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This paper interrogates the context that Poverty Reduction Strategy operates as a development policy framework implemented in Benin and Nigeria, and how this provides opportunities and constraints for the objective of poverty reduction. Also, it argues that within the context of a neo-liberal ideology and strategy of development which guide the formulation and implementation of poverty reduction strategy, poor developing countries have not experienced a reduction in poverty or a promised development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on the collection of Amiri Baraka's works, highlighting facts on his collection of poetry, print publications regarding the Black arts movement and his involvement in politics. Topics include the documentation of the collection, Black Women's United Front (BWUF), and the African Liberation.

The article provides information on the development of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) established by George W. Bush on February 6, 2007. AFRICOM was developed with the aim for peace and security for growing development challenges to education and health matters, economic growth and viable democratic institutions. In addition, AFRICOM remained under the supervision of the Central Command (CENTCOM) and had attained initial operating capability under European Command for operational unified command. African leaders have adapted the neo-imperialistic designs on the foreign policy options to checkmate the establishment of AFRICOM headquarters in Africa in order to relocate a full-fledged military command.

Post-independence Africa saw many of its talented nationals leaving the continent for greener pastures aboard. Though their exit was a huge loss to the continent, one major contribution of these emigrants to Africa's development is their remittances. In the paper's view, remittances' impact to Africa's development can only be effective depending on their prudent use and management. The paper assessed two categories of remittance recipient countries in Africa wherein remittances constituted a large percentage of GDP and those who receive higher sums of remittances. In each category, the paper evaluates their human development profile against other African countries and concludes that to be effective in implementing the continent's development agenda, human development and prudent management of remittances should be the measure in determining remittances' impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major thrust of this paper is to interrogate the impact of the brain drain and skilled labour migration on Africa's socio-economic development since the 1990s. Although, prior to the 1990s, a number of Africans had voluntarily migrated and settled in the overseas, most especially in the western hemisphere, the phenomenon became unprecedented in the period between the 1990s and 2000s. This development was facilitated by a combination of factors, which could be summed up as push and pull factors of international migration. While low living standards, political persecution, insecurity and lack of opportunities to utilise skills among others are the main push factors, higher wages, job opportunities, relatively good working conditions, freedom from political oppression, relaxation of immigration policies and the phenomenon of new globalisation constitute the main pull factors. The main destinations of these "economic migrants" are the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Europe. Drastic reduction in African scholars, poor delivery of basic healthcare and health programmes, lack of efficient utilisation of external assistance and low level of institutional capacity building are the main effects of the loss of highly-skilled African migrants on Africa's development. The paper argues that it is practically impossible to achieve a meaningful development in a society that loses its "best brain" to "forced international migration". It, therefore, submits that African leaders must be alive to the promotion of good governance in order to save the fragility of African states from collapsing. The methodological approach adopted in this paper is historical, analytical and descriptive, utilising materials from the secondary sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the linguistic philosophy of L. Wittgenstein (1963; 1961; 1958) is defended against charges brought against it by C. Okoro (2011); J.I. Unah (2004); and J.A. Omolafe (2000). Wherein these erudite scholars of African descent argue that the linguistic philosophy of Wittgenstein is hostile to Metaphysics, we counter their arguments to promulgate that Wittgenstein's assessment of Metaphysics is a constructive approach vis-à-vis the destructive or eliminative affair synonymous with members of the Vienna Circle. Furthermore, the paper also reveals that the rendition by the afore-mentioned scholars that Wittgenstein calls for the annihilation of the Metaphysical enterprise is the opposite of the truth. Thus, a fair and unbiased interpretation of Wittgenstein's ideas on language divulges deep corollaries and relevance for the regurgitation of discourse on Conceptual Decolonization which is germane to an authentic and pragmatic African philosophy. In the end, we submit that Wittgenstein's impression on the role of language, if faithfully interpreted is synonymous with the call made by Kwasi Wiredu (1995); Frantz Fanon (2008); and even Ngugi Wa Thiong'o (1986) towards making philosophy significant for Africa and African people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Ghana's drive towards democratic consolidation and maturity after a third peaceful transfer of political power. It argues that even though some successes have been made, any attempt at describing Ghana's democracy as consolidated, would mean condoning mediocrity and lowering the bar of democratic consolidation. From the minimalists' view of democratic consolidation, the paper concedes the successes made after three turnover and peaceful transfer of power. However, this paper takes the view that Ghana's electoral processes continue to be saddled with monumental flaws that undermine the integrity of elections and poses a threat of democratic relapse. From the maximalists view, the study points to some successes in terms of the existence of a multi-party system, the implementation of some electoral reforms, the existence of vibrant civil society and media as well as the acceptance of democratic norms behaviourally, attitudinally and constitutionally by the ordinary Ghanaian citizenry and political elites. These achievements notwithstanding, the study identifies several deficits of democratic consolidation including excessive powers of the executive president, ethnic or tribal politics, post-election violence, limited policy influence of civil society, as well as the deliberate effort at tagging civil society with a view to gagging them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surfacing the underside of resilient colonial researches in Africa, this paper develops on scholarly concerns that the word 'research' conjures up dirtiness for Africans consistently subjected to exploitative research since the colonial era. It also argues that researches since colonial times have victimised Africans not only in the physical sense, when they are experimented on, but also in the symbolic sense when their cultures, social institutions and economic institutions have been demonised and destroyed. Arguing for the contextualisation of researches within human rights and socio-legal parameters the paper introduces socio-legal and economic perspectives to research processes. In this paper, experimentation does not only include laboratory experiments; rather experiment is interpreted broadly to include conducting trials of economic, ideological, political, cultural and religious projects on the peoples of the continent. Thus, it argues for the need to ensure that researchers do not only observe ethics but also comply with laws; and not only an ethical, but also a legal dimension to research is proffered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the researcher's personal experiences, ethnographic interviews, observations and literature search, this paper investigates whether the rural elderly Shona people in Zimbabwe believe they possess mathematical knowledge. Second, it investigates and critically analyses how the Shona the Shurugwi County of Zimbabwe use indigenous mathematical knowledge and innovations to solve challenges they meet in their daily lives. And third, it specifically analyses the mathematics involved in building, clay pot making, traditional medicine preparation and mixing ratios and proverbs used in poems and stories. In this, observation and experience show that some of the elderly are reluctant to share their knowledge about local medicine preparation methods, and mixing ratios applied to make some medicines. Hence, as a way forward, the paper recommends the sharing of mathematical indigenous knowledge by rural communities to solve local challenges, thus, academics and researchers should record and formalize indigenous knowledge as it may contribute to a bank of African knowledge suitable for African socio-economic development, and knowledge that may also benefit other people in the world. And in conclusion, it is argued that rural folk hold rich mathematical knowledge, and the use of inexpensive and user-friendly innovations for family upbringing and survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper interrogates the credibility of elections going into the third decade since the third wave of democracy swept across Africa, particularly against the background of post-election conflicts in several countries and the recent uprisings in North Africa. It argues that enough attention has not been paid to the ethical, moral and philosophical dimensions of the role of elections as a critical component of the democratic project, and draws attention to some of the gaps and challenges embedded in approaches that leverage the certification of elections as being "free and fair" as a one-size-fits-all formula for deciding who governs. Using survey and secondary data, as well as drawing on the experiences of a number of Africa's democracies particularly Nigeria, the paper also raises critical questions about the relationship between the nature of elections and the quality of democracy, and the lessons learned so far. It also suggests ways of addressing those aspects of the electoral process that have been manipulated to fuel democratic deficits in Africa, as a basis for suggesting options that will likely deepen inclusive political participation, good governance and peace in the continent of Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper observed that the various ethics that constitute the system of African environmental ethics are not based on or linked to any known African ontology and formal logic. It argued that the contextualisation of African environmental ethics on African ontology and African logic is essential since Western ontology and logic do not serve to adequately explain and provide proper meanings to the various concepts and propositions employed in the African environmental ethics. Therefore, the paper aimed to, and indeed, link and establishes African environmental ethics on a definite and sound African ontology and formal logic based on Ibuanyidanda complementary ontology and Ezumezu integrativist logic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coloniality of researching, writing and publishing Africa has not received adequate attention notwithstanding contemporary scholarly concerns for decoloniality of knowledge, politics and being. To move beyond colonial methodologies, we interrogate the traditional notion of the "field" in "fieldwork" on Africa, and the Global South more generally. We interrogate the coloniality of defining Africa as a "field" from which to mine "raw data". We build on scholarly concerns that African people have so far participated in researches more as hunter-gatherers of "raw data" that is subsequently processed into theories by Northern scholars. The paper argues that Africa has suffered confinement as a "field" that awaits cultivation by scholars from elsewhere beyond the continent. The paper further argues that decoloniality should not be limited to "participation" or "action" in research but needs to extend to building theories from the Global South using data organic to the contexts. African scholars therefore need to become cultivators of relevant African theories and desist from being mere keepers of often irrelevant Northern theories on Africa. The paper further argues that since cultivation, civility and culture share the same roots, to portray Africa merely as a "field" is to presume that Africa has no creativity, culture, civility and cultivation of its own. Thus the paper argues that the disregard for African culture since the colonial era originated from methodological practices that took Africa as a "field" without organic cultivators. Such conceptualisation of Africa merely as a field for mining "raw data" has legitimised centuries-old (neo-) colonial epistemic and methodological experiments on the peoples of the continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the evolving role of the private sector in helping to address the challenges of disturbing health issues in Africa. The central question is to find out the role multinational corporations operating in Africa play in the fight against malaria. The paper presents a case for the implication of multinational corporations in global health matters, especially malaria and provides an overview of the key ways in which the private sector is already involved. The paper also makes attempts to analyze how businesses can bring unique contributions to the fight against malaria in Africa and offer recommendations for how to catalyze further private-sector engagement in the years ahead. Through the analyses of corporate reports and personal communications, this paper seeks to demonstrate the implication of multinational corporations in the fight against malaria in Africa south of the Sahara by assessing the contribution of six multinational corporations in this endeavor. The companies selected on the basis of their involvement in this fight include ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Chevron, Heineken, Sanofi-Aventis and Lafarge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European narratives about the slave trade in Africa has often attempted to underestimate, overlook or sometimes forget completely the role of African indigenous resistance to human kidnapping for enslavement. This paper examines ways in which the Bulsa and Kasena in northern Ghana were under the constant threats of enslavement and how they adapted and resisted the threats of violence and enslavement by exploiting their unique landscape and topography, local architecture and flight as strategies against captivity from slave raiders. Drawing from field work through recording of songs and oral accounts, the paper contributes to the broader discussion of the transatlantic European designed slave trade within the historiography on how communities who were devastated by the threats of violence and human kidnapping for enslavement continue to relive events of the past. The paper reveals that individual and communal flight from slave raiders as well as exploitation of the landscape and their building patterns reveal a compelling story about a people who do not always want to be perceived as victims, but as agents in reconstructing a narrative of endurance, skill, ingenuity and toughness. That is, although human raiding and threats of enslavement threatened their central communality and tampered with group cohesion, these communities still managed to adapt to their plight by devising strategies that sought to keep them safe, secure and helped to ensure their survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of the economic and political history of Africa's present-day realities, this paper argues that conceptions of development, in their varying forms, and their conspicuous link with modernization imperatives of present-day economics, as well as the geopolitical conflicts regarding sovereignty and territory (also linked to modernization imperatives) force African economic and political realities into dependencies that continuously devalue and limit their capacity to sustain both their material and metaphysical interests. The questions that arise from this dilemma have both a pragmatic and metaphysical edge to them, namely; is it possible to conceive of economic 'harmony' and 'sustainability' in a political environment which encourages morally relative and prejudiced, socio-economic competition? If not, what modality/rationale must exist to allow for the achievement of harmonious, developmental aims across current political and economic boundaries?Utilizing philosophical, sociological and economic perspectives, this paper seeks to highlight a recurring meta-paradigm and rationalization that undergirds most of Africa's knowledge-producing motifs; Welfare Rationalism. The aim is to posit this particular form of rationality in a global context, as the primary driver for developmental ethics, developmental economics, and developmental politics, in order to analyze the possible benefits and shortfalls. The paper concludes that positioning of inter-dependence based on Welfare Rationalism as a corner-stone of discourse on development, will encourage a progressive and unbiased outlook on culture, politics and economy, as well as practically facilitating a constructive ethos of 'modernization' and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the interest of Zimbabwe's socio-economic transformation agenda, the scourge of corruption has to be stopped. This paper sought to accurately locate African indigenous knowledge systems focused specifically on Shona proverbs in the ongoing discourse on corruption. It is observed that indigenous knowledge systems do not condone corruption. The research established here is that any reference to African indigenous knowledge systems to justify corruption is a blatant misreading and abuse of African (Shona) indigenous knowledge. Thus, it is recommended that all citizens embrace the values of hunhuism (an African philosophy) in word and in deed for an sustainable socio-economic transformation. The paper is inspired by Afrocentric reasoning and therefore, made use of in-depth interview and critical text analysis in its methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effectiveness of global governance institutions in the light of changes in the global system, and how such changes can be observed in the international arena. This study focuses on the African system of human rights as an example of global governance institutions operating within the liberal global order created in the post-war era by the United States. This paper uses Oran Young's1 framework of effectiveness of international institutions to examine whether the African human rights system is effective. Based on that framework, the paper observes that the African human rights system has been able to move beyond human rights treaty ratification by African states to the establishment of treaty bodies that have demonstrated dynamism in response to challenges in the African human rights system, as well as changes in the liberal global order. However, there is more to effectiveness of institutions of global governance beyond the dynamism demonstrated by the African system of human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning development schemes and managing them are two steps in the same process. While each step requires its own methods and tools, connection between them, in a feedback loop process, is important for the relative success of development projects. In that light, this paper studies the historical experience of the Ujamaa development scheme that took place in Tanzania in the second half of the last century, on the topic of the relationship between planning and management inside development schemes. A review of definitions and distinctions between planning and management is followed by brief introduction to the guiding vision of Ujamaa. Afterwards a critical narration of the Ujamaa experience is provided, followed by conclusions. The main argument of this paper is that, other aspects aside, the planning and management processes of Ujamaa could have used stronger connection. While Ujamaa's vision and strategy are worthy of serious contemplation, and perhaps revival, present and future development schemes in Africa that recall the Ujamaa experience should address this point with more care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enormous health challenges confronting Africa and the lack of capacity of the health systems to address those challenges stimulate a new thinking on the role of the community in improving health systems' performance in Africa. The health systems must respond effectively to these challenges if Africa as a continent must be free of all the burden of illhealth. The decline in most health indicators of some African countries were as a result of the inability of their health systems to address health problems confronting them. A failure of health service delivery in Africa is due to dysfunctional organization of the health system. The inadequacy of community involvement in community health services or the decline of the community participation in health planning and management has resulted in the poor performance of the health care system and its failure to solve the basic health problems in some countries. This paper using a case study of health care delivery in Lagos state, Nigeria examines the degree to which the people are involved in health care delivery and the implications for their health needs. The paper concludes that, since development is about people and their participation in the process that leads to such, effective participation of people especially at the community level is necessary to achieve development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continental and sub-regional organizations such as the African Union (AU) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) play considerable, albeit symbolic, roles in promoting social development including access to education in their respective mandate areas. Most of these roles are facilitative or catalytic, often termed as advocacy, harmonization, coordination and monitoring and evaluation. These institutions provide platforms for policy dialogues, strategic deliberations and joint decision-making on common priority areas. They also facilitate the elaboration and adoption of regional common positions to serve as Africa's advocacy tools at global agenda-setting for a such as the Programs of Action of the 1994 UN International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), the 2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the 2000 Dakar Commitment of Education for All (EFA). To what extent does higher education in general and private higher education in particular feature in the policies, strategies, and programs of the AU and IGAD? Using descriptive, historical and comparative methods, this paper assesses the place of private higher education in the portfolios of these two supra-national organizations. The major objectives of such a preliminary assessment is to appreciate efforts being made, identify gaps, if any, and suggest ways of strengthening or redirecting future interventions given the fact that the private sector education absorbs up to 25% of college intakes in Africa, provides access to those that have been left out by the public sector due to capacity limitations, and produces as well as employs a sizable proportion of the educated workforces in the continent. The concluding section of this paper outlines future areas of research and forwards some key recommendations on the need for informed policies and decisions on the promotion of private higher education in Africa with emphasis on quality, relevance, affordability and equitable access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enormous health challenges confronting Africa and the lack of capacity of the health systems to address those challenges stimulate a new thinking on the role of the community in improving health systems' performance in Africa. The health systems must respond effectively to these challenges if Africa as a continent must be free of all the burden of illhealth. The decline in most health indicators of some African countries were as a result of the inability of their health systems to address health problems confronting them. A failure of health service delivery in Africa is due to dysfunctional organization of the health system. The inadequacy of community involvement in community health services or the decline of the community participation in health planning and management has resulted in the poor performance of the health care system and its failure to solve the basic health problems in some countries. This paper using a case study of health care delivery in Lagos state, Nigeria examines the degree to which the people are involved in health care delivery and the implications for their health needs. The paper concludes that, since development is about people and their participation in the process that leads to such, effective participation of people especially at the community level is necessary to achieve development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by trade and investments, the growing relationship between African countries and China beyond the macro-level engagement, which relates to state-to-state interaction, has shown growing interest among individual traders in both Africa and China who seek business opportunities outside of their respective borders. While Africa - China trade has increased over the years, the role played by African and Chinese traders in Africa and China is important and needs special attention. While research on African traders in Guangzhou has been largely conducted, this paper focuses on African traders in Yiwu which has become an economic destination for many traders from different African countries, either established in Yiwu or traveling back and forth from their home countries in Africa. The paper also explores the African traders' trade networks in Yiwu and their role in the distribution of Chinese consumer goods in Africa. It first analyses why Yiwu is becoming a destination for African traders, then highlights the different categories of African traders in Yiwu and discusses the African traders' transnational trade networks and role in the distribution of 'made in China' products in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing number of innovative gender transformative programmes targeting men and boys are currently being developed across Africa south of the Sahara. One such initiative is the Khanyisa programme in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa which utilises the concept of Ubuntu as a lens to explore subjects such as masculinity, inequality, gender, violence and HIV/AIDS. Based upon original qualitative research which follows a Khanyisa group of eight young men over a 12 month period, this paper examines the use of indigenous knowledge approaches to transformative education in relation to masculinities. Focusing through transformative learning theory, this paper then explores how socio-cultural processes construct societal patterns of masculine domination and related individual masculine identities, and examines the use of gender transformative programmes towards the reconstruction of new, more equitable gender identities. Data collected through focus groups, semi structured interviews, subjective outcome evaluation and a diary project was interpreted using thematic analysis. The research shows the programme to produce a reduction in gender based violence and risk taking and an increase in self-esteem, communication and domestic and parental responsibility. Culturally appropriate pedagogies are found to be central to successful interventions, and a learning cycle which supports the internalisation of new, more equitable masculine schemas has been developed. In order to avoid social pressure to revert to default communal gender norms post intervention, the paper suggests adopting a 'whole community' approach to transforming societal gender systems into more equitable models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divergent views on the status of the Maghrebian literature never cease to come up in the debate on the politics of African literature. The politics of its exclusion is often premised on the belief that the Maghreb shares more similar socio-cultural orientation with the Arab than with the African world. Thus, this paper explores the content and context of Maghrebian literature to foreground its areas of convergence in the context of ideology, themes and style with other bodies of African literature. It also observes that those factors that shape literary evolutions in Africa South of the Sahara also shape Maghrebian literature, namely colonialism, postcolonialism and cultural experience. The paper, therefore, concludes that critics from both sides of the divide ought to begin to see Maghrebian literature as an integral part of African literature instead of playing the political ostrich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about why and how African-centered Mathematics can be a driving force in Africa's development efforts. That Africa was the center of Mathematics history for tens of thousands of years is hardly a matter of dispute. From the civilizations across the continent emerged contributions which would enrich both ancient and modern understandings of nature through Mathematics. Yet, today, scholars and other professionals working in the field of Mathematics Education in Africa have identified a plethora of problematic issues in the endeavor. In this paper, I argue that a major reason for these problems is that the African mother tongue has been greatly neglected in the teaching of Mathematics in Africa. This situation must be changed if the continent is to benefit from the tremendous opportunities Mathematics offers. While a great deal of work exists on the connections between Linguistics and Mathematics in general, few can be found on the nexus between African languages and Mathematics in particular, and these latter works are not linguistics-theoretically grounded. Thus, this essay begins by identifying the objects to the study of Linguistics and Mathematics and delineates which ones they study in common. Next, since the object of the study of Linguistics is language, the nine design features of language are employed to examine each of the objects as it pertains to African languages. After that, Mathematics of Sustainability and Mathematics of Tipping Points are suggested as a means to help Africa's development efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language can be a key contributing force towards the consolidation of nationhood and the realization of national development. It is a means by which participation by citizens is facilitated or prevented and, it holds the key to the establishment of true democracy and equality in a country (Bamgbose 2000). There is a close relationship between language and development and meaningful development cannot take place where linguistic barriers exist. The failure of many states in Africa, to come out with a clear transformational language policy appears to be a major handicap in their experiences of nation-building. Despite the fact that language is a powerful tool of society, if its potential is fully recognised and exploited for development, ironically to-date European languages dominate in most African states in all the formal and technical domains, such as government, business administration, science and technology, trade commerce, international relations and education. Indigenous languages in Africa have been restricted to a few domains of use and the less formal ones such as intra-community communication, interpretational roles in local courts, use by politicians in local political rallies to name a few. There are only a few countries in Africa, e.g. Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia and most of the Arabic speaking countries, which opted to develop their indigenous linguae francae to serve as national languages. If we consider the case of Tanzania, Ethiopia and Egypt, Kiswahili, Amharic and Arabic respectively, have been used as languages of education, trade and commerce. These are just but a few examples that illustrate successful government decisions to empower and develop common lingue francae for national development. In many other African countries, the ex- colonial languages have continued to strengthen their positions of prestige at the expense of the indigenous ones. This has partly been due to inherited colonial language legacy and partly because the African leaders are not willing to change the language policies they inherited from the colonial masters. Consequently, Development in Africa slows down because important communication relies on foreign languages and the parties involved in the process of development cannot interact effectively. A common language, therefore, should be seen as an integrating force, a means by which political empowerment and participation of all citizens is fully facilitated. This paper, therefore, seeks to explore how African languages, if developed, would foster development of Africa, to begin with, by involving the entire population of a nation, and consequently spill over to other countries of the world. It makes sense to argue that the dominance of foreign and largely colonial languages has undermined not only national cohesiveness and their perceptiveness of responsibilities as citizens but also seriously undercut their development of self-confidence and sense of Africanness. As a result many nationals are rendered unable to access government information because of bridling communication barriers. Africa need not rely on foreign languages for its development when it has such diverse linguistic resources which are well saddled in its cultural heritage that is critical for social capital formation. If developed this capital can form a basis of uniting not only people of its various nations but also foster prospects of enhancing regional integration. We cannot ignore the fact that language has also been used as a divisive tool, e.g., in Kenya, indigenous languages were used to spread hate speech and incite ethnic animosity after the 2007 elections. However, language is not the only basis for such conflicts. Even in countries with a common language, e.g. Burundi, Rwanda among others, warring communities have used other methods to propagate ethnic hatred. That is basically why the paper seeks to show that if a common language is adopted, the transfer of skills, new knowledge and other vital information desired to effect radical and sustainable changes in 21st century African states will be both feasible and germane to the building of a true sense of Africanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple dictionary definition of 'freedom' shows that it implies the power to think, act, and speak as one deems fit without any hindrance. It also denotes the power of 'being' or 'doing'. When many countries in Africa gained independence in the 1950s and beyond, this notion of freedom was what they all aspired to. And although many countries have been formally detached from their colonial heritage, most of them remain attached to the colonial intellectual roots. We argue that this practice is opposed to the independence and development that African countries have sought for several years, and thus, it kills initiative and renders the efforts towards freedom and sustained development meaningless. Therefore this paper highlights trends of epistemic oppression and academic dependency in some African countries, arguing that African people should think creatively from within and produce knowledge that is more in tune with an African context rather than depending on books, theories, and approaches from elsewhere. The overall claim of the paper is that until Africa gains the substantial ability to think, act and speak for itself through progressive scholarship and writing, 'true' intellectual freedom and home-grown development will be unlikely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper briefly introduces and explains the essence of indigenous Oromo democracy and its main characteristics that are relevant for the current condition of Africa in general and Oromo society in particular. It also illustrates how Oromo democracy had functioned as a socio-political institution by preventing oppression and exploitation and by promoting relative peace, security, sustainable development, and political sovereignty, and how the gadaa system organized Oromo society around economic, cultural and religious institutions. Finally, the paper explores how the Oromo movement for national self-determination and multinational democracy struggles to revive and revitalize the Oromo democratic tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses way the principle of sovereignty influenced the ideological framework of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its successor, the African Union (AU). While both the OAU and the AU represent the institutionalization of Pan-Africanism, this paper argues that by entrenching the notion of popular sovereignty in its constitution and peace and security institutions, the AU has a greater capacity to achieve the ideals of Pan-Africanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I would like to give thanks to the ancestors, according to our tradition, and to Professor Quist Adade for this invitation. This conference of outstanding scholars, colleagues, and students will represent a watershed in the discourse on Nkrumah's vision and I am pleased to be a small part of this discourse. My paper examines the prospects and possibilities of world peace inherent in Nkrumah's vision of a United States of Africa. In effect, an Africa, freed from the vestiges of colonialism in all of its dimensions; economic, philosophical, and cultural, would lead to stability on the continent and remove it, especially in its fragmented reality as nation-states, from being a hotly contested region for international political maneuvers. Nkrumah's vision was political but also more than political; it was also cultural and philosophical, and in his terms, Afro-centric. This is the meaning of Nkrumah's proposals for a new African personality, one loosed from an attachment to European and American cultural entanglements. Thus, my paper outlines the practical arguments for the United States of Africa and demonstrates how the resources of Africa are best preserved by a common external policy and an integrated continental market. Ultimately, I would like to re-iterate the Nkrumahist's vision and announce his advanced thinking for our era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study engages the question of the ways The Mano River Women's Peace Network (MARWOPNET) in West Africa (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone) is unique in the field of peacekeeping, based on the belief that women's collective contributions play a major role in African peacekeeping. Hence, this paper presents a context for the need for female peacekeepers including the conditions of women and children in conflict zones; international legislation related to women peacekeepers; theories of leadership; examples of male support and cooperation; and a discussion of African women's strategies in the inclusion of diverse stakeholders. This paper uses secondary sources on women peacekeepers to present evidence that women's leadership can provide a way forward toward peace and non-violence in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will explore and compare the Fanonian and Ghandian approaches to liberation. Whilst traditional discussions of either man tend to be reduced to an excursus on the role and value of violence in the cause of freedom, this paper addresses and goes beyond the traditional paradigms to engage with their deeper, more holistic concepts of liberation. In so doing it will highlight what I believe to be their overriding similarities and their particularly resonant takes on liberation as the expansion of complementary freedoms. I will focus on the political-national, cultural, economic and social liberation of those they fought for, and will highlight the constant and crucial interplay between the individual and the collective in their writings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Igbo term for a good person is ezigbo mmadu. It is a term that is descriptive of good character or positive moral conduct in a person or group of persons. Among the Igbo, a person is referred as ezigbo mmadu who possesses good conduct or moral fiber - qualities that are worthy of emulation by others. But ezigbo mmadu is not merely descriptive of a person's character or conduct; it is also expressive of a person who is equable, unflappable, even-tempered and levelheaded. Ezigbo mmadu has as its converse, the phrase ajo mmadu. Ajo mmadu is a term used to describe a bad man or woman, where the word ajo means 'bad', that is, the opposite of 'good'. A person is ajo mmadu who is flawed or defective in character. With particular focus on ezigbo mmadu, the Igbo identify some special qualities of life a person must possess before he or she can be so described. In the pre-colonial setting, for example, apart from the possession of good moral conduct, a person was considered ezigbo mmadu who respected the customary laws of community and was loyal to the preternatural forces that ruled in the cosmic order. In this paper, however, it is discovered that the challenges of modernity and the harsh social environment in which the modern Igbo have found themselves seem to greatly tint their conceptualisation of who an ezigbo mmadu is. This paper does not only identify reasons for the devaluation of this once venerated concept or social exemplar; it also proffers possible remedies to overcoming this social snag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to highlight how colonialism has inflicted spiritual and physical injury upon the Black family through imposing its memory while systematically endeavoring to annihilate and extinguish any traces of collective memory. The ultimate goal of colonialism was to create Black bodies which had no history, language, and cultural identity, because such bodies by their Blackness were marked for enslavement. It is this association that exists between Blackness and enslavement which haunts us as long as we are silent about our knowledges. I therefore hope that by sharing my specific family narratives I am able to reach out further to our larger Ubuntu (Black) community, because after all, we are all stories reaching out to each other. Hence, could my family story be just one micro example of how colonialism has fragmented Ubuntu families and governance on a macro level? For example, at the age of thirty four I came to know my Amai (mother) in ways that I had not known her before. As a way of explaining the tensions that exist between the ways I knew her as a child, and the ways I am learning to discover her as an adult, I have decided to write this paper as a letter to her. I write this letter as a way to give us strength in our effort to bring our fragmented families together, as a starting point for healing from the spiritual and physical injuries of colonialism, as a way to understand that our ancestors and our peoples did extra ordinary things in order to survive and finally as a way of honouring their survival spirit, because without them there would be no us. But my aspiration, brothers and sisters, is not to give you definitions of what we have been made into. On the contrary, my intention is to highlight the way forward for us as Ubuntu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baltimore Afro American newspaper's support for a Pan-African consciousness agenda for its readers was a significant occurrence in the history of the Black press. In its support of Pan- Africanism, the Afro American advocated an African identity and forged a connection to Africa and other parts of the Diaspora for the local and national Black community. This paper uses a Pan-African paradigm to examine the Afro American's coverage of, and support for, three major Diaspora areas: Haiti, Liberia, and Ethiopia between 1914 and 1941. The Afro American's news coverage focused on political, social, and economic happenings that directly affected the global Black community. The primary objective of this paper is to examine the definition of Pa-Africanism, and to discuss ways in which the Afro American put forth its own Pan-African agenda as it relates to each of the three Diaspora communities. Thus, the Afro American's coverage of Africa and the Diaspora demonstrates its Pan-Africanist views and adds to the current scholarship on Pan- African thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a philosophical attempt to examine the vital role culture plays in human scientific and technological explorations, and especially how the viable aspects of a people's culture can be explored for technological development in Africa. Indeed, the continent of Africa is a multicultural society that is endowed with abundance of systematic knowledge, dynamic cultural practices, human and natural resources and valuable attributes that can be used as a stepping stone towards achieving collective development. However, this cultural pluralism and dynamism has not been creatively exploited to actualize the pertinent quest for technological advancement in Africa. In this context we know that creative genius, resourceful intentions and artistic inventions of humans do not spring forth exnihilo. There has to be "something" fundamental that drives the conceiving and birth of mechanistic and intellectual creations - a catalyst that must spread through the total sphere of human cognition and existence. This "something" is culture; an all-breasted phenomenon that constantly propels the human instinctive attempt at technological innovation scientific explorations, and holistic development within society. This somewhat explains why this paper affirms that any group of people that is capable of evolving a culture is also capable of evolving technology; so the existence of culture within Africa is an accentuation that there is a huge possibility for the development of technology in Africa. Thus, this paper employs an analytic methodology in its conceptual analysis and contends that the viable aspects of African culture can provide the primary base for scientific and technological development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Matthew 5:17 in the Bible with a view to establishing its contribution to eradicate breaking the law in Africa. Using Ralph's grammatico-historical approach, it also reveals that Jesus fulfilled the law in his own life through teaching and selfless service. Hence, it recommends that holistic obedience to the law in the life, teaching and selfless service of individuals could eradicate breaking the law in Africa as enshrined in Matthew 5:17. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very few, if anyone, can argue that Africa's connection and relationship with the West is an asymmetrical one which cost the continent positive and sustainable developments in the political, economic and social areas. There is also no doubt in the fact that Africa's irresponsible and greedy leadership coupled with corruption and mismanagement of state and public properties are also largely responsible for the continent's demise (see Alemazung AJPSIR forthcoming). Unlike in "Leadership fallibilities and flaws in Africa" (ibid.) where I focused on the internal factors/actors impacting politics on the continent, the main argument in this paper is centered on the external factors contributing to the failures and lugubrious state of the continent. According to this paper, the foundation for failure was laid in Africa during colonialism and is sustained through colonial legacies with the accomplice of African elite leaders. This is demonstrated with empirical case studies examples drawn from around the continent beginning with colonialism, post-colonial development aid to and other Western support which has been counterproductive on the continent. Contrary to the intended purpose of development aid, such efforts from the West continues to cause more harm than good when combined with autocracy and tyrannical leadership which contribute to the downfall of people. The conclusion drawn in this paper blames Africa's failure to a great extent on international (exogenous) factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper researches the debates between physicalists such as Paul and Patricia Churchland and the anti-physicalists such as Frank Jackson, about the possibility of the complete empirical explanation and reduction of the nature and property of subjective consciousness. The paper argues that phenomenal consciousness cannot be explained or reduced by physicalist which raises the issue of the need for psycho-mental experts and/-or psychiatrics to enhance their expertise with an understanding of the nature and characteristics of phenomenal consciousness as an alternative healing method for psychomental illnesses in Africa, and in Nigeria particularly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revival of insurgent revolution aptly defines the resistance to the hypodermic model of exploitation in Africa. This paper examines the case of Niger-Delta sandwiched between dual hegemonies, foregrounding misappropriation of revenue accruing from oil resource in the area right from history. This is followed by formation of agitation groups with strong retrograde objective, though flawed by inter and intra community ethnic level split resulting in failure to institute a common front against the abuse. The ethnic nationalist framework is, therefore, limited to narrow conceptual definition of militancy without understanding relational meaning of the outstanding issues. It is understood that micro-oriented insurgent association is located among the alienated, deprived groups across the globe, which is consonant with the Post-Cold War politics. The paper interrogates the realist position of the hegemon, which graphically marks their departure from the idealist diplomacy serving as veritable means of subjecting the Delta to ideological manipulations. Nothing compares to the relational value of Africa's integration to colonial capitalism than Niger-Delta's amalgamation with the northern protectorate. This was pursued for the reason of socio-economic resources that abounded in order to balance the lopsided facilities in the north. It is even more controversial considering the fact that the will of people was not sought before this merger. This marked the beginning of the devastation of the sanctity of freedom showcasing the ideological hubris of the West, which was to be inherited after independence and followed to its logical conclusion. This format is a clear index that Niger-Delta's palavers range from the realm of history stretching from the present to the future, thus providing the reason for its regularity as a staple discourse in the political and economic events at the domestic and global levels. Ironically, the merger has not yielded its intended dividends as the two blocs developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concepts of education as well as emancipation are a veritable cauldron of interpretations and perspectives. This paper examines the nexus between education and emancipation from an African philosophical perspective. It establishes that while it is generally conceded in many quarters that education is necessarily related to emancipation, the nature of such relationship, (as to whether it is symmetrical, asymmetrical or non-symmetrical) has not been clearly articulated. In filling this vacuum, the paper not only examines the conceptual underpinnings of education and emancipation respectively, but establishes de facto that only an eclectic educational system consisting of indigenous African knowledge system and Western education can bring about holistic emancipation in contemporary Africa. Contrary to contemporary despise and neglect of indigenous knowledge system to the recluse, the paper makes case for an integration of indigenous knowledge system with other plausible forms of education in the contemporary African quest for emancipation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is no gainsaying the obvious that women have played leadership roles in the development of various African societies from pre-colonial days till now. Even though the patriarchy system in Africa cannot be denied, yet, the African woman possesses the power that binds the society together. In traditional African society, the survival of the family and the future of marriage depended a great deal on the African woman. Thus, the African woman played a key role in the education and the teaching of children social, ethical and moral values which were part of the cultural standards for evaluating proper societal behaviour. Even in contemporary Africa where most women are now more equipped and empowered, the traditional care-giving, home-making and nurturing roles of women in the African family which formed the basis of their identity as wives and mothers are gradually been abandoned, as they have become increasingly involved in new roles and relations outside the home. This paper identifies the indispensable role the woman plays in the society. It seeks to address the sense of inequality which revolves around the concept of gender in contemporary society which arguably fails to recognize the power the African woman possesses. The paper, nonetheless, examines the implications and consequences of the increased social and economic empowerment of the contemporary African woman in the light of her traditional roles as wife and mother. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is an attempt to explore and defend African ethico-feminism as a viable complementary ideology for curbing the challenges of prostitution and female trafficking in 21st century Africa. It argues that African ethico-feminism is a new conception of feminism necessarily relevant to the African predicament on prostitution and female trafficking. This ideological perspective strongly condemns prostitution and female trafficking as ethically unjustified. The paper posits that the strength, resilience and resounding liberation of African women can be positively harnessed and enhanced in order to reduce the spate of prostitution and female trafficking in the continent. It identifies the roles of men and youth in Africa towards curbing prostitution and female trafficking. Finally, the paper harps on the urgent need for African states to augment the principles of ethico-feminism with other viable measures in an attempt to evolve a holistic panacea to the wave of prostitution and female trafficking in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colonial powers introduced libraries to Africa and they were developed according to the Western model of libraries and librarianship where knowledge and culture are primarily transmitted through print media, and now increasingly through electronic means. Against the backdrop of oral tradition which predominates in African culture, this approach leaves out the vast majority of the rural population who are generally unable to read and write and unaccustomed to print and have limited or no access to electronic media. Fifty years after the end of colonialism in Africa, the transmission of knowledge and culture in rural communities continues to be predominantly oral (word of mouth, proverbs, etc.) however, African librarians have failed to address this in their collections and services. This paper reflects on some of the problems facing African libraries in the provision of information and services to rural communities regarding: inappropriate collections and services, lack of surveys/ analyses of information needs of rural communities, high-levels of illiteracy, disregard for oral tradition in the provision of services, lack of funding and cooperation between related agencies, and inappropriate training of African librarians, to name a few. Therefore, this paper suggests a library system that is sustainable and compatible with the oral tradition, and thus explore the following questions: (1) is the provision of information in print relevant to rural populations where information and knowledge are communicated orally; (2) are library collections and services patterned after Western culture and information needs relevant to rural communities in Africa, and (3) how can African librarians be better trained to meet the information needs of rural communities? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clamor for democracy all over the globe is not accidental. Those who go about such business of agitating for democratization are convinced that no society truly desirous of development can ignore democracy. The democratic experiences of the developed countries of the world lend credence to the truth of this claim. However, the reverse seems to be the case in many of the third world countries where there has been a huge golf between the anticipated gains of democracy and the reality on ground. Given the African situation, this then leaves one wondering to whether democracy brings about development everywhere or not. This paper investigates African states' proclivities towards democracy in their search for development and offers philosophical expositions of the missing gaps. While the paper argues that the universal features that define democracy are requisites for development anywhere, there are however some peculiar factors that stringently inhibit against the manifestation of this relationship in Africa. These factors, in their internal and external forms, are epitomized by leadership failure across the continent, posing enormous threats to the developmental aspirations of the people. This failure accounts for the ignorant acceptance of the neo-imperialistic assumptions smuggled into the definition of democracy. It accounts for the inability to provide the basic needs of the people in spite of huge resources, both material and human. The paper thus concludes that Africa can truly develop only when the leadership question is rightly settled. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exigency of a global female gender theory has generated an on-going debate. Feminism, due to its inadequacies birthed womanism, an African-American variant. Womanism in turn purports to interpret Black female experiences globally. Although some African women have identified with womanism, this paper examines to what extent womanism delineates the indigenous African women's experiences, worldviews and perception. In addition to exploring the various positions of female African literary luminaries, this paper outlines some principles for a truly indigenous African womanist stance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is about Kiswahili and its role in the integration of the East African diverse communities. It is argued in this paper that there is an evolving social-cultural matrix unique to East Africa. This culture is finding its expression in Kiswahili, which is a popular lingua franca in the region. This lingua franca enjoys goodwill not just as a communication tool but also as a symbol of regional identity and integration of the East African peoples and cultures. Kiswahili's role as one of the inner agents of East Africa faces great challenges by the mere fact of globalization enforcing on the spread of major world languages like English, French, German, Spanish and others. Globalization is likely to spark off even more of the allegiance of the East African inhabitants to their native languages. All these factors, not withstanding Kiswahili's ability to reinforce the East African integration is extremely significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows the processes that loanwords undergo when they are adapted from Arabic into Kiwahili. The data used is from Bosha (1993) and a constraint-based analysis is used in this paper. Although a number of studies have been carried out on Kiswahili loanwords, none that I know of has used Optimality Theory. This therefore makes the paper different from the others. Issues tackled herein include pitting the faithfulness of Kiswahili's open syllabicity (NOCODA) against the markedness of the sonority hierarchy (SON-SEQ) in borrowed words. For example, the paper discusses whether to maintain NOCODA when syllabifying "sultani" (chief, ruler, king) as /su.lta.ni/ or whether to look at the sonority of /l/ and /t/ vis-a-vis syllable margin (SONSEQ) and thus syllabify it as /sul.ta.ni/. Occasionally in casual speech this is resolved by inserting a vowel between the consonants thus producing /su.lu.ta.ni/, but at other times prestige overrides well-formedness. Furthermore, this paper also shows that Kiswahili mainly uses vowel epenthesis to repair syllables but other procedures like consonant deletion, cluster tolerance and feature change are also used. It has also been confirmed that Kiswahili is susceptible to consonant clusters within syllables because of its long association with non-Bantu languages, mainly Arabic and English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African jurisprudence, in contemporary times, seems to be faced with two difficult tasks: one, the challenge of the possibility of a worthy cerebral contribution to jurisprudence and the history of ideas in general, and, two, the disturbing reality of what is known as the Eurocentric foundation of choice concepts, persistent questions and controversial issues in Western jurisprudence, which passed itself as the standard definition of universal jurisprudence. This paper observes that the first task is defined by and a direct response to the second task. In transcending this myopic understanding of African contribution to the history of ideas, Western jurisprudence and jurisprudence in general, this paper takes issues on the controversy between naturalists and positivists on the relation between law and morality in the light of African legal theory. Examining three African cultures, the paper discovers that the more forceful and popular positivists', the separability thesis is not easily and commonly entertained. The paper also equally discovers that law, in those cultures, not only has an ontological moral foundation, but that the impossibility of separating law from morals which derives not just because morality is one of the sources, but also from the argument that no legal concept or rule exists without an ethical implication or dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a corrective to the Western gaze that modern medicine; science and Christianity are familiar parts of Western imagination. It shows the beauty of African indigenous science, medicine and worship. Colonialism transformed most African parts as a way of "modernizing traditional political, economic and social practices" as many scholars think. The paper is concerned with the socio-political and cultural dimensions of the new hegemonic tendencies in the world's global affairs, which pose serious challenges to African social sciences. It further discusses how the Shona perceive African metaphysics in the face of modernity global challenges and how they represent the interface of the three traditions namely: science, Christianity and African traditional culture. The Shona people being Africans represent the voice of Africans as a whole and Shona culture in particular. The paper brings out how Shona cultural beliefs specifically those that are metaphysical have demonstrated their resilience in the face of demonization and the onslaught from the West. This refraction of the new hegemonism into African culture and social sciences "still bears the methodological and epistemological hallmarks of the hegemonic dynamics" of the African colonial era that characterizes and continues to shape the discourses about Africa. The paper seeks to resist, dismantle and critique the inherited colonial social science research legacies, which have injured African social scientists' consciousness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]