regional security architectures. But the rising conflicts in Africa have shown that APSA has not been able to achieve its mandate more than a decade of its establishment. This portends ominous implications for African integration and development. In emphasising the need for " African solutions for African problems " , the paper recommends post-neo-functionalism as a panacea. The study is essentially descriptive and qualitative.
International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between ... more International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between individuals and groups within and outside countries. It is also inequality between regions of the world or globe vis a vis economic, social and political inequalities. International inequality is cross-country that cuts across countries of the world at individual, group, state and regional levels. The modern world is thus defined by extreme inequality. In all indices, economically, socially, and politically, there is widening international inequality between developed and underdeveloped countries of which Africa belongs to the latter. Whilst international politics is characterized by extreme inequalities, international inequality has been deeply politicized. Thus, the politicization of international inequality has fostered inequality of international politics. The research question investigated by this paper is: Has extreme inequality of international politics deepened crisis of African ...
The Brexit is unprecedented in the history of European Union (EU) and unparalleled in the annals ... more The Brexit is unprecedented in the history of European Union (EU) and unparalleled in the annals of European integration. The seemingly unexpected outcome of the Brexit referendum has instant, far-reaching and remote consequences for Britain, EU, European integration, and neo-functionalism. The implications for African countries, African Union (AU), and African integration cannot be over-emphasised. The main objective of this paper is to examine the implications of the June 23, 2016 Brexit Referendum for African integration. The paper therefore concluded that the June 23, 2016 Brexit Referendum has enormous implications for African integration. The domino effect of Brexit may not trigger exit referendum among AU member states, but it has triggered agitations for referendum on self-determination and restructuring among ethnic nationalities in member states particularly Nigeria. This intensifies centrifugal forces of sub-nationalism and disintegrative nationalism among the AU member countries. The paper suggested post-neo-functionalism as the only way out.
Community policing is neither foreign nor novel to Africa. Long before the coming of Europeans, t... more Community policing is neither foreign nor novel to Africa. Long before the coming of Europeans, the traditional Igbo society of the now south-eastern Nigeria had devised means of policing its communities and curbing or preventing crime using primarily the age grade system and masquerade secret society. This approach was very effective in enabling the pre-colonial Igbo society in not just fighting crime but also in preventing crime. Given the current security challenges in the contemporary Nigerian society, there is a need to revisit this model of community policing for the purpose of preventing and curbing crimes such as terrorism, insurgency, armed robbery, commercial hostage taking (kidnapping), militancy, pipeline vandalisation, oil theft (illegal bunkering), etc. The paper also noted that taking into consideration the ‘acephalous’, decentralised, egalitarian, communalistic, ‘gerontocratic’, villagised, largely republican and directly democratic character of the traditional Igbo society is necessary for adapting its mechanism of community policing into the more complex, less decentralised, republican, federal, capitalist and indirect democracy of the modern Nigeria. The study is essentially descriptive, historical and qualitative.
China is not doing Africa any favour. China’s investment patterns, aid conditions and trade strat... more China is not doing Africa any favour. China’s investment patterns, aid conditions and trade strategies show that she is driven by her economic interest in economic relations with Africa reinforcing the decimation of African economies long fragmented in Berlin Conference (1884-1885) by European colonialism. The wide trade imbalance between China and Africa indicates that Sino-African economic relations is not relations of equals or interdependence, rather it is relations of unequal or dependence. Neo-dependency is a new form of dependency between China and Africa replacing the old dependency between industrialized countries of the North and Africa, and whichever way Africa is in the receiving end. Therefore, China is gradually changing the global financial power distribution resulting in the shift from classical dependency of Africa to the developed North to neo-dependency of Africa to China. Neo-dependency just like classical dependency discourages intra-African trade, and ensures that Africa suffers huge trade deficits in her economic relations with China thereby deepening crises of African integration and development. The study concludes that Sino-African economic relations undermines African integration, and by extension, impedes African development. The paper suggests post-neo-functionalism as panacea.
The interpretation or ruling on international immunity cases are often surrounded by controversie... more The interpretation or ruling on international immunity cases are often surrounded by controversies, sometimes leading to inconsistencies. The British municipal court rulings on international immunity cases are not exception, and in fact are embodiments of inconsistencies. The rulings are not just characterized by controversies; they swim in controversies. Perhaps, these inconsistencies have not been more visible than in cases involving granting of sovereign immunity to political subdivisions or federating units. This was the case in the municipal court decision to deny a serving Governor of a state in Nigeria immunity from jurisdiction. The contention of this paper is that these inconsistencies are, primarily or fundamentally, due to susceptibility of British municipal courts to British national interest, and thus, not primarily due to controversial nature of international law.
The ghost of Berlin Conference (1884-1885) that partitioned Africa into specific spheres of influ... more The ghost of Berlin Conference (1884-1885) that partitioned Africa into specific spheres of influence has continued to haunt Africa many years after colonialism, reinforcing the fragmentation of African economies. The shadow of the Conference is still with us such that after over a century of pan-Africanism and five decades of regional integration in Africa, African economies remain decimated. This explains the reason why the announcement of the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (T-FTA) of the EAC-SADC-COMESA in eastern and southern Africa was received with both optimism and pessimism. The optimism concerning the prospects of the proposed T-FTA, though often exaggerated, is not totally unfounded as it could help African Economic Community (AEC) strengthen intra-RECs, and inter-RECs integration by reducing the incidence of multiple memberships and proliferation of regional economic groups and subgroups, among other things. With the use of qualitative method and some indices from the secondary sources, and by propounding a new theory of post-neo-functionalism, a combination or a synthesis of neo-nationalism and post-nationalism, this paper concludes that the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (T-FTA) would be confronted with some challenges capable of overcoming, impeding or confounding these prospects. The paper seeks to deconstruct and problematize neo-functionalism in African integration as well as rejects neo-functionalist, one-size-fits-all, state-centric or inter-governmental approach to integration in Africa, and rather recommends bottom-top, humanistic, people-centric or private-sector-driven approach to integration, or people-to-people integration. The study is essentially prognostic.
International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between ... more International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between individuals and groups within and outside countries. It is also inequality between regions of the world or globe vis a vis economic, social and political inequalities. International inequality is cross-country that cuts across countries of the world at individual, group, state and regional levels. The modern world is thus defined by extreme inequality. In all indices, economically, socially, and politically, there is widening international inequality between developed and underdeveloped countries of which Africa belongs to the latter. Whilst international politics is characterized by extreme inequalities, international inequality has been deeply politicized. Thus, the politicization of international inequality has fostered inequality of international politics. The research question investigated by this paper is: Has extreme inequality of international politics deepened crisis of African integration? By adopting qualitative methods and relying on secondary sources of data, the paper concludes that extreme inequality of international politics as embedded in international political economy deepens crisis of African integration. The paper recommends post-neo-functionalism or post-neo-nationalism as a panacea for resolving crisis of African integration.
Oil is indeed the 'devil's excreta'. Consequently, gas flaring in Nigeria... more Oil is indeed the 'devil's excreta'. Consequently, gas flaring in Nigeria began with production of crude oil in 1958 resulting in serious trans-boundary environmental, energy, economic and health implications. This has led to the adoption of zero-gas flaring policy in 2003 in line with the domestication of related international initiatives and treaties in Nigeria. NNPC and international oil corporations (IOCs) from the United States of America, Britain, France and the Netherlands in oil production flared 514,779,616 standard cubic feet (scf) of associated gas out of 619,032,858 scf of total associated gas flared in 2011. Available records indicate that Nigeria's oil joint venture partners prioritised profits through increase in oil production without pegging oil production to the capacity of gas utilisation facilities required to meet policy deadline. This study focused on the assessment of the impact of oil joint venture partnerships on the enforcement of zero-gas flaring policy in Nigeria. The paper concludes that equity arrangements of the oil joint operation agreements hindered the implementation of zero-gas flaring policy in Nigeria.
DESCRIPTION Nigeria is abundantly endowed with mineral and human resources, and is reputed to be ... more DESCRIPTION Nigeria is abundantly endowed with mineral and human resources, and is reputed to be the seventh largest oil producing country in the whole world. Despite the huge investments made by Nigerian government in oil and gas sector, an average of $10 billion per annum, the contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is minimal an average of less than 30%. This abysmal contribution of oil and gas sector is often attributed to the high foreign content and low inputs by Nigerian firms or low local participation in the sector resulting to huge capital flight. Despite the introduction of local content policy since 2006 and enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act in 2010, Nigerians have very little share of oil and gas business over the years just about 14%. The thrusts of this study therefore is that the inability of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the previous regulatory agencies to bridge capacity gap hinde...
Africa is a continent ridden by crises, and thus, confronted with enormous security challenges in... more Africa is a continent ridden by crises, and thus, confronted with enormous security challenges in the post-cold war 21st century. Regrettably, the end of cold war did not result in conflict reduction in Africa as predicted or expected, rather it exacerbated suggesting that the problem is more internal than external requiring Africa to look more inward to resolve some of these practices that cause crisis such as ethnocentrism, religious bigotry, political corruption, crisis of regime change or political succession, among others. It was under this state of affairs that African Union (AU) in collaboration with other external actors like European Union (EU) and in synergy with sub-regional security organisations in Africa effectively established the new African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in 2004. APSA represents a paradigm shift from the principle of non-interference of the Organization of African Union (OAU) to that of non-indifference in internal affairs of member states of AU akin to the United Nations' responsibility to protect (R2P). The mandate of APSA includes conflict prevention, management, resolution and post-conflict reconstruction. To achieve its mandate, APSA has tried to harmonise and synergise Africa's regional security arrangements with sub-regional security architectures. But the rising conflicts in Africa have shown that APSA has not been able to achieve its mandate more than a decade of its establishment. This portends ominous implications for African integration and development. In emphasising the need for " African solutions for African problems " , the paper recommends post-neo-functionalism as a panacea. The study is essentially descriptive and qualitative.
International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between ... more International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between individuals and groups within and outside countries. It is also inequality between regions of the world or globe vis a vis economic, social and political inequalities. International inequality is cross-country that cuts across countries of the world at individual, group, state and regional levels. The modern world is thus defined by extreme inequality. In all indices, economically, socially, and politically, there is widening international inequality between developed and underdeveloped countries of which Africa belongs to the latter. Whilst international politics is characterized by extreme inequalities, international inequality has been deeply politicized. Thus, the politicization of international inequality has fostered inequality of international politics. The research question investigated by this paper is: Has extreme inequality of international politics deepened crisis of African ...
The Brexit is unprecedented in the history of European Union (EU) and unparalleled in the annals ... more The Brexit is unprecedented in the history of European Union (EU) and unparalleled in the annals of European integration. The seemingly unexpected outcome of the Brexit referendum has instant, far-reaching and remote consequences for Britain, EU, European integration, and neo-functionalism. The implications for African countries, African Union (AU), and African integration cannot be over-emphasised. The main objective of this paper is to examine the implications of the June 23, 2016 Brexit Referendum for African integration. The paper therefore concluded that the June 23, 2016 Brexit Referendum has enormous implications for African integration. The domino effect of Brexit may not trigger exit referendum among AU member states, but it has triggered agitations for referendum on self-determination and restructuring among ethnic nationalities in member states particularly Nigeria. This intensifies centrifugal forces of sub-nationalism and disintegrative nationalism among the AU member countries. The paper suggested post-neo-functionalism as the only way out.
Community policing is neither foreign nor novel to Africa. Long before the coming of Europeans, t... more Community policing is neither foreign nor novel to Africa. Long before the coming of Europeans, the traditional Igbo society of the now south-eastern Nigeria had devised means of policing its communities and curbing or preventing crime using primarily the age grade system and masquerade secret society. This approach was very effective in enabling the pre-colonial Igbo society in not just fighting crime but also in preventing crime. Given the current security challenges in the contemporary Nigerian society, there is a need to revisit this model of community policing for the purpose of preventing and curbing crimes such as terrorism, insurgency, armed robbery, commercial hostage taking (kidnapping), militancy, pipeline vandalisation, oil theft (illegal bunkering), etc. The paper also noted that taking into consideration the ‘acephalous’, decentralised, egalitarian, communalistic, ‘gerontocratic’, villagised, largely republican and directly democratic character of the traditional Igbo society is necessary for adapting its mechanism of community policing into the more complex, less decentralised, republican, federal, capitalist and indirect democracy of the modern Nigeria. The study is essentially descriptive, historical and qualitative.
China is not doing Africa any favour. China’s investment patterns, aid conditions and trade strat... more China is not doing Africa any favour. China’s investment patterns, aid conditions and trade strategies show that she is driven by her economic interest in economic relations with Africa reinforcing the decimation of African economies long fragmented in Berlin Conference (1884-1885) by European colonialism. The wide trade imbalance between China and Africa indicates that Sino-African economic relations is not relations of equals or interdependence, rather it is relations of unequal or dependence. Neo-dependency is a new form of dependency between China and Africa replacing the old dependency between industrialized countries of the North and Africa, and whichever way Africa is in the receiving end. Therefore, China is gradually changing the global financial power distribution resulting in the shift from classical dependency of Africa to the developed North to neo-dependency of Africa to China. Neo-dependency just like classical dependency discourages intra-African trade, and ensures that Africa suffers huge trade deficits in her economic relations with China thereby deepening crises of African integration and development. The study concludes that Sino-African economic relations undermines African integration, and by extension, impedes African development. The paper suggests post-neo-functionalism as panacea.
The interpretation or ruling on international immunity cases are often surrounded by controversie... more The interpretation or ruling on international immunity cases are often surrounded by controversies, sometimes leading to inconsistencies. The British municipal court rulings on international immunity cases are not exception, and in fact are embodiments of inconsistencies. The rulings are not just characterized by controversies; they swim in controversies. Perhaps, these inconsistencies have not been more visible than in cases involving granting of sovereign immunity to political subdivisions or federating units. This was the case in the municipal court decision to deny a serving Governor of a state in Nigeria immunity from jurisdiction. The contention of this paper is that these inconsistencies are, primarily or fundamentally, due to susceptibility of British municipal courts to British national interest, and thus, not primarily due to controversial nature of international law.
The ghost of Berlin Conference (1884-1885) that partitioned Africa into specific spheres of influ... more The ghost of Berlin Conference (1884-1885) that partitioned Africa into specific spheres of influence has continued to haunt Africa many years after colonialism, reinforcing the fragmentation of African economies. The shadow of the Conference is still with us such that after over a century of pan-Africanism and five decades of regional integration in Africa, African economies remain decimated. This explains the reason why the announcement of the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (T-FTA) of the EAC-SADC-COMESA in eastern and southern Africa was received with both optimism and pessimism. The optimism concerning the prospects of the proposed T-FTA, though often exaggerated, is not totally unfounded as it could help African Economic Community (AEC) strengthen intra-RECs, and inter-RECs integration by reducing the incidence of multiple memberships and proliferation of regional economic groups and subgroups, among other things. With the use of qualitative method and some indices from the secondary sources, and by propounding a new theory of post-neo-functionalism, a combination or a synthesis of neo-nationalism and post-nationalism, this paper concludes that the proposed Tripartite Free Trade Area (T-FTA) would be confronted with some challenges capable of overcoming, impeding or confounding these prospects. The paper seeks to deconstruct and problematize neo-functionalism in African integration as well as rejects neo-functionalist, one-size-fits-all, state-centric or inter-governmental approach to integration in Africa, and rather recommends bottom-top, humanistic, people-centric or private-sector-driven approach to integration, or people-to-people integration. The study is essentially prognostic.
International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between ... more International inequality is not just inequality between countries but as well inequality between individuals and groups within and outside countries. It is also inequality between regions of the world or globe vis a vis economic, social and political inequalities. International inequality is cross-country that cuts across countries of the world at individual, group, state and regional levels. The modern world is thus defined by extreme inequality. In all indices, economically, socially, and politically, there is widening international inequality between developed and underdeveloped countries of which Africa belongs to the latter. Whilst international politics is characterized by extreme inequalities, international inequality has been deeply politicized. Thus, the politicization of international inequality has fostered inequality of international politics. The research question investigated by this paper is: Has extreme inequality of international politics deepened crisis of African integration? By adopting qualitative methods and relying on secondary sources of data, the paper concludes that extreme inequality of international politics as embedded in international political economy deepens crisis of African integration. The paper recommends post-neo-functionalism or post-neo-nationalism as a panacea for resolving crisis of African integration.
Oil is indeed the 'devil's excreta'. Consequently, gas flaring in Nigeria... more Oil is indeed the 'devil's excreta'. Consequently, gas flaring in Nigeria began with production of crude oil in 1958 resulting in serious trans-boundary environmental, energy, economic and health implications. This has led to the adoption of zero-gas flaring policy in 2003 in line with the domestication of related international initiatives and treaties in Nigeria. NNPC and international oil corporations (IOCs) from the United States of America, Britain, France and the Netherlands in oil production flared 514,779,616 standard cubic feet (scf) of associated gas out of 619,032,858 scf of total associated gas flared in 2011. Available records indicate that Nigeria's oil joint venture partners prioritised profits through increase in oil production without pegging oil production to the capacity of gas utilisation facilities required to meet policy deadline. This study focused on the assessment of the impact of oil joint venture partnerships on the enforcement of zero-gas flaring policy in Nigeria. The paper concludes that equity arrangements of the oil joint operation agreements hindered the implementation of zero-gas flaring policy in Nigeria.
DESCRIPTION Nigeria is abundantly endowed with mineral and human resources, and is reputed to be ... more DESCRIPTION Nigeria is abundantly endowed with mineral and human resources, and is reputed to be the seventh largest oil producing country in the whole world. Despite the huge investments made by Nigerian government in oil and gas sector, an average of $10 billion per annum, the contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is minimal an average of less than 30%. This abysmal contribution of oil and gas sector is often attributed to the high foreign content and low inputs by Nigerian firms or low local participation in the sector resulting to huge capital flight. Despite the introduction of local content policy since 2006 and enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act in 2010, Nigerians have very little share of oil and gas business over the years just about 14%. The thrusts of this study therefore is that the inability of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the previous regulatory agencies to bridge capacity gap hinde...
DESCRIPTION Nigerian political parties in the present republic are hampered by crisis of internal... more DESCRIPTION Nigerian political parties in the present republic are hampered by crisis of internal democracy thus undermining their political leadership recruitment function. The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is a good example of one of these Nigerian political parties that lacks internal democracy. The study, by relying on the theory of relative autonomy of the state and secondary sources, concludes that the PDP authoritarianism deepens crisis of internal democracy in Nigeria and that this authoritarian character of the ruling PDP is a reflection of the authoritarian character of the Nigerian state. The implication being that this lack of internal party democracy in Nigerian political parties generally undermines the credibility of the entire electoral process thereby making the entire process undemocratic. The study is essentially qualitative, historical and inductive.
Uploads
Conference Presentations
Papers