Road transportation as lifeline of the economy in Western Nigeria, 1920 to 1952
April 2012
The complex but vital interconnection between road transportation and the economy is what this paper seeks to explore. Our primary focus is not to determine whether road transportation developed or underdeveloped the economy; rather we want to see how road transportation served as a “vehicle’’ for the pursuit of economic goals. The paper discusses how the introduction of modern means of...
Politics and anarchy: Zimbabwe’s 2008 run-off presidential elections in context
March 2012
Following the “successful” subvertion of the electoral process by President Mugabe in the 2008 run-off presidential elections in Zimbabwe and the subsequent formation of the Government of National Unity, this paper attempts to offer insights that may explain President Mugabe’s refusal to honour the outcome of the electoral process and the subsequent degeneration into authoritarian and...
Understanding community based adaptation strategies to climate variability in fishing communities of Rufiji River basin in Tanzania
March 2012
This paper provides a highlight of the existing local community adaptation strategies that fishing communities in Rufiji Basin, in Tanzania, are employing to counteract the negative impacts of climate change and climate variability. Data were collected through key informants interviews, focus group discussions and in-depth interviews using a structured questionnaire that was administered to 120 household heads from two...
Environmental ethics in the Hindu Vedas and Puranas in India
January 2012
The Indian religious traditions are intertwined with equally disparate cultural, social, linguistic, philosophical and ethical systems that have developed over a vast history, compounded with movement of peoples, foreign interventions, and internal transformations in structures and identities experienced over time. How does one then begin to talk about environmental values and concerns in the Indian religious...
Retracing the concept of the subaltern from Gramsci to Spivak: Historical developments and new applications
January 2012
The aim of this paper is to retrace the historical developments and new implications of one of the most disputed concepts in post-colonial theory. The study of the concept of the subaltern deals first with preliminary definitions of this concept as it was initially used by the Italian Marxist political activist, Antonio Gramsci, in his widely known book “Prison Notebooks”. Later, this...
The cultural logic of racism in Richard Wright’s Native Son
December 2011
Richard Wright in his astonishing novel, Native Son (1940) has created a controversial world shocking the sensibilities of both Black and White America by presenting the cultural and logical realities behind racism that has been a matter of question in the United States for centuries. In fact, race differences and prejudice attitudes always caused problem whenever Black and White wanted to unite and...
A historical reflection of the University of Rabe Rashidi, Iran
December 2011
Rabe Rashidi has a large collection of academics and residents in the North West of Iran which return to Mughul patriarch periods. It was built in AH 8 century by Rashid al-Din Fadlallah in the government center of Tabriz. Based on proofs, Rashidabad city consist of two separate parts: Rabe Rashidi as one part and Rashidi city as the other part. Rube Rashidi as a castle was located in the central part of the...
Theoretical framework towards understanding the economic development and underdevelopment of Nigeria
November 2011
The work focused on the theoretical understanding of the dynamics of Third World development and underdevelopment from the past. The desk study (DS) method of data gathering was used to gather data for this study. In the process, it was discovered that the present level of development and underdevelopment will not be clearly understood without actually taking a critical look at the past of the Third World...
Trans-African identity: Cultural globalization and the role of the symbolic-aesthethic dimension in the present identity construction processes
November 2011
Globalization entails a process, in any case irreversible, of intensification of transnational, trans-societal and trans-cultural spaces, events, problems, economic transactions, conflicts and biographies, a process not necessarily unfolding in a centripetal, homogeneous and single way towards the formation of a single world society and culture but rather in a polycentric, multidimensional,...
Mechanisms and challenges for managing disaster in Bangladesh
August 2011
Bangladesh is a developing country in South Asia which has approximately fourteen core population. It is also known as a disaster prone country and is surrounded by thousands of rivers such as the Ganges, the Brahamaputra, and the Meghna and so on. The Himalayan range to the North and the Bay of Bengal in the South creates a complex weather system. Bangladesh is a common victim of natural calamities due to...
Analysis of the socio-economic and cultural implications of environmental degradation in Northern Ghana using qualitative approach
August 2011
This article employs mainly the qualitative approach to study and interpret local people’s understanding of environmental degradation in Northern Ghana. Environmental resources in the area are characterized by dry savannah climate and vegetation, poor soils, and irregular rainfall patterns leading to poor yields and low levels of output. The area is one of the most degraded regions in Ghana, and this is...
Crisis of communal leadership: Post-colonial local government reform and administrative conflict with traditional authorities in the communal areas of Zimbabwe, 1980-2008
July 2011
Rural local government reform measures adopted by the new Government of Zimbabwe at independence in 1980 were largely inspired by the state's modernization initiatives and the need to create a framework for expanded delivery of services to the peasant communities in order to redress the imbalances of colonial neglect. However, the reform measures also sought to undermine the authority of traditional...
Colonialism and African cultural values
July 2011
It is no longer a debate that pre-colonial African life was heavily influenced by religion. Almost every aspect of life was seen and interpreted in the supernatural. The belief that the ancestors played prominent roles in the maintenance of morality in the community hardly dies, even today. However, it is true that colonialism altered the belief and values of the Africans significantly, just as its structure...
A critique of modernization and dependency theories in Africa: Critical assessment
June 2011
The way states and development specialists rationalize how to commit economic resources to development is influenced, to a greater extent by their level of persuasion towards specific development theories. The discourse assesses the influence of modernization and dependency theories on Africa’s development. The conclusion is that both theories have failed to help develop Africa. The discourse pins hope...
Perceptions on cultural significance and heritage conservation: A case study of Sussan Wenger’s building, Osogbo, Nigeria
June 2011
The built environment is the history of man. The undying stones of monuments are the tables from which this history can be read. Thus, the life of man in the past, its values in the present and directions for the future are embellished on these stones. Historic cultural heritages cannot be expressed in any other better form than in buildings. Sussan Wenger’s building located in Osogbo, Nigeria is one of...
Christianity as an Ideological Instrument: A postcolonial reading of Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God
May 2011
This paper attempts to reveal how the Christian religion was used in colonizing African peoples according to Chinua Achebe’s Arrow of God. Colonists regularly use subtle and indirect ways to colonize people before and after independence; one of these methods was through ideology. The paper depicts the ways in which Christianity as an ideological instrument was used as a tool for colonization....
Gold mining and the socio-economic development of Obuasi in Adanse
May 2011
This article seeks to project the important role played by gold mining in economic development of modern areas of Obuasi and Adanse in Ghana. It challenges those scholars who doubt the transformative, developmental and poverty alleviation roles of the mining industry in Ghana. The study is based on archival and oral research, and it arguments are articulated in a historical narrative fashion that link the...
The relevance of migration to settlement pattern in Igbominaland
April 2011
Migration is an integral part of the history of mankind. Prior to the evolution of nation-state system, trans-continental migrations were the order of the day in all parts of the globe. Migration has also been part of Yoruba history taking from the classic version of the legend of Lamurudu/Oduduwa that associates the origin of Yoruba to migration from Mecca. It was as a result of migration of Oduduwa from...
Conflict and alternative dispute resolution among the Afar pastoralists of Ethiopia
April 2011
A study was conducted on institutions of conflict resolution in the Northern Afar administration. The main objective was to examine alternative mechanisms of peace-making with a prime focus on informal indigenous structures. An attempt was made to assess such institutions vis-à-vis changing circumstances in the political and socio-economic arena. The paper found out that, following disputes, people...
The politics of the government of national unity (GNU) and power sharing in Zimbabwe: Challenges and prospects for democracy
March 2011
September 2008 marked a new era in Zimbabwean politics, as a united front between the major political parties enabled the forging of an agreement that laid the foundation for a government of national unity. The unity government has brought hope not only to Zimbabweans but also to the international community for many view it as a purveyor of better moves for the country and its overall standing in the region...
Real political empowerment or political Gimmick? An experience of women with guns under ZANU PF during the liberation struggle 1972-1980
March 2011
During and after the liberation struggle, ZANU PF boasted of having liberated women from the clutches of patriarchy by according women the same status with men in the liberation struggle. The party posed as the liberator of its women folk and mythologized female emancipation upon which it could congratulate itself. These writers’ will demonstrate in these and other matters that the political...
Enhancing local governance through local initiatives: Residents’ associations in Zimbabwe
February 2011
Residents associations are a local initiative by residents within a specific community. Through residents associations, citizens have been able to keep local authorities in check and to demand accountability. With the economic crises facing many countries across the globe and the world recession setting in, as well as the economic meltdown in Zimbabwe over the last few years, which was exacerbated by a...
Reconstruction of the palaeoenviroment of Wadi Farja (Nile, third cataract) from zooarchaeological remains
February 2011
Wadi Farja is a dry Holocene palaeochannel situated in northern Sudan on the eastern bank of the Nile, immediately north of the Third Cataract region. The human occupation of the Wadi peaked in the Neolithic (5000 to 3000 BC) through Kerma (2500 to 1500 BC) periods. The Wadi is relatively rich in bioarchaeological materials, such as mammalian bone fragments, fish bones and bivalve shells. It is concluded that...
Cultural theory and cultural dialogue in the 21st century
November 2010
Art is necessarily a cultural system, and culture in its mutation moves in the direction of societal becoming in the same manner as it dictates the direction of artistic creations and recreations. However, as the world, especially Africa, is being dragged along in the imperialist project of globalization, this paper interrogates the fate of cultural theory again, as it especially affects literary criticism of...
Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of psychological factors contributing to violent behaviour among public secondary school students in western province, Kenya
November 2010
Violence is not a new phenomenon in the modern educational system. It is manifested in the form of rioting, sexual violence, fighting and bullying. The purpose of this study is to establish teachers’ and students’ perceptions of psychological factors contributing to violent behavior among public secondary school students in the western province of Kenya. The study was based on the social...
Minoan culture and tourism
October 2010
The Greek culture was enormously influenced by the Minoan culture, as was its foundation stone. It had been developing in Crete from the 3rd millennium to 2ndmillennium BC and being an ode to joy and life. The frescoes representing noble dresses and jewelry of Cretan females, pleasure in sports activities and nature, as well as serene and happy people are genuine masterpieces. A substantial number of...
Relationship between capacity building and employee productivity on performance of commercial banks in Kenya
October 2010
This article of this paper is based on a research project carried out on commercial banks in Kakamega Central District, Kenya focusing on the influence of employee productivity on organizational performance which investigated the impact of capacity building and employee productivity in commercial banks since this leads to increase in performance as empirical research has proved. Kenya has experienced banking...
Cotton in West Africa: The economic and social stakes (2006). Book review, OECD publishing, Paris, pp. 127, ISBN: 92–64–022505 7
August 2010
Since their inception multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have always been at loggerheads with Africans and African producers. These institutions have been blamed for advancing an agenda that exploits third world countries (3WCs) resources for the benefit of the north, debates at WTO forums have been most acrimonious with the...
A pragmatic appraisal of the translation of Yoruba discourse markers into English
August 2010
This paper examines the translation of discourse markers in Yoruba with the aim of identifying their pragmatic functions and constraints faced in their translation into English. The methodology of contrastive analysis is adopted in our analysis to identify similarities and differences in the use and function of specific discourse markers (‘yes’ and ‘thank you’) in both languages. The...
Interplay between philosophy and history: Additional justification for course enrollments across disciplines
April 2010
This paper seeks to revisit the bonds between history and philosophy and to unravel not just the enormously fertile ground lying fallow for so long between them, but also the inevitability of one to the other. In the main body of the study, it was discovered that any serious claim to explore what the term ‘history’ stands for must strive, first of all, to surmount some inherent epistemological, semantical,...
Identity politics and the Jos crisis: Evidence, lessons and challenges of good governance
April 2010
Concerns with identity politics especially those woven around conflict have got an almost outrageous timeliness. The salient global role of ethnic and religious identity as it affects everything from democratic development to risk of disruptive communal conflicts at domestic level has become an important dimension of present-day world societies, looming largely in multiethnic societies. This paper takes a critical look...
War, violence and language in Ken Saro-Wiwa’s Sozaboy
February 2010
This essay is based on Ken Saro-Wiwa’s novel, titled Sozaboy. Apart from using this novel to interpret [DBMS1] and locate the history and politics of Nigeria within a particular period, the essay tried to look at the 1967 - 1970 Nigeria’s civil war as fictionalized by Ken Saro-Wiwa, the nature of the language and implications on the English language in Nigeria. It also attempted an understanding of the...
Place of religion in nation building and security in Nigeria: A historical survey of Aro expedition of 1901
February 2010
National security is a sine qua non for political stability and socio-economic development of any nation. Religion is one of the recognized factors that can enhance or destabilize the security of any nation at any given period of history. Religious value systems play very significant role in collective self-awareness and identity, which draw together individuals, families and regions, and pull them towards...
Culture and curriculum development in Nigerian schools
January 2010
This paper was concerned with cultural bases of curriculum. It examined the influence of culture on curriculum development in Nigerian Schools since education is regarded as the transmission of culture in a process known as enculturation. It is a process of initiating the growing and inexperienced persons into the way of life in his society based on factors of culture which bring about changes in school...
Ama Ata Aidoo’s ‘black-eyed squint’ and the ‘voyage in’ experience: Dis(re)orienting blackness and subverting the colonial tale[1]
January 2010
This essay endeavors to read Ama Ata Aidoo’s Our Sister Killjoy; or Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint with a postocolonially inflected consciousness. It aims at demonstrating how her work could be read as a sophisticated postcolonial revision of the colonial travel narrative whereby the protagonist’s black-eyed squint operates as ‘the all-seeing-eye’ to subvert the...
Fake heroines and the falsification of history in Zimbabwe 1980 - 2009
December 2009
The ideology of femocracy is so entrenched in Zimbabwean politics that it has become a tradition. It started as a tendency during the liberation struggle of making room and integrating a few women into politics. After independence, it developed into a habit of promoting the same women who had been exposed during the liberation struggle into political offices. Finally, at independence it became a tradition...
Cultivation of positive cultural values and practices: A blueprint for African development
December 2009
This paper investigates the influence of culture on development within the context of cultural values and practices in African societies. It limits its searchlight to the communal stage of African development. It operates on the assumption that a dialectical relationship exists between the past, the present and the future. It supposes that a faithful consideration of the merits and demerits of past events can...
Role of public participation in achieving development agenda of developing countries: The case of communities affected by surface mining of gold in the Asutifi district of the Brong Ahafo region of Ghana
October 2009
The cumulative evidence of increasing human vulnerability to environmental change calls for a significant policy response and action on several fronts. At least since the 1960s, when environmental politics became institutionalised within western developed countries, scientists, interest groups, the media and local protests have been significant in shaping the development definition and resolution of...
A history of land measurement in Shashemene (Ethiopia), 1941 - 1974
October 2009
In history, land tenure system refers to the social and administrative concept. It does not show physical or geographical concept. Land has been one of the most highly valued possessions of human society. In Ethiopia, the rules to measure, share and use land have evolved over time. In this regard, there are ample sources at Teshafe Tezaz Wolde-Mesqel Tariku Research Center. The collection of the Center...
The strength of political parties in Tanzania - A focus on local government councilor’s by-elections
September 2009
This paper examines the strength of political parties in Tanzania Mainland focusing on the local government councilors by-elections of 2004. The first part provides an introduction, which explains the two types of strengths; that is, the number of voters supporting the party and the number of contestants willing to contest through the same. The second part covers the administration of local government...
Strangulated federalism’, resource rights agitations and the deepening crisis in the Niger- Delta
September 2009
This paper contends that the inverse application of the ideals of federalism is central to the festering crisis and bloodletting in the Niger-delta that have had a long history of injustice visited on the people. The population have in like manner responded with violence. From imperial humiliation through colonial exploitation, the region has journeyed to the present crisis of “internal slavery and...
Rethinking religious encounters in Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe, 1860-1893
June 2009
This article provides a new interpretation of the religious encounters that unfolded in Matabeleland region in the period between 1860 and 1893 from the perspective of Gramscian concept of hegemony and John and Jean Comaroff’s concept of cultural and colonial encounters. The focus of the article is on the nature of encounters, uneasy religious dualities, conversations, contestations, blending,...
Prospects for the asset-based community development approach in Epworth and Ruwa, Zimbabwe: A housing and environmental perspective
June 2009
This paper explores the dynamics of community building and development within the satellite towns to Harare, namely Epworth and Ruwa, based on a comparative analysis of the role of communities in the housing and habitat sector. That the poor are creative, co-operative and constructive in providing for themselves is undoubted. The 2 satellite towns of Epworth and Ruwa exhibit the multi-dimensions of self-aided...
Traditional psychiatric healing in Igbo land, Southeastern Nigeria
June 2009
In recent times there have been debates among health professionals on the desirability of integrating traditional health practices into orthodox medicine. This thinking was influenced by the resistance of some ailments to the orthodox healing methods as well as the proven efficacy of traditional healing processes in the treatment of some ailments. In Nigeria, the ambience of psychiatric victims or madmen at...
The role of referendum: A case of Ghana
May 2009
This article presents a discussion on the role of the referendum in Africa with a case study of Ghana. It reveals the importance of referendum and the types of referendum as experienced in many countries with concentration on Ghana. It has concluded that referendum is important as allows majority stance to be assimilated as a decision as opposed to few who make decisions in most decision...
Semantic map and ideology in select Nigerian poetic discourse
May 2009
Since its acceptance within linguistic studies, the concept of ideology has generated an unimaginable array of interest within linguistics. Linguistic scholars are of the opinion that no linguistic construction is ‘neutral’ in its real sense. As well, numerous linguistic investigations have proved that ideology is woven in our everyday linguistic interaction but none of these have been able to...
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