Fifty years after: Rethinking security/national security discourse and practice to reinvent its future
October 2014
Fifty years after independence, the discourse and practice of security/national security in Nigeria needs re-examination. Security is a contested terrain amongst nation at different stages of development. At the moment, the contest is over the referent-state or people. Have Nigerians ever face national security threat of the scale in countries of the North that threatened the existence of the state in the last fifty...
A shift from peasant to intellectual-led political opposition in Tigray during the imperial regime (up to 1974)
October 2014
This paper examines how the educated people of Tigray took over the illiterate ones to fight against the imperial government. Local songs, poems and sayings used against Emperor Haileslasie are discussed. Following the liberation of Ethiopia from the Italian occupation in 1941, Emperor Haileslasie introduced a number of reforms, many of which were rejected by the people of Ethiopia. The imperial government used...
War saved in verse: Politics in Ezra Pound’s Canto XVI and T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land
September 2014
Modernist poetry is rarely examined in the light of the very social and political agitations which accompanied its production. Some theorists claim that modernist poetry is apolitical; neglecting the fact that the poet can never exist in vacuum. Unquestionably, the poet is the product of his immediate conditions of existence. No matter how he conceals his social reality, his words reveal it all. This paper looks at two...
Cultural values influence on learning style preferences: A case of Leribe Senior Secondary School, Lesotho
September 2014
This study was conducted with senior secondary schools Form Four learners doing science in the Leribe District of Lesotho. It sets out to probe the possibility of the influence of cultural values on students’ learning style preferences and their possible differences by gender. Filled questionnaires were collected from the eleven schools from which the study was conducted. Also, focus group discussions, with equal...
A comparative analysis of the post-colonial culture and democratization processes in Kenya and Zimbabwe to 2012
August 2014
During the past four decades, no international political phenomenon has been more significant than the worldwide call and expansion of democratic governance. Holding elections in almost all of Africa has turned out to be a norm. Clearly observable has been a gradual evolution of democratic institutions and consolidation of democratic practices. The prospects for fostering democracy in Kenya and Zimbabwe have...
The socio-cultural functions of Kafa proverbs
August 2014
The objective of this study was to examine the social and cultural functions of proverbs told by the Kafa people in southern Ethiopia. Accordingly, field visits were made to the area to collect data. Fifteen proverbs were selected and classified to study issues related to agriculture, forestry and other social and cultural beliefs of the society. The analysis showed that the proverbs emphasized the hard work...
The horn of Africa: Intra-state and inter-state conflicts and security. By Redie Bereketeab. London and uppsala: Pluto press and Nordic Africa institute, 2013, XI, 208 pp. Paperback. No price
June 2014
Conflicts are natural and historical and hence they are everywhere and every time. They are part of social phenomenon of human life. The difference lies on the magnitude, complexity, sequel and repercussion. The horn of Africa, with some exceptions, is one of the most politically sensitive and fragile regions of the world. The virtue of this book lies in its providing comprehensive and critical examination...
Lessons in translation: The English to Tiv example
June 2014
This paper examines the art of translation, the necessity of translation, the odd ends of translation, and how mistranslation can cause drastic changes in perceptions and policies and also alter a course of life and culture of a people. The paper supports its presentation with a historical analytical survey of misguided translation of English to Tiv lexicon and sentences, and how it affected an appreciation of the Tiv...
Cultural values: A conduit of shaping managerial thinking in Zimbabwe’s industrial relations
June 2014
Knowledge production remains a game of power. Over the years certain discourses have tried to naturalise and reinforce the position that world’s best practices are defined as Eurocentric and henceforth anything that is African is viewed as ‘traditional’ , ‘barbaric’ and ‘bush’. The European ‘supremacy’ in knowledge production has been emphasised across...
Challenges and prospects of lake Tana island monasteries as a tourist site since 1950’s: The case of Kebran Gabriel
May 2014
Nowadays, tourism plays pivotal role for economic and social development of many nations. It is considered as the world’s first investment movement of the 21st century. Thus, developing countries are giving due attention to service delivery industries like tourism that contributes a lot to their economy. Ethiopia has its own long centuries of history and rich culture. For instance, Amhara national regional state...
Aspects of Ughievwen Culture of Western Delta of Nigeria and the Influence of Westernism
May 2014
The culture and tradition of a people represent their source of identity, pride and dignity. The Ughievwen people of Western Delta of Nigeria are no exception to this generalisation. However, the introduction of colonial rule to that part of Nigeria in the nineteenth century commenced a phase in the history of the Ughievwen, in which the people began to experience culture conflict. This eroding force gradually...
Ethnic politics and post-election violence of 2007/8 in Kenya
May 2014
Based on primordial and essentialist theories of ethnicity, the paper critically interrogates the trajectory of politics since 1963 in Kenya. The objective was to explain the causes of ethnic politics in Kenya which led to the political assassination of the 1960s under Jomo Kenyatta, the ethnic clashes of Moi era and culminated into the 2007/8 post election violence of Kibaki presidency. Under Kenyatta...
The role of cultural diversity in the enhancement of international co-operation: A Muslim perspective
April 2014
The environment in which man is born or evolved plays a significant role in his life. It emits in him a special way of living a life which later develops to what is known as a culture. Thus man is caught in meshes of customs, superstitions, selfish desires and, possibly, incorrect teachings which, sometimes have undesirable bearing on him. This development may make him pugnacious, unclean, false, and slavish and...
Study on historical memorial archways in ancient Huizhou: Tangyue memorial archway group
April 2014
Memorial archways were built in ancient Huizhou as early as in 14th century. And they were regarded as culture symbols of Chinese ancient architectures of feudal society. Owing to the natural and man-made factors, many of them were damaged and even vanished. In this paper, the origin, evolution and culture connotation of Huizhou memorial archways were discussed with examples of existing Tangyue memorial archway group....
Indian education development and school administration with special reference to Tamil Nadu- A historical perspective
April 2014
Educational administration means the capacity of an individual or organization to manage all the activities of that educational institute. It is also defined as, the activity of a government or state in the exercise of its powers and duties. Educational administrators have education backgrounds similar to school guidance counsellors, librarians, curriculum coordinators, educational specialists and teachers....
Igue festival and the British invasion of Benin 1897: The violation of a people’s culture and sovereignty
March 2014
The Benin Kingdom was a sovereign state in pre-colonial West Africa. Sovereign in the sense that the Kingdom conducted and coordinated its internal and external affairs with its well structured political, social-cultural and economic institutions. One remarkable aspect of the Benin culture was the Igue festival. The festival was unique in the sense that it was a period when the Oba embarks on spiritual cleansing and...
Poultry industry in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana: Prospects and challenges
March 2014
The poultry industry is known to be a major contributor to Ghana’s economy through employment creation and the enhancement of nutrition and food security. In spite of these contributions, the poultry industry is faced with a number of problems that necessitate solution. The study was conducted in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana, with the prospects and challenges of the local poultry industry...
Bahru Zewde (2002). A History of Modern Ethiopia (1855-1991), 2nd ed. Oxford: James Currey; Athens: Ohio University Press; Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press. xviii + 300 pp. ISBN 0821414402 12.95.
January 2014
In accordance to Bahru, one of Ethiopia's eminent historians, the underlying principle and the inspiration for the preparation of the first edition of his book (1991), a History of Modern Ethiopia (1855-1974), was to provide solution for the jarring scarcity of general history of Ethiopia that could serve specialists and educators alike. Thus, he responded to quench the quest of historians and educators for...
Folklore and society in transition: A study of The Palm- Wine Drinkard and The Famished Road
January 2014
Folklore is found to be a favourite indigenous resource for an African novelist that s/he draws on for moulding the aesthetic concerns in novel writing. Considerable critical interest has grown around analysing the nuances of oral tradition, society and the novel in the context of Africa. Critics like Obiechina confirm that the oral tradition has survived in West Africa in spite of the introduction of...
Inter-group relations in historical perspectives: A case study of Yoruba and Hausa communities of Agege, Lagos, Nigeria
November 2013
This paper examines the phenomenon of inter-group relations amongst the Yoruba and Hausa communities in Agege, Lagos, Nigeria. Historically, Nigerian ethnic groups had achieved a high level of integration prior to the colonial conquest. Long distance trade, migratory movements and socio-economic inter-group relations had helped made ethnic and cultural integration an integral part in the evolution of modern...
Gender and power interrelationship: A review of the Jola indigenous socio-political organization of The Gambia
November 2013
Matters relating to the rights of men and women in our contemporary African society have been a major concern to academia. Thus, this article examines the indigenous Jola society with the aim of identifying the issues involved in gender and power relationship in their socio-political space. It locates the position of men and women in their socio-political system and identifies how power is distributed in the...
“Culture†‘Sous Rature’: A critical review of the notion of “Cultureâ€: Consideration from cultural and literary studies
November 2013
This paper offers a critical review of the concept of ‘culture’, and argues that at this particular juncture of our recent times the case against the concept has become prima facie a strong one. By tracing the various conceptualisations of the notion, its paradigms and schools of thought underlying the study of ‘culture’ in Western academy and beyond, I argue that in the...
“Friendly Assistance: Archetypal Pawnship in Pre-colonial Akan Societyâ€
October 2013
Debt bondage has been known in various forms in several societies in the world from the ancient period and it still exists in some cultures today. In pre-colonial Africa, it mainly took the form of pawning human beings to secure debt. Pawns served for debts they either personally contracted or, more often, for the indebtedness of senior members of their corporate kinship groups. This article examines the...
Recounting history through linguistics: A toponymic analysis of Asogli migration narratives
October 2013
Scholars seek to present the history of the Ewe in two main ways, namely, the symbolic and the scientific. Migration narratives constitute good examples of the symbolic historical genre. Using Tent and Blair’s toponymic typology, the paper tried to extract scientific historical information from some of the names of places contained in the migration narratives of the Asogli of the Volta Region. The paper...
Military regimes and nation building in Nigeria, 1966-1999
September 2013
The problems of nation building in Nigeria, most of which are congenital, dating to the birth of the nation through the amalgamation exercise of 1914, became protracted since then till the supposedly nationalistic and apolitical military came to power in 1966. The military solutions were examined in this study in a descriptive analytical manner. The discussion revealed that the low level of national...
Women’s right to resource access in Northern and Central Ethiopia: A historical survey of land tenure system from the 13th to 20th century
September 2013
This article attempted to examine how the evolution of land tenure system in north and central Ethiopia historically resulted in unequal resource accesses as far as gender relations are concerned. The article is an outcome of historical research and the researcher has employed a qualitative research method. Accordingly, written historical documents related to the study were consulted carefully and important...
Poverty alleviation and empowerment of small-scale industries in Nigeria: The case of Tie and Dye Makers Association
August 2013
Using the experiences of the Tie and Dye Makers Association of Nigeria, this study examines how various governmental programmes on poverty alleviation, job creation, and empowerment have impacted the fortunes of informal sector operators in Nigeria. The study found that while the various programmes were not deficient on policy design and resource allocation, politics and corruption ensured that the masses saw and...
The psychology of unmarried men in Nairobi: A case study of three bachelors over forty
August 2013
Equal number of males and females in Nairobi today says that they want to settle down and raise a family. More women than men, however, wish they were married and are currently in search for a life mate. However, although there are many marriageable women, some men still remain unmarried even after clocking the marriageable age. If we assume that marriage is a conscious and deliberate choice, then the...
Elections and electoral processes in Africa: A gimmick or a curse?
July 2013
This paper seeks to highlight the controversial way elections have been held in some countries, which have led to the loss of confidence with the results, in some cases, the disputed elections has led to civil wars, re-run of the electoral process or the formation of coalitions. Election time on the African continent has therefore brought about anxiety to both the contesting political parties and the...
The relevance and legacy of Nelson Mandela in the twenty-first century Africa: An historical and theological perspective
July 2013
Great people come and go out of this world, leaving behind great ideas which are easily forgotten by members of the society. This essay is written to remind people of the great ideas and impressive virtues bestowed on the person of Nelson Mandela. It candidly analyses Nelson Mandela – a great statesman, exemplary humanist, freedom fighter, and a strong opponent of apartheid. The essay highlights...
Attitude to education and academic performance for in-school adolescent girls in the eastern province of Sierra Leone
June 2013
Conscious of the multiple hurdles that girls encounter in their participation in education, the government of Sierra Leone has embarked on a series of affirmative policies to encourage their participation. This paper sets out to find out whether girls’ have a positive attitude to education in this positive affirmative educational policy landscape. The study found out that girls have developed a good...
Rural-urban migration and rural community development: A case of Kpongu community of Upper West Region of Ghana
June 2013
The movement of human beings from areas of origin to area of final destination is a natural phenomenon among human societies. This study focuses on rural-urban migration with the aim of identifying the socio-economic and cultural causes of rural-urban migration, the socio-economic and cultural implications of migration from the study area to other areas of final destination, the coping strategies adopted by...
Panoply of selected Asante and Ijaw cultural practices: Comparative and descriptive study
June 2013
Even though Ghana and Nigeria have a myriad of diverse cultures, which highlight the philosophical foundations of the existence of the people, most of these cultural elements are similar in practice. By virtue of the proximity of the two nations, their practices are vital to foster unity as well as create a healthy cultural relationship for socio-cultural development of the two West African nations. This...
Bereavement: Festivities during mourning among the Tiv of Benue State, Nigeria
May 2013
Until recently, death used to be a solemn occasion among the Tiv. The Tiv mourning custom of festivities during period of mourning compels the bereaved to provide for sympathisers instead of being provided for. This switch of roles and its supposed implications on bereaves motivated this research. A qualitative case study approach was used for analysis. A total of 125 participants, 84 males and 41 females of...
Exploring socio-economic factors in the exploitation of girls in the eastern province of Sierra Leone
May 2013
Access to formal education reduces the chances of the exploitation of children. However, with increased access to formal education comes the attendant problem of ensuring that children, especially girls, the sex that is disadvantaged in their participation in education, are able to complete their schooling. The aim of this paper is to investigate issues in the socio-economic exploitation of girls in the...
TIV elegiac poetry
May 2013
Oral poetry is a popular genre in Africa, largely due to the poetic nature of the African environment. Almost every activity in African communities calls for one form of poetic expression or the other. Oral poems are usually brought into service in various ways because they are concerned with different human experiences. Elegiac poetry is one of the several poetic forms that exist in Tiv...
Ayele Bekerie. Ethiopic: An African Writing System--Its history and principles. Lawrenceville, N.J., and Asmara, Eritrea: Red Sea Press, 1997. xiv + 176 pp. $18.95 (paper), ISBN 978-1-56902-021-0; $59.95 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-56902-020-3.
April 2013
Ethiopian history is notoriously a history abounded in mystifications, phantasms and de-Africanizations. A key aspect of these mystifying narratives is about the social origin of the so-called Ethiopic writing system. However, Ayele Bekerie’s Ethiopic is the first break with reproduction of flaw. In his book about the history and principles of Ethiopic system, Bekerie exploits his ideographical,...
Natural resource, identity politics and violent conflict in post-independence Nigeria
April 2013
Violent conflict is a recurring denominator of national life in Nigeria. This is exemplified by the recurrence of sectarian conflicts of violent dimension across the regions of the country, particularly since the return to civil rule in 1999. The Niger Delta is one of the regions of the country that has been particularly notorious for violent conflict. This is often rationalized on the struggles of the ethnic...
White power, white desire: Miscegenation in Southern Rhodesia, Zimbabwe
January 2013
While European patterns of miscegenation in colonial situations tended to be influenced by the demographic composition of the population, and in particular the proportion of non-whites and the ratio of white women to white men, there are other factors that need more emphasis. First, miscegenation was used to control and dominate the colonised peoples, and second miscegenation itself can be looked at as proof...
Politics in environmental stewardship in Zimbabwe: Reflections on Ruwa and Epworth
January 2013
This article outlines, explains and discusses the stewardship of the bio-physical environment in Zimbabwe with special reference to the policy instruments used at national and localized areas. Issues examined include aspects of the ecological footprint, the national environmental policy and housing with special reference to aspects including burial space, water and sanitation, deforestation challenges, solid...
Expressing indigenous knowledge through dance
June 2012
In many cases, indigenous knowledge has been orally passed from one generation to another. It encompasses the wisdom, knowledge and teachings of traditions to communities based on their social, economic, religious and political beliefs. The knowledge of indigenous and local communities is often embedded in a cosmology. These cosmologies are inextricably bound to ancestors, festivals and ancestral lands. To...
The role of language in ethnic identity: The case of Akwamu in Ghana
June 2012
Researchers in several disciplines within the social sciences, for example anthropology, sociology, history, linguistics and the humanities in general have explored the relationship among language, culture and identity from different perspectives. The general picture in the literature is the recognition that these three phenomena are connected to and affect each other in intricate ways. In this paper, we...
Influence of occupational health and safety programmers on performance of manufacturing firms in Western Province, Kenya
May 2012
Occupational health and safety continues to be one of the most critical but highly criticized issues within the discipline of human resource management. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of health and safety programmes on performance of manufacturing firms in Western Province, Kenya. The study presents the results on an empirical study conducted. The study utilized a convenient sample...
Assessing the driving forces of environmental degradation in Northern Ghana: Community truthing approach
May 2012
This article employs community truthing approach to interpret local peoples understanding and knowledge concerning the driving forces of environmental degradation in Northern Ghana. Through a wide range of participatory rural appraisal techniques, such as key informant interviews, focus group discussion and participants’ observation, selected people from the study community were given the chance to...
The formation of a hybrid identity in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions
April 2012
Colonization was one of the bitterest phenomena during the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. Imperial powers colonized some particular territories and plundered their capital. Beside economic damages, the colonizers obliterated local cultures of their colonies and imposed new ideologies on native people. Western cultural hegemony resulted in the formation of a new hybrid identity in the...
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...
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