Abdul Raufu Mustapha

The National Question and Radical Politics in Nigeria

In his introduction to Billy Dudleys posthumous book (1982:8), A.D. Yahaya stated that: The political future of the country as one indivisible nation is resolved with the end of the civil war ... It is therefore not conceivable for the present generation of Nigerians who were so much part of the struggle for the survival of the federation to resuscitate the unity of the country as a political issue. The major political issue today is, therefore, not the unity of the country. It would seem, however, that events in Nigeria since 1983, such as the No Nation! No Destiny!broadcast of the FRCN Kaduna; the acrimonious and chauvinistic campaigns associated with the 1983 elections; the incessant disputes over the question of Federal Character; and the debacle over Nigerias affiliation to the Organisation of Islamic Countries, tend to suggest that the unity of the country cannot be taken for granted. The Civil War did not resolve the National Question in Nigeria. What is true is that the Nigerian state was able t...

When Will Independence End? Democratization and Civil Society in Rural Africa

Rural communities played a significant part in the decolonization process in Africa, be it in the cocoa hold-ups of Ghana and Nigeria, or in the armed struggle in Kenya and Zimbabwe. With the attainment of independence, however, most of the non-hegemonic social classes were demobilized from the political process, as the politics of authoritarianism and personal rule gained ground, often under the cover of promoting ‘national integration’ or ‘development’ (Mamdani, 1992; Shivji, 1991). In many instances, labour organizations, students’ movements and farmers’ councils were assimilated into the structures of the single or ruling party, and the social groups concerned were denied independent articulation of their interests (Beer, 1976). When similar policies were carried out against whole regions and ethnic groups, many countries descended into civil war.

Colonialism and environmental perception in Northern Nigeria

Concern about the environment in colonial northern Nigeria developed out of a series of controversies and practices, particularly those relating to agriculture. Increasingly, local practices that have sustained the population and the environment for centuries are subjected to “scientific” scrutiny. Though many of these practices were either misunderstood or not understood at all, this did not stop the subjugation of local practices to “science”. However, this “scientific” enterprise was often conflict-ridden, with important questions being resolved only after the intervention of political authorities. The resulting colonial practices in the fields of irrigation, forest management and the application of chemical fertilizer continue to dominate the thinking of state officials in post-colonial Nigeria, leading to unsustainable policies. An earlier colonial tradition of investigating the practices of local farmers and the constraints therein would have been a more appropriate basis for post-colonial policy.

Seeking Representativeness: Affirmative Action in Nigeria and South Africa Compared

Africa is one of the most ethnically fragmented regions of the world. In some countries, ethnic and racial diversity interact with socioeconomic and political dynamics to create distinct group inequalities — horizontal inequalities. High levels of political, economic and cultural horizontal inequality can predispose such societies to conflict (Stewart, 2008). Managing diversity is therefore an important aspect of statecraft in Africa (see Mustapha, 1999, 2002), even if the results have not always been successful. One key aspect of managing diversity is the attempt to make state institutions more representative. States in Africa have moved at different speeds in their pursuit of representativeness. Some, like Ghana, have informal — but virtually institutionalised — mechanisms for accommodating different segments of the population in the political, economic and cultural life of the country; in others, like Cote d’Ivoire, the inclusive mechanism has been highly personalised and dependent on the goodwill of the president (Langer, 2007). This paper examines two types of formal inclusiveness: the Federal Character Principle in Nigeria and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa.