Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The decision to take the federal option normally results from the prospects of national integration and cohesion that it might offer to a union whose composition has economic, historical, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious diversity. The workability of the union is partly anchored in the accommodationist spirits of the constituent parts and partly in the actualisation of the aspirations and needs of the constituent parts. Although Nigeria is not a federation of ethnic groups, the potency of ethnicity in the politics of Nigeria is beyond dispute. In this paper, I want to argue that two opposing strands - dissolutionist ethnic bargaining and consolidationist ethnic bargaining - are discernible in the contemporary politics of Nigeria. Whereas the dissolutionist stance relates to the agitation for the reconstitution or renegotiation of the current Nigerian State, the consolidationist approach insists that the current Nigerian State must remain indivisible. These two stances which are informed by the ethno-regional assessment of the gains or otherwise so far in the Nigerian State can be grasped from the objectives of the numerous ethnic congresses that have proliferated the Nigerian political scene. I would also argue that two versions of the dissolutionist ethnic bargaining exist: the harder version being called for by the separatist agenda of the ethno-political organisations such as the OPC and MASSOB; and lighter version being advocated by ethnic congresses in the Niger Delta that are calling for a reconstitution or renegotiation of Nigeria through the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC). This paper would be concluded by assessing the future of the Nigerian State in the light of the ethnic militancy that has been introduced to the Nigerian political scene.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Following the 1965 Hart-Cellar Act immigration legislation such as the 1980 Refugee Act and the 1995 Diversity Program encouraged and thereby increased the arrival of numerous immigrants of African descent from locales such as Haiti, the British West Indies, and West Africa; their arrival has subsequently had a noticeable effect on the ethnic diversity within the American black population. These immigrants and their American born children represent a new African American consciousness with an understanding of race and race relation that is different from native-born African Americans; a consciousness that is free from the social and psychological limitations that were the result of the uniquely American slave past. Utilizing the pre-migratory and lived experiences of recent first generation Nigerian immigrants constructed from three case studies and a variety of secondary source materials, this paper seeks to illustrate the ways in which immigrants of African descent have come to ethnically, and to some extent racially, redefine the meaning of the term “African American” in the twenty-first century. This work also conducts a brief comparison of contemporary West Indian migrants to further suggest linkages across ethnicities within the African Diaspora that have further creolized the new “African American” consciousness.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Nigeria has experienced a series of political vicissitudes since independence in 1960. More recently, political violence has been ripping the country apart and adversely affecting its economy. Political violence is weakening the oil rich economy.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: The notion of the public sphere is at the core of the reconstruction of the notion of deliberative democracy. Using a popular Nigerian internet discussion group as my object of inquiry, I contend that the Internet, while sometimes falling short of the requirements of a normative Habermasian conception of the public sphere, in many respects also creates the opportunity for the robust flowering of a variety of “public spheres,” especially transnational, diasporic spheres of public discourse.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: For the past few years, Muslims and Christians have clashed over the presence and implementation of Shari’a in Nigeria. With no fewer than five of twelve states implementing Shari’a as the definitive law of the land, it is doubtful that an end to the religious-based violence will subside anytime in the near future. For Muslims, Shari’a not only provides order, but it is also a sign of obedience. For Christians, on the other hand, it is cruel and excessive—particularly when decisions can (and often do), result in painful flogging, amputations, and even death. Revenge and retaliation, by both sides and over differing viewpoints, exacerbates tensions which are already raw and rarely have a chance to heal. In short, the followers of Muhammad and the People of the Book do not see eye to eye. What’s more is that the seeds for the “next Rwanda” are as good as sown in Nigeria unless communities make an effort to incorporate their traditional, ethnic ways of achieving peace into their daily lives.

This presentation will focus on how the principles of restorative justice did (or do) operate in Nigeria and how views of spirituality support the notion of restorative justice. Using secondary data, I will illustrate how the religious views of some Nigerian tribal groups influence their concept of justice. I will argue that the inclusion of such practices could improve relations between Muslims and Christians in the future.