Oluwaseun Bamidele

Culture, Corruption, and Anticorruption Struggles in Nigeria:

Most commentators on political and development crises in Nigeria have identified corruption as the prime factor. A number of factors have been adduced as responsible for the prevalence of corruption in the country. However, the aspect of culture is yet to be adequately captured. Yet, the place of culture in the high incidence of corruption as well as the constraints to its entrenchment cannot be underestimated. While the culture of the people abhors corruption, yet, we have various instances where culture has been invoked to support corrupt practices as well as fight against it. This article seeks to focus the angle of cultural dimension to the issue of corruption in Nigeria. It seeks to explain how culture has contributed to the menace of corruption and how it can be invoked for its extermination. In essence, it looks beyond the formal to the informal angle in the issue of corruption discourse in Nigeria.

In the Service of Democratic Governance: The African Union Normative Framework on Unconstitutional Change of Government and ECOWAS Protocol on Good Governance and Democracy in the Post-Arab Spring

For the crafters and drafters of the African Union’s (AU) Constitutive Acts particularly the Addis Ababa Charter and the Lomé Declaration of July 2000 and the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Protocol on Good Governance and Democracy, the novel idea was to provide a regional, sub-regional, platform of support to democratic governments and also deter any forms of unconstitutionalism. However, recent events have put to the test the political capacity of these organisations to uphold the sanctity of the normative framework and the protocol supportive of democratic processes. In the case of the AU, the outburst of revolutionary movements in the north African region provided a platform for a thorough assessment of the AU’s Normative Frameworks related to constitutionalism and democracy. While it was accepted that the case of Tunisia followed the democratic process, the Egyptian and Libyan cases were seen as a negation of the principles of the framework.Likewise,in the case of the ECOWAS, there were myriads of problems that tested the organisation’s democratic credentials. For instance, Guinea Bissau experienced two coup d’états in two years (2009 and 2012), Guinea in December 2008; Niger in March 2010; and Burkina Faso in 2015. The AU and ECOWAS have been challenged and pulled along by two parallel but not equal forces: the need to ensure respect for the principle of total rejection of unconstitutional changes of government, and the necessity to recognise the reality on the ground. This study therefore employs both historical and comparative methodologies to assess the roles of these organisations in being true to the values of democracy as contained in their normative framework and the protocol, as well asalso examines the challenges faced in the context of the situations in Libya, Mali and Guinea Bissau.

RETRACTED: “I’m Not Leaving, I’m Not Afraid”: (Re)Visiting the Dysfunctional Systems of Justice on Gender-based Violence (GBV) in Uganda

ABSTRACT This article has been retracted.

RETRACTED: Reign of Evil: (Re)casting the Socioeconomic Crisis of Boko Haram Islamic Extremist Terrorism in Nigeria

ABSTRACT This article has been retracted.

The Political Economy of Tricycle Transportation Business in Osogbo Metropolis: Lessons for a Developing Economy:

Abstract The recent burgeoning growth in the commercial tricycle also known as “Keke NAPEP” in Nigeria could generally be attributed to its inherent advantages of door-to-door service, maneuverability during traffic congestion, ability to travel on poor roads, and ease of responsiveness to demand. In this way, much of the academic energy has been dissipated by transport geographers on the traffic relevance of the tricycle, especially as a commercial means of providing mobility. However, the mutually related essence of transport and employment that led to the popularity of the tricycle in most cities in Nigeria is fast extending to multidimensional problems of economy, politics, and social malaise. The objective in this study, therefore, is to find out these other underlying political, economic, and social factors overshadowing the mobility relevance of the tricycle as a transport business in Osogbo metropolis. It is also aimed at articulating the future lessons for a developing economy as Nigeria and evolves a policy option. A total of 500 questionnaires were applied on the commercial tricycle riders in a field survey. The survey made use of Osun State and Osogbo mainly. This involved the use of probabilistic sampling method with random techniques to pick 500 respondents from Osogbo metropolis and some other parts of Osun State as well. My critical discovery in this study is that, about 61.6 percent of our respondents agreed that they are engaged in “Keke NAPEP” business having abandoned their various trades as artisans, not because of the prospect of buoyant economy but because daily income is sure and almost certain. This is dangerous for a developing economy like that of Nigeria from all indications. The general prediction in this study is that by 2020, Nigeria’s productive economy would have declined to a ridiculous extent as employment generation, technical education, and self-reliant job growth would have been trapped by the “Keke NAPEP” economy. Again, the study shows that “Keke NAPEP Unions” are becoming second arms of political parties, forming strong pressure influences and “stated groups”, which can be motivated by politicians to attain political gains. They could also, in turn, disrupt societal peace if dumped after use. On social hazards, this study confirms an increasing rate of accidents and kidnappings with the use of tricycles on our roads. To correct these anomalies and secure a sociopolitical and economic future for the country as a developing nation, there is the need for the country to lift itself from the impending shrunk of productive economy, attain a better height of political behavior, and rescue something out of the present downward slope of our social ethics; the study therefore recommends a total ban or a restriction on the use of commercial tricycles as one of the crucial steps to be taken.

RETRACTED: Seized by Sleaze: The Siege of Domestic Terrorism in the North-East Region of Nigeria and the Search for a Workable Solution

This article has been retracted.