Study Session 1

Cultures and Societies in Africa

1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 Learning Outcomes for study session 1
At the end of the session, you should be able to:
i. Define culture
ii. Describe the classical definition of culture
iii. Enumerate the characteristics of culture
iv. Identify the major components of culture
v. Provide major concepts associated with culture
vi. Illustrate with many examples the variation of culture in the society

1.2 What is Culture?

The word ‗culture‘ is an omnibus term with different meanings. To some, it represents the
songs, dances, drama and art that are exhibited by people in communities. To others, culture
means the ways of life and living, the ways of doing things – writing notes in the class, drinking
water from local clayed pot (Amu), either eating ‗amala‘- yam flour with our fingers or using
cutleries to impress friends; others may see culture as drinking palm wine with calabash cups,
greeting one another, shaking hands with each other, wearing clothes, indigenous or foreign.

To everyone who is familiar with the revival of culture, it represents a people‘s unique and
commonly shared ways of doing things. In all societies, some of the ways of doing things such
as reproduction and eating are the consequences of man‘s biological make-up; others are the
products of the fact that human beings live in groups. These ways of doing things are also the
ways in which as humans we tend to find certain solutions to problems: physical, material and
social ones that face our existence. Different human groups arrive at solution to these problems
in different ways.

Study Outcomes
At the end of the session, you should be able to:
(a) Define culture and mention the characteristics of culture
(b) Describe the components of culture
(c) Understand and explain the nature, dynamics and pattern of our socio-cultural environment
for the purpose of effective and socially-relevant change;
(d) Refute and redirect some of the assumptions and positions that are biased and pejorative
with regards to the previous ways in which some of the most important elements of our
history and culture have been explained.
(e) Understand and differentiate the concepts of ethnocentrism and cultural diffusion.

Definitions of Culture
By ‗culture‘ we mean ―a trait or characteristics that, although man made, is found in all human
societies‖. Cultural elements found in all human societies are called ‗cultural universal‘ or
‗cultural uniformities‘. Although some experts disagree as to whether there are any cultural
universals. We do know that virtually all human societies possess designs and potential which
are specific in nature that can be called culture.

We have royalties, such as those of Ile-Ife, Osun state, Nigeria, in Ancient Egypt and even the
more recent monarchies of Europe and Saudi Arabia. It is also important to note that all human
societies regulate sexual behaviours in one way or another. You are not allowed by the social
regulations to ‗jump‘ on any man or woman without the societally laid rules of doing it. These
rules serve as a form of social control. Among the Eskimos and Tivs, wife hospitality is practiced
but detested in other climes.

All human societies have a form of greeting but the way and manner of greeting differs from
one society to another. Language is also a universal phenomenon because there is perhaps no
human society where language is not visible and used,so also, there are social institutions such
as the family, government, religion, economy, education and politics.

What then is culture? Culture has been defined in ‗Primitive Culture‘ by Edward B. Tylor (1871)
as a ‗complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom and any other
capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society‘. This is tagged ‗classical‘
definition of culture in anthropological literature.

According to Reading (1978:55), culture is seen as ‗the totality of learned behaviour transmitted
from one generation to the next‘. Mitchell (1979: 45) opines that ‗culture, in its broadest
definition, refers to that part of the total repertoire of human action (and its products), which is
socially as opposed to genetically transmitted‘. Kroeber and Kluckhohn argue that ‗culture
consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behaviour acquired and transmitted by
symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their
embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (that is, historically
derived and selected ideas and especially their attached values‘. From these definitions, it can
be inferred that culture is so central to human existence and can be simply referred to as the
total way of life of human existence, the way we talk, read, write, greet and exchange
pleasantries are all embedded in culture.

Social Institutions: By social institutions, we mean ―a set of interrelated norms‘, regularized,

prescribed patterns of action and behaviour‖ a normative system centered on some types of
human activity or some major problems of man in society… (Chinoy, 1967: 29). We should
note, however, that only problems and not the solutions are universal. Also, the contents of
solutions are highly variable. Thus, the arrangements of most of these institutions among
human beings differ from place to place. The commonly shared arrangements help us as groups
to solve the problem of our collective existence and this is what is generally known as culture.
Ethnocentrism: Talking about the common elements in culture also brings us to the
discussion of Ethnocentrism – that is the act of evaluation by some social scientists in their
works who see other peoples as primitives etc. and as possessing cultures and behaviour not as
advanced or developed like their own. Ethnocentrism is also important factor in manifestation of
collective behaviour that have been termed as ‗racism‘ and ‗tribalism‘. Ethnocentrism is one of
the factors that can fan the embers of communal clashes and ethnic conflicts.

Cultural diffusion: Another important notion that we should note whose manifestations
contributed to the similarity in the behaviour of peoples is ‗cultural diffusion‘. This is the process
whereby traits and characteristics that are part of one society are imported into another. Africa
has witnessed a lot of this in reggae and rap music, use of Compact Disc MP4, and I-Pads
devices LED Flat screen TVs, Digital Voice Recorders among others are all elements of this.
These products are made outside the shore of Africa andare imported but the use and
sometimes, abuse of these items are common in our communities.
In a nut shell, culture is learned mainly through the socialisation process. Socialization is the
process whereby the ways of any group is learnt right from infancy to adulthood.

Characteristics of Culture
What are the major features of culture?
 Culture whether material or non-material is passed from generation to generation
through language.
 provides socially acceptable patterns for meeting needs of the people in the society
 is cumulative.
 is meaningful because of its symbolic quality.
 is learned from one person and passed to another.
 is a basic determinant of personality.
 it depends for its existence on the continued functioning of the society but not upon
any individual or group.
1.4.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)
i. Who espouses the ‗classical‘ definition of culture?
ii. Name two major concepts associated with culture
iii. List three features of culture
1.4.2. In-Text Answers (ITAs)
i. Edward B. Tylor espoused the classical definition of culture
ii. Two major concepts associated with culture are: Ethnocentrism and Cultural
diffusion
iii. Culture is learnt. Culture is cumulative and is transmitted from generation to
another generation
1.5 Components of Culture
Chinoy (1967: 29) identifies three (3) main groups of the components of culture
(a) Institutions, the rules of norms which govern human behaviour
(b) Ideas, knowledge and belief of all variables – moral, theological, philosophical, scientific,
technological, among others
(c) Material products or artifacts which men produce and use in the course of their collective
lives.
In looking at these constituents, it becomes clearer that culture is both material and non-
material. The material components are concrete things that can be seen, felt or touched such
as your android hand-held phone set, benches, bags and lap-tops. On the other hand, non-
material elements constitute the abstract aspect of culture such as ideas, customs and values.
Can you touch any of these materials? Of course, not.

1.5.1. ITQs

i. Enumerate two main group components of culture

ii. Indicate the two constituents of culture
1.5.2 ITAs
i. Institutions, Ideas, Knowledge and Beliefs
ii. Material and Non-material

1.6. Culture Patterns

According to Beal & Hojier (1971:107), the term culture pattern refers to a cluster of related
ways of behaving found in a given culture. Hogan (2006: 104) avers that culture pattern is the
‗predominant value and belief that characterize a culture‘.

Culture patterns can be divided into two broad types: Ideal patterns and Behaviour patterns.
Ideal patterns refer to the modes of behaviour of a specific people if they conform completely
to the standards set up by their culture. Behavioural patterns refer to actual behaviour observed
in particular situations.

Culture patterns like culture cannot be directly observed and are studied as abstractions from
observed behaviour. They may also be viewed in terms of their functions in the society.

1. 7- National Culture Patterns

(1) A national pattern culture is the largest functional unit of national societies e.g. Nigerian
Culture, Ethiopian Culture, English Culture, American Culture, etc.
(2) Ethnocentrism is a widespread characteristic of national groups.
(3) The study of national patterns of culture is complicated by factors such as:
(a) Multiple groups within communities: Some nations such as Nigeria, Kenya, Russia and
USA are composed of several cultural and sub-cultural groups within their territories.
(b) The fact that culture patterns are dynamic; they change with time.
 (c) The fact that the contributions or situation of some dominant classes or sub-groups may
dominate the national culture patterns while those of other classes or groups are not
visibly represented.

1.7.1. ITQs
i. Define culture patterns
ii. Provide one factor that can affect national pattern of culture

1.7.2 ITAs
How would you differentiate between Nigerian culture pattern from that of Asia?

1.8. What is Society?

Society or social formation is not synonymous to boundaries or location. This is a narrow
way of defining society. Society includes a set of people in a specific location/boundary,
sharing a body of customs, norms, values, reproducing themselves and sharing a
language or languages. A society has specific rules and regulations which serve as social
control and members who violate the rules are sanctioned.

1.8.1. ITQs
 Identify one or two elements of society
1.8.2. ITAs
 Some elements of society are shared customs, norms, language and boundary.

1.9. Classification of Society

Society can be classified in many ways. Sociologists categorise societies into ‗primitive,
traditional which denotes societies with simple, undiluted, undifferentiated and almost
homogenous customs and social control or ‗modern‘ typified by industrial modern
societies. There are also allusions to non-literate and literate societies, segmental and
organic societies as French Scholar, Emile Durkheim enthused (See Mitchell, 1979:206-
207).

1.9.1. ITQs?
 List two types of human societies
1.9.2. ITAs?
 Two kinds of human societies are segmental and organic forms

1.10. Culture and Society.

From the earlier discussion in this session, it would be seen that culture is central to the
existence of human society. It is culture that gives the colour, the shine and life to any
human society. No human society can survive without culture.
1.10.1. ITQs?
 What is the relationship between culture and society?
 1.10.2. Self-Assessment Question (SAQ)?
 Think of any characteristic or component of culture in your community or society and
discuss with a friend of yours who should identify his/her own and share with you
also.

1.11. Culture(s) of Africa

1.11.1. Historical Overview
It is important to allude to historical undercurrents of cultures of Africa. This section deals
with that social phenomenon. Africa‘s cultural rebirth has been an integral aspect of post-
independence nation-building on the continent, with the recognition for the need to harness
the diverse cultural resources of Africa in order to enhance the process of education, and
create the needed enabling environment. In recent times, there has been a call for a much
greater emphasis on the cultural dimension in all aspects of development. In the past, our
parents were adroit in teaching and passing our cultural heritage to the children who imbibe
and practise them. The practice has been weakened by forces of industrialisation and
globalisation.

During colonialism in Africa, Europeans adopted the attitudes of superiority as a sense of

mission. They lived in special areas (Government Reserved Area-GRA) and went to special
schools. The French were able to accept Africans as French, if they gave up their African
culture and adopted French ways. Knowledge of Portuguese language and culture and
abandonment of indigenous ways defined one as civilized in some other parts of Africa.
Kenyan social commentator Mwiti Mugambi pragmatically avers that the future of Africa can
only be forged from accepting and mending the socio-cultural present. For Mugambi,
colonial cultural hangovers, pervasive Western cultural inundation, and aid-giving arm-
twisting donors are, he argues, here to stay and no amount of looking into Africa's past will
make them go away except we take conscious steps to alter that.

Culture is here defined as the totality of thought and practice by which a people creates
itself, celebrates, sustains and develops itself and introduces itself to history and humanity‘
— Maulana Karenga; African Culture and the Ongoing Quest for Excellence

1.11.2. ITQs?
 Describe the historical force of cultural development in Africa

1.11.3. ITAs?
 What aspect of culture have you learnt from your parents?

1.12. Attributes of African Culture(s)

1.12.1. African Arts and Crafts

 It is certain that Africa has inherent gorgeous customs and culture in terms of arts and
crafts. Some of these manifestations are depicted in wood-carvings, mats, leather and
pottery art works, among others. There are indigenous sculpture makers, painters, and the
like.

1.12.2. Folklore and Religion

African folklore and religion form special segments of African culture. The folklore and myth
of creation in Africa is common. In Nigeria, it is believed that Ile-Ife is the source of creation
and civilisation begins from there. There is the myth of homo sapiens‘ descendance in Ile-
Ife, Osun state, Nigeria.
In another vein, flood myths have been circulating in different parts of Africa. Culture and
religion share space and are deeply intertwined in African cultures. In Nigeria, there is an
admixture of traditional believers, Christians and Muslims associating with one another most
times in peace and occasionally in conflict. In Ethiopia, Christianity and Islam form the core
aspects of their culture and these influence their cuisine and customs as well as rituals and
rites. Religion serves a number of functions for Nigerians. In indigenous African religion, the
concept of the ‗Olodumare‘ among the Yoruba, depicts the Omniscient, Omnipresent and all
-powerful God.

1.12.3. Clothing
Africans adorn themselves with different attires. Many indigenous fabrics are hand-woven.
There is a tie and dye fabric in Abeokuta, Ogun State, ‗Aso Oke‘ in Iseyin, Oyo State,
Nigeria, among others. In Ethiopia, Women's traditional clothes are made from fabric called
shemma and used to make habesha qemis: it is basically cotton cloth, about 90 cm wide,
woven in long strips which are then sewn together. Sometimes shiny threads are woven into
the fabric for an elegant effect. In southeast Nigeria, indigenous men tend to wear a knee-
length shirt with wrapper. In West Africa, many of the indigenous attire is influenced by
Islamic traditions. Zulus wear a variety of attire, both traditional for ceremonial or culturally
celebratory occasions, and modern westernised clothing for everyday use. Among the Zulu,
one can decipher from their attire that the women are married. Traditional male clothing is
usually light, consisting of a two-part apron (similar to a loincloth) used to cover the genitals
and buttocks.

1.12.4. African Cuisine

Africa is a large continent containing over 50 countries and thus, endowed with rich delicacies in
terms of food and drinks. There is also the use of food products like peppers, peanuts and
maize introduced by the colonial masters. The African food is a combination of traditional fruits
and vegetables, milk and meat products. The African village diet is often vegetable and assorted
stable grains and starch products. Exotic game and fish are gathered from Africa's vast area.
There is Argungun Festival in Kebbi State, Nigeria where fishing is communally harvested.
Indigenous cooking in most of Africa is characterised by use of starch as a focus, accompanied
by stew containing meat or vegetables, or both. Cassava, cocoyam, potato and yams are the
main root vegetables. Africans also use steamed greens with hot spices. Dishes of steamed or
boiled green vegetables, peas, beans and cereals, starchy cassava, yams and sweet potatoes
are widely consumed. In each African locality, there are numerous wild fruits and vegetables
which are used as food. Pawpaw, Banana, oranges, watermelon and tangerine are very
common edible fruits for the people.

The non-Muslim population of Africa tend to consume alcohol beverages. People from Ethiopia
lay claim to first regular cultivation of coffeeand they have a sort of coffee ceremony, like
Japanese Tea Ceremony.

1.12.5. Languages

There are many languages in Africa (written and unwritten). The main ethno-linguistic divisions
are Afro-asiatic (North Africa, Chad, Horn of Africa), Niger-Congo (mostly Bantu) in most of
Sub-Saharan Africa, Nilo-Saharan in parts of the Sahara and the Sahel and parts of Eastern
Africa, and Khoisan. The continent of Africa speaks hundreds of languages, and if dialects
spoken by various ethnic groups are also included, the number is much higher. These
languages and dialects do not have the same importance: some are spoken by only few
hundred persons, others are spoken by millions. Among the most prominent languages spoken
are Arabic, Swahili, Yoruba and Hausa. Very few countries of Africa use any single language
and for this reason several official languages coexist, African and European. Some Africans may
also speak different languages such as Swahili, English, French, Spanish, Bambara, Sotho, and
many more. We shall dwell more on this in the section on language.

1.12.6. ITQs?
i. Describe some prominent arts and crafts in Africa
ii. What are the commonest fruits and vegetables in your community?
iii. List three main languages in Africa

1.12.7. ITAs?
i. Prominent arts and crafts include Bronze, sculpture and silver
ii. Commonest fruits are Pawpaw, Watermelon and Banana
iii. Swahili, Hausa and Yoruba are three main languages in Africa

1.13. Culture Areas of Africa

1.13.1. Fundamental Assumptions of the Concept

The concept of culture areas as championed by Herskovits (1924) is an attempt to group

together people whose indigenous ways of life are similar to a great degree. It is the high
degree of similarity that makes them appear unique. According to the International
Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (1968, culled from Encyclopadia.com retrieved February 28,
2012), Culture areas are geographical territories in which characteristic culture patterns are
recognizable through repeated associations of specific traits and are usually, through one or
more modes of subsistence related to the particular environment.

As one formulation within the general school of historical particularism that has developed in
anthropology in the United States, the concept of culture area reflects the theoretical position
that each culture, on whatever level it may be analysed, must be examined with regard to its
own history and in regard to the general principles of independent invention, culture borrowing,
and cultural integration. Although many factors at the base of any recognizable culture area are
ecological in nature, the culture-area concept is one that conforms to the doctrine of limited
possibilities rather than to a simple geographic determinism.

Viewed in this light and assessed according to the size and character of the geographic units
and the degree of complexity of cultural similarities within and differences between the units,
the culture-area concept takes shape as a classificatory device of marked utility in describing
the cultural regions of the world. Since ―culture‖ and ―area‖ are both generalised terms, their
use in combination gives no real clue as to the precise meaning, which must be specified. When
contrasting one culture area with another, the level of abstraction must be the same.

In its original formulation, the culture-area concept applied primarily to the ethnographic
present and occupied an important place in the natural-history phase of anthropology that was
concerned with the orderly description of the cultures of the world. The geographic distribution
of culture traits within such areas served as indirect evidence for the reconstruction of cultural
histories. The formulations for each of the major continents were used for convenience in the
ordering of ethnographic descriptions but were otherwise ignored or discarded as being too
limited in time, too static in concept, and too generally conceived to be of much use to the
developing trends of concern with inter-personal and social dynamics.

The steady expansion of archaeological research, which furnishes direct evidence for the
construction of the historical chronicle in local terms, reduced the role of indirect evidence
equipped by contemporary data in the reconstruction of culture history. Although the culture-
area concept went into temporary eclipse as a tool for theoretical research, it was still retained
for the arrangement of museum collections, for which it was originally devised and for the
presentation of descriptive data at the classroom level (e.g., Herskovits 1955; Keesing 1958).

Fundamental Assumptions of the Concept

Culture Area has some assumptions which are as follows:
(1) That is there are culture centres in culture areas. That is, there is a locus within the culture
area with the greatest concentration of culture traits which helps to differentiate the area
generally from others. In certain cases, there could be more than one culture centre in a
culture area. However, culture centres tend to be found in urban centres and other points of
cultural diffusion and adaptation.
(2) Culture traits from culture centres tend to diffuse evenly from the centres to the periphery
of the culture areas. It is possible to criticise this assumption of Herskovits that assumes an
automatic diffusion of culture.
(3) As there are culture centres of most concentration of traits, there are also peripheries of
least concentration of traits. The limitations of this assumption are that the so-called points
of least concentration of traits and the peripheries could also be vulnerable to several other
culture traits from other culture centres.
(4) Since culture has an ecological basis, areas of similar culture will tend to have similar
environment conditions.
(5) The fifth assumption within the conception deals with the age-area concept which is an
attempt to give time dimension to culture traits that are distributed over natural or
geographical area. Here, the oldest traits will have dominance over particular areas.

Using all the above stated elements, Herskovits attempted characterization of culture areas
which are briefly outlinedbelow:

1. Eastern Sudan Area: This consists of mainly nomadic peoplewho are usually
represented by the Kababish people. Livestock are camels, goats. The religion is mainly
Islam and social organization is made up of strong pattern with Sheikh as head of group
controlling their movements. Milk of camel is a principal means of sustenance and camel
is used as marriage gift.
2. Western Sudan: This is a marginal area and the dominant religionsare Islam and Animism
(worship of idols). It possesses great kingdom some of which reach the coast. Benin,
Hausa, Fulbe, Borno and Yoruba were some of the Empires. Political organizations are
stable and dynastic. Economic life is complex with a dual economy composed of herding and
agriculture emphasis depending on different societies. Markets exist including trading
centres such as Kano and Timbuktu. Linguistic situation is chaotic-several languages. Art
forms complex and advanced-terra cottas.

3. The Desert Region: It is referred to as the Oasis culture. The conception of the Oasis here
is not just that of the easy access to water. Oasis dwellers are sedentary. Camels and
horses are principal domestic animals. There are also sheep, goats etc. Inhabitants are
Tuarages and Barbers. Descent is patrilineal and male authority is patriarchal.

The Egyptian area is part of the Desert area but for the Nile Baltes incursion. Land of ancient
civilization highly elaborate artistic work and it is the land of the salpinx and pyramids.

There are other areas included in this classification-that is, the Madagascan area with 4 sub-
areas within it namely, the Central Plateau Region, East coast, West coast and Extreme south.
These are the major characteristics of Herskovits‘ (1924) Culture areas of Africa. They represent
a broad classification emphasizing the traditional nature of the areas. Today, social change
deriving from various influences such as impact of colonization and modernization has affected
the essentially traditional nature of the cultures of these areas. Readers are encouraged to
pursue further reading from the original text. Sources include International Encyclopedia of the
Social Sciences.

1.13.2. ITQs?
i. List two fundamental assumptions of culture areas
ii. Provide with illustrations two culture areas as provided by Herskovits
1.13.3. ITAs?
Ia. Culture traits from culture centres tend to diffuse evenly from the centres to the periphery of
the culture areas. It is possible to criticize this assumption of Herskovitts which assumes an
automatic diffusion of culture.
Ib. As there are culture centres of most concentration of traits, there are also peripheries of
least concentration of traits. The limitations of this assumption are that the so-called points of
least concentration of traits and the peripheries could also be vulnerable to several other culture
traits from other culture centres.

a. Eastern Sudan Area: This consists of mainly nomadic people, represented mainly by
the Kababish people. Livestock are camels, goats. Religion mainly Islam, social
organization- strongly patterned with Sheikh as head of group controlling their
movements.

b. Western Sudan: This is a marginal area. Dominant religions are Islam and Animism
(worship of idols). It possesses great kingdom some of which reach the coast. Benin,
Hausa, Fulbe, Borno and Yoruba were some of the Empires. Political organizations are
stable and dynastic. Economic life is complex with a dual economy composed of herding and
agriculture emphasis depending on different societies.

Summary of Study Session 1

The study session is the first of the ten sessions in the module. This study session is intended to
equip students with the knowledge and skill to appreciate the rich diversity as well as the
similarities in the African socio-cultural, socio-economic, geographic and political landscape. In
addition, attributes of African Culture such as cuisine, folklore, myths and religion, clothing and
its varied production are explored.

The focus is on the African peoples, their cultures, norms, practices, customs, environment,
institutions, the history and evolution of these social features and their impacts on the African
image, African identity and the African question in contemporary times. The session begins
with clarification of basic concepts such as culture, enumerated and illustrated components of
culture and discussed characteristics of culture. The session moved on to look at what a society
is and the sociological typologies of human societies. It considered the nexus and interface of
culture and society, mentioned the attributes of African culture such as arts and crafts, folklore
and religion, clothing and cuisine, among others. It considers culture areas of Africa and the
exposition of Herskovits on the fundamental assumptions of culture areas. There are in-text
questions and in-text answers and activities at the end of each sub-section.
SAQs?
i. How would you define culture?
ii. Mention two features of culture
iii. What are the two major components of culture?
iv. Who is the proponent of cultural area?
v. Enumerate three attributes of African Culture

References

Bowden, R (2007). Africa South of the Sahara. New York: Coughlan Publishing

Ehret, C (2002). The Civilizations of Africa. Charlottesville: University of Virginia

Hogan, M.O (2006). Academic‘s Dictionary of Sociology. New Delhi: EPP Books Services

Mitchell, G.D (1979) ed. A New Dictionary of Sociology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul

Ninalowo, A and Badru, F.A (2012) eds. Fundamentals of General African Studies. Lagos:
Department of Sociology, University of Lagos

Reading, H.F (1978). A Dictionary of the Social Sciences. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul

Tajudeen Abdul Raheem, ed., (1996). Pan Africanism: Politics, Economy and Social Change in
the Twenty First Century.London: Pluto Press.
 Study Session 2

Social Organisations in Africa

2.1 Introduction
Have you ever asked yourself what makes it easier for people to understand themselves? Or how
people instinctively know what to do in a particular situation? Or why you come to expect certain
things from some persons, like your father, mother and siblings? Or why you hesitate in doing
certain things, even though you really want to? Yes, more likely than not, it is because of the
social groups (society, communities, family, etc.) you belong to and the systems of expectations
and rules of socialisation within those groups.

All these social groups help you to organise systems of social positions and roles that underscore
your understanding and interpersonal relationships, and thus are social organisations that regulate
your behaviour and that of others. Therefore, as we will discuss in this study session, social
organisation provides a relatively stable pattern of social interaction and relationships among
individuals in groups and society at large. These sets of stable patterns do not only inform our
behaviour but help us to discern what to expect from others and to maintain social order in society
at large.

Furthermore, as you will come to understand, social organisation is based on systems of social
statuses and roles, and shared meanings that provide regularity and predictability in relationship.
Therefore, in this study session, you will be learning the concepts of social organisation and social
group. You will also be introduced to the centrality of social statuses and social roles for the
maintenance of social organisation and social order. In addition, you will learn about the context of
family structures and processes in Africa, including the variations in family organisation in relation
to the social, demographic and economic determinants of family formation.

2.1.1 Study Session 2 Learning Outcomes

By the end of the study session, you are expected to be able to:
1. define and succinctly explain the meaning of social organisation and social group;
2. outline the exigencies of social status and roles in the formation and sustenance of social
organisation;
3. identify and explain key types and patterns in family formation;
4. identify and explain diverse ways societies organise into social units through marriages and
kinships; and
5. Discuss the centrality of family to the social and economic formation in pre-colonial Africa

2.2 Social Organisation

The word social has two connotations that are of great importance to understanding the concept
of social organization:

First, it means to exist as a member of a group(s), not to live alone butto interact with others. In
other words, all animal species that live naturally in groups are social. Against this backdrop, one
may conclude that animals such as chimpanzees, hyenas, elephants, even lions and several other
species of animals are social since they are naturally found living together. Thus, human beings

1
share this feature with other social animals in that they are not naturally solitary beings. Rather,
they are found in groups that go by different names such as families, clans, kinship groups,
nations and races.

The second meaning suggests a connection to society and the way it is organised. In this sense, a
thing is considered social if it is related to the human society. The society within this context is
defined as the network of interrelationships among members who share a common culture, occupy
a particular territorial area, and have a feeling that they constitute a unified and/or distinct entity
(Scott & Marshall, 2005).

On the other hand, the word organisation means arrangement or coordination. People are said not
to be organised if they are not properly arranged or coordinated. Where an order is lacking, people
may also be described as not organised. From the succinct explanation put forward in the first
paragraph and the opening part of this paragraph, we can define social organisation as the
manner or way in which different parts of a society are arranged and made to function together to
ensure order and the achievement of goals, that they (members of the society) consider
worthwhile.

A careful consideration of this definition shows that social organisation is one of the ways through
which society or group ensures that its component parts are not at cross purposes. Also, a social
organisation shows how individual members relate to one another and how each relates to the
whole. According to Rose (1973), the most basic feature of social organisation is its inter-individual
feature. In other words, social organisation can never be conceived outside of the behaviour that
occurs between two or more persons.

Social organisation can be considered at the level of an entire society, at the group level or at the

Thomas Hobbes (1651) and the State of Nature

Have you heard of Thomas Hobbes? He was a renowned British philosopher who
illustrated pre-societalhuman existence when there were no social organisations. He
popularly described this situation as the „state of nature.‟ Just imagine, a situation
where there was no cooperation and no understanding of one another‟s motives or
intentions. A situation where people cannot cohabit and each individual‟s every
action was considered a threat by every other person around him/her. When there
were no ownership of properties and therefore, every person could take what they
want and do what they like. Do you think in such a situation any person will be safe
or free?Or will there be any form of social order in such a situation? Thus, Hobbes
believed that life in such a time or place would have been solitary (lonely), poor
(deprived), nasty (unruly), brutish (savage and perilous) and short (people won‟t live
long). From Hobbes argument, you can see how important social organisation is.

What is your opinion on Thomas Hobbes conclusion?

level of social interactions occurring between two individuals. From Rose‟s ideas, social
organisations show how two or more individuals relate and the way in which they are related, and
how members of a group relate to one another and how they are related.

2
At the much larger interactional level, it shows how the component groups as members of a given
society relate to one another and how they are related. It should be noted that the way in which
people relate to one another is not the same as the way they are related, and often, our
relationships with one another (that is how we are related), determine how we relate to one
another (the type and pattern of interactions). Let‟s examine this example to make it clearer to
you.

If we say that Ifeoma and Hassan are siblings, we can almost conclude that they cannot relate to
each other as a sexual couple. This way, their relationship with each other defines how they relate
to each other. As such, Ifeoma and Hassan‟s relationship and other inter-individual relationships
within society are within the broad scope of the social organisation.

From the narrative above of the relationship or interaction between Ifeoma and Hassan, you can
conclude that social organisation will involve social status and accompanying roles, which from our
brief discussion so far, has to do with how we are related. This means we are expected to fulfil
certain roles or interact in a certain manner in different inter-individual relationships depending on
our status in the group or society. All these are patterns and dynamics of the social organisation,
which this study session will attempt to help you to understand better.

2.2.1 Typologies of Social Organisation

There are two broad types of social organisation, namely: formal and informal structures or
organisation. A Formal Structure is often conceived as systems of relationships or associations
deliberately established to enable people who might necessarily not know one another to carry out
complex and impersonal interactions for the purpose of achieving specific goals. Besides, formal
organisational often consists of highly institutionalised structures with clearly defined statuses and
roles relationships. Thus, for formal organisations to function, they must create statuses and
assign roles and tasks to ascribed or achieved positions in relation to one another.

Similarly, underlying these statuses and roles are procedures vis-à-vis guidelines which are known
and understood by holders of the positions and others. As such, much of the activities in
contemporary societies is carried out through formal organisation because they often include
structures like schools, government, businesses and factories, labour unions, etc.

An informal Structure on the other hand, is smaller in scope and its structural arrangement and
is less complex when compared with formal organization. Therefore, informal organisation is more
flexible. Furthermore, relationships are considered to be more personal and often involving direct
and intimate interactions. Thus, when people come together and interact on a personal and
intense level for a long-term basis, informal group or organisation emerges. However, do not
mistake, informal organisations for just regular and consistent interactions among members. Like
formal organisation, it also has an internal social structure based on status and role relations.
Thus, even the nuclear family as a small informal organisation have some defined statuses and
roles that guide interactions, similarly, among peer/friends‟ groups, there are social leaders.

Renowned sociologists such as Ferdinand Tonnies (1865-1936) and Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917)
have classified social organization. Ferdinand Tonnies was a German sociologist examined the
changes in social relations attributable to the transition from social organisation around families,
kinship and small communities to urbanised social organisation that involves large, complex and
impersonal structures.

3
According to Ferdinand Tonnies, there were two types of social organisations – Gemeinschaft
(relationships are that are intimate, cooperative, and personal) and Gesellschaft (relationships
that are impersonal and independent). Tonnies was of the opinion that in Gemeinschaft settings,
there was communal living with the family providing the context in which people lived, worked,
were socialised. In contrast, Gesellschaft settings, there had been a proliferation of formal
structures and secondary groups (schools, factories, etc.) that the family had lost some of its
principal functions. In this sense, the person living in today‟s urban society is freer. Emile
Durkheim was a French sociologist who also theorised about social organisation. According to
Emile Durkheim social solidarity is synonymous with social organisation and it emerges through
shared commitment and conformity to a group‟s collective conscience. Like Ferdinand Tonnies,
Emile Durkheim classified solidarity into two broad types: mechanical solidarity and organic
solidarity.

Societies or groups with mechanical solidarity are those in which their collective conscience is
strong and there is great commitment to that collective conscience by the majority of the
members. Thus, in this type of social organisation, people have personal commitment and deep
involvement in the communal goals and values.

In contrast, organic solidarity depends on the cooperation of individuals in many positions who
perform specialised tasks. Thus, organic integration, social relationships are more formal and
functionally determined than are in mechanically integrated societies. From what is discussed so
far, if you look closely, you will notice that there are similarities between the typologies presented
by Tonnies and Durkheim, and the informal and formal structures. They emphasise the nature of
relationships.

2.2.2 Social Groups

So far, you have been introduced to what social organisation is. From what has been discussed,
you must have observed that you belong to several social settings in which you are in diverse
forms of interactions and relationships with several people. If you look closely, each setting brings
you into a system of interaction with some specific people, while all the social settings have some
form of regulations that let you know how to act, talk or even think. But some are so flexible that
you can almost express yourself freely without reprehension. However, as you must have
observed, some are so rigid and complex that they demand strict adherence to guidelines for you
to continue to be recognised as a member of the settings. These settings are referred to as social
groups.

A social group consists of two or more people who interact on the basis of mutual expectations
and who share some form of common identity. It is easy to see from this definition that you, like
every other person belong to many types of social groups: family, workgroup, friends or social
clubs, sports team, your class cohort in school, religious prayer groups, and many others in which
you interact with other members. However, it is important to understand that social groups are
different from two other related concepts – social categories and social aggregates.

A social category is considered to be a collection of people who have at least one characteristic
in common but otherwise may not necessarily interact with one another. Being African is an
illustration of a social category. Because all Africans have at least one thing in common, either
their racial colouration or orienting from the continent of Africa, even though they all do not
interact. Yoruba is another example of a social category, as all Yoruba people have their ethnic
background and perhaps language in common, even if they do not all interact with one another or
4
share any other similarities. As these examples suggest, race and ethnicity are a basis for social
categories.

Other common social categories are based on gender, social class, religious preference, etc. In-
between a social category and a social group is the social aggregate, which is a collection of
people who are in the same place at the same time but who otherwise may not necessarily
interact at all or have anything else in common. The people in a public transport (BRT) is an
example of a social aggregate. These collections of people are not a social category, because they
often do not constitute homogenous identity like gender, ethnicity, religion, etc. Also, they are also
not a group, because they may not really interact and do not have a common identity unrelated to
being in that particular place or public transport at that point in time.

Sociologists have delineated two broad main types of groups, namely: primary and secondary
groups. Primary groups involve interaction among individuals who have some significant
emotional connection with one another, who know one another intimately, and interact often
communally rather than only through specialised roles. For example, members of a family are
emotionally involved with one another and know one another well. In addition, they interact with
one another in terms of their total personalities, not just in terms of their social identities or
statuses as breadwinner, student, athlete, or community leader.

Secondary groups, on the other hand, is characterised by much less intimacy among its
members. It usually has specific goals and is often formally organised and impersonal. Secondary
groups tend to be larger than primary groups, and their members do not necessarily interact with
all other members. In fact, many members often do not know one another at all; to the extent
that if they do, they rarely know more about one another than about their respective social
identities. Members‟ feelings about and behaviour towards one another are patterned mostly by
their statuses and roles rather than by personal relationship or personality characteristics. For
example, the Vice-Chancellor of an academic institution will likely not know all the staff in the
institution but he/she is bound to relate to the staff primarily based on their status and defined
rules of engagement, norms or procedures.

Similarly, as a student, your relationship with all your lecturer is to some extent primarily defined
by status and expectations. It is important to note that social groups are inherently systems of
social organisation. Thus, both primary and secondary provide functions that are essential to social
organisation like: (1) define their boundaries, (2) choose leaders, (3) make decisions, (4) set
goals, (5) assign tasks, and (6) control members‟ behaviour. Moreover, the norms and values of
groups that we belong to or identify with serve as the basis for evaluating our own and others‟
behaviour. Thus, the difference between primary and secondary groups lies in the kinds of
relationships that members have with one another.

2.2.3 Social Status and Roles

As you will have realised from our discussion so far that, when the patterns of social organisation
are analysed through the systems of social interactions and relationship, you will find that social
interaction and relationship consist of an arrangement of persons who play diverse roles according
to their social position. Within this context, a social organisation may be defined as any
interrelated system of roles and statuses.

Going by this, you will observe that social organisation is somewhat synonymous with social
structure, which is a relatively stable pattern of social relations of individuals and subgroups within
5
a society based on systems of social roles, norms and shared meanings that provide regularity and
predictability in social interaction. Whilst Brown and Barnett (1942) argue that to understand a
social organisation, it is imperative we understand the „system of obligation-relations,‟ which
involves the ideal social behaviour, anticipated social behaviour, and observations of actual social
behaviour.

As such, behaviour and expectation are differentiated according to the social positions people
occupy in the group they may belong. As mentioned, these social positions are called social
status by sociologists. On the other hand, the content of these social positions or social statuses
of individuals often comes with rights and obligations which are more often than not, normative to
the groups, organisation or society – these rights, obligations and expected behaviour are referred
to as social roles. A woman might be a journalist, a teacher, a wife, and a mother, all these are
statuses. However, sociologists generally agree that regardless of the number of statuses a person
may hold, one of them is central to the person‟s personality. This dominant status is regarded as
the master status because it defines the person socially.

Furthermore, social roles embody the agency and practices that are inherent in the statuses that
people hold. People fulfil certain social roles because each of their statuses comes with rights,
duties, and expectations to fulfil those roles. It is common knowledge that the status of a lecturer
comes with the roles of lecturing, script grading, research, community service, as well as
mentoring. Similarly, your status as a student means there are certain rights, tasks and
responsibilities you are expected to fulfil, as well.

2.2.4.1 ITQs
1. Describe how social groups differ from social categories and social aggregates.
2. Describe the characteristics of formal and informal organisations
3. Explain the meaning of social status and social roles.

2.2.4.2 ITAs
1. From our discussions so far, note down something new that you have learned about your
interaction with people and your understanding of social organisation. Indicate how the
new information may impact how you perceive or define your relationship with the different
people you often interact with.

2. Ask at least one person from two primary groups and two secondary groups you belong to,
about what they think your position and roles are within each group. Then, write an essay
on the contrast between your respondents‟ take on what your positions are and their
expectations of you within each group, and what you perceived as your statuses, roles and
expectations from other members in each group.

2.3 Family and Kinship in Africa

A question you may want to ask yourself is, what makes someone my family? Can you call
someone you have never met but has been described to you as your wife‟s mother‟s sister‟s son
your family? Is the notion of what a family is the same anywhere you go? Is it the same
everywhere in Africa? In Nigeria? While you keep all these questions in mind, I want you to
attempt to answer them as you read this subsection.

6
The family is a common way in which societies are organised. Everyone comes from a family and
we all have ideas about what a family is. In fact, you might be tempted to conclude that the
concept of the family is a rather simple one. For example, you may conclude that a family
constitute parents and children, or even attempt to look at the bigger picture and conclude that a
family refers to those related by blood or marriage. Either way, you will be right. However, when
we look at it through the eyes of others, we discover that defining it may not be so simple. One
popular definition is that given by Burgess and Locke.

According to these scholars, a family is a group of people who are united with the bond of
marriage, blood or adoption and comprising a single household that interacts and
intercommunicate with one another in their various social roles of husband and wife, mother and
father, brother and sister and creating a common culture (cited in Nnorom, 2006). As
comprehensive as these authors attempt to make their definition, we can fault this definition on a
number of grounds. You might ask if people cease to constitute a family when they do not live as
one household.

A household is commonly defined as a group of people sharing a home or living space who
aggregate and share their incomes as evidenced by the fact that they regularly take meals
together of feed from a common cooking pot (Scott & Marshall, 2005). The implication of
accepting the definition given by Burgess and Locke is that you might stop seeing your cousins,
aunts, uncles, and in-laws who do not live with you or live far away as members of your family.

Another popular definition of the family given by Murdock states that a family is a social group
characterised by common residence and economic cooperation and reproduction (Murdock, 1949:
1). Murdock goes further to explain that a family includes adults of both sexes at least two of
whom maintain a consensual sexual relationship and one or more children which may be begotten
or adopted children of the sexually cohabiting adults. From this definition, Murdock is of the
opinion that the family universally play four key roles. These are sexual relationships (consensual
sexual relationships between at least two adults as parents); economic cooperation among
members; reproduction; and socialisation of children.

As you might guess, the definition has also come under severe attacks as you know that not all
families are always characterised by common residence and people do not stop to be seen as
members of the same family simply because they do not have a common residence or because
they do not play the role of reproduction or economic cooperation. Moreover, the notion of
heterosexual relationship (a sexual relationship between parents of different sex – male and
female) is no longer accurate in contemporary times.

Moreover, variations in different parts of the world have also shown that the definition of Murdock
may not be universal. There are gay families today (i.e. families with same-sex adults in a
consensual sexual relationship as parents or otherwise). The functions of the family identified by
Murdock may also not be true for all families as there are families that exist without seeking to, or
playing the role of procreation. At best, these definitions are suitable only for the nuclear family
(a unit consisting of parents and their dependent children) and this is even contestable in some
parts of the world.

To be more exact, sociologists have added the adjective conjugal to it. A conjugal family is,
therefore, a family unit comprising spouses and their dependent children (Scott & Marshall, 2005).
This way, an emphasis is placed on the sexual and/or marital relationship that brings the people

7
together rather than economic connection or habitation under one roof. Sociologists also recognise
families at the macro level – i.e. the extended family which consists of two or more conjugal
families that are related either by blood or marriage.

An extended family combines at least two generations in defining familial relationships. In other
words, people are members of one extended family (grandparents, uncles, aunts, nephews, and
nieces, etc.) if their parents are members of the same conjugal family or their grandparents are
members of the same conjugal family or their grandparents or even great-grandparents are
members of the same conjugal family. The logic can be pursued until you realise that all members
of a clan or kinship group may be members of a very large extended family.

At this point, it may be important to attempt to differentiate between the different families to
which an individual belongs. Let us use this example. If Tunde is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bazuka
who is married. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Bazuka into which Tunde and his siblings – brother and
sisters; if he has any, is/are born is Tunde's family of orientation. On the other hand, the family
that Tunde establishes by marrying Efe when he grows up is Tunde family of procreation
(Murdock, 1949). Thus, in Tunde's family of procreation, we may have Mr. Tunde Bazuka, Mrs. Efe
Bazuka and their children Nnamdi Bazuka and Mutallab Bazuka. This helps us understand the
structure of the extended family better.

An extended family combines at least an individual's family of procreation and his family of
orientation. From the explanation above, you can see that extended family ties can become
complex because they combine an individual's family of procreation with his father's and mother's
families of procreation and when this is traced beyond just two generations, the families of
procreation of grandparents from both the male and/or female adults‟ family of orientation can be
included in the extended family, and so on.

A question that might readily come to your mind is, what family type is in practice in a place like
Africa? However, this question itself has a number of flaws. We might rather want to know the
degree to which people maintain or keep alive extended family ties. In many traditional living
arrangements where members of large extended groups live in large compounds, there still exist
smaller conjugal units, albeit many of the conjugal units have two or more mothers. In many parts
of Africa, social activities such as christening, marriage, funeral rites and other rites of passage still
bring people within the extended family who are not within the same household or compound
together and generally, they see themselves and relate to themselves as members of the same
family.

As explained earlier, one may trace the family tree to so many generations before the present, to
such a level where the relationships binding people together cannot be clearly defined. Yet, the
people involved believe strongly that they descended from a common ancestor. This type of
relationship is categorised under kinship ties. Kinship relationships exist primarily between
individuals and groups who have consanguineous ties (i.e. related by blood) or secondarily through
ties of affinity ties (i.e. marriage). In other words, members of one kinship group are persons who
are or consider themselves as having descended from a common ancestor or those who are
related by marriage.

In many parts of Africa, kinship groups served as political units in the absence of nation-states in
the pre-colonial era. Generally, kinship groups serve as the basis for inheritance, succession, and
regulation of sexual relationships. Through these groups, people were organised into hunting and

8
warring groups. The “we-they” dichotomy was based on the kinship groups. People who saw
themselves as members of the same kinship group were more likely to cooperate to work
together, live together in one community and defend themselves against real or perceived
“external aggression” than those who belonged to different kinship groups. As stated earlier, the
primary method of determining kinship is descent, lineage consanguineous relationship.

There are different ways of establishing an individual‟s lineage. The unilineal descent is either
matrilineal (traced through the mother) or patrilineal (traced through the father), but not both
(Scott & Marshall, 2005). A kinship system that considers an individual as belonging to the same
kinship group with persons only related to his mother is matrilineal while the one that sees one
as belonging to the same kinship group as those who are related to his/her father is patrilineal.
These are the forms of unilineal descent. The bilateral or cognatic descent establishes descent
through both the patrilineal system and matrilineal system. Under this system, all those related
through any combination of male and female links to the ancestor are members of the kinship
group.

In Africa, patrilineal kinship groups are in the majority. Among the peoples where lineage is
patrilineal, an individual is considered to belong to the lineage of his/her father. Some of the ethnic
groups in Africa among whom patrilineal descent is used include the Igbo speaking people, the
Fulani, the Nuer of Sudan, the Zulu and Swazi of South Africa and several other groups.

In some parts of Africa, patrilineal descent is practiced side-by-side with matrilineal descent.
Double descent is found among the Yako of Nigeria and Herero of Namibia and Botswana. Also,
even though the Yoruba people can be considered as patrilineal, they sometimes consider the
mother‟s lineage. Matrilineal groups include Bemba of Zambia, Ashanti of Ghana, Tuareg of Niger
and Mali, and the Korn of Cameroun are matrilineal. Nevertheless, even among matrilineal
peoples, patriarchy (the social system based on the authority of men) is still common.

2.3.1 Marriage Typologies of Africa

Another major concept that we have been using in the course of explaining social organisation and
kinship is marriage. You will recall that people are considered kinsmen if they are related by blood
or marriage. For this reason, it is important to ask ourselves about the meaning of marriage. In
the conservative traditional sense, it is a legally recognised relationship between a man and a
woman, which confers on them certain rights and demands certain obligations of them (See Scott
& Marshall, 2005).

When you view marriage from a perspective that is different from the western notion of marriage,
you will see that marriage can exist outside legal codes and in traditional Africa where there were
no legal codes in the very strict sense, people still got married. Sociologists have therefore
concluded that rather than emphasise a legally recognised institution, it is better to emphasise a
socially recognised union. As such, we can say that marriage is when the coming together of two
or more persons to live as married vis-à-vis family is not against the norms guiding marriage in
their society. Therefore, what constitutes marriage in one society might negate the norms guiding
marriage in another, and so may not be considered as marriage. Some of the common variants of
marriage shall be discussed briefly.

Generally, marriages can be broadly categorised into two - Monogamy and Polygamy. Mono
means one and the word monogamy means the marriage of one man and one woman at a time.
When an individual is involved in several monogamous marriages by divorcing one partner and
9
remarrying, this is referred to as serial monogamy (Scott and Marshal. 2005). Poly means many,
therefore, polygamy means plural marriage. That is the concurrent marriage of one man to two
or more wives, or marriage of one woman to two or more husbands. Polygamy has two major
variants which are polygyny and polyandry.

Polygyny is the marriage of one man to two or more wives while polyandry is the marriage of
one woman to two or more husbands. Polygyny is very common among the peoples of Africa. A
major reason for this practice is the economic function of the family. In many African societies, the
family also serves as an economic institution that is responsible for food production, pastoral
farming, fishing, gathering and hunting, and several other economic activities found among the
people. Since work in traditional times was not mechanised and many hands were needed to boost
productivity, people had to have more than one wife to increase the number of children they had
as the children were potential labour and producers of wealth. In addition to this, marriage plays
the role of satisfying sexual desires. Since it was considered unhealthy for women to resume
sexual activities immediately after childbirth, societies approved of a system that ensures that
within the marriage, the man's sexual desires are still met while one wife recuperates for
pregnancy and childbirth. In other climes, the men keep mistresses to meet this need.

Traditional African societies also designed polygyny to take care of the high mortality rates that
characterised the pre-modern era. Since, majority of the societies were patrilineal, in order to
ensure that the people replaced themselves in the face of very high mortality rates, men needed
many wives to increase the number of children they had and the chances of having children
(particularly male children) who will survive and carry on their genes and family names. As stated
earlier, another form of polygamy is polyandry which is the marriage of one woman to two or
more men. This may be fraternal polyandry in which case the husbands are biological brothers
or non-fraternal polyandry where the husbands are not related.

This practice is found in some parts of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Tibet – all in Asia
(Starkweather, 2010), but not common in Africa. Among the Maasai of Kenya and Tanzania
however, polyandry is also practiced. There are also indications that non-fraternal polyandry is
practiced among the Irigwe people of Jos, Plateau(Nigeria) in the form of secondary marriage. A
married woman marries another man while her husband is still alive without annulling the primary
marriage and maintains her rights to have children with any or both of the husbands
(Starkweather, 2009). Among the Lele of Western Congo, a different form of polyandry is
practiced when a village acquires a hohombe (i.e. a village wife). In this instance, several men in
the village have sexual relations with her and the children of the marriage belong to the entire
village. It should be noted however, that where polyandry exists, polygyny also exists, although
polygyny often exists where polyandry does not exist (Starkweather, 2009).

Other forms of marriage exist and they shall be discussed briefly. Levirate marriage is a
situation where a deceased man's brother or closest male relative is married to the wife of the
deceased brother to raise children in the name of the deceased husband. A similar practice is
widow inheritance where the brother or closest male relative inherits and marries the dead
man's wife but raises children from the union for himself and not the deceased relative.

In sororate marriage, a man marries the sister of his deceased wife. On the other hand, if a
man marries both sisters concurrently, this can be described as sororal polygyny or concurrent
sororate marriage. Otherwise, it is consecutive sororate marriage. In ghost marriage, a
woman – known as the pater or social father, pays the bride-wealth to marry another woman,
10
and also provides a man - known as the consort or genitor. Through sexual relations between
the genitor and the woman married by the pater, children are birthed for the pater who is seen as
the social father of the children although she is female (Nnorom, 2006).

Furthermore, there are several other types, forms or rules of marriage, in societies, certain rules
describe an individual‟s list of eligible spouses from whom he/she may choose. By the same token,
these norms dictate those an individual cannot marry. A common rule is an endogamy which
requires that an individual marries within his/her society or a defined category, community or
group. While exogamy is a rule that requires an individual to marry from outside his/her group or
society.

Homogamy requires that an individual marries someone who is culturally similar to him/her (i.e.
marriage to one's type). The grounds for defining similarity may include religion, social class, or
gender, in which case homogamy may mean same-gender marriage i.e. homosexual marriage. In
Africa, there are endogamous and exogamous marriages. For instance, endogamous Intra-lineage
marriages are required among the Fulani people with a preference for cousins
(http://resourcepage.gambia.dk/enc oeople.htm). Several other groups encourage marriage
between cousins while others consider it as incest (taboo).

2.3.2 Antecedents of Marriage and Family

The origin of the family remains unclear. Nevertheless, scholars agree that the family has passed
through several stages before taking the shape it does in contemporary society. Engels suggest
that hordes of hunting and gathering humans metamorphosed into the consanguine family where
all members of the same generation are husbands and wives to one another. If there are two men
and three women in one generation in the consanguine family, they are in a group marriage and
any of the two men has sexual rights to any of the three women. This gives rise to another
generation of brothers, sisters, and cousins who cannot be differentiated since there were no
sexual regulations within the group.

All these brothers, sisters and cousins also are husbands and wives to one another. After this
evolved the Punaluan family which allowed sexual relations between brothers and sisters (i.e.
people born of the same mother). With time, a husband in the group marriage had a chief wife
among other wives, while the chief wife also considered him the most important of the husbands.
Thus, pairs began to emerge although sexual relations still continued between the man and other
wives in the group marriage just as other husbands still had sexual relations with the major wife.

The monogamous family came out of the pairing family with strict restrictions limiting sexual
relations to the pair. The ultimate purpose of this is to be able to produce children with undisputed
paternity as these children are expected to succeed their father and inherit his property (Engels,
1884). However, this account remains unacceptable in many religions and people who hold the
view that the marriage institution in its present state was ordained by God who made man and
gave him a woman as a wife. It is, however, difficult to validate these accounts.

2.3.3 Rules of Residence and Descent

Societies have rules that guide where a married couple resides after marriage. These are called
rules of residence. A patrilocal residence is a rule of residence that requires a man and his
family of procreation to reside with the man‟s father. Here, the newly married couple established
their home near the groom‟s father‟s compound/house or within the compound. This is the

11
commonest rule of residence in Africa. This rule of residence suits patrilineal descent.
Matrilocal residence on the other requires the couple to establish their home near or within the
bride‟s mother‟s home or compound. This way, the new family is associated with the bride‟s
mother‟s family, the implication being that this rule of residence suits matrilineal descent.

Avunculocal residence requires the new family to reside near the house or in the compound of
the groom‟s maternal uncle. The bilocal residence allows the couple to live with/near either of
the spouse‟s parents. A form of bilocal residence rule is ambilocal residence in which the couple
shifts from a residence with the groom‟s kinship group to a residence with the bride‟s kinship
group. They live with the groom‟s family for a while, then move to live with the bride‟s family. A
matri-patrilocal residence is a form of ambilocal residence where the new family resides with
the bride‟s group for a while (maybe for the first one year or until the birth of the first child) and
then move to live with the groom‟s family indefinitely (Murdock, 1949). Duolocal residence
means that the new family has no common residence and they each remain in their families of
orientation. However, the neolocal residence has become the most popular form of residence.
This rule of residence requires that the new family should live in a new residence, away from both
the groom and the bride kinship groups. In addition to the fact that modernisation has threatened
many traditional rules of residence, marriages cutting across persons with different rules of
residence have also made it difficult for the different rules of residence to survive. Today, the
neolocal residence has spread across the greater part of Africa.

2.3.4.1 ITQs
1. Describe how family of orientation differ from family of procreation.
2. What are the different patterns of marriage?
3. Itemise and explain the different patterns of descent?
4. Briefly explain the following concepts in marriage arrangement:
a. Monogamy
b. Serial Monogamy
c. Polygamy
d. Polygyny
e. Polyandry
f. Fraternal Polyandry

2.3.4.2 In-text Activity (ITA)

1. Extended family is still very relevant in contemporary Nigerian societies. Draw a diagram of
your extended family and discuss how the kinship connections you have outlined affect
your social life, i.e. what type of lineage and kinds of descent are represented within your
extended family.

2.4 Pre-Colonial Economic and Political Arrangement

The family served as an economic institution in most African cultures and territories before they
were partitioned into colonies by Western European countries. Many of the economic activities at
that time, were dependent on the physical environment and required very simple technology and
tools. Subsistence farming took place among all the peoples of Africa in varying degrees. The
extent to which farming was done was also a function of the type of climate and soil available to
the people. Another major economic activity was pastoral farming. Maasai herdsmen are found in
12
the Serengeti plains of Tanzania and Kenya, while the Fulani herdsmen are found across the
savannah of West Africa in Nigeria, Mauritania, The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Benin, Sierra
Leone, Togo etc. Pastoral farming provides milk, meat, and animals often serve as a major form of
wealth. Herdsmen are mostly nomadic since they must move to get pasture, food, and water for
their animals.

The peoples of Africa in the coastal areas and around the river basins were involved in fishing as a
major economic activity. Some farming peoples in Africa include Ewe people of Ghana, the Luo
people of Kenya and Tanzania, the Izon people of Nigeria, the Gun people of Benin Republic and
Nigeria to mention but a few. Like herdsmen, traditional fishing peoples also migrate and often
have enclaves outside their domains. Other major economic activities in traditional Africa include
cloth weaving, leather works, iron smiting, animal husbandry, hunting and gathering, and trading.
Today, many of these economic activities have been taken over by contemporary activities in
industrial production and services.

The political systems of the peoples of Africa vary from society to society. There were acephalous
or stateless groups as well as state groups. Among the stateless groups, there were no recognised
supreme rulers beyond the family or village head. Agricultural societies like the Temne of Sierra
Leone, Igbo speaking people of Nigeria, The Luo, Maasai and Nandi of Tanzania and Kenya, and
the Galla of Ethiopia are examples of peoples without such supreme heads beyond the immediate
family or village head (Fyle, 1999). Others had states or empires. Examples include the Oyo
empire of the Yoruba people in Nigeria, the Zulu empire in South Africa, the Lunda empire in East
Africa and the Ashanti kingdom in Ghana.

These states had highly developed political systems with political roles attached to offices. The
political institutions were saddled with the responsibilities for dispute resolution. Among states or
empires with such defined political systems, disputes were settled by kings and chiefs and where
disputes occurred between two communities, the central or supreme head served as an arbiter
(Fyle, 1999). On the other hand, in stateless communities, disputes were settled by family heads
or village heads, and where disputes occurred between two of such villages, meetings were
organised at the "senior village" or the village established by a senior patriarch.

2.4.1 In-text Questions (ITQs)

1. Identify and explain while the family was central in pre-colonial Africa.
2. Identify and explain the distinguishing features between acephalous and the state
organisation of governance in pre-colonial Africa.

2.4.2 In-text Activity (ITA)

1. Write an essay on the pre-colonial economic and political arrangement of your village or
hometown of origin.

2.5 Summary of Study Session 2

In this study session, we have discussed and examined social organisation and salient features like
formal and informal organisation, social groups, social status and social roles. We have also
discussed the centrality of family and family formation processes as essential features of social
organisation in Africa. Also, during the course of the session, you were introduced to the following
concepts:

13
o Social organisation consists of the relatively stable pattern of social relationships among
individuals and groups in society. It differs from one society to the next.
o Social organisation can be divided into two broad categories in terms of the level of intimacy
and the rigidity of the structure of the relationship among members.
o Mechanical solidarity is a form of social organisation in which collective conscience is strong
and there is a great commitment to that collective conscience.
o Organic solidarity involves collective conscience that depends on goal cooperation of individuals
in many positions who perform specialised tasks.
o A social group consists of a number of people who have a common identity, some feeling of
unity, and certain common goals and shared norms.
o Sociologists distinguish between primary groups, which have informal structure and involve
intimacy and emotional investment of members with one another, and secondary groups,
which is often characterised by formal structure with specific goals and much less intimacy.
o To function properly, all groups must define statuses and roles with accompanying obligations,
expectation, assigned tasks.
o A social status is a social position with defined rights and obligations that people occupy in the
group they may belong.
o A social role is a set of behaviours that are expected of an individual who holds a status.
o Although the concept of family is universal, the definition of what constitutes a family is
diverse.
o A nuclear or conjugal family is a unit consisting of parents/spouses and their dependent
children.
o An extended family consists of more than one conjugal family.
o Kinship refers to that relationship which involves family ties by consanguinity (blood) of affinity
(marriage).
o Monogamy is a marriage between two individuals. It is mostly between a man (husband) and a
woman (wife). Although it can be between people of the same sex.
o Polygamy is a plural marriage involving concurrent marriage among more than two individuals.
o Polygamy can either be polygyny (a husband and multiple wives) or polyandry (a wife and
multiple husbands).

2.5.1 Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs)

1. Define and succinctly explain the meaning of social organisation and social group.
2. Outline the exigencies of social status and roles in the formation and sustenance of social
organisation.
3. Identify and explain key types and patterns in family formation.
4. Identify and explain diverse ways societies organise into social units through marriages and
kinships.
5. Discuss the centrality of family to the social and economic formation in pre-colonial Africa.

14
References/Suggestions for Further Reading
Brown, G. G. & Barnett, J. H. (1942). Social Organisation and Social Structure. American
Anthropologist, 44, 31-36.

Engels, F. (1884). Origins of the family, private property and the state. Retrieved from
http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1884/origin-family/

Firth, R. (1955). Some principles of social organisation. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological
Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 85(1/2), 1-18. doi:10.2307/2844179

Fyle, C. M. (1999). Introduction to the history of African civilisation. Maryland: University Press
of America.

Murdock, G. P. (1949). Social structure. New York: The Macmillan Company.

Nnorom, C. C. P. (2006). Forms and dynamics of marriage relationships and the sexual health
needs of married partners. Understanding human sexuality seminar series: Sexual health and
sexual rights within marriage. Lagos: Africa Regional Sexuality Resource Centre. Retrieved
from http://www.arsrc.org/downloads/uhsss/nnorom.pdf

Scott, J. & Marshall, G. (eds.) (2005). A dictionary of sociology (3rd ed). Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Starkweather, K. E. (2009). A preliminary survey of lesser-known polyandrous societies.

Nebraska Anthropologist, 50. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/nebanthro/50

Starkweather, K. E. (2010). Exploration into human polyandry: An evolutionary examination of

the non-classical cases. University of Nebraska, Anthropology Department Theses and
Dissertations, 6. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/anthrotheses/6

15
 Study Session 3

3.0 Social Change in Africa

3.1 Introduction
This study session introduces you to the dynamics of social change in Africa. It discusses the
concept of social change and explains the types, measurements, sources, agents, theories, and
nature of social change in colonial and post-colonial Africa particularly those that have shaped
the transition of the continent from traditional society to modern society. In this study session
you will learn the benefits of the study of social change in Africa for the understanding of
Africa's development problems.

3.1.1 Study Session 3 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this session, you must have learnt and been exposed to:
i. The meaning of social change in Africa
ii. Develop the capacities to measure and determine the types and sources of social change in
Africa
iii. Develop the capacity to identify the nature of social change in Africa
iv. Develop the capacity to link the social change in the continent to the development and
underdevelopment of the continent.

3.2 The Concept of Social Change

Are you familiar with the word “change “? Change is a word that is commonly used in our day-
to -day activities. Now let us quickly examine what social change is. Social change is one of the
permanent ideas of the contemporary world whether in developed or developing society. It is
permanent because there is hardly any society that does not experience social change in its
attempt to leave one stage of development for another. Considering the nature of humanity,
change is one of the things that people desire in their lifetime but whether the change brings
about positive or negative results is another issue.

In the last two decades, interest in the study of social change in Africa has gained momentum.
There have been the debates that, the 21st century is the century of Africa and that, Africa
should take advantage of the development to rebuild its past glories. To buttress their
argument, development experts both within and outside the continent have argued that social
scientists should devote more attention to the analysis of Africa's development trajectories.
First, there have been the argument that, for the first time, Africa has witnessed a dramatic
shift in its governance system -a shift from one-party regimes and military rule to liberal
democracy even if many of these democracies fall far below minimum standards compared to
the Western societies. Second, it is believed that the end of the Cold War has opened up
African economies to foreign investment with its attendant consequences on the well-being of
the citizens.
Unlike the 1980s and 1990s when foreign investment was largely at a lower level in the African
continent, today, many African governments can boast of wider foreign investments in
telecommunication, banking, manufacturing, mine, and other areas. Notwithstanding the gains
of liberalization and the market economy in the continent, majority of Africans are still
confronted by the problems of poverty, material deprivation, ethnic and religious violence, civil
war, political violence, terrorism, electoral and political corruption.

With these mixed experiences on the continent, it seems the attention of the world is not likely
to be diverted from the social change taking place in Africa. What this technically means is that,
Africans should take the bull by the horn by understanding the nature of changes taking place
on their continent and be prepared to put them in proper perspective.

What is social change? Social change is a sociological concept that is usually employed to
describe the qualitative or quantitative transformation in the lifecycle of a society. The word is
derived from two words; ''social'' and ''change''. While social denotes collectiveness, society or
organization, change is simply ''the alteration in the size, structure and function of a subject in
the society. For instance, a change in the size of a landmass may reduce the landmass from 6
hectares of land to one plot of land.

Social change is however more elaboratethan''change''. Harper (1998) suggests that ''Social
change” is the significant alteration of social structure and cultural patternsthrough time''.
Harper's definition is very abstract and begs three more questions. What is significant? What is
social structure? What is culture? While it is easy to define social structure andculture, it
isdifficult to agree on what is ''significance'' because this is relative to time, people, condition,
perception, feeling, consequence, benefits and a lot of other factors in the society. In view of
the diversity of the views on the notion of significance; social change may be defined in this
work as a change in a society thattargets the size,structure, culture and functions ofthe people
and institutions of the society which qualitatively changes the existing social life and set the
society on a path of new trajectories.

Social change cannot be said to have occurred when existing conditions in society have not
been modified by events.Thus, it is important to note that social conditions like time, condition
and environment should play a significant role in determining whether a change has occurred in
a society or not. Similarly, it is important to note that the role of the people as agents of social
change cannot be ignored. Peopleusually determine if things have changed in their society
when they realize that conditions of living in their society have changed compared to other
societies. A change in the weather of a country may not affect all the provinces in the country
equally butmay impact negativelyon the condition of living of a particular region than others.
Until this becomes pronounced, social scientists believe such a change is not yet a social
problem (Vago, 1996).

Social change is also an all- encompassingphenomenon. When it occurs, it may affect several
aspects of our lives-family, religion, economy, age, education, law, politics, culture, belief
system, lifestyles etc.One of the significant social changes that has shapedthe lives of people
around the world in recent times is the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade
Center in New York, the United States of America. The event which led to the death of
hundreds of people has continued to shape the way people perceive terrorism, Jihadist warand
terroristorganizations around the world. Not only these,Meredith (2005) and Norwitz (2009)
have noted that the emergence of terrorism in Africa is not unconnected with the9/11 attacks
on the World Trade Center in New York.

3.2.1 In-text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is Social Change?
2. How is Social Change different Social Disaster?
3.2.2 In-text Activities (ITAs)
1. Do a critical assessment of the Ebola virus crisis in Africa and identify five factors that
contributed to its spread in 5 African countries.
2. Take party politics in Nigeria and assess the voting system of the 1990s and 2018. Establish
the differences and account for two factors that make today's voting system different from the
past.

3.3 Measurement of the Concept of Social Change

Measurement is the attribution of values to a particular phenomenon so that it can be subjected

to scientific observation and experimentation for the purpose of understanding a phenomenon
better or predicting its occurrence. In the social sciences, measurement denotes the use of
''concepts'' to define situations and provide uniform ways of perceiving and describing events in
the social world.

When applied to social change, measurement simply means the determination of the nature of
changes that are taking place or have taken place in society and its consequences on the
people that live in such a society. It means the use of scientifically proven ''concepts'' to
describe the origin of social change, its effects on social life and its consequences on individuals'
life chances.

Although most social science subjects are difficult to measure unlike those of natural sciences,
social scientists have come up with scientifically proven concepts that can be used to describe
the kinds of changes that are taking place in our society.

1. Evolution

The concept of evolution is one of the oldest ways of measuring social change in the social
sciences. It dates back to the eighteenth century enlightenment age of Adams Smith, Auguste
Comte and the nineteenth century ideas of Charles Darwin documented in his famous book;
The Origin of Species (1859). While the socio-cultural conception of evolution simply defines
evolution as the movement of a society from simple stage of development to a complex stage
of development, in biological evolutionism, it denotes the emergence of a society from an
undifferentiated, incoherent, indefinite, simple, homogenous to differentiated, coherent,
definite, complex and heterogeneous stage of development. The biological analogy of evolution
likens the life of a society to the life of an organism. Just as an organism requires certain
ingredients to survive, the biological evolutionism asserts that¸ human society, in the process of
its evolution requires certain social structures to survive. Absence of these social structures or
their non-functionality can stall the development of a society, just as absence of red blood cells
can disturb the proper functioning of a human body (Vago, 1996).

2. Progress

The idea of progress is often used synonymously with evolution but they defer a bit. The word
progress usually signifies a noticeable advancement of a society from a stage of
underdevelopment to a stage of development where the quality of life and standard of living of
the citizenry have improved significantly.

Though the early use of the word “progress” by Auguste Comte in his famous work ''Law of
three stages of Human Progress'', is synonymous with evolution, scholars have extended its
usage to dramatic changes in the political, social, economic, scientific and technological state of
a society. This change signifies a significant shift from an era and a movement towards
economic prosperity and political stability (Afonja, 1984; Smith, 2003).

3. Modernization

Modernization is one of the major ways of measuring social change in contemporary society.
The idea first flourished after the Second World due to increase in the demand for self-
government in the Third World and the fact that, after the war, many European colonialists
were losing grip of their colonies. In order to monitor and still control the new nations, some
European liberal economists embarked on a conscious effort to sell the concept of
modernization to the people of the Third World. They define modernization as the adoption of
Western political, economic, social, cultural, technological and scientific practices by less
developed societies for the purpose of consciously developing their societies (Afonja and
Pearce, 1986; Ninalowo, 1991; Smith, 2003).

Specifically, Eisenstaedt (1966) defines modernization as; ''the process of change towards those
types of social, economic, and political systems that have developed in Western Europe and
North America from the seventeenth century to the nineteenth, and have then spread to other
European countries and in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the South American, Asian,
and African continents''.

Robertson (1966) notes that modernization is the complete process of overhauling the political
economies of non-Western societies by infusing Western values that encourage money market
economy, democracy and liberal culture. Thus, modernization will include the industrialization of
the agrarian economies inherited from the colonial powers, construction of roads, building of
infrastructure for rapid economic growth and economic development, emergence of cities
through rapid urbanization and advancement in science and technology (Smith, 2003;
Todaro&Smith, 2009). In a nutshell, modernization, to many of its proponents, connotes
''Westernization'', ''Industrialization'', ''Urbanization'', ''Economic Liberalization'' and
''Democratization'' (Smith, 2003). The question is to determine the extent to which
modernization has led to turn around in the non-Western societies that adopted Western values
about five decades ago. How far has this strategy to development advanced the fortunes of
non-Western societies particularly in those countries where modernization first took place after
independence?

4. Economic Growth

Economic growth is a significant measure of social change in contemporary society. Let us

examine this scenario before we go into the measurement of the variable.If country A has a
weak per capital income of $20 and country B has per capital income of $10, 000, we will say
that country B is economically advanced than country A because the citizens of the former have
higher chances of meeting the basic necessities of their lives than the latter.

Economic growth measures the extent to which the economy of a country has fared over time.
It is a significant way of determining how far a country has progressed given the availability or
non-availability of infrastructure for development. The word ''Growth'' is in this context, is used
to denote appreciable movement of the economy of a nation from a stage of low productivity to
a stage of high productive visible in infrastructural development, manufacturing sector, energy,
oil and gas, science and technology and fiscal policy. As an economic indicator, a nation that
performs well economically is expected to have high per capital income, stable and predictable
financial system, high Gross Domestic Product, high Gross National Product. Of course, the
performance of nations can never be the same, even those in the continent may not have the
same economic growth rates (Todaro and Smith, 2009). Research has, however, shown that
countries in the developed world usually experience high economic growth rates while those in
the developing world are more likely to have low growth rates because of the volatility of their
economies to shocks. In the last two decades of the return to civil rule, Nigeria's economy, for
instance has experienced appreciable growth rate at least up to 2015 when the crash of the oil
prices at the global oil market caused ripples to the nation's economy.

5. Development

Development is a much broader concept in scope than economic growth that was discussed in
this study session earlier. The reason for this difference is not far-fetched. Development, at
least in the social sciences, is often used to refer to appreciable changes in human conditions
visible in improvement of the economy, politics, science, education, culture, legal system, family
life, urbanization of a country and measured in terms of increase in the per capital income of
the citizens, access to qualitative education, access to qualitative health care services and
access to basic social services needed for survival. It covers different facets of human life-
economic well-being, standard of living, political freedom, access to social services etc. For the
development economists, development is the ability of a nation to harness the gains of
economic growth for the benefits of the citizenry and the use of suchgains to better their
conditions of living (Torado& Smith, 2009). It connotes the reversal of poverty and material
deprivation and replacement of economic backwardness with economic prosperity.

Traditionally, people see development as strictly an economic problem. For instance, people
may say to a young graduate- ''earn more income and get your problem solved''. However,
strategies for solving development problems go beyond getting lucrative job and earning high
income. The 1998 Nobel Prize winner in economist AmartyaSen argued that modern conception
of development should go beyond economic prosperity- economic richness. According to him, a
nation cannot be said to have developed if such a nation cannot build capabilities in his citizenry
beyond earning high incomes. Capabilities here include economic, political and social freedoms
needed to free individuals from the shackles of poverty and economic oppression. When
citizens earn high income and they possess the capabilities to develop their potential and
exercise their fundamental human rights, Sen believed, it is at this point that, a country can be
regarded as a developed society.

In order to provide uniform criteria for measuring world development, the United Nations
Development Programme came up with the Human Development Index (HDI). Human
Development Index1 is a composite measure of development of a country. It takes into
consideration the performance of the country in the area of poverty alleviation, life expectancy,
education, gender parity (inequality) and per capital income. It generally shows how a nation
has fared over a period of time (Todaro& Smith, 2009). Below is HDI for selected African
countries for the periods of eight years.

1
The Human Development Index is a composite measure of development around the world established by the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The composite data is usually published in the annual report of
the UNDP on world development -Human Development Report.
Table 1.0: Human Development Index for Selected African Countries

HDI Rank HDI

Value

1990 2000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Very High HDI

(No African
country
qualified)

High Human
Development

Mauritius 0.620 0.673 0.748 0.756 0.765 0.769 0.779 0.781

Algeria 0.577 0.644 0.724 0.732 0.737 0.741 0.743 0.745

Tunisia 0.569 0.654 0.714 0.717 0.720 0.722 0.723 0.725

Libya 0.681 0.732 0.756 0.706 0.735 0.730 0.719 0.716

Medium Human
Development

Gabon 0.620 0.633 0.664 0.669 0.679 0.687 0.694 0.697

Egypt 0.547 0.612 0.671 0.673 0.681 0.686 0.688 0.691

South Africa 0.621 0.629 0.638 0.644 0.652 0.660 0.665 0.666

Cape Verde - 0.562 0.632 0.636 0.643 0.643 0.646 0.648

Morocco 0.458 0.530 0.612 0.623 0.634 0.640 0.645 0.647

Namibia 0.578 0.556 0.612 0.619 0.625 0.632 0.637 0.640

Congo 0.521 0.487 0.558 0.557 0.576 0.581 0.589 0.592

Equatorial - 0.527 0.580 0.582 0.586 0.582 0.582 0.592

Guinea
Ghana 0.455 0.485 0.554 0.563 0.570 0.576 0.575 0.579

Zambia 0.398 0.424 0.543 0.554 0.565 0.570 0.576 0.579

Kenya 0.473 0.447 0.530 0.536 0.541 0.546 0.550 0.555

Low Human
Development

Swaziland 0.548 0.506 0.526 0.534 0.539 0.541 0.541 0.541

Angola - 0.391 0.495 0.508 0.523 0.527 0.531 0.533

Tanzania 0.370 0.391 0.498 0.504 0.513 0.512 0.519 0.531

Nigeria - - 0.500 0.507 0.514 0.521 0.525 0.527

Cameroon 0.444 0.437 0.486 0.496 0.501 0.507 0.514 0.518

Zimbabwe 0.499 0.427 0.452 0.464 0.488 0.498 0.507 0.516

Mauritania 0.378 0.444 0.487 0.491 0.501 0.509 0.513 0.513

Madagascar - 0.456 0.504 0.506 0.508 0.509 0.513 0.515

Rwanda 0.244 0.332 0.464 0.475 0.485 0.488 0.493 0.497

Lesotho 0.493 0.443 0.469 0.479 0.484 0.491 0.495 0.497

Senegal 0.367 0.381 0.455 0.463 0.474 0.483 0.491 0.494

Sudan 0.331 0.399 0.463 0.468 0.478 0.485 0.488 0.490

Togo 0.404 0.426 0.457 0.464 0.470 0.475 0.484 0.487

Congo 0.356 0.331 0.398 0.407 0.412 0.419 0.425 0.435

(Democratic
Republic)

Chad - 0.300 0.370 0.381 0.387 0.390 0.394 0.396

Niger 0.212 0.255 0.323 0.331 0.341 0.345 0.351 0.353

Source; Compiled by the author from the United Nations Development ProgrammeHuman
Development Report, 2016, New York, UNDP

The above table presents the Human Development index for selected African countries over a
period of 8 years. The table shows that majority of African countries have not exited the low
human development category. This indicates that many African countries have not significantly
developed nor overcome the challenges of poverty and material deprivation that have bedeviled
the continent since the 1960s. A striking discovery with this data is that, Kenya and Ghana, with
which Nigeria struggled for development in the 1980s have moved above the Low Human
Development Index to the Medium Human Development Index. This should be a cause for
concern among Nigerian and several African leaders whose countries are still unable to catch up
with the developing nations.

6. Underdevelopment

Unlike the concept of development, which highlights the positive side of social change, the
concept of underdevelopment digs deep into the other side of development to discuss issues
ofpoverty, unemployment, imperial domination, political marginalization, ethnic and religious
bigotries, corruption, state capture and material deprivation. The question is why should we
study the other side of development if society is progressing? Since the gains of development
are not always uniformly distributed to different groups in the society, it is important we study
the impact of social change on the downtrodden in the society.

Underdevelopment is, therefore, that aspect of social change that causes economic hardships,
destabilizes people and unsettles ethnic nationalities. It touches those aspects of Africa's
historical trajectories that have shaped and reshaped the fate of an ''African man or woman'' in
different ways. Several African scholars have written historical trajectories that have
underdeveloped the African continent. Some of these scholars include Walter Rodney How
Europe Underdeveloped Africa'', Claude Ake ''Social Science As Imperialism'', MahmoodMamdani
''Citizen and Subject; Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism'', Claude Ake ''A Political
Economy of Africa. In a nutshell, the concept of underdevelopment is used initially to describe
the process of under-developing non-Western societies through transatlantic slave trade,
colonialism and later imperial capitalism which allowed European bourgeois class to exploit the
human and material resources of the continent for the benefits of their metropolis (Mbaku,
2010).

Later in the development circle, the concept of underdevelopment was used to describe a stage
of development crisis in the life of a nation when the nation is unable to guarantee the basic
necessities of life such as food, education, health, security, freedoms etc. (African Magazine,
2011; Nnoli, 1993). For many African countries, development crises, today, mean high level of
poverty and hunger, material deprivation, massive corruption in public life, inflation, violence,
terrorism and lack of democratic ideals in spite of the return of democracy to the continent at
the end of the 20th century.

7. Political Development

With the advent of democracy in many parts of the world, scholars are increasingly measuring
social change with the precepts of political development. A nation's is said to be politically
developed when it has a functioning democracy where the rule of law prevails at all times,
citizens freely choose their leaders, government officials respect the codes of conduct of their
offices, periodic conduct of national elections, independent judiciary and the police, agencies of
government are allowed to discharge their duties without executive interference.

Although many developing countries cannot be said to have fulfilled most of the criteria for
being described as politically developed.Since the end of the Cold war in 1989, many of these
countries have set their feet on the path of political liberalization needed to achieve sustainable
political development (Mbaku, 2013; Olukoshi, 2007).

3.3.1 In-text Questions (ITQs)

1. Account for the reasons why scientists find it difficult to use ''progress'' for the measurement
of social change.
2. What is modernization?
3. What is the difference between development and underdevelopment?
3.3.2 In-text Activities (ITAs)
1. Identify five major modern values that have changed the fortunes of the agricultural sector.
2. Take the Ajaokuta Steal Company in Nigeria, and account for how modernization has
affected the growth and development of the company.
3.4- Types of Social Change

Over the years, social scientists have tried to classify social change in the order the type of
change that occurs in the society. Interestingly, the three most popular classifications are (1)
Progressive Social Change (2.) Retrogressive Social Change, and (3.) Mixed Social Change. This
does not mean that social change cannot be classified as planned or unplanned, peaceful or
revolutionary.

1. Progressive Social Change

Progressive social change is the kind of social change that brings positive development to
society. Social Change, in this context, is usually measured by the degree of progress made by
a country in spheres of human endeavour e.g economy, politics, foreign investment, commerce,
manufacturing, agriculture, oil etc. This is a one-directional form of social change.

2. Retrogressive Social Change

This refers to negative forms of social change, evidenced in the failure of development policies
or strategies either at the national or global level. In comparative politics and development
discourse, retrogressive social change is often expressed as symptoms of „‟underdevelopment‟‟.
The notion of underdevelopment symbolizes a state of development crisis and economic
uncertainties visible in high level of poverty, material deprivation, lack of jobs, poor
infrastructural services, inflation, high cost of living, poor health care services, lack of access to
free and qualitative education, political opportunism and political corruption, high level of
insecurity across the country and political instability. This subject matter has been discussed
extensively somewhere in the chapter. It is also a unidirectional form of social change.

3. Mixed Social Change

Mixed social change is slightly different from the two forms of social change that have been
discussed. Mixed social change is a situation whereby changes in the lifecycle of a society or an
individualresult in both development and underdevelopment (Ninalowo, 1990). Take
international terrorism, as an example. Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center (WTC), the US and the European nations have developed technologies to
fight the dreaded crime. Not only this, the US state, in collaboration with the United Nations has
encouraged nations to unite against global terrorist groups around the world by fighting illegal
arms trade and illicit flow of stolen assets from the developing world to the developed world.
Recently, Nigeria is among over 20 countries that formed a coalition of anti-terrorist groups in
Africa. The reality today is that there is hardly any form of social change without a coincidence
of progressive and retrogressive changes.

4. Planned Social Change

Planned social change is the type of social change that is deliberately put in place by the
government. It usually appears as a policy of government to alleviate a problem, build
infrastructure or end suffering among the poorest population in the society. Planned social
change has become one of the major features of the modern state since the era of the
Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century (Harper, 1998).

5. Unplanned Social Change

Unplanned social change may be exogenously or endogenously provoked. Unlike the planned
social change that is initiated either by government or a non-governmental body, unplanned
social change is usually provoked by unforeseen circumstances or environmental disasters such
as the outbreak of Ebola Virus, HIV/AIDs, the experience of earthquake, tsunami and drought in
some parts of the world (see Harper, 1998; Vago, 1998).

6. Peaceful Social Change

Social change is said to be peaceful when it does not result in any serious development crisis in
the society such as the death of the initiators of the change or the beneficiaries of such change.
In most parts of the world, peaceful form of social change is not common because there is
hardly any serious invention by humanity that will not have adverse effects on the society.

7. Revolutionary or Violent Social Change

Social change can be said to be violent or revolutionary when it results in the death of citizenry.
This type of social change usually demands that citizens sacrifice their lives or money for the
future of their societies. Revolutionary social change is common in many parts of the world
particularly in developing countries where political transition has usually met stiff opposition
from the incumbents.
3.4. In-Text Questions (ITQs)
1. What is progressive social change?
2. What is the difference between progressive and retrogressive social change?
3.4.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)
1. Take the counterinsurgency in the northeast as an example, account for the progressive roles
of the Civilian-Task Force in the fight against Boko Haram and the control of terrorism in the
region.
2. Account for five roles that the National Youth Service Corps have played in national
integration in Nigeria.

3.5 Theories of Social Change in Africa

A theory is a set of ideas developed from empirical data for the purpose of explaining social
phenomenon. A theory of social change is,therefore,a set of generalized ideas intended to
explain the nature of changes in our society. It probes into how people initiate changes and
develop different strategies to copewith the consequences of the changes in the society.
Sociologists and other social scientists have been unrelenting in providing scientific explanations
for the causes of social change in modern society. In this study session, our attention shall be
drawn to the contributions of only five of these schools. These are the evolutionary theory, the
functionalist theory, conflict theory, the modernization theory, the dependency theory
and theWorld System Theory.

i. The Evolutionary Theory

The evolutionary theory of social change is the oldest school of social change. It dates back to
ancient times and the eighteenth century enlightenment. The theory assumes that every human
society will develop from simple stage of development to complex stage of development. It
assumes that the development of human civilization, culture, religion, family, ideology, tradition,
technology and knowledge is cumulative. It is cumulative because it is a product of growth,
differentiation, advancement and perfection. As human societies grow in age, old traditions will
be replaced with new ones. This is expected to be accompanied by changes in the size,
structure and function of the institutions of society. Consequently, social relationship will be
affected by the size and structure of the institution of society. This will also shape the
production of life and the material acquisition in society.

The evolutionary theory of social change has two main traditions: the socio-cultural
evolutionism and the biological evolutionism (Afonja& Pearce, 1984).

i. The socio-cultural evolutionism

The socio-cultural evolutionism has a tradition that dates back to the times of Aristotle but its
current theoretical tradition dates back to the eighteenth century age of enlightenment of Saint
Simon, Adams Smith, Auguste Comteand Karl Marx. All these political philosophers agreed that
every human society will evolve from simple stage of development to complex stage of
development. As mentioned earlier, Auguste Comte used historicism to depict the three phases
of the evolution of humanity. Comte called this ''Law of Three Stages of Human Progress''.
According to him, human societies will pass through three stages of development. These are (i.)
theological stage, (ii) metaphysical stage and (iii). positivist/scientific stage. The scientific age is
the age of modernity and corresponds with the age of positive thinking that is devoid of
religious mystics. The German radical scholar, Karl Marx also traced the evolution of material
production of life to five stages of development. (i)Communalism(ii) Slavery (iii) Feudalism(iii)
Capitalism(iv) Socialism (v) Communism.

ii. Biological Evolutionary Theory

This version of the evolutionary schoolis rooted in the work of the English biologist, Charles
Darwin (1809-1882). It wasdeveloped by Herbert Spencer. Spencer believed that it is possible
to study the development of human societies the same way biologists study the evolution of
organic matter. Just as every organism (man) requires blood to function effectively, so also is
society in need of social structures to function appropriately. As organisms grow from simple,
incoherent, indefinite, homogenous stage so also does human society evolves from simple stage
of development to complex stage of development (Afonja& Pearce, 1984; Vago, 1996).

Unlike the socio-cultural evolutionists, the biological evolutionists believedthat process of growth
of human societies is never an easy task, just like the process of growth of an organism. This is
because in the course of the evolution of human cultures and civilizations, there will be need for
adaptation. Cultures and societies that are able to adapt to the conditions of the time will
survive while those that are unable to meet up with the expectations of the period will go into
extinction. Spencer described this phenomenon as ''the survival of the fittest''-a term, he
constructed from Darwin's natural selection (Vago, 1996).

The evolutionary theory is relevant in explaining the history and emergence of African societies.
For instance, it is useful in explaining how some ancient African empires have been able to
survive with modern civilizations while others have gone into extinction. The Benin and Oyo
Empires are major empires that have survived the intrigues of colonialism despite attempts by
the colonial masters to destroy their traditions.

2. The Functionalist Theory of Social Change

This theory of social change is rooted in system's theory in the natural sciences but is more
pronounced in the works of Emile Durkheim and Herbert Spencer (Afonja& Pearce, 1984). The
theory assumes thatsocial change in society is a product of consensus among the institutions in
the society. Before a change will occur in a society, there must have been consensus among the
people and the institutions that hold the society together. This consensus may be predicated on
how the change will be initiated or who will benefit from the change.

The functionalist theory also asserts that no part of society is useless in the process of bringing
about changes to society. Every social institution (family, economy, religion, education, politics,
law) is important in bringing about desirable changes to society. What this means is that the
failure of one institution may lead to the failure of the other parts of the society or the
underdevelopment of the entire society. How relevant is this theory to the discussion of Africa's
development problems?

The theory is relevant to the understanding of Africa's development crisis. It is relevant because
it links Africa's development crisis to the failure of African social institutions particularly in the
postcolonial era. For instance, at independence, most Africans saw the emergence of the state
as an opportunity to rid African societies of colonial legacies such as oppression, corruption,
arbitrariness, capriciousness etc. For many of these people, the emergence of the state was
expected to lead to the building of institutions that would help heal the wounds of colonialism
and eventually fast-track economic growth and economic development. The reverse is however
the case in many African countries. Africa is the host to some of the world's poorest populations
with attendant social-economic and political problems (see UNDP, 2016).

3. The Conflict Theory of Social Change

The conflict theory of social change holds that social change is a product of conflict. Change,
according to the conflict theorists, is not a product of consensus, as vehemently posited by the
functionalist, instead, it is a product of tension, contradiction, struggle, competition and
revolution. The theory assumes that conflict is not only desirable to bring about social change, it
is a necessity to bring humanity to the ''complete state of being''.One of the proponents of this
school of thought, whose work is often taken as synonymous with conflict is Karl Marx.

Marx in his ''Das Kapita''arguesthat humanbeings are inherently materialist in nature. This
innate characteristic is as old as human existence but was not pronounced in the ancient times
when communal property was collectively owned. Marx states further that, the emergence of
capitalism in the eighteenth century, however changedthe material conception of history.
Capitalism shifted the ownership of property from the feudal lords to the bourgeois class. It
introduced wage labour and made workers depended on the wealth of the bourgeois class
(Giddens, 2006; Turner, 1996).
Within a century, capitalism revolutionised mode of production and infused tension between the
propertied class and the class without properties. This tension is responsible for changes in the
economy of modern society and will shape interactions among nations in the future.

The conflict theory is a relevant theory to the study of African societies particularly when one is
interested in the study of the tensions between the political class (the economically rich African
elites) and the masses (impoverished African masses) that are traumatisedby poverty,
unemployment, high cost of living and criminality.

4. Modernization Theory of Social Change

Modernization theory has its origins in the classical evolutionary theories of social changeof
Auguste Comte and Herbert Spencer (Smith, 2003). The theory emerged in the 1950s after the
Second World when majority of African countries were agitating for independence fromtheir
colonial ruler. At the time, European powers were beginning to lose firm control of their
colonies in Africa and in many developing countries. In order to rationalise their rule over these
countries and continue to dominate the economies of these peripheral nations after
independence, apologists of colonialism introduced modernization theory.

Modernization theory believes that the developed societies (that is, Western societies) have
reached the peak of their development by moving from traditional society to modern society.
What is now left, is for the developing countries (in Asia, Latin-America, Africa, Oceania etc) to
adopt the social, political, economic and technological values that enabled the Western societies
to develop in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In his analysis of the school, Olurode (1999) states inter alia that ''The modernization
perspective maintains that developing societies are going to catch up with the developed
societies of the world, the more they become integrated into the latter's economies. The
relationships between the indigenous social formations of African societies and the penetrating
capitalist formations are interpreted as being functional and stable. It is assumed that with
diffusion of modernization influences from the West, African societies would display similar
features already exhibited by the developed economies during their transition to modernity. The
development of these societies is, therefore, interpreted in terms of the transition from one
Parsonian pattern variable to the other(Olurode, 1990; 1).The question is, to what extent has
the adoption of Western values promoted development in the developing countries? This is
what gives birth to the dependency theory.

5. The Dependency Theory of Social Change

The dependency school rejects all the assumptions of the modernization theory by stating that
modernization is an ideology of the Western world to continue to amass the wealth from the
non-Western societies and to continue to dominate the affairs of these societies even after
independence. Encouraged by the fury of contradictions of colonialism in many African
countries, proponents of this school states that in as much as the developing countries depend
on the Western societies for their survival, they will continue to be stooges of European
superpowers.

Thedependency scholars want the developing countries to develop their economies independent
of the West and tread consciously intheir participation in the global political economy (see Ake,
1991; Olurode, 1990; Smith, 2003).How far has over fifty years of dependency of African
countries given them economic liberalization from the developed world? To what extent has the
adoption of this strategy by the Asian Tigers aided their development?

6. The World System Theory of Social Change

The world system theory is a synthesis of the dependency theory, system's theory and Marx's
political economy. The theory was developed by an American sociologist, Immanuel Wallenstein
in 1974.
Wallenstein believes that change in the political economies of nations in both developed and
less developed societies, is a reflection of the changes in the world system. The world system is
a global capitalist system that has been developing since the 16th centuries. The system has
political and economic boundaries which are dominated by the developed nations. Based on the
economic and political powers that the global players exercised, the world system can be
divided into three; the core, the semi-periphery and the periphery. While the core are the
economically powerful countries of the world, the peripheral nations are impoverished nations
whose development has been hamstrung by poverty, war, dependency on advanced economies
(Ritzer, 2008). The world system theory is relevant to the understanding of Africa because it
links the problems of wars and terrorism in the continent to the contractions engendered by the
world system (Adisa, 2017).

3.5.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is modernization theory?
2. Why has Africa remained underdeveloped despite the adoption of Western social, political
and economic values that modernized the Western world?
3. What is the relevance of the world systemtheory to the explanation of terrorism in Africa?

3.5.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Use the HDI table presented in this studysession toexplainthe differences in the development
of African countries.
2. Account for the core interest in the Trade Dispute between the US and China.

3.6 Sources of Social Change in Africa

In social science literature, sources of social change are those factors that bring about changes
in a society (Vago, 1996). Some of the factors which have been given scientific attention in
social change literature include technology, ideology, competition, conflict, revolution, social
structure, polity, economy, population increase/demographic changes. These factors will now
be examined one after the other:

1. Technology

Technology is the totality of the systematic knowledge, manpower, tools and machines
possessed by a group of people at a particular time in human history. Giddens (2008) observes
that what is referred to as man‟s technology in contemporary society is a combination of
different efforts put together over time. Over the ages, man was once a gatherer, man‟s
technology shifted gradually to iron tools, then simple machines and later to electrical
machines. Today, there are many machines that are beyond the comprehension of ordinary
persons, which have surpassed the tools used by man during the age of Industrial Revolution.
Vago (1996;11) aptly notes that “the influence of technology reverberates in the lives of
individuals in society, in social values, in the structure and functions of social institutions and in
the political organizations of society. Technology creates not only new alternatives and
opportunities but also new problems for humans. It has both positive and negative effects that
often occur at the same time''.

Although Africa is technologically backward, the history of modern social change in Africa
cannot be written without reference to the technological revolution caused by the colonialism.
With the aid of colonialism, Africa received for the first time, the Railway system, later roads
were constructed across cities in the continent and industries that were equipped with modern
technologies gave rise to the production of goods and services. With the emergence of
globalization, Africa witnessed a new phase of its technological revolutions. Countries like
Nigeria and South Africa now have theirindependent satellites to boost internet services in the
public and the private sectors of their economies.

2. Culture

Culture is the totality of the ways of life of a people which covers not only their customs,
beliefs, laws, institutions, folkways, folklores, norms but also their technology (Turner, 1994).
Culture can be divided into two; material culture and non-material culture. Material culture
constitutes those components that can easily be seen and touched by individuals. Computers,
motor vehicles, schools and classrooms in our University are all examples of material culture.
The non-material culture are those aspects of human culture that can only be observed in the
course of social interaction. They are not material objects. The Code of Conduct for University
students is an example of non-material culture (Vago, 1996). Culture is a driving force of social
change. It is usually learned through the process of socialization. Turner (1994) concludes that
what we refer to as social change, today, is the summation of all the components of human
culture.

Culture is a significant source of social change in Africa because it is the way by which Africans
determine their identity but what is called African culture has been met with Western cultures.
Western civilizations have through the transatlantic slave trade and the colonial invasion of
Africa penetrated the continent. Culture contacts which these forces caused in the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries have led to the modification of what one may regard as traditional
African material and non-material culture. Notwithstanding thishistorical contact, many Africans
are still able to differentiate their traditions and cultures from those of Western world.

3. Ideology

Ideology is part and parcel of human culture, and a source of social change in Africa. Vago
(1996;14) avers that „‟An ideology is a complex belief system that explains social and political
arrangements and relationship”. He states further that “the functions of ideology are the
legitimization and rationalization of behavior and social relationships; the provision of a basis for
solidarity in a group or society, and the motivation of individuals for certain actions‟‟(Vago,
1996;15). The transition from feudalism to capitalism has been linked with the development of
“Protestant Ethic”, Calvinist ideology, popularized by John Calvinist and his followers. Details of
this, have been documented in Weber‟s bookThe Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
One of the ideologies that has driven social change in Africa is the ideology of colonialism.
Colonialism was introduced into Africa in the nineteenth century. It began with the partition of
African countries by powerful European nations-Britain, France, America, Portugal, Italy and
Belgium in 1884-1885 in Berlin, Germany. The partitioning of Africa, which is often called the
Berlin Conference marked the official beginning of the colonization of Africa. Several scholars
have explained the effects of colonial rule on the people of Africa. While some contended that
colonialism radically transformed thecolonised societies, majority of African scholars opined that
the advent of colonial rule in Africa marked the beginning of underdevelopment in Africa. It was
the beginning of underdevelopment because colonialism subdued African traditional political
and economic systems, and systematically allowed European bourgeois class to take over the
control of the human and material resources of the continent for the benefits of the metropolis.
In order to achieve this, the colonialists developed imperial ideologies to rationalise and justify
the introduction of colonial rule in Africa (Ekeh, 1975).Apart from the fact that colonialism led to
the indoctrination of African people, it also led to thebifurcation of many African societies and
sowed the seeds of discords among the indigenous people-a development that is largely
responsible for the problem of political instability in the post-colonial era (Mamdani, 2004).

4. Competition

Human society is full of different forms of competition. The competition may be over the seizure
of the resource base of the society or overthrow of existing political actors. Human competition,
may take different forms such as intellectual debate, promotion of particular ideology, exercise
of hegemony and secession. Capitalist world has been described by Marx, as the most
competitive world because owners of the means of production are usually struggling to outdo
one another, at the expense of the working class.

5. Conflict

Conflict is a major cause of social change in modern society. It is, in fact, one of the major
causes of social change. As stated somewhere in the chapter, it is through conflicts that nations
rise and fall, ideologies appear and disappear. Although conflicts can divide people and
destabilize nations, it can also be a means of uniting conflicting parties (see Amitai& Eva,1964).

3.6.1In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. Which ideology really changed the history of colonial Africa?
2.What was the role of European bourgeoisclass in the promotion of imperial capitalism in the
African continent during the periods of colonial rule?

3.6.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Cocoa plantation flourished in many postcolonial African societies, what role did the
marketing boards played in the promotion of the economy?
2. Briefly describe colonial system of collecting taxes in Nigeria and Ghana.

3.7 Agents of Social Change in Africa

Agents of social change are, in sociological parlance, social carriers of change. They grow with
change; they are affected by it and also predetermine the direction it takes over time.

1. Family

This is the primary unit of social change. It is the first institution in society that individuals get
used to. Family helps to promote societal culture, through which individuals contribute their
own quota to social change. It is through the family that primary knowledge about nature,
environment and ways of adapting to them are acquired. Thus, value orientation at this stage,
is very important for the progress of society. Once a child is badly brought up, and essential
values that could aid development are not inculcated, such a child when he/she attains
adulthood, may not be a key player in the development process (see Turner, 1994; Adebagbo,
Obiyan and Olurode, 1999).

2. Social Groups

After the family, individuals will move gradually into the mainstream of society meeting new
groups, usually referred to as “social groups”. A social group is a group of individuals with
interpersonal relations with group identity. In Nigeria, there are many social groups that have
had considerable impact on social change. A good example here is the ethnic group. Nnoli
(1980) states that the attainment of political independence by Nigeria in 1960, was largely as a
result of the struggles put forward by the dominant ethnic nationalities in the country. These
struggles were led by the emergent ethnic leaders. Another powerful social group, in Nigeria‟s
history, is religious group. Different religious groups in Nigeria have positively or negatively
influenced the patterns of social change in the country.

3. Social Actors

Social actors are slightly different from social groups. Although they may be classified as social
groups, social actors are those individuals or groups that have contributed significantly to a
country‟s development. Social actors can as well be initiators of negative social changes which
fundamentally altered the structure of the society. Africa is reputed for many social actors. In
fact, we can hardly write the history of Africa without including their names. Such individuals in
our history include Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Chief ObafemiAwolowo and DrNnamdiAzikwe of
Nigeria and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

In recent years, we have had social actors whose contributions to the defense of human rights
are inestimable. The late Chief GaniFawehinmi and the Human Right Activist, Femi Falanaare
among those who have shaped politics in post-colonial Africa.

4. Government

The term „‟Government‟‟ refers to the components of the state that are charged with the
constitutional responsibility of maintaining law and order, allocating national resources,
distributing and redistributing political powers among different sections of society, protecting
the rights of the citizens, protecting the citizens from both internal and external threats and
protecting the welfare of the citizens of the state. When we say government, we are simply
referring to all agents of the state charged with above responsibilities with the executive,
legislature and the judiciary.

The Police, the military and all other institutions of the state can be referred to as government
broadly speaking. The reason for this is not far-fetched. One, the nature of public policy of a
government and how it is executed by its agents may determine largely the nature of social
change in the state. No wonder, bad roads are usually associated with bad government and
vice versa.

Two, government is expected to be a key player in planned social change. When policies are
good, reference is often made to the initiators of such policies. Government is, therefore, an
integral aspect of social change (Smith, 2003).With the return of democracy to many African
countries, many Africans have come to see the significance of government in the development
of society.

Increasingly, people have called for the enthronement of democracy in their countries and
respect for human rights in the administration of criminal justice. The reasons for this are not
far-fetched. First, the return of democracy has enhanced state-civil society relations compared
to the era of the military. Second, many Africans now see the state as a collective property that
should be properly governed and guided when it derails from the collective goals of society.
Third, the demand for good governance in many African countries has been supported by
constitutional frameworks that are enforceable in the courts of law (Olukoshi, 2007).

5. Mass Media

The Mass media help to link different groups in the state together. They are often referred to as
the intermediaries between the state and civil society organizations. Citizens are expected to
get concrete information from different sources of Mass media. The action and reaction of the
people to changes in the state, are often a function of the level of media publicity given to
government policies. Mass media include the Radio, Television, Internet, Advertisement etc.
(Turner, 1994; Giddens, 2006).

6. Schools

Schools also serve as veritable grounds for social change. Since the degree of knowledge
acquired about social change is a function of qualitative education acquired by such a person,
schools help to shape development process (Giddens, 2006). This is because the schools,
whether primary or tertiary institutions help to serve as breeding grounds of ideas. Schools are
often classified to show that they are targeted at specific nature of social change. Some African
Universities fall into this category e.gMakere University, Uganda, University of South-Africa,
University of Ghana, University of Nigeria,University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State; Tai
Solarin University of Education, Ijebu-ode, Federal University of Technology, Akure.

7. Gender Groups

Men and women usually play significant roles in bringing about social change in society.
Women, for instance, put much resistance against colonial exploitation of the natives. Men and
women cooperative societies have had considerable impact in the development of the informal
sector of the Nigerian economy.

In recent times, there has been increasing agitation for gender equality in politics. It is believed
that, the more women are involved in the governance of the affairs of their society, the better
the conditions of their societies. While this assertion has worked for some countries and sectors
of the economies of some African countries, the prosecution and eventual conviction of some
women for corruption in Nigeria have cast doubt on the popular assertion that ''women are
better leaders in the society than men'' (Nnorom&Adisa, 2008).

3.7.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is the role of the family in social change?
2. How does the media shaped public opinion on social change?

3.7.2. In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Take a major continental media organization in Africa, and do an assessment of how it
shapes public opinion on terrorism or Ebola Virus.
2. Present two cases of how a state in Africa has curbed the spread of a major disease.

3.8 Targets of Social Change in Africa

Social change always has a target. It does not matter whether the change is coming from the
state or its agencies. Since all social actors in a society could serve as agents of social change,
initiators of the change process usually identify their target groups. The nature of target
audience may largely be determined by the interests of the initiators of the change. Generally,
the following groups in society may be the targets of social change;

1. State

In most modern societies, social change is usually targeted at the state. The reason is that the
political state is behind the stability of the society itself. Public policies are usually designed by
the government to develop the economy, build new infrastructure and improve the standard of
living of the citizenry. Since the stability of society is a function of the stability of the political
state, citizens, in most developing countries, always agitate that public policies must be
informed by public interest. But in Africa, public policies are often not informed by the interest
of the public but the self-centeredness of the ruling elites.
Mbaku (2003) provides a summary of the effect of bad governance on the livelihoods of the
citizenry, when he states inter alia; “During the early years of independence, the economic
projects that were expected to generate the wealth to fight poverty, as well as to provide the
masses with employment opportunities were considered too risky and complex for what was
essentially a highly underdeveloped and sophisticated private sector. The new state was
expected either to undertake these projects directly or provide subsidies so that the private
sector could organize these projects. Mbaku continues that; “as the evidence from more than
50 years of statism has shown, this approach to development has failed to meet the
expectations of Africans. What it has done is to enhance the ability of politicians and civil
servants to turn governance structures into instruments of plunder to enrich themselves at the
expense of society” (Mbaku, 2003;219).

No wonder, some development experts have argued that the postcolonial state in Africa is a
failed state. It is on the basis of this that new reforms are being introduced to fundamentally
transform the structures of the state.

2. Institutions of Governance

Social change is often targeted at transforming significantly the structures and institutions of
governance. Moribund public institutions in Nigeria have been undergoing many reforms since
the late 1990s. At least, the results of these reforms are much more feasible, in the
Telecommunication Sector than any other one of the Nigerian economies. Many other sectors of
the nation‟s economy are still in wallowing in crisis. The energy sector is one of these sectors.
Institutions play pivotal roles in development. Stable and viable institutions have the capacity of
promoting economic growth and sustainable development. When institutions are stable, fair and
equitable distributions may be engendered by the government, as opposed to situations where
governance structures are factionalized (see Olukoshi, 2007;1-25).

3. Citizens

Citizens are the fulcrum of development. They can promote favourable changes and facilitate
unfavourable changes. In other words, government‟s development efforts must centeraround
the needs of the citizens. Citizens are indeed agents of change as well as targets of change.
The new approach to governance in Africa is the one that puts „‟citizens needs‟‟ first in
development discourse (Oloka-Onyango and Muwanga, 2007).

4. Structure and Culture of Society

The purpose of social change may not necessarily be to introduce new technology to
society.The target, in most cases, is to change the culture, structure and values of society
thereby changing the orientation of the members of the society. In recent times, there have
been different advertisements in the newspapers and radios on the need for Nigerians to
eschew violence and work towards national development. This is as a result of the incessant
outbreak of violence in some parts of the country. Value reorientation may also be taken to
streets. This is an approach that has proven worthwhile in the city of Lagos. The legal system of
a country may also be subject to social change. The change may be informed by new
development in the country or development from the outside world.

3.8.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. How has the state in Africa benefitted from social change?
2. List five and discuss two institutions of governance that have benefitted greatly from the
reform of the public sector in Africa.
3.8.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)
1. Take the public service as an example, describe how the single-treasury account has eased
your interaction with government.
2.Describe two aspects of the Nigerian economy that have benefitted greatly from the e-
banking system.

3.9.1 Social Change and Development in Africa

The issue of development in Africa can hardly be discussed without making reference to the
role of social change. Social change has played a significant role in the rise and fall of many
empires in Africa, and the development of the post-colonial African societies.

1. Social Change in Pre-colonial Era and Development in Africa

Social change in many pre-colonial African societies was characterised by pre-industrial social,
economic, political, cultural and technological lifestyles. The family, which is the primary unit of
life, was small and operated on communal system. In pre-colonial times, the continent
comprised different types, therefore, social life was designed around cultural and tribal systems-
Fulani, Ashante, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa.

In terms of political organisation, African societies had two political systems; i. Centralised
traditional political state that was ruled by a King and ii, Decentralised or Republican traditional
political system that was headed by a village chief or head. These societies, which the
anthropologists have described as acephalous societies exercised little control on their
neighbours or other strong political systems. This is not to say that these societies were
stagnant and did not develop. Of course, every society is bound to experience social change but
social change was more pronounced in societies and empires where people engaged in inter-
tribal wars and the struggle to conquer empires (Osuntokun, 1997).

An event occurred in Africa in the seventh century that radically changed the size and structure
of many African societies. The event was the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which saw the shipping
of about 12 million Africans across the Atlantic to Europe and America for work in the growing
western economies. In exchange for gun powder and glass, African kings sold their people to
the European interlopers and wasted human capital that should have been used to develop the
continent in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Tactically, the involvement of Africans in this trade encouraged communal clashes and inter-
tribal wars. The wars ranged on for years, destroyed the communal bonds, and in some cases
laid the foundations for inter-ethnic rivalry. While people were lost in the trade, it, however,
paved the way for the emergence of new states in the continent. Such a state was the pre-
colonial Lagos founded by the Benin invasion of the seventeenth century which saw the
emergence of Oba Ado (1620) and the subjugation of the original founders of Lagos-the Aworis
(see Onikoyi, 1975).

2. Colonialism, Social Change and Development in Africa

The history of social change and development in Africa cannot be complete without reference to
colonialism. Colonialism laid the foundations of modernization in many developing countries
including Africa.

Officially, colonialism began in the middle of the nineteenth century 1884-1885 with the
partitioning of African countries in Berlin by the powerful European nations; Britain, France,
America, Portugal, Italy and Belgium. Boateng (2010) notes that the Berlin conference was
summoned to settle the rifts arising from the battles for territories that Europeans had fought
during the 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade.

Having officially partitioned Africa, the colonialists sought for the permission of their mother
countries to impose colonial rule in their various domains. In Nigeria, the British started its
official colonization of Nigeria with the cession of Lagos in 1861. The choice of Lagos was not
unconnected with the fact that it had served as a significant slave port in the nineteenth
century. With the 1861 cession of Lagos to the British, Lagos became a colony of the British and
came under colonial laws.

Aided by the missionaries, the colonialists built colonial institutions that would enable them
effectively control the people. In 1859, the Christians Missionary Society established the first
grammar school in Nigeria. This consequently paved the way for the establishment of more
schools in the other territories. Later, the British founded the Northern and Southern
protectorates thereby incorporating other territories in the country into the colonial
framework.Mbaku (2010) notes that the strategy of the colonial masters was not different in
other African countries.

It imposed laws, forcefully collected taxes and eradicated or subdued traditional economic and
political systems. In the French colony of Cameroon, colonial rule was capricious, arbitrary and
oppressive. The French policy of assimilation expected that the indigenous people learn and
assimilate the culture of the ''White Man''. As a result of this, colonialism presented itself to the
people as messier.
Despite the fact that colonialism infused modern values and practices (industrialization,
bureaucracy and technology), it was oppressive, dictatorial and capricious in its dealings with
the indigenous people (Ake, 1996, Mbaku, 2010; Mamdani, 2004).

The effect of colonialism on Africa's development is, therefore, both positive and negative.
Positive, in that, it brought about the adoption of modern system of government, injected
industrialization, led to the introduction of Western education, construction of modern roads
and the introduction of advanced technology (Smith, 2003). Colonial impact is also negative,
when we compare its negative consequences on the bifurcation of the African societies with its
attendant consequences on the problem of civil war in the post-colonial era.

3. Independence, Social Change and Development in Africa

The 1950s, 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of independent African countries. The
attainment of political independence marked the beginning of political freedoms for many in the
continent.

Political independence, is the official disengagement of a colony from its colonial masters. It is
an attestation that the elites in the post-colonial society can take over the mantle of leadership
in their country.

Althoughmajority of African countries got their independence from their colonial masters, the
nature and character of the post-colonial state in post-independent Africa was not different
from that of the colonial era.

i. The African Post-Colonial State and the Development Enterprise

In the 1960s, when many African countries gained their independence, two main issues
dominated the agenda of the political leaders. The first was the choice of a political system that
would guarantee stability in the continent. The second issue focused on the best economic
system that the continent could adopt to develop its numerous human and material potential.

At independence, many African leaders favoured one-party regime. The choice of one-party
regime was born out of the fact that, the African countries needed a postcolonial state that
would be able to unite the diverse ethnic nationalities already divided by over 100 years of
colonialism. Eventually, the one-party states paved way for corruption and allowed the post-
colonial leaders convert their national resources into private enterprises.

On the choice of economic system, African leaders favouredstatism. Statism is an economic

system that allows the state have larger control over market forces. It is a centralised economic
system. Though it was argued that statism would allow the state maximise the available
resources for the benefits of the indigenous people, statism led to corruption and encouraged
political opportunism, thereby throwing many African countries into military interregnum
(Mbaku, 2003).
2. Military Rule and Social Change

The military also left a legacy by disrupting Africa's democratic experiment through forceful
seizure of political power from the civilians. In Nigeria, it began in January 15th, 1966 and ended
on May 29, 1999. This experience, indeed, lasted with Nigeria for more than twenty-nine years,
out of the fifty-eight years of Nigeria‟s independence.

Military rule is an antithesis to democracy. It is an aberration to the idea of civil rule where
citizens' freedom and the rule of law become the core values of governance. In several African
countries, as in Nigeria, military rule led to the oppression of the political class, entrenched
corruption.It usually promised to fight, subvert the rule of law and destroy African economies.

One of the worst legacies of military rule, is that it left a capricious, arbitrary, corrosive and
corrupt post-colonial state.

5. Bureaucratization and Social Change

The process of bureaucratization started in Nigeria during the colonial era. Public bureaucracies
started first, followed by private bureaucracies. Bureaucratization implies a process whereby
formal rules, procedures, cultures, and administrative laws are introduced into the organization
of human and material resources. The colonial bureaucracies that came in first were the civil
service, courts and the police. This was the case because the colonial institutions meant a lot
for the sustenance of colonial powers in Africa. For instance, the first Supreme Court in Nigeria
was established in 1862 referred to, then, as the Supreme Court of Lagos (Mamdani, 2004;
Ogunleye, 2007). There have been series of reforms of the civil service in Nigeria, which we
cannot exhaust in this chapter. One of such reforms was the reorganization of the Police in
Nigeria, which gave it the name “The Nigeria Police Force, in 1930.

6. Economic Growth and Economic Development

Economic growth and development are vital for national development. The development of the
Nigerian economy was not without colonial inputs.Although in pre-colonial Nigeria, the different
ethnic nationalities mainly practised agriculture. Many Nigerians and indeed Africans were
sustaining themselves on proceeds from cash crops. Thus, the nature of social organizations
and political systems, found in pre-colonial Africa, were largely a function of this mode of
production. When imperial capitalism came, and industrialization was massively introduced, they
resulted in the marginalization of pre-colonial economic arrangements. Some ethnic nationalities
lost and some gained in the process, new cities emerged while some old ones vanished.

Colonial economic arrangements, however, neglected the critical sectors (manufacturing sector)
of the Nigerian economy, and concentrated on colonial exploitation and exportation of natural
resources from the periphery. This led to negligence of the base of Nigerian capitalism. No
wonder, after Nigerian independence, the emerging comprador bourgeois class had no strong
economic base. The worst thing was that the state became the source of capital for almost
everybody. Thus, whoever seized political power had seized the entire state, and could use it
the way he liked. This legacy is still flourishing up till today (Ake, 1996).

The discovery of oil and the subsequent gains from Nigeria‟s oil business brought some hopes
and aspirations in the early 1970s. By mid-1980s, oil business in Nigeria had dwindled leaving
the masses and the middle class in the midst of the mess. Poverty, hunger, job loss, industrial
collapse and economic crisis all reached their peak, in the midst of this crisis. Different sections
of Nigeria responded to the crisis. The civil society groups rose to the challenge. There wasthe
closure of many Universities in 1986 as a result of protest against IMF and World Bank
Structural Adjustment Programme (Nnoli, 1993; Ake, 2000).

By late 1990s, Nigerians felt some signs of relief with the departure of the military and the
subsequent enthronement of democracy. Nigerians thought that political change would
translate into economic transformation. However, some developments were introduced.
Moribund public sectors were given some attention. It was this that saw the privatization of the
Telecommunication and the corresponding influx of Telecomm giants in the Nigerian economy.
The oil sector also had a facelift but not without corruption. Up till today, Nigeria has not been
privileged to have a viable manufacturing sector.

3.9.2 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What was the role of colonialism in the development of Africa?
2. Identify two major political actors that shaped the colonization of Africa.

3.9.3 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Describe the process that led to the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern
Protectorates in Nigeria in 1914.
2. Describe a scenario of military take-over in a West or East-African country in the 1990s.

3.9 Globalisation, ICT and Development in Africa

Globalisation is a significant agent of social change in contemporary Africa. It is the adoption of
global practices that have facilitated the integration of the social, political, economic and
technological resources of developing economies into the global political system. The idea
began in the 1970s and 1980s but became pronounced after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989
(Giddens, 2003).

What then is globalization? Giddens (2006) believes that ''Globalization is often portrayed as an
economic phenomenon. Much is made of the role of transnational corporations whose massive
operations stretch across national borders, influencing global production processes and the
international distribution of labour. Others point to the electronic integration of global financial
markets and the enormous volume of global capital flows. Still, others focus on the
unprecedented scope of world trade, involving a much broader range of goods and services
than ever. Although economic forces are an integral part of globalization, it would be wrong to
suggest that they alone produce it. Globalization is created by the coming together of political,
social, cultural and economic factors'' (Giddens, 2006; 50).

i. Globalization, Information and Communication Technology and Social Change in

Africa
One of the ways of determining the impact of globalization in Africa is to assess the role of ICT
in the revolutionisation of Africa's political economies. African economies need development but
this development cannot come unless these economies benefit substantially from the global
financial system that is facilitated by ICT and governed by the global political actors
ii. Globalization, E-Banking and Cyber-criminality
Since the discovery of the internet and its use in Nigeria and some African countries, there have
been a shift towards cyber-related crimes. Cybercrimes are those crimes that are committed
with the aid of the internet for either monetary or non-monetary gains. Cybercrimes are
common in Nigeria. Mazzitelli (2007) notes that it is a transnational organised crime which
started in the West-African region as a result of the region. Today, cybercrime is a global
phenomenon leading to loss of millions of dollars annually.

iii. Globalization, ICT, Democracy and e-Governance in Africa

E-Governance is the most contemporary system of public administration in the world. It is the
process of using ICT to enhance citizens' interaction with the state and enabling the state to
deliver public goods at the shortest time. One of the benefits of globalization gained by the
continent from ICT is e-governance. E-governance has been adopted by Nigeria, Ghana, South-
Africa and Kenya in the conduct of their elections and the administration of public funds.
Despite the existence of e-governance, corruption, inflation of contract, political opportunism
and rent-seeking which the system sought to remove from the public service still persist.

3.9.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is e-governance?
2. How has globalization and the ICT enhanced the practice of e-governance in Africa?

3.9.2 In-text Activities (ITAs)

1. Identify two public service administrations that denote e-governance in Nigeria.
2. Take a public institution in Nigeria where single treasury account is used and demonstrate its
efficiency.

3.10 Summary of study session 3

Inthis study session,we have discussed social change in Africa by exploring the relationship
between social change and the development of the African continent. We started by defining
the concepts of social change, examined its measurement and proceeded to explain the sources
of social change in Africa. The study session examined criticallythe nature and types of social
change in Africa with a view to building capacities in African students and equip them with the
skills required for the diagnosis and resolution of African problems. The study session concluded
by looking at the role of social change in the development of Africa and the possibility of using
e-governance to improve development in the continent.

3.10.1 Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs)

1. What is social change?
Social Change is the significant transformation of the size, structure and function of a society,
which if measured, will have appreciable impact on the social, political, economic and
technological lifestyles of the citizens of a state or community.
2. With the aid of illustrations, describe the ideas of planned and unplanned social change in
Africa.

Planned social change is a form of social change that is planned either by a government or non-
governmental organizations for the purpose of improving the standard of living of the citizenry
or alleviating an identified problem of the society. The administering of anti-retroviral drugs on
people living with HIV/AIDs is an example of planned social change.

Unplanned social change is the type of social change that occurs suddenly and unprepared for
by the government. A good example of this, is the continuing problem of flash-flood in the
eastern part of Nigeria.
3. List and discuss five major forces that shaped social change in Africa.
i. Colonialism
Colonialism was the nineteenth century ideology that allowed European nations take over the
control of the territories of less developed societies in Africa, Asia and Latin-America.
ii. Industrialization
Industrialization is the process of transforming the economy of a less developed society from
agrarian economy to industrial capitalist system.

iii. Urbanization
Urbanization refers to structural changes in the size and structure of a rural which encourage
large population size, high population density and cultural heterogeneity.

iv. Modernization
Modernization is the process of catching up with advanced capitalist societies by less developed
societies through policies that drive rapid economic growth and economic development.
v. Military Rule
Military rule is a form of social change that allows the military to take over the government of a
state, impose draconian laws (decrees) and suspend all the relevant portions of the law that
allow the independence of the executive arm of government.
4. What is the relevance of the modernization theory tothe development of Africa?
Modernization theory is relevant to the development of Africa in many ways. It is relevant in
both economic and political spheres of development in Africa. In the political realm,
modernization is the singular factor that informs the rise of the modern state in the continent.
Without the state, Africans would not have been talking about democracy. Democracy is
possible only if a country has the political instrumentality to conduct periodic elections and
adjudicate on electoral matters based on the tenets of the rule of law.

In the area of economic modernization, Africans have benefitted immensely with the rise of
foreign investment, the development of oil and gas, and advanced military technology to fight
crime and terrorism. Modernization has also bolstered economic productivity in the private
sector, and increased the share of the private sector in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of
African countries.
5. What are the contributions of colonialism to social change in Africa?

Colonialism has contributed to the processes of social change in Africa in both positive and
negative ways. These include:
i. The introduction of Western economic and political systems
ii. The introduction of Western education
iii. The development of the productive sector
iv. Subversion of the traditions, customs and cultures of African societies
v. Imposition of imperial capitalist system and exploitation of the human and material capital of
the continent.
v. Entrenchment of culture of corruption among the political class and the pauperization of the
masses

6. Discuss the role of globalization, ICT ande-governance inthe control of corruption in Africa.
Globalization and ICT are key agents of crime control in the contemporary world. With
theinternet, the global community and national governments in Africa have introduced e-
banking and e-governance to fight corruption and ease governance in the continent. One of
such crucial steps taken by the global community was the establishment ofthe Financial Action
Task Force (FATF)in 1989 to help nations fight corruption and money laundering. The
organization which has since added global monitoring of terrorist financing, has also helped the
West-Africa region combat terrorist financing in the last decade.

References/Suggestions for further reading

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Project” in Adesina, A. L.; Olufayo, O. O. and Adefolaju, T. (ed.) Perspectives on
Urbanisation in Nigeria, Ado-Ekiti, Department of Sociology, University of Ado-Ekiti.

Adisa, W. B. (2010): “From Kickbacks” to “Ghana Must Go”: A Discourse on the Political
Economy of Rent-Seeking in Nigeria” in Akinboye, Solomon O. and Fadakinte, M. M. Fifty
Years of Nationhood? State, Society and Politics in Nigeria (1960-2010), Department of
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Adisa, W. (2017). Theories of Terrorism and Boko Haram Extremism in Nigeria'' in Terrorism &
Counterterrorism War in Nigeria: Essays in Honour of Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf
Buratai, Lagos, University of Lagos Press
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Wesley

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Vago, S. (1996). Social Change, Third Edition, Prentice Hall, New Jersey
 Study Session 4

The Geography of Africa

4.1 Introduction
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia.The
continent comprises over 54 sovereign states, including Madagascar and various island groups
e.g. Greenland, New Guinea, Borneo, Republic of Sao Tomé and Príncipe. Remarkably, the
landmass covers an area of 30,368,609 sqkm (11,725,385 sqmi), including the adjacent islands.
Africa, based on its location, is the most tropical of all continents.

The climate and vegetation of the continent range from equatorial rainforests, tropical deserts
and savanna grassland to Mediterranean. The Sahara Desert which covers about 10.4 million
sqkm is recorded as the largest desert in the world. Africa is divided by the equator with almost
equal half north and south. This division across the equator makes the climatic and physical
conditions of continent almost the same in the north and south. For example, the Kalahari
Desert is in the North while the Sahara is in the South.

Africa is separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the Red
Sea, Africa is joined to Asia at its northeast extremity by the Isthmus of Suez (which is
transected by the Suez Canal), 130 km (81 mi) wide. The continent is also surrounded by water
bodies including the Mediterranean Sea to the north, both the Red Sea and the Suez Canal
along the Sinai to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to
the west.

The continent has well over one billion human population which accounts for about 14.72% of
the world’s human population with diverse economic activities. The economic activities
diversification is a result of unequal distribution of natural resources, variation in political and
economic systems, colonialism, and various other historical factors in countries across the
continent. South Africa has Africa’s largest economy, followed by Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and
Morocco.

4.1.1 Study Session 4 Learning Outcomes

i. An understanding of Geography of Africa – location, physical and human characteristics
as well as climate change impacts on the continent
ii. The skills and abilities to examine physical characteristics in relation to vegetation,
climate, soil, wild life etc.
iii. The skills and abilities to examine human characteristics in relation to population, people
and language as well as economic activities (agriculture, mining, fishing, manufacturing
etc) and traffic congestion.
iv. The ability to critically assess theoretical and conceptual issues relating to Africa
environment and climate change impacts
4.2 Physical Characteristics
4.2.1 Extreme Points
This is a list of the extreme points of Africa, the points that are farther north, south, east or
west than any other location on the continent.
Africa
 Northernmost Point — Iles des Chiens, Tunisia (37°32'N)
 Southernmost Point — Cape Agulhas, South Africa (34°51'15"S)[2]
 Westernmost Point — Santo Antão, Cape Verde Islands (25°25'W)
 Easternmost Point — Rodrigues, Mauritius (63°30'E)
 African pole of inaccessibility is close to the border of Central African Republic, Sudan
and Congo, near the town Obo.
Africa (mainland)
 Northernmost Point — Ras ben Sakka (Ra's al Abyad) (Cape Blanc), Tunisia
 Southernmost Point — Cape Agulhas, South Africa
 Westernmost Point — Pointe des Almadies, Cap Vert Peninsula, Senegal (17°33'22"W)
 Easternmost Point — Ras Hafun (Raas Xaafuun), Somalia (51°27'52"E)

4.2.2 In-text Question (ITQ)

 List any five extreme points in Africa

4.23 In-Text Answers (ITAs)

i. Iles des Chiens, Tunisia
ii. Cape Agulhas, South Africa
iii. Santo Antão, Cape Verde Islands
iv. Rodrigues, Mauritius
v. Ras Hafun (Raas Xaafuun), Somalia.

4.3 Geology, Relief and Drainage

Africa is different from other continent in structure and relief, stable landmass made up of the
pre-Caribbean complex rock overlaid in part by sedimentary cover at later period. Most of the
highlands and mountains are the result of recent volcanic activities.
The mountains and highlands in Africa are East African mountains Kilimanjaro -19,340 ft (5895
m); Kenya 17,058 ft (5200 m); Meru -4569 m and Elgon 4053 m and in the Ethiopian highlands
Ras Dashen is about 15,000ft (4,573 m).

In West/Central Africa, mountains such as the Cameroon (4070m), Jos Plateau in Nigeria 5,840
ft (1,780 m), Fouta Djalon highlands in Guinea, the Ahaggar and Tibesti Massifs fall within the
same category of highlands.
4.3.1 Coastline
Africa’s coastline is generally straight and relatively short compared with that of other
continents thereby resulting in more artificial harbours than natural ones. The shape of Africa is
relatively simple with a remarkably smooth outline.

4.3.2 Drainage
Basin of the Atlantic 4,070,000 10.541
Basin of the Mediterranean 1,680,000 4.351
Basin of the Indian Ocean 2,086,000 5.403
Inland drainage area 3,452,000 8.941
Some of the world's largest and longest rivers are found in Africa, for example, the Nile,
Zambezi, Congo and the Niger.

4.3.3 Islands
Major Islands are Madagascar, Zanzibar and Pemba; the Comoros; Mauritius; Reunion,
Seychelles (all in the Indian Ocean); Cape Verde, Fernando Po, Principe, Sao Tome and
Annobon (all in the Atlantic).

4.3.4 ITQs
List five mountains and highlands in both East and West Africa and their heights

4.3.4 ITAs
i. mountains Kilmanjaro -19,340 ft (5895 m)
ii. Kenya 17,058 ft (5200 m)
iii. Meru -4569 m and Elgon 4053 m
iv. Jos Plateau in Nigeria 5,840 ft (1,780 m)
v. Cameroon (4070m),

4.4 Climate and Vegetation

Temperature is high through the continent because of the continent’s location relative to
Equator. Range of temperature is quite small and Wind is much less of a feature than in
temperate climates.

The vegetation of Africa is divided into;

 Tropical Rain forest:
 Temperate Forest:
 Mediterranean Woodland
 Mangrove Swamps
 Savanna or Tropical Grassland
 Temperate Grassland or Veld
  Semi-desert and desert

4.4.1 ITQs
Mention the classes of Africa climate.

4.4.2 ITAs
i. Tropical Rainy
ii. Tropical Savanna
iii. Tropical Steppe
iv. Tropical Desert
v. Mediterranean
vi. Humid Subtropical
vii. Highland

4.5 Climatic Factors

4.5.1 Pressure Systems, Winds and ITCZ
Inter-Tropical Converge Zone (ITCZ) is team given to the two wind systems that converged at
the equator.
Located on about Latitude 30o North and South of the Equator are Sub-tropical High-Pressure
Belts that dictate surface wind patterns and also influence rainfall and temperature regimes on
the continent.

4.5.2 Major Ocean Currents

Winds that tend to blow persistently over the ocean tend to drag a thin surface layer of the
water in their direction of flow.
1. Warm Ocean Currents supply moisture to winds blowing over them to develop rainfall on
the adjacent Coasts. In Africa Warm Ocean Currents include, WarmGuinea Currents -–
West Africa, Warm Mozambique current – Southeast Africa.
2. The cool surface of Cool Ocean Currents causes moisture in winds blowing over them to
condense and form fogs, etc. The winds are deprived of their moisture; thus, they tend
to absorb rather than deposit moisture at the adjacent coasts. Cool currents, therefore,
cause dry conditions and in Africa the Cool Canary Currents - the western coast of the
Sahara Desert, the Cool Benguela Currents – the Western coast of Kalahari Desert.

4.5.3 Altitude
Temperature decreases with height, mountainous regions such as the Ethiopian highlands have
very cool temperatures. Very high peaks such as Mountain Kilimanjaro located along the
equator even have permanent snow cover.

4.5.4 ITQs
List the vegetation classes in Africa.
4.5.5 ITAs
The vegetation of Africa is divided into:
i. Tropical Rain forest:
ii. Temperate Forest:
iii. Mediterranean Woodland
iv. Mangrove Swamps
v. Savanna or Tropical Grassland
vi. Temperate Grassland or Veld
vii. Semi-desert and desert

4.5.5 ITQs
1. Explain the team ITCZ
2. Explain the two major ocean currents and the adjacent coasts.

4.5.5 ITAs
1. Inter-Tropical Converge Zone (ITCZ) is term given to the two wind systems that converged
at the equator.
2i. Warm Ocean Currents
Adjacent coasts
West Africa, Warm Mozambique current – Southeast Africa.
ii. Cool Ocean Currents
Adjacent coasts
The western coast of the Sahara Desert, the Cool Benguela Currents – the Western coast of
Kalahari Desert.

4.6 Vegetation and Ecology of Africa

4.6.1 Tropical Rain Forest
This vegetation develops in low land areas with year-round precipitation. It extends throughout
the Congo (Zaire) basin and along the West coast of Africa with its widest in Sierra Leone.

4.6.2 Temperate Forest

This vegetation is poorly represented in Africa. It is only found on the lower slopes of the
Ethiopian highlands and elsewhere on the highlands of considerable elevation and rainfall.

4.6.3 Mediterranean Woodland

These are evergreen trees and shrubs adapted to the hot dry season and mild wet season. In
North West Africa, the hilly belts support forests of evergreen oak, including cork oak and
cedar, although they are now much reduced by clearing and grazing.

4.6.4 Mangrove Swamps

This vegetation is found at the inter-tidal flats of the coastlines within the tropics.
4.6.5 Savannah or Tropical Grassland
Further away from the forest, as the dry season becomes more pronounced and more
prolonged, the Savannah woodland thins out, and trees that are more drought resistant are
found.

4.6.6 Temperate Grassland or Veld

This is found in the veld areas of South Africa. Characterized by short grass and plants adapted
to a brief growing season but there are considerable differences due to altitude.

4.6.7 Semi-Desert and Desert

The Savannah degenerates into semi-arid and then, desert. This is the environment of the
Sahel ranging from thorn, wooded grassland to tussocky grasses with large bare patches of
bare earth between.

4.6.8 ITQs
Explain a brief characteristics of Africa vegetation

4.6.9 ITAs
Tropical Rain forest: this vegetation develops in low land areas with year-round precipitation. It
extends throughout the Congo (Zaire) basin and along the West coast of Africa with its widest
in Sierra Leone.
i. Temperate Forest: It is only found on the lower slopes of the Ethiopian highlands and
elsewhere on the highlands of considerable elevation and rainfall.
ii. Mediterranean Woodland: These are evergreen trees and shrubs adapted to the hot dry
season and mild wet season in North West Africa.
iii. Mangrove Swamps: This vegetation is found at the inter-tidal flats of the coastlines
within the tropics.
iv. Savannah or Tropical Grassland: As the dry season becomes more pronounced and
more prolonged, the Savannah woodland thins out, and trees that are more drought
resistant are found.
v. Temperate Grassland or Veld: This is found in the veld areas of South Africa.
Characterized by short grass and plants adapted to a brief growing season but there are
considerable differences due to altitude
vi. Semi-desert and desert: The Savanna degenerates into semi-arid and then desert. This
is the environment of the Sahel ranging from thorn, wooded grassland to tussocky
grasses with large bare patches of bare earth between.

4.7 African Soils and Wild Animals

Africa is rich in animal life, but the number of large game animals has been rapidly decreasing
for many years. In some parts of the continent, few such animals can be found outside game
parks. These parks have been established mainly in eastern and southern Africa. Among them
are such mammals as gorillas, chimpanzees, zebras, giraffes, hippopotamuses, African
elephants, aardvarks, and several species of antelopes. Among large native birds are crested
cranes, secretary birds, guinea fowl, and numerous species of storks, ibises, herons, and
eagles. Madagascar has several kinds of animals that are not found elsewhere, including
ayeayes and indris. Lemurs are found only on Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands.

4.7.1 ITQs
List animals found in Africa but not elsewhere in other continents.

4.7.2 ITAs
Madagascar has several kinds of animals that are not found elsewhere, including ayeayes and
indris. Lemurs are found only on Madagascar and the nearby Comoro Islands

4.8 Human Characteristics

African countries vary considerably in size, levels of economic development, rate of economic
growth, economic development policies, and amounts of international trade. This variation is a
result of unequal distribution of natural resources, variation in political and economic systems,
colonialism, and various other historical factors in countries across the continent. South Africa
has Africa’s largest economy, followed by Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and Morocco.

4.8.1 ITQs
Unequal distribution in Africa’s natural resources has resulted to variation in
development.Mention

4.8.2 ITAs
 Economic development
 rate of economic growth
 Economic development policies
 Amounts of international trade

4.9 Economic Activities

4.9.1 Agriculture
In comparison to its large size, Africa has little productive farmland. Much of the land consists
of deserts, steppes, and rain forests, where unfavourable climate, poor soil, or dense vegetation
makes cultivation difficult or impossible. Most farmers work small plots of land. They use
primitive tools, little fertilizer, and almost no animal power. Crop yields are low and quality is
generally poor. Cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, rice, wheat and plantains are among staple
food crops. Cash crops include peanuts, cacao, palm nuts, cotton, tea, coffee, and sisal. Some
of these crops are also produced on African- and foreign-owned plantations. Many Africans
practise a shifting type of agriculture. One plot of land is used until its fertility is exhausted;
then the process is repeated on another.
4.9.2 Fishing
Africa's potential fish catch is enormous; however, most nations lack modern fleets and
equipment, and the overall catch is small. Traditional fishing methods predominate in most
parts of the continent. Nevertheless, as with other natural resources, Africa’s marine fisheries
are increasingly in demand and are gaining in geopolitical importance. A major factor lies in
rising global consumption of fish and fish products. South Africa, Morocco, Ghana, and Tanzania
account for the largest catches by tonnage.

4.9.3 Mining
In most African countries, the utilization of mineral resources has proceeded more rapidly than
has any other economic activity. But mining on a large scale requires complex machinery,
skilled technicians, and heavy financial investment, and few countries can afford to exploit their
resources fully. The bulk of Africa's minerals, excluding fuels, is produced by four countries—
South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. From these
countries come diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, and a variety of other minerals.

4.9.4 Manufacturing and Processing

Industrially, Africa is the least developed of all the continents except uninhabited Antarctica.
This situation is slowly changing as many countries obtain financial and technical aid and
establish industries. However, such industries as the processing of foods and beverages,
minerals and the making of textiles are developing in many parts of the continent. Traditional
handicrafts such as leather-working and weaving have long been major activities in northern
Africa, and their importance is slowly growing elsewhere. The growth of urban areas has
stimulated production of cement, bricks, and other construction materials.

4.9.5 Transportation
Modern transport is poorly developed throughout most of the continent. In tropical regions,
large amounts of goods are still moved by porters, canoes, and small barges. Camels and other
pack animals are used in the north.
 The continent has few railways. Most of them link coastal areas and ports with inland
sources of mineral and agricultural raw materials; few extend far inland. Only in
southern Africa are there sizable interconnecting networks.
 Water routes have long been used. River transport is of local importance, but is
hampered in many areasby rapids. Along the coasts, goods and passengers are often
transported in small vessels, such as the dhows (Arab sailing boats) of the eastern
coast. There are few good natural harbours; nevertheless, numerous ports have
developed along parts of the coast.
 Telephone service throughout Africa has improved greatly since the early 20th century,
though telephone ownership remains largely concentrated in major urban centres.
4.9.6 Trade
The countries of Africa usually account for about 5 per cent of the world's imports and exports.
The Republic of South Africa and the countries of North Africa account for about 25 per cent of
the continent's total trade.
The most important trading nation of sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa, is Nigeria.
Economic cooperation among African countries is fostered by several international
organizations, including the Economic Community of West African States and the Customs and
Economic Union of Central Africa. African oil-producing countries also belong to the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a group of nations that seeks to
regulate the world market for oil.
Africa’s leading merchandise exporters are Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, and South Africa. Petroleum
ranks as Africa’s major merchandise export, followed closely by agricultural products, minerals,
and manufactured products.

4.9.7 ITQs
List the economic activities in Africa.

4.9.8 ITAs
i. Agriculture
ii. Mining
iii. Fishing
iv. Manufacturing and processing
v. Transportation
vi. Trade

4.10 Population, People and Language

Africa's population has rapidly increased over the last 40 years, and consequently, it is relatively
young. In some African states, half or more of the population is under 25 years of age. The
total number of people in Africa grew from 221 million in 1950 to 1 billion in 2009 and the
population of this continent is rapidly expanding.

4.10.1 ITQs
What is the population of Africa continent as at 1950 and 2009 respectively?

4.11.1 ITAs
221 million in 1950 and 1 billion in 2009

4.11 Urban Congestion

Natural population increase (high births than death) and migration are significant factors in the
growth of cities in the Africa countries. Over a third of Africa's 1 billion inhabitants currently live
in urban areas, but by 2030 that proportion will have risen to a half. In many African countries,
people move into the urban areas because they are pushed out by factors such as:
i. rural poverty,
ii. Environmental degradation,
iii. Religious strife,
iv. Political persecution,
v. Food insecurity and
vi. Lack of basic infrastructure and services in the rural areas or because they are pulled
into the urban areas by the advantages and opportunities of the city.
vii. Education,
viii. Electricity,
ix. Water.

Employment/jobs opportunities:Urban growth is taking place in the absence of significant

industrial expansion. Food and water shortages, poor infrastructure and a lack of housing are
among the problems faced by governments during such rapid urbanization.

4.11.1 ITQs
What are the forces that push population out to urban centres in Africa?

4.11.2 ITAs
i. Rural poverty,
ii. Environmental degradation,
iii. Religious strife,
iv. Political persecution,
v. Food insecurity
vi. Lack of basic infrastructure and services.

4.12 Africa and Climate Change

Climate is the aggregated pattern of weather, meaning averages, extremes, timing, spatial
distribution of hot and cold, cloudy and clear, humid and dry, drizzles and downpours, snowfall,
snowpack, and snowmelt, blizzards, tornadoes, and typhoons, among others. Climate change
means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters
the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability
observed over comparable period of time.

4.12.1 Climate Change Challenges in Africa

December to February and 5-10% decrease in precipitation in the dry months (June-August).
The rising temperatures and rainfall patters are expected to produce an increase/ intensification
in the present impacts (El Nino, Ice melting, severe droughts, floods, food shortage, and
diseases spread).
Africa is expected to be one of the continents hardest hit by climate change, with an increase in
severe droughts, floods and storms expected to threaten the health of populations and
economies alike and have the potential to exacerbate national security issues and increase the
number of international conflicts.
4.12.2 Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Africa
Climate change mitigation involves reducing the impact of climate change effects and global
warming by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and by increasing
carbon sinks.
Climate change adaptation plan refers to processes through which societies make themselves
better able to cope with an uncertain future. Adaptation entails adjustment in natural or human
systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates
harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. This necessitates taking the right measures to reduce
the negative effects of climate change (or exploit the positive ones) by making the appropriate
adjustments and changes.

4.12.3 ITQs
What is climate change mitigation and adaptation?

4.12.3 ITAs
Climate change mitigation involves reducing the impact of climate change effects and global
warming.Climate change adaptation plan refers to processes through which societies make
themselves better able to cope with an uncertain future. Adaptation entails adjustment in
natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects,
which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.

4.13 Summary of Study Session 4

The continent of Africa lying athwart the Equator, but extending to some 35° north and south,
the vast continent of Africa covers a wide range of environments. The Sahara Desert stretches
across northern Africa from west to east, containing the mountain massifs of Hoggar and
Tibesti; lowlands to the east are threaded through from south to north by the Nile river valley.
Mediterranean Africa, lying north of the Sahara, includes the sharply folded and eroded Atlas
Mountains; the coastal and Nile valley lands were the home of the ancient civilization of Egypt,
with rich evidence of early Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Moslem contacts.

Africa is characterized by old crystalline rocks with relatively flat land and very few mountains
rich in valuable minerals such as gold, diamond and bauxite. The land is fairly ideal for urban
and transportation development. The location of Africa among other continents gives the
opportunity of early trade development and allows external powers for its people and resources.
Being the most tropical of all continents, it has warm weather throughout the continent with
absolutely very minimal occurrence of natural disasters occurring Africa hinterland. In addition,
it has several long and wide rivers that cut across the continent in both north-south and east-
west directions that could provide transportation and hydroelectric power.
As a result of current environmental degradation and poor resources management, Africa is
expected to be one of the continents hardest hit by climate change, with an increase in severe
droughts, floods and storms expected to threaten the health of populations and economies alike
and have the potential to exacerbate national security issues and increase the number of
international conflicts

References

Adams W, Goudie, A and Orme, A (1999): The Physical Geography of Africa, Oxford: Oxford
University Press Pp 456
Asante, M. (2007): The History of Africa. New York: Routledge.
Bindoff N L, Willebrand J, Artale V, Cazenave A, Gregory J, Gulev S, Hanawa K, Le Quéré C,
Levitus S, Nojiri Y, Shum C K, Talley C K and Unnikrishnan A. 2007. Observations:
Oceanic Climate Change and Sea Level. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science
Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, Chen Z,
Marquis M, Averyt K B, Tignor M and Miller H L (eds)]. Cambridge University Press.
Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA
Clark J. D. (1970): The Prehistory of Africa. London: Thames and Hudson.
Crowder, M. (1978): The Story of Nigeria. London: Faber.
Davidson, B. (1966): The African past; chronicles from antiquity to modern times.
Harmondsworth, Penguin.
Gordon, A. A. and D. L. Gordon (1996): Understanding Contemporary Africa. Boulder: Lynne
Rienner Publishers.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). 2007. Fourth Assessment Report.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Secretariat. Geneva, Switzerland.
http://www.ipcc.ch/
Khapoya, V. B. (1998): The African Experience: an Introduction. Upper Saddle River, NJ,
Prentice Hall.
Naipaul, V. S. (2010): The Masque of Africa: Glimpses of African Belief, Picador
Tarver, J.D (1996): Demography of Africa, Westport, CT: Praeger, pp. 91-98
UN Environment Programme (UNEP) 2008. Climate change and water, IPCC technical paper VI,
New York: UNEP, 2008, 33.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 2008. Climate change: impacts,
vulnerabilities and adaptation in developing countries, Bonn: UNFCCC, 2007, 12.
United Nations (2002): World Urbanization Prospects, the 2001 Revision, New York.
United Nations (2003a): Population Division 2003a: World Population Prospects, the 2002
Revision. New York: Highlights.
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100,000 and more inhabitants. New York.
Appendix: Self –Assessment Questions (SAQs)
1. Africa is the world's _____________ and second most populous continent, a.) Largest, b.)
second largest, c.) smallest, d.) second smallest.
Answer: b

2. The ___________ Desert stretches across northern Africa from west to east, containing the
mountain massifs of Hoggar and Tibesti; lowlands to the east are threaded through from
south to north by the Nile river valley. a.) Sahara, b.) Kalahari, c.) Namibia, d.) Arabia
Answer: a

3. ____________ lies north of the Sahara: a.) Southern Africa, b.) West Africa, c.) East Africa,
d.) Mediterranean Africa
Answer. d

4. The rift valleys of _________ are part of the most extensive fissure in the earth's crust,
extending south from the Dead Sea, down the Red Sea, across the Ethiopian Highlands,
through Kenya to reach the sea again near the mouth of the Zambezi. a.) Southern Africa, b.)
West Africa, c.) East Africa, d.) North Africa
Answer. d

5.) Africa is Separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea and from much of Asia by the
Red Sea: a.) Gulf of Guinea, b.) Mediterranean Sea, c.) Nile River, d.) Zambezi River
Answer. b

6. The continent is also surrounded by bodies of water namely Mediterranean Sea to the
north, both the Red Sea and the Suez Canal along the Sinai to the northeast, the Indian
Ocean to the southeast, and the ____________ to the west: a.) Arabian Sea, b.) Atlantic
Ocean, c.) Lagos Lagoon, d.) Black Sea.
Answer. b

7. _____________ is the largest island in Africa and the fourth largest on the Earth: a.)
Greenland, b.) New Guinea c.) Borneo, d.) Madagascar.
Answer. d

8. Africa straddles the equator, having an almost equal ____________ extent: a.) Northeast
and northwest, b.) West and East, c.) South and North, d.) North-central and Northeast.
Answer. c

9. The Sahara Desert is __________: a.) over 10.4 million km2, b.) about 7.4 million km2, c.)
approx. 100.4 million km2, b.) about 5.4 million km2
Answer. a
10. The African longest river is: a.) Nile River, b.) River Niger, c.) River Volta, d.) Congo River?
Answer: a

11. The Kalahari Desert (Dorsland in Afrikaans) is a large semi-arid sandy savannah in
_____________ extending 900,000 square kilometres (350,000 sq mi): a.) West Africa, b.)
Southern Africa, c.) East Africa, d.) North Africa
Answer: b

12.) Most of the highlands and mountains are the result of recent_______________ activities:
a.) volcanic, b.) Plutonic, c.) Human and economic, d.) Hurricane
Answer: a

13. The African plateau is underlain primarily by Precambrian rock that dates back to
_____________: a.) Less than 600 years, b.) about 400 years, c.) about 100 years, d.) more
than 600 years,
Answer: d

14.) Africa’s coastline is generally straight and relatively short compared with that of other
continents thereby resulting in more artificial harbors than natural ones: a.) generally straight
and relatively short, b.) generally bend and relatively short, c.) generally straight and relatively
long, d.) generally curve and relatively short
Answer: a

15. The chief river of western Africa is ___________: a.) the Niger, b.) the Orange, c.) the
Zambezi, d.) the Limpopo.
Answer: a

16. The only large natural lake outside eastern Africa is __________, on the southern edge of
the Sahara. a.) Lake Chad, b.) Lake Victoria, c.) Kanji Lake, d.) Lake Tanganyika
Answer: a

17. The Africa regions nearest the equator receive year-round rainfall, while those north and
south of it experience __________________ and a lower average annual amount of rainfall:
a.) short dry winters, b.) long dry winters, c.) short dry summers, d.) no winters.
Answer: a
18. In the deserts themselves, rainfall is extremely scarce and temperatures are
_____________: a.) very low, b.) very extreme, c.) inconsistence, .d) not experience at all.
Answer: b

19. The coastal regions of North Africa and southern tip of Africa experience temperate or
"Mediterranean" weather, including dry summers and wet winters, due to their proximity to
the ________________: a.) land, b.) desert c.) Rivers, d.) Oceans
Answer: d

20. ______________vegetation develops in low land areas with year-round precipitation and
extends throughout the Congo (Zaire) basin and along the West coast of Africa with its widest
in Sierra Leone: a.) Tropical rain forest, b.) Temperate forest, c.) Mangrove Swamps, d.)
Savanna
Answer: a

21 ______________vegetation is poorly represented in Africa and only found on the lower

slopes of the Ethiopian highlands and elsewhere on the highlands of considerable elevation
and rainfall: a.) Savanna, b.) Tropical rain forest, c.) Mediterranean Woodland, d.) Temperate
forest
Answer: d

23. The Africa best soils are __________ deposits found in the major river valleys: a.) Clay,
b.) Rock debris, c.) alluvial, d.) Saline.
Answer: c

24. Africa is rich in animal life, but the number of large game animals has been rapidly
decreasing for many years: a.) Rapidly increasing, b.) fully sustained, c.) Totally destroyed d.)
Rapidly decreasing
Answer: d

25. Agriculture has long been the mainstay of Africa's economy, ------------ being the
prevailing type: a.) Pastoral farming, b.) Commercial and mechanized farming, c.) Subsistence
farming, d.) Livestock farming
Answer: c

26. In many parts of Africa, colonialism led to economic development that generally advanced
________________ objectives, which were not necessarily suited to the needs of Africa itself:
a.) American, b.) European, c.) Traditional rulers, d.) Asian
Answer: b

27. Over time, most of the land where farming is practised has become less productive or
badly eroded: a) Commercial and mechanized farming, b.) Oil spillage, c.) Road constructions,
b.) through overuse and poor farming methods
Answer: d

28. Farming in northern Africa is slightly more advanced than in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly
because of_______________: a.) American and Australian influences, b,) European and
Arabic influences, c.) Indigenous influences, d.) Geographic location and tribes
Answer: b
29. Livestock is raised in every African country; however, this activity is not prevalent in
equatorial regions, partly due to the presence of disease-bearing insects such as
the___________: a.) Ants, b.) Worms, c.) Mosquitoes, d.) tsetse fly
Answer: d

30. In some Africa savannahs, herding is combined with ___________________: a.)

Cultivation, b.) Mining, c.) Art and craft, d.) Crime.
Answer: a

31. Industrially, Africa is the least developed of all the continents except uninhabited
Antarctica: a.) Least, b.) Most, c.) Second, d.) Third
Answer: a

32. Modern ________________ is poorly developed throughout most of the Africa countries.
In tropical regions, large amounts of goods are still moved by porters, canoes, and small
barges, camels and other pack animals are used in the north: a.) Agriculture, b.) Education,
c.) Transport, d.) Urban settings
Answer: c

33. The countries of Africa usually account for about 5 per cent of the world's _____________
trade: a.) Imports and exports, b.) Immigration and emigration, c.) To and fro passengers, d.)
Crime and prostitute
Answer: a

34. The most important trading nation of sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa, is
__________ a.) Togo, b.) Senegal, c.) Nigeria, d.) Cameroun
Answer: c
 Study Session 5:
African Languages and Literature
5.0 Introduction
Have you ever listened to the speech of people from a neighbouring town of yours? Can
you understand or speak the language they speak? Is it similar or different from yours?
If you are born in any one of the countries of Africa, you are likely to be amazed about
the different languages of people. This section will examine and focus on different
languages of and in Africa, the typologies or classification of the languages and dialects
by language experts. Africa, as a continent, has more than 50 countries (54) with
diverse languages, some indigenous to her and some adopted as a result of colonisation
and some of these languages are used as lingua franca for commerce, trade and official
transaction. According to Wikipedia (2018), Africa is the world‟s second largest by
geographical area and second most populous continent in the world. It is said to have
between 1250-3000 native languages.

5.1.2: Learning Outcomes for Study Session 5

At the end of this study session, you will be able to:
i. Define language
ii. Identify major African Languages
iii. Explain major African languages
iv. Describe the major and minor African Languages
v. List the common dialects in Africa
vi. List 5 official languages of Africa
vii. Identify the locations and countries where the official languages are spoken
viii. Mention Anglophone African countries
ix. Enumerate Francophone African Countries
x. Isolate Lusophone (Portuguese) Countries in Africa

5.1.3: The Enigma called Language

Human beings cannot exist without language. Societies and cultures thrive because the
means of communication is language. Communication is an intricate process that
contains cerebration, cognition, speech production and motor coordination. Human
beings are the only species that are known to have developed this advanced
communication competence through language.

Virtually all professions have their specific languages and argots. This can be seen in
education with notions such as pedagogy and teaching practice; social work with terms
like social case work, group work and community organisation; laboratory science,
physiotherapy, occupational therapy, law, medicine, nursing, engineering, architecture,
urban and regional planning, management science, physics, chemistry, pharmacy, just
to mention a few, similarly have their peculiar languages.

There are written and unwritten languages the world over and Africa is no exception.
Written language is discernible in the established professions and the latter literature in
“primitive societies”. Written African literature are now developing in many indigenous
African languages such as Swahili, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba to mention but a few,
inspite of the initial efforts by the colonialists to discourage the indigenous languages
for imperial reasons. Once upon a time, students and pupils are punished for speaking
their mothers‟ tongues under the guise of „vernacular language‟. Stories and folklore are
shared as moonlight tales through languages.

Ideally, African literature should develop in indigenous African languages. The use of
European languages by African writers in their literary works is not only due to the
colonial heritage, socialisation, assimilation, and acculturation but is perhaps dictated by
the fact that no African language is used universally in Africa.

One of the flip sides of using the foreign language is that it has enabled Africans to
reach out beyond the shores of Africa for commerce and trade. By writing in foreign
languages, Africans have not only reached the outside world but have also
communicated with other Africans and citizens from other nations with whom would
have been impossible to communicate hitherto owing to the multiplicity of African
languages. Indeed, a piece of literary work written in a non-indigenous language can
justifiably be regarded as “African” only if it mirrors African culture, thought and
perception of the world, life and existence. But is there any such thing as a peculiar
African way of perceiving the world? Is there anything that can be uniquely called
African art and symbols?

What, then is language? A dictionary definition posits that language is a system of

communication which contains a set of sounds and written symbols used by people of
specific country, region or location. It is a medium of talking or writing. It is also seen
as a system that comprises development, acquisition, maintenance and use of complex
systems of communication.

It is possible that such complexity may not be discernible in some languages as some
languages are not well developed in written forms.For instance, we have sign languages
for the deaf and dumb. Only those trained in such languages can deploy such means of
symbolisation and communication with the physically challenged. We have the braille
symbols for the visually impaired who can word process and pass essential message
and information through the medium.

Language is, therefore, defined by some combination of: having national status, being
written, or unwritten, being the standard form of a range of speech varieties, not being
intelligible to speakers of other „languages‟ and having a relatively large number of
native speakers. As Gbinigie-Erhabor (2008:130) argues „language connotes the human
and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, feelings and desires by means of
sound symbols”.

5.1.4MAJOR AFRICAN LANGUAGES

It is important to take cognizance of the fact that there were major African languages
which dominated the pre-colonial era, though in most geographic locations they still
serve as major means of communication. However, foreign languages were adopted as
lingua franca because of colonial experience. This can be observed from the great
number of states colonised by the British and the French. This implies that these states
or countries have their first languages to be English or French, though the indigenous
languages and pre-colonial languages and dialects have not been totally forsaken.

5.1.5- HOW MANY AFRICAN LANGUAGES ARE THERE?

It is rhetorical to ask someone: „do you speak African language?‟ as if there were but a
single African language. Grimes (1996) estimates the number of African languages at
2035; this number is not fixed, as some languages are still being „discovered‟, while
others with few speakers are going into extinction. Excluding languages introduced over
the past two millennia or so, such as Arabic, Malagasy, Afrikaans, English, Spanish,
Portuguese, this figure of just over 2000 is conservative. In the literature of language,
the major languages in Africa are put in four baskets:

i. Niger-Congo: 1436 languages (including the Bantu family)

ii. Afro-asiatic: 371 languages
iii. Nilo-Saharan: 196 languages
iv. Khoisan: 35 languages
These estimates, however, should be treated with caution because it depends crucially
on where the line is drawn between language and dialect.

5.1.6- CLASSIFICATION OF AFRICAN LANGUAGE

Granted that there were and still are varieties and diversity in linguistic affiliations in
Africa, a rational classification of languages in Africa was proposed by Joseph
Greenberg (1950) as comprising four large phyla:
 Niger-Congo (or Niger-Kordofanian)
 Nilo-Saharan
 Afro-Asiatic
 Khoisan
We shall take a closer look at these classifications.

i. NIGER-CONGO LANGUAGE (NIGER-KORDOFANIAN)

This typology is often divided into 2 sections because of the size of the language group:
Niger-Congo A and B. The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the world‟s major
language families, and Africa‟s largest in terms of geographical area, number of
speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world‟s largest
language family in term of distinct languages, although this question is complicated by
ambiguity about what constitutes a distinct language. Most of the widely spoken
indigenous languages of Sub-Saharan Africa belong to this group.

A common property of many Niger-Congo languages is the use of a noun class system.
The most widely spoken Niger-Congo languages by number of speakers are Yoruba,
Igbo, Fulani and Shona. The most widely spoken by total number of speakers is Swahili.
This group has some common features such as: Phonology, Consonant and Vowel
systems, Nasality, Tone etc (Ninalowo and Badru, 2012).

ii. NILO-SAHARAN LANGUAGE

The Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by about 50 million people, mainly in the upper
part of the Chad and Nile rivers (hence the term “Nilo-”), including historic Nubia, north
of where the two tributaries of Nile meet. The languages are said to extend through 17
nations in the northern half of Africa: from Mali in the west, to Benin, Nigeria and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo in the south; and Sudan to Tanzania in the east. The
largest parts of its major subfamilies are found in the modern nation of Sudan, through
which the Nile River flows in all its manifestations: the White and Blue Nile, which join
to form the main Nile at Khartoum. Nilo-Saharan languages are languages not included
in the Niger-Congo family Greenberg introduced in the same work or in the Afro-Asiatic
or Khoisan families (Ninalowo and Badru, 2012).

iii. AFRO-ASIATIC LANGUAGES

The notion: „Afro-Asiatic‟ was coined by Maurice Delafosse in 1914. Afro-asiatic is one of
the four language families of Africa identified by Greenberg in his book: The
Languagesof Africa(1963). It is the only one that extends outside of Africa, via the
Semitic branch.

The Afro-asiatic languages constitute one of the world‟s largest language families with
about 375 living languages and more than 350 million speakers spread throughout
North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Southwest Asia, as well as parts of the Sahel, and
East Africa. The most widely spoken Afro-asiatic language is Arabic, with about
230million speakers. Hausa is one of the prominent Nigerian language in this phylum
(Ninalowo and Badru, 2012).

iv. KHOISAN LANGUAGES

The Khoisan languages (also called the Khoesaan in literature) are the snap languages
of Africa which do not belong to other language families. They contain languages
indigenous to Southern and Eastern Africa, though some, such as the Khoi languages,
appear to have moved to their current locations, not long before the Bantu expansion.
In Southern Africa, their speakers are the Khoi and Bushmen (Saan), and in East Africa,
we have the Sandawe and Hadza.

Prior to the Bantu expansion, it is likely that Khoisan languages, or languages like them,
were spread throughout southern and eastern Africa. They are currently restricted to
the Kalahari Desert, primarily in Namibia and Botswana, and to the Rift Valley in central
Tanzania.

Most of the languages are endangered, and several are moribund or extinct. Most have
no written record. The only widespread Khoisan language is Nama of Namibia, with a
quarter of a million speakers; Sandawe in Tanzania is second in number with about
40000, some monolingual and the Juu language cluster of the northern Kalahari is
spoken by some 30000 people (Ninalowo and Badru, 2012).

In-Text Questions (ITQs)

i. List four major language typologies of Africa
ii. Who was the author of the four major languages?
iii. Which of the four groups does Hausa language falls in?
iv. Who coined the term: „Afro-asiatic‟?

In-Test Answers (ITAs)

 i. Niger-Congo (or Niger-Kordofanian) ii. Nilo-Saharaniii. Afro-Asiatic iv. Khoisan
ii. Joseph Greenberg
iii. Afro-asiatic
iv. Maurice Delafosse

5.1.7- OFFICIAL LANGUAGES IN AFRICA

Language is the process of communicating thought and feelings through the use of
sound, speech or symbols. Official language is the mainstream language of any country.
It is used in every social setting such as school, media and organisation and at
individual level. This section interrogates some of the mainstream languages spoken in
Africa for commerce, in institutions, among others. Some of the official languages
include English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and Swahili.

AFRICAN COUNTRIES WHERE ENGLISH IS AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE

English Language is primarily language of majority of people in the world. It is also an
official or semi-official language of many countries such as India, Nigeria, Pakistan and
South Africa. Even in countries where English is not a primary or official language, it is
taught as a foreign language and used as the language of technology and diplomacy.

Table 1: Examples of Countries where English is the mainstream language

S/N Country Official Capital
Language(s)
1 Liberia English Monrovia
2 Gambia English Banjul
3 Sierra Leone English Freetown
4 Ghana English Accra
5 Mauritius English and French Port Loius
6 Zambia English Lusaka
7 Namibia English Windhoek
8 Nigeria English Abuja

French Speaking Countries in Africa (Francophone countries)

French is the second most studied foreign language in the world, after English. The
highest populations being situated in Gabon (80%), Mauritius (72.7%) and Cote
d‟Ivoire (70%). Additionally, it is an official language in 30 countries, most of which
form what is called in French, La Francophonie - the community of French-speaking
countries. Table 2 provides an insight to the countries, their capital and the official
language(s) spoken therein.
Table 2: Examples of Countries where French is the mainstream language
S/N Country Official Language(s) Capital
1 Benin French Porto Novo
2 Guinea French Conakry
3 Mayotte French Dzaoudzi
4 Burkina Faso French Ouagadougou
5 Dem Rep Congo (formerly French Kinshasa
Zaire)
6 Niger French Niamey
7 Congo (Rep. of) French Braazaville
8 Cameroon French and English Yaounde
9 Cote D‟Ivoire French Abidjan
10 Mali French Bamako
11 Central African Republic French Bangui
12 Chad French N‟Djamena
13 Gabon French Libreville
14 Togo French Lome

Countries where Kiswahili is an Official Language

Swahili (known in Swahili itself as Kiswahili) is a Bantu language spoken by various
ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from
northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands. Although only
15-20 million people speak it as their native language, Swahili is a national or official
language of three nations: Tanzania, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Within much of East Africa, it is often used as a lingua franca.

Table 3: Examples of Countries where Kiswahili is the mainstream language

S/N Country Official Language(s) Capital
1 Burundi French, Kirundi, Kiswahili Bujumbura
2 Tanzania Kiswahili and English Dar es Salaam; Dodoma
(administrative)
3 Uganda English, Kiswahili, Luganda, Kampala
Luo
4 Kenya Kiswahili and English Nairobi

Countries where Portuguese is an official language (Lusophone countries)

Portuguese Language is one of the romance languages, which developed from Latin,
and the official language of Portugal as well as of former Portuguese colonies and
territories, including Angola, Cape Verde, Guines-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe.

Table 4: Examples of Countries where Portuguese is the Official Language

S/N Country Official Capital
Language(s)
1 Angola Portuguese Luanda
2 Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Bissau
3 Sao Tome and Portuguese Sao Tome
Principe
4 Cape Verde Portuguese and Praia
Creole
5 Mozambique Portuguese Maputo

Countries where Arabic is an official language

Arabic is a name applied to a group of languages and/or dialects of Central Semitic.
They are spoken by more than 230 million people as a first language, most of whom
live in the Middle East and North Africa. Literary Arabic is the official language of 26
states, and the liturgical language of Islam since it is the language of the Qur‟an, the
Islamic Holy Book. Modern Standard Arabic is widely taught in schools, universities, and
used in workplaces, government and the media.

Table 5: Examples of Countries where Arabic is the Official Language

S/N Country Official Capital
Language(s)
1 Algeria Arabic Algiers
2 Egypt Arabic Cairo
3 Morocco (Al-Mamlaka Al-Maghrebia) Arabic Rabat
4 Tunisia (Al-Djoumhouri Attunisia) Arabic Tunis
5 Comoros (Federal Islamic Rep.) Arabic and French Moroni
6 Libya Arabic Tripoli/ Benghazi
7 Western Sahara Arabic El Aiun
8 Djibouti Arabic and French Djibouti
9 Mauritania (Islamic Republic of) Arabic and French Nouakchott
10 Sudan Arabic Khartoum
ITQs
i. List five major languages that are used for official purpose in Africa
ii. Identify any five of these languages with an example of each country in
which they are mainstream languages
ITAs
i. English, French, Arabic, Portuguese and Swahili
ii. English-Nigeria; French- Togo; Arabic-Libya; Swahili- Tanzania; and
Portuguese-Sao Tome

5.5- CATEGORIES OF NIGERIAN LANGUAGES

Nigeria, with six-geo-political zones, 36 states, 774 Local Governments, is one of the
largest countries in Africa and has multiple languages and dialects. There are major and
minor languages.

Language is the vessel in which the thought of preceding generation and the culture of
our ancestors are stored. Nigerian language is part of the Nigerian culture; a citizen of
Nigeria that cannot speak his own dialect apart from the central language may not be
regarded as a thorough-bred (son/daughter) of the soil. By participating in a linguistic
universe, we are part of a linguistic community. Languages build us and at the same
time connect us to the long chain that links a living community to its remote ancestors.
Without a common language, people could never have attained solidarity and
consensus; and without this collective tool, no social order is possible (Ninalowo and
Badru, 2012).
Nigeria is a country of 521 living languages, two second languages without native
speakers and 9 extinct languages. Major languages spoken in Nigeria are Hausa,
Yoruba, Igbo, Fulfulde, Kanuri and Ibibio. The numerous Nigerian languages are central
to the cultural unity and harmony of this multi-ethnic society, the most popular local
Nigerian languages are: Yoruba, Edo, Igbo, Hausa, Fulani, Tiv, Kanuri and Ibibio.
Among these, the northern Nigerian languages are Kanuri, Tiv, Hausa while the
languages spoken in southern part of the country are Igbo, Edo, Yoruba, and Ibibio.
Also, the Ijaw, Edo, Ibibio, Kanuri, Tiv, Ebira and Nupe account for 27%, other minority
groups comprise the rest 5%. Nigerian languages can be broadly categorized into two
types and they are Niger-Congo languages and Afro-Asiatic languages.

5.5.2. At the end of this study sub-session, you are expected to:
 Describe the major Nigerian languages/dialects
 Identify the language group your dialect belongs
 Explain the estimated number of languages in Nigeria
5.5.3. NIGERIAN LANGUAGES IN NIGER-CONGO LANGUAGE GROUP
Nigerian Languages found in this category include the Fulfulde, Ijoid, Efik, and Tivoid
languages. They predominate in central and southern Nigeria, the main branches
represented in Nigeria are Mande, Atlantic, Gur, Kwa, Benue-Congo and Adamawa-
Ubangian. The geographical distribution of Nigeria‟s Niger-Congo languages is not
limited to south central Nigeria, as migration allows their spread to the linguistically
Afro-Asiatic northern regions of Nigeria, as well as throughout West Africa and abroad.
Yoruba is spoken as well as ritual language in cults such as Santeria in the Caribbean
and south-central America including Brazil.

The Yoruba, Igbo and Efik languages are notable examples of this language group;
standard Yoruba came into being due to the work of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, and owes
most of its lexicon to the dialect spoken in Oyo and Ibadan.

5.5.4. AFRO-ASIATIC LANGUAGES OF NIGERIA

The Afro-Asiatic language of Nigeria is divided into Chadic, Semitic and Berber. The
Chadic languages predominate, with 70 plus languages. Semitic is represented by
various dialects of Arabic in the northeast and Berber by the Tuareg-speaking
communities in the extreme northwest.

The Hausa language is the most well-known Chadic languages in Nigeria, though there
is a paucity of statistics on native speakers in the country, the language is spoken by 24
million people in the west and is the second language of 15million people or more.
Hausa has, therefore, emerged as a lingua franca throughout much of West Africa and
the Sahel in particular. The language is spoken primarily amongst Muslims and the
language is often associated with Islamic culture in Nigeria and West Africa on the
whole. Hausa is the official language of a number of states in northern Nigeria and the
most important dialect, which is the standard variety used for official purposes. Hausa is
highly typical Chadic language, with a reduced tonal system and a phonology influenced
by Arabic. This dialect includes some spoken in Zaria and Bauchi, the western one
includes Sakkwatanchi spoken in Sokoto, Kastinanchi spoken in Kastina, Arewanchi in
both Hobir and Adar, Kebbi and Zamfara.

ITQs
i. What are the major Nigerian Languages/dialects?
ii. Identify the language groups to which two Nigerian dialects belong.

ITAs
i. The major Nigerian languages are Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo
 ii. Hausa is from Chadic language group from Afro-asiatic while Igbo is from
Niger-Congo language family

5.5.5 LANGUAGE FAMILIES IN NIGERIA

Introduction
The major languages spoken in Nigeria are Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Fulfulde, Kanuri,
Ibibio. Although the number of languages currently estimated and catalogued in Nigeria
is 521, this number includes 510 living languages, two second languages without native
speakers and 9 extinct languages. In some areas of Nigeria, ethnic groups speak more
than one language. The official language of Nigeria is English. The language was
ostensibly chosen to facilitate the cultural and linguistic unity of the country. Though
most ethnic groups prefer to communicate in their own languages, English, being the
official language, is widely used for education, business transactions and for official
purposes. English however, remains an exclusive preserve of a small minority of the
country‟s urban elite, with approximately 75% of Nigeria‟s populace in the rural
areas.The major widely spoken being Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. Foreign minorities speak
their own languages aside from English and/or major native languages as their second
languages.

Let us describe the major languages spoken in Nigeria. We begin with Yoruba and
steadily consider others.

1.5.6 Yoruba
Yoruba (native name: ede Yoruba, „the Yoruba language‟) is a Niger-Congo
language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20million speakers. The native
tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken among other languages in Nigeria, Benin
and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa. The ancestor of the Yoruba
speakers is, according to the oral traditions, Oduduwa.

It is most closely related to the Itsekiri language spoken in Niger-Delta and Igala
spoken in central Nigeria. It is more widely related to other Nigerian Niger-Congo
languages including Edo, Igbo and Nupe. The north-west Yoruba dialects, for
example show more linguistic innovations.

5.5.7 Efik or Ibibio-Efik

This is the major member of the Benin-Congo language family. The Efik variety has
official status, though Ibibio has more native speakers. Ibibio is a dialect cluster
spoken by about 31/2 million people of Akwa Ibom state and Cross River state of
Nigeria, making it sixth largest language. Efik also trade about 2million second-
language speakers.
The Efik language is spoken across the coastal southeastern part of Nigeria and
includes the dialects Ibibio, Annang, and Efik proper. The single Gur language
spoken is Baatpnun, in the Northwest. The Adamawa-Ubangian languages are
spoken between central Nigeria and the Central African Republic.
5.5.8 Hausa
The Hausa language is the most well-known Chadic language in Nigeria; though
there is a paucity of statistics on native speakers in Nigeria, the language is spoken
by 24 million people in the west and is the second language of 15million more.
Hausa has, therefore, emerged as a lingua franca throughout much of West Africa
and the Sahel in particular. The language is spoken primarily amongst Muslims and
the language is often associated with Islamic culture in Nigeria and West Africa on
the whole. Hausa is the official language of a number state in northern Nigeria and
the most important dialect, which is generally regarded as that spoken in Kano.
Northern Hausa dialects include Arewa and Arawa, while Zaria is a prominent
southern. Eastern dialects also include some dialects spoken in Zaria and Bauchi; the
Western Hausa dialects also include Sakkwatanchi spoken in Sokoto, Kastinanchi
spoken in Kastina, Arewanchi in both Hobir and Adar, Kebbi and Zamfara.

5.5.9 Kanuri
Kanuri is a dialect continuum spoken by some four million people of Nigeria. It
belongs to the western Saharan subphylum of Kanuri. Kanuri is the language
associated with the Kanem and Borno empires which dominated the Lake Chad
region for a thousand years.

The Kanuri languages are African languages spoken by some 50million people,
mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia, north
of where the two tributaries of Nile meet. The languages extended through 17
nations in the northern half of Africa: from Mali in the west; to Benin, Nigeria and
Democratic Republic of Congo in the south: and Sudan to Tanzania in the east.

5.5.10 Igbo
(Igbo: Asusu Igbo) is a native language of Igbo people, an ethnic group which is
primarily located in the southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20million
speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. There are
over 20 Igbo dialects.
 5.5.11 Summary of Study Session 5
In this study session, we focussed on how Language is an important element
of culture in Africa with about 54 countries and diverse languages. We
posited that language is a major vehicle of communication among human
beings. We defined and clarified the concept of language, indicated forms
and classifications of languages in Africa. Greenberg‟s typology was used to
explicate the four phyla of language groups in Africa: These are Niger-Congo,
Nilo-Saharan, Afro-asiatic and Khoisan. The study session also explained the
main lingua franca in Africa such as English, French, Arabic, Swahili and
Portuguese which are adopted as official languages and where these are
used. The study session described major languages and dialects in Nigeria.

5.5.12 Self-assessment Questions (SAQs)

 What is language?
 What is the role of language in human society?
 Which Scholar categorised languages into four?
 What are the major languages in Nigeria?
 Which language groups do major Nigerian Languages belong?

References/Suggestion for further Reading

Banjo, A (1996). Making a Virtue of Necessity: An Overview of the English Language in
Nigeria Ibadan: Ibadan University Press

Bowden, R (2007). Africa South of the Sahara. New York: Coughlan Publishing

Ehret, C (2002). The Civilizations of Africa. Charlottesville: University of Virginia

Gbinigie-Erhabor, F (2008). „Child Language and Communication Disorders‟ in Yul-Ifode,

S and Badejo, R (2008). Eds. Readings on Child Language and Communication
Disorders in Nigeria, Port Harcourt, University of Port Harcourt Press

Greenberg, Joseph H. (1963): The Languages of Africa, London: Indiana University

Press

Hogan, M.O (2006). Academic‟s Dictionary of Sociology; New Delhi: EPP Books Services

Mitchell, G.D (1979) ed. A New Dictionary of Sociology; London: Routledge and Kegan
Paul
Ninalowo, A and Badru, F.A (2012) eds. Fundamentals of General African Studies,
Lagos: Department of Sociology, University of Lagos

Reading, H.F (1978). A Dictionary of the Social Sciences London: Routledge & Kegan
Paul

Yul-Ifode, S and Badejo, R (2008). Eds. Readings on Child Language and

Communication Disorders in Nigeria, Port Harcourt, University of Port Harcourt Press
 Study Session 6:
Traditional Medicine in Africa
6.1 Introduction
This study session discusses traditional medicine in Africa, defines traditional medicine,
identifies types of treatment provided by traditional medicine in Africa and traditional medicine
therapies, differentiates between complementary, alternative and non-conventional medicine,
defines and highlights different traditional medicine healers in selected African countries and
defines herbal medicines. You will also learn other things such as why people use traditional
medicine.We also attempt to identify and discuss means of diagnosis and prognosis in African
traditional medicines, summarize common means of treatment in African traditional medicines,
understand elements of African medicines, discuss the merits and demerits of African traditional
medicines and the integration of African traditional medicine with modern medicines.

6.1.1 Learning Outcomes for Study Session 6

At the end of this study session 6, you should be able to:
6.1.2 Define traditional medicine.
6.1.3 Identify the types of treatment provided by African traditional medicine.
6.1.4 Identify traditional medicine therapies; differentiate between complementary, alternative
and non-conventional medicine.
6.1.5 Define traditional healer, herbal medicine and identify different traditional medicine
healers in selected African countries.6.1.8 Identify and discuss means of diagnosis and
prognosis in African traditional medicines.
6.1.6 Assess the merits and demerits of African traditional medicines.

6.1.2 Traditional Medicine

Traditional Medicine is also referred to as folk or indigenous medicine. It is a systematic
knowledge system that developed over generations within specific societies in Africa before the
advent of modern medicine. Practices that constitute traditional medicine may include herbal,
Ayurveda, Siddha Medicine, Unani, ancient Iranian medicine, Islamic Medicine, traditional
Chinese medicine, traditional Korean medicine, Acupunture, Ifa etc. depending on the
community or society in question.

Traditional medicine in Africa is considered as a holistic means of accessing health care among
the people. It involves indigenous herbalism and African spirituality consisting of diviners,
traditional birth attendants and herbalists. Practitioners of African traditional medicine lay claims
to curing different diseases such as psychiatric disorders, high blood pressure, cholera, cancer,
epilepsy, fever, depression, diabetes, healing of wounds, etc. Traditional Medicine is generally
transmitted through oral tradition within the community, family and among individuals. In
essence, traditional medicine includes knowledge and practices either codified in writing or
transmitted orally.
WHO (1998) defines traditional medicine as “the sum total of all the knowledge and practices
whether explicable or not, used in diagnosis, prevention and elimination of physical, mental or
social imbalance and relying exclusively on practical experience and observations handed down
from generation to generation whether verbally or in writing. It also comprises therapeutic
practices that have been in existence often for hundreds of years before the development of
modern scientific medicine and are still in use today without any documented evidence of
adverse effects”.

From this definition, two major things can be identified. These are the explicable form of
traditional medicine that can be described as „crude‟ scientific and the direct application of
plants, animals and other mineral substances for healing, for examples, plant juices, gums, fatty
oils, etc (WHO 1978). The use of these items can be researched, rationalized and explained
using modern scientific methods. For instance, aspirin, morphine, quinine, atropine etc were all
developed through traditional medicines.

The second thing is the inexplicable form of traditional medicine which is magico-spiritual,
supernatural, occultic, mystical, or metaphysical dimension that cannot be scientifically
investigated or explained,for examples, the use of incantations for healing purposes or the use
of oracle (Ifa) in diagnosis and prognosis of certain types of diseases or the use of traditional
rituals to treat patients.

WHO estimates that up to 80% of the population in Africa makes use of traditional medicine-
leaves, roots, and berries extracts as its primary source of medicine. While in sub-Saharan
Africa, the ratio of traditional healers to population is approximately 1:500, while the medical
doctors have a 1:40,000 ratios to the rest of the population (Colvin et al., 2002). When
traditional medicine is adopted outside of its original setting or culture, it becomes known or
called complementary and alternative medicine. Major disciplines which study traditional
medicine include ethno-medicine, ethno-botany and medical anthropology.

6.2.1 In-Text Question (ITQ): What is traditional medicine? Give examples of

traditional medicines and how is traditional medicines transmitted?

In-Text Answer (ITA): Traditional medicine is also referred to as folk or indigenous medicine. It
is a systematic knowledge system that developed over generations within specific societies in
Africa before the advent of modern medicine.It involves indigenous herbalism and African
spirituality consisting of diviners, traditional birth attendants and herbalists. Traditional medicine
is generally transmitted through oral tradition within the community, family and among
individuals.
6.3 Types of Treatment Provided by Traditional Medicine in Africa
Traditional Medicines provide treatment for physical, emotional and Psycho-Spiritual conditions.
It could be used to prevent and eliminate the influence of witchcraft, to appease spirits and to
cure chronic diseases.
6.4Traditional Medicine Therapies, the Concepts of Complementary, Alternative and
Non-Conventional Medicine

Traditional medicine therapies include medication therapies- those involving the use of herbal
medicines, animal parts and/or minerals; and non-medication therapies- those carried out
primarily without the use of medication, as in the case of acupuncture, manual therapies and
spiritual therapies.

In countries where traditional medicine has not been incorporated into the national health care
system, it is termed “complementary”, “alternative” or” non-conventional” medicine (WHO,
2000). The concept of “complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) often refers to a broad
set of healthcare practices that are not part of a country‟s own tradition and are not integrated
into the dominant health-care system. Other terms used to describe these health-care practices
include “natural medicine”, “non-conventional medicine” and “holistic medicine” (WHO, 2000).

However, in all systems of traditional medicine, the fundamentals are to use the medicinal
plants in the treatment and prevention of disease, as well as in the maintenance of health
(Prasad & Tyagi, cited Acharya & Shriva-stava 2008). In traditional systems, plants products are
used for the cure of diseases; however, in modern science, the bioactive compounds of the
plants are identified. Globally, of the 121 prescription drugs in use today for cancer treatment,
90 are derived from plants. About 877 small-molecule drugs introduced worldwide between
1981 and 2002, most (61%) can be traced back to natural products (Newman & Cragg cited in
Prasad & Tyagi, 2015).

Carefully look at the Nigerian healthcare system and identify the non-conventional
medicine in use today, if any.

6.5 Traditional Healers, Herbal Medicines and Indigenous Healers in Africa

Traditional healer is a person who is recognized by the community in which he or she lives as
competent to provide healthcare by using vegetables, animal and mineral substances and
certain other methods based on the social, cultural and religious background, as well as on the
knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that are prevalent in the community regarding physical, mental
and social well-being and the causation of disease and disability (WHO, 1978). He/she serves as
nurse, pharmacist, physician, dentist, mid-wife, dispenser, etc.

6.5.2 Herbal Medicines

According to WHO, herbal medicines are “finished labelled medicine products that contain as
active ingredients, aerial underground parts of plants or other plant materials, or combination
thereof, whether in the crude state or as plant preparations. Plant material includes juices,
gums, fatty oils, essential oils, and any other substance of this nature. Chemically-defined,
isolated constituents of plants are not considered to be herbal medicines. Exceptionally, in some
countries, herbal medicines may also contain natural organic or inorganic active ingredients
(WHO, 1996).
6.5.1 ITQs: Who is a traditional healer?

ITAS: According to WHO (1978) traditional healer is a person who is recognized by the
community in which he or she lives as competent to provide healthcare by using vegetables,
animal and mineral substances and certain other methods based on the social, cultural and
religious background, as well as on the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that are prevalent in
the community regarding physical, mental and social well-being and the causation of disease
and disability. He/she serves as nurse, pharmacist, physician, dentist, midi-wife, dispenser, etc.

6.5.3 Indigenous Healers in Africa

Categorisation or classification of indigenous healers in Africa depends on the culture of the

particular society or community for examples, among the Yoruba in Nigeria, Oyebola (1980)
classified traditional healers into six:

Babalawo; Oni segun (or adahunse) Ala sotele (Sooth Sayer) Olorisa (or Abore)
Awon „leku–leja (traditional pharmacist)
Specialist comprising traditional bone- setters
Traditional Psychiatrists
Traditional birth attendants or midwives and the “Olola”
Miscellaneous group- Afaa (Mallams) and Aladura (Spiritual healers)

South Africa

In South Africa, there are four major groups of healers and these include:

Iyangas- These are herbalists who possess extensive knowledge about curative herbs
and medicines of animal origin. Majority of them are males.
1. Isangomas-These are diviners and determine the cause of illness by using ancestral
spirits. Majority of them are females. No individual can choose to become a diviner but
must be “called” by the ancestors to become one.
2. Umthandazi- These are faith healers who are professed Christians. They belong to one
of the independent African Churches and heal by prayer using holy water or ash, oil or
by touching a patient.
3. Traditional birth attendants are usually elderly women and are respected in society for
their skills. The conditions for becoming a traditional birth attendant include having at
least two babies of your own and an apprenticeship lasting up to 15-20 years. Birth
attendants do not charge for their services but may accept gifts. If a complication should
occur, they seek the advice of an „Inayanya‟
In Tanzania

In Tanzania, just as we have in South Africa, there are four classifications of traditional healers.
Traditional healers in modern day Tanzania are known as fundi (engineers or technicians).
Before the modern era, they were called waganga wa kieniyeji or waganga wa judi (traditional
practitioners or doctors).

Diviners- they are diagnosticians (wapiga ramli), diviners (ramli) and spiritualists (a
Mashetani midzima). They consult with spirits who may identify the type and cause of
the illness. Diviners may treat or refer to herbalist. They can also differentiate between
normal health problem and traditional health problem that involves evil spirits.
Herbalists – they use plants, roots and bark as medicines to cure illness.
Herbalist- ritualists- they use both herbs and rituals to diagnose and treat illness.
Faith healers- they use Koranic phrases or recite texts from the Bible for healing
illnesses. However, sometimes they use medicines.

For anyone to become a recognised traditional healer in Tanzania, the person must be
inducted through one of the four following path-ways: Inheritance within the family
kinship, ancestor sprits contacted through dreams, the experience spirits contacted
through dreams, personal decision through a period of apprenticeship.

6.5.1 Elements of African medicines.

African traditional medicines deal with both physical illness and social dilemma of the people.
We can identify three main elements of African traditional healing.

Prevention and protection from problems

Determination of the causes of these problems
Elimination of these problems

Utilization of Traditional Medicine

6.5.2 ITQs: Why do people still use traditional medicines? We can identify and
examine the reasons for the continued use of traditional medicine despite modernity
and even post-modernity. Some of the reasons include: It is perceived to be holistic in
its approach; the rise in incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases without cure,
perceived side-effects of orthodox medicine,increased interest in faith and spiritualism
and high cost of orthodox medicine.

6.5.3 Diagnosis and Prognosis in African Traditional Medicine

In African traditional medicines, healing a sick individual is made up of both medicine and
religious rituals in an integrated and institutionalized process. This is unlike the orthodox
medicine of the western societies, where diseases are considered as a biological phenomenon
and medicine is regarded as the solution to curing diseases.

According to Okwu (1979), diagnosis in the African traditional healing process (e.g., Igbo) is a
complicated procedure used to establish:
Immediate or secondary cause of the ill health or the natural cause that is acting as the agent
of the supernatural forces;the primary or remote cause of the disease, the originators, or the
supernatural forces that are responsible for, or that approved of the illness;the reasons for the
supernatural action;the propitiatory sacrifice required to placate or cajole the gods and thus,
make the actual medical therapy effective;And finally, the healer that should be invited to
perform both the ritual sacrifices and the practical healing exercise.

The diviner is usually an expert when it comes to the issue of diagnosis and this has different
names in different culture. In treating illnesses, the healer may employ purificatory means to
remove ritual sanctions which may be manifested by boils, rashes, and peeling of the skin.
There are usually attributed to the non-observance of taboos, mother‟s failure to observe
dietary regulations during pregnancy of the patient, and in some cases incest by the patient
among other attributions (Okwu 1979).

The therapeutic effectiveness of traditional medicine depends on the reputation and character
of the healer, the confidence he generates between himself and the patient, the patient‟s own
will and desire to be healed, and above all, the disposition of the divinity towards both the
healer and the patient. Effectiveness of medication must also be associated with divinity and
with sacrifice toward/or invocation of the deity or the ancestors.

African traditional medicines also make use of traditional prophylaxis, which is normally
recommended after treatment. The prophylactic consists mainly of wearing of charms or
amulet, rings or marks of white chalk and yellow chalk depending on the particular culture or
community. The charms usually contain a variety of objects believed by virtue of their cosmic
characteristics, identification with the patient, their shape and the circumstances of their
constitution to have the power to ward off disease and misfortune for the individual for whom
they are constructed. The prophylactic may also include an injection into the blood or rubbing
into the body of a mixture of purified objects and ointments, as a means of fortifying him
against malevolent forces or sprits.

6.5.4 Common Means of Diagnosis in African Traditional Medicine

We have about four general means of diagnosing disease or illness in African traditional
medicines and these include:

Dreams- a deity or ghost may visit the ill person in his sleep and reveal the cause of the
illness.
Divination- The diviner is possessed by a god who is the messenger and servant of the
higher deities.
Oracles- an oracle is any institutionalized technique applied to get a divine verdict.
Possession- some people are chosen to be the vehicle of a god or ghost from time to
time through possession by the supernatural being. Some of these supernatural beings
are famous seers, who when they have foreseen a disease or an impending disaster,
 take an individual into possession and reveal the danger and what to be done to stop
the impeding danger.

6.5.5 Treatment of Diseases in African Traditional Medicine

Here, we will use Wooding (1979) subdivision of different kinds of diseases and their treatment
into rational, magical and combined categories.

Rational treatment

By Rational treatment, we mean any treatment that is devoid of magic. The illnesses that fall
into this category are cured with herbs whose medicinal powers have been established by trial
and error. These are folk medicines and are easily accessible within the community. According
to Harley (1970) they are also known as household remedies to cure special maladies. Some of
the diseases are ringworm and some eye problems.

Magical treatment

Magical diseases are much more complicated and involve the supernatural world. Such diseases
occur when social and cultural norms have been violated and taboos broken.

Ethereal treatment

This also belongs to the magical group. Ethereal disease is brought directly to a human being
by a supernatural being (a god or a ghost). The ancestral gods and ghosts, when offended by a
descendant could attract punishment either on the individual or the entire family of the
offender.

Both rational and magical treatment

This is the mixture of rational and magical process for treating certain ailments. For example,
fracture in some African societies could be cured using herbs. The herbs are carefully pounded
into a pappy substance, which is put around the broken bone and covered with a bandage. It is
said that the sap of the herbs softens the bone, which gradually hardens again and heals.
During this process of treatment, the leg of the rooster is broken and treated with a bit of the
same pappy substance. If the rooster leg in cured, he will stand on both legs and crow. This
implies that the person‟s leg is also cured. The magical aspect lies in the breaking of the
rooster‟s leg and the belief that if the rooster does not get up and crow, then the broken bone
will not heal. While the logic behind the magic is that if the medicine does not work on the
cock‟s leg, it will not work on the person‟s broken bone either, which means that the treatment
has to be repeated.
Self-Assessment Question: Recall your personal experiences of the treatment from
an African traditional healer or that of someone you have heard from friends and
relatives.

6.6 Merits and Demerits of Traditional Medicine

6.6. 1ITQs: what are the advantages of African traditional medicines? We have
numerous advantages of using African traditional medicines but we will restrict ourselves to
just identifying few of such and these include: it is readily available and accessible to those in
rural and urban areas, where modern medicine is out of reach of the people.The contributions
of traditional healers to promoting health have been rediscovered during the 1970s and 1980s,
patients consult traditional healers because they may feel more comfortable with traditional
healers, who reside in the community and who are familiar with the social context, traditional
medicines are relatively cheaper than the modern medicine.Traditional Medicine may not
demand immediate payment of cash. Hence, it is much easier for their clients to meet the
payment conditions, because it is indigenous in nature, the people (patients) seem to have
more confidence in the therapeutic skills of the traditional healers, which is found in the nature
and scope of the therapies which the healers administer.

6.6.2 Demerits of African Traditional Medicines

Despite the numerous advantages attached to African traditional medicines, there are also
disadvantages attached to the practice of African traditional medicine. These include most
traditional healers are illiterate and in most cases, records are not kept. This has made it
difficult to study their practices; the efficacy of most of the herbal medicines has not been
validated. There is the problem of imprecise diagnosis and dosage, occult practices are involved
in traditional medicine, which cannot be scientifically proved; shelf life of herbs is not easy to
determine and, in most cases, there could be contamination. Using both traditional herbs and
modern drugs at the same time may result in drug interactions which may be fatal; there are no
recorded scientific data on the safety, efficiency, optimal dosage, and side –effects of these
herbs.

6.6.3 Integration of African Traditional Healing System with Orthodox Therapy

6.6.3.1 ITQs: Identify some of the efforts at boosting the development of African
traditional medicines.The debate on integrating African traditional medicine with orthodox
medicine has remained a contentious issue in different countries of the continent. The questions
on standard and scientific or unscientific nature of traditional medicine permeate the debate.
However, questions that need to be addressed include: what‟s the standard? Who set the
standard and on what bases are the standards set?

The concept of integration in ethno-medical literature means the incorporation of aspects of

traditional medicines into national healthcare in a way acceptable to modern medicine. Many
African countries including Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania have initiated and
created research institutions to isolate the active ingredients in traditional medicines with the
intention of using such naturally-occurring substances to replace expensive imported
pharmaceuticals.

Current effort at boosting the development of traditional medicine in the continent includes:

The declaration of 10 years (2001-2010) as period for Traditional Medicine Development

in Africa tagged „Decade of Traditional Medicine in Africa‟ (31st of August of every year)
observed as the African Traditional Medicine day in all countries of Africa.

World Health Organisation is at the forefront of integrating traditional African medicine with
modern medicine. The body has developed model tools for institutionalizing traditional African
medicine with the modern healthcare system. It is recommended that government of any
country may adopt or adapt any of the models to fit into her local settings or environment.
Some of the actions recommended include:

Develop policy, legal and regulatory frameworks for the practice of traditional medicine within
the broad framework of national health policies and health legislation.

Promote and conduct relevant scientific research on medicinal plants in collaboration

with traditional health practitioners to validate claim made on the efficacy of herbs.

Register traditional medicine, if need be by using the W.H.O guidelines on registration

and regulation of traditional medicine in the W.H.O African Region.

Establish enabling economic, regulatory and political environments for local production
of traditional medicines as well as develop industries that can produce standardized
remedies to increase access.

Despite the rapid technological advancement that has taken place and still taking place, African
traditional medicines have remained with the people and have even undergone some changes
so as to meet up with some universal standards. For examples, some of the herbalists now
operate from modern facilities and use orthodox‟ instruments such as stethoscopes, white
coats, white bandage and even use antibiotics for their patients. However, a lot still needs to be
done if African traditional medicines are to remain relevant in the near future.

6.7 Summary of Study Session 6

In study session 6, you have learnt that:
 Traditional medicine is also referred to as folk or indigenous medicine.
 It is a systematic knowledge system that developed over generations within
specific societies in Africa before the advent of modern medicine.
 It involves indigenous herbalism and African spirituality consisting of diviners,
traditional birth attendants and herbalists.
 Practitioners of traditional African medicine lay claims to curing different diseases
such as psychiatric disorders, high blood pressure, cholera, cancer, epilepsy,
fever, depression, healing of wounds, etc.
  Traditional medicine is generally transmitted through oral tradition within the
community, family and among individuals.
 WHO‟s definition of traditional medicine has two major components- the
explicable and the inexplicable dimensions.
 Traditional medicines provide treatment for physical, emotional and Psycho-
Spiritual conditions.
 Traditional medicine therapies include medication therapies- those involving the
use of herbal medicines, animal parts and/or minerals; and non-medication
therapies.
 Categorisation or classification of indigenous healers in Africa depends on the
culture of the particular society or community.
 We identified three main elements of African traditional medicines.
 The reasons people still use African traditional medicines include perceived side-
effects of orthodoxy medicines, increased interest in faith and spiritualism among
other reasons.
 There are four general means of diagnosing diseases in African traditional
medicines.
 Treatment of disease use rational treatment, magical treatment, ethereal
treatment and both rational and magical treatment.
 Identified some of the advantages and disadvantages of African traditional
medicines.
 Identified some of the efforts at boosting the development of African traditional
medicines.

6.8. References/Suggestions for Further Reading

Ackerknecht, E.H. (1942). Problems of primitive medicine. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 2,
50-52.

Beck, A. (1979). Traditional healers in Tanzania. Journal of Opinion, 9(3): 2-5.

Colvin et al., (2002). Integrating traditional healers into a tuberculosis control programme in
Hlabisa, South Africa AIDS Bulletin.

Crouch, R., Elliot, R., Lemmers, T., Charland, L. (2000). Complementary/alternative healthcare
and Hiv/AIDS: legal, ethical & policy issues in regulations Canadian HIV/AIDS legal
network

Elujoba, A.A., Odeleye, O.M., & Ogunyemi, C.M. (2005). Traditional medicine development and
dental primary health care delivery system in Africa. African Journal of Traditional,
Complementary and Alternative Medicines, 2 (1): 46-61.

Gessler, M.C., Msuya, D.E., Nkunya, M.H., et al., (1995). Traditional healers: traditional
medicine: Tanzania Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 48 (45) 60.
Harley, G.W. (1970). Native African medicine. London

Hewson, M.G. (1998). Traditional healers in Southern Africa. Annal of Internal Medicine, 128:
1029-1034

Kale, R. (1995). Traditional healers in South Africa: a parallel health care system. BMJ 310:
1182-5

Klauss, V., Adala, H.S. (1994). Traditional herbal eye medicine in Kenya. World Health Forum,
15, 138-143.

Ngoma, M.C., Prince, M & Mann, A. (2003). Common mental disorders among those attending
primary health clinics and traditional healers in urban Tanzania. British Journal of
Psychiatry 183: 349-355.

Okwu, A.S.O. (1979). Life, death, reincarnation, and traditional healing in africa. Journal of
Opinion, 9:3; 19-24.

Oyebola, D.D.O. (1980). Traditional medicine and its practitioners among the Yoruba of Nigeria.
A classification. Social Science and Medicine vol. 14:1, 23-29

Ulin, P.R. (1975). The traditional healer of Botswana in a changing society. Botswana Notes and
Records 7:95-102.

WHO (1978a). Alma ata declaration. Primary healthcare. Health for all series No. 1

WHO (1978b). The primitive and development of traditional medicine. Technical Report. Series
6222

WHO, (1996). Guidelines for the assessment of herbal medicines, WHO Technical Report Series
NO. 863, Geneva

WHO (2000). General guidelines for methodologies on research and evaluation of traditional
medicine, WHO/EDM/TRM/2000.1

Wooding, C.J. (1979). Traditional healing and medicine in Winti: A Sociological Interpretation.
Journal of Opinion 9:3, 35-40

Prasad, S. & Tyagi, K. (2015). Traditional medicine: the goldmine for modern drugs (Advanced
Techniques in Biology and Medicine, 2015)

Ghalib, H. (2007). The hunt for the next Artemisinin (TDR News, 2007)

Answers to Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for study Session 6

6.11.1 Examples of practices that constitute traditional medicines include herbal, Ayurveda,
Siddha Medicine, Unani, ancient Iranian medicine, Islamic Medicine, traditional Chinese
medicine, traditional Korean medicine, Acupunture, Ifa etc. depending on the community or
society in question
6.11.2 How is traditional medicines transmitted?
Traditional Medicine is generally transmitted through oral tradition within the community, family
and among individuals
6.11.3 Explain the inexplicable form of traditional medicines.
The inexplicable form of traditional Medicine is that which deals with Magico-Spiritual,
Supernatural, occultic, Mystical, or metaphysical dimension that cannot be scientifically
investigated or explained. For examples, the use of incantations for healing purposes or the use
of Oracle (Ifa) in diagnosis and prognosis of certain types of diseases or the use of traditional
rituals to treat patients.
6.11.4 Distinguish between complementary, alternative or non-conventional medicine.
According to (WHO,2000) in countries, where traditional medicine has not been incorporated
into the national health care system, it is termed “complementary”, “alternative” or” non-
conventional” medicine (WHO, 2000). The concept of “complementary and alternative medicine
(CAM) often refers to a broad set of healthcare practices that are not part of a country‟s own
tradition and are not integrated into the dominant health-care system. Other terms used to
describe these health-care practices include “natural medicine”, “non-conventional medicine”
and “holistic medicine”.

6.11.5 List the classification of traditional healers according to Oyebola (1980).

Oyebola (1980) classified traditional healers among Yoruba into six:

(1) Babalawo; Oni segun (or adahunse) Ala sotele (Sooth Sayer) Olorisa (or Abore)
(2) Awon „leku–leja (traditional pharmacist)
(3) Specialist comprises traditional bone- setters
(4) Traditional Psychiatrists
(5) Traditional birth attendants or midwives and the “Olola”
(6) Miscellaneous group- Afaa (Mallams) and Aladura (Spiritual healers)
6.11.6 Identify the three elements of African traditional healing. The elements are:
1. Prevention and protection from problems.
2. Determination of the causes of these problems.
3. Elimination of these problems.

6.11.7 Identify the common means of diagnosing disease or illness in African traditional
medicines.

There are four general means of diagnosing disease or illness in African traditional medicines
and these include:

1. Dreams- a deity or ghost may visit the ill person in his sleep and reveal the cause of the
illness.
 2. Divination- The diviner is possessed by a god who is the messenger and servant of the
higher deities.
3. Oracles- an oracle is any institutionalized technique applied to get a divine verdict.
4. Possession- some people are chosen to be the vehicle of a god or ghost from time to time
through possession by the supernatural being. Some of these supernatural beings are famous
seers, who when have foreseen a disease or an impending disaster, take an individual into
possession and reveal the danger and what to be done to stop the impeding danger.
 STUDY SESSION 7
RACE AND IDENTITY

7.INTRODUCTION
The popular saying that blood is thicker than water gained more popularity among Africans as a
result of close relationship and family ties. In this study session, you are going to applythis
saying in order to havea holistic understanding of the inheritance of different blood group
systems among people related by descent.

A blood type (also called a blood group) is a classification of blood based on the presence or
absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These
antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood
group system. Some of these antigens are also present on the surface of other types of cells of
various tissues. Blood types are inherited and represent contributions from both parents.

7.1.1 Study Session 7 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this study session you should be able to
 List different blood groups in ABO system
 Mention the significant antigens in Rhesus blood system
 discuss blood transfusion and compatibility
 describe how sex is determined in human beings
 highlight the relationship between maternal’s age and risk of genetic abnormalities.

7.2 BLOOD GROUP AND TRANSFUSION

The two most significant blood group systems were discovered by Karl Landsteiner, a Viennese
physician and a Nobel Prize winner during early experiments with blood transfusion: the ABO
group in 1900 and in co-operation with Alexander S. Wiener, he discovered the Rhesus group in
1940. The development of the Coombs test in 1945, the advent of transfusion medicine, and
the understanding of hemolytic disease of the newborn led to discovery of more blood groups,
and now 30 human blood group systems are recognized and registered by the International
Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), and across the 30 blood groups, over 600 different blood
group antigens have been found; many of these are very rare or are mainly found in certain
ethnic groups. Blood types have been used in forensic science and were formerly used to
demonstrate impossibility of paternity (e.g., a type AB man cannot be the father of a type 0
infant), but both of these uses are being replaced by genetic fingerprinting, which provides
greater certainty.
Out of the 30 blood group systems, fourteen are mostly detected and are constantly used in
transfusion and hemolytic diseases’ studies. The fourteen blood groups and their year of
discovery is presented in the Table 7.1.

Table 7.1: Fourteen of the most commonly detected blood-group systems

S/N BLOOD GROUP SYSTEM DATE DISCOVERED

1. AUI) 1990
2. MNSs 1927
3. P 1927
4. Rh 1940
5. Lutheran 1945
6. Kell 1946
7. Lewis 1946
8. Duffy 1950
9. Kidd 1951
10. Diego 1955
11. Vt 1956
12. 1 1956
13. Xg 1962
14. Dombrock 1965

7.2.2 Blood Types

A complete blood type would describe a full set of 30 substances on the surface of RECs, and
an individual’s blood type is one of the many possible combinations of blood-group antigens.
Almost always, an individual has the same blood group for life, but very rarely an individual’s
blood type changes through addition or suppression of an antigen in infection, malignancy, or
autoimmune disease. Another more common cause in blood type change is a bone marrow
transplant, Bone-marrow transplants are performed for many leukemia and lymphomas, among
other diseases. If a person receives bone marrow from someone who is a different ABO type
(e.g., a type A patient receives a type 0 bone marrow), the patient’s blood type will eventually
convert t1o the donor’s type.

Some blood types are associated with inheritance of other diseases; for example, the Kell
antigen is sometimes associated with McLeod syndrome. Certain blood types may affect
susceptibility to infections, an example being the resistance to specific malaria species seen in
individuals lacking the Duffy antigen. The Duffy antigen, presumably as a result of natural
selection, is less common in ethnic groups from areas with a high incidence of malaria.

7.2.2.1 The ABO System

It is the most important blood-group system in human-blood transfusion. The associated anti-A
and anti-B antibodies are usually Immunoglobulin M, abbreviated 1gM, antibodies. ABO 1gM
antibodies are produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances
such as food, bacteria, and viruses. The 0 in ABO is often called 0 (zero, or null) in other
languages. The ABO system was shown by Bernstein in 1925 to consist of three alleles of a
single gene, Isoagglutinogens, 1A, jB and I°, forming four different phenotypic groups: A (1A1A
or 1A I°), B (jBjB or jBI°), AB (1AjB]8) and Q I°I°). The I° allele is also symbolized as lowercase i,
so that the O blood genotype is represented as ii. The three alleles can also be symbolized
without I, i.e., A, B and O. The phenotypes and corresponding genotypes are represented in
Table 2.

Table 7.2: Phenotypes and genotypes in ABO blood system

Phenotype Genotype

A AA or AO

B BB or BO

AB AB

O OO

7.2.2.2 Rhesus Blood System

The Rh system is the second most significant blood-group system in human-blood transfusion
with currently 50 antigens. It plays an important dominant role in a condition known as
hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). The blood group was named Rh because it was
discovered in rhesus monkeys. The Rh blood group is genetically complex; for the sake of
discussion we will consider it as a simple two-allele system:

Rh, dominant to the second allele, Rh. Rh individuals make an antigen that is present on the
cell surface. Rh individuals do not make this antigen. Rh alleles are nonrandomly distributed in
human populations. Among white Americans 85% are Rh, and 15% are Rh. The frequency of
Rhesus in the white American populations is similar to those in Africa including Nigeria.
However, among American Indians and Asians, almost 100% of the population are Rh+ The
most significant Rh antigen is the D antigen because it is the most likely to provoke an immune
system response of the five main Rh antigens. It is common for D-negative individuals not to
have any anti-D Immunoglobulin G, (IgG) or Immunoglobulin M, (1gM) antibodies, because
anti-D antibodies are not usually produced by sensitization against environmental substances.
However, D-negative individuals can produce [g anti-D antibodies following a sensitizing event:
possibly a feto-maternal transfusion of blood from a fetus in pregnancy or occasionally a blood
transfusion with D positive Red Blood Cells.
HDN is a disease that begins during fetal development and results from an immunologic
incompatibility between mother and fetus when the mother is Rh- and the fetus is Rh+. If fetal
blood enters the maternal circulation, the Rh+ antigen present on the surface of the fetal cells
stimulate the formation of antibodies by the mother’s immune system. Usually, this happens
during the birth process, so that the first pregnancy causes antibody production in the mother,
but the first offspring escapes HDN. If a subsequent pregnancy involves an Rh+ fetus,
antibodies present in the Rh- mother cross the placenta and destroy the red blood cells of the
fetus. This causes anaemia, jaundice, cerebral damage, mental retardation and death. It is a
condition known medically as erythoblastosis fetalis.

7.2.3 Blood Transfusion

Transfusion medicine is a specialized branch of haematology that is concerned with the study of
blood groups, along with the work of a blood bank to provide transfusion service for blood and
other blood products. Across the world, blood products must be prescribed by a medical doctor
(licensed physician or surgeon) in similar ways as medicines.

Much of the routine work of a blood bank involves testing blood from both donors and
recipients to ensure that every individual recipient is given blood that is compatible and is as
safe as possible. If a unit of incompatible blood is transfused between a donor and recipient, a
severe acute haemolytic reaction with haemolysis (Red blood cell destruction), renal failure and
shock is likely to occur, and death is a possibility.

Antibodies can be highly active and can attack Red blood cells and bind components of the
complement system to cause massive haemolysis of the transfused blood.

Patients should ideally receive their own blood or type-specific blood products to minimize the
chance of a transfusion reaction. Risks can be further reduced by cross-matching blood, but this
may be skipped when blood is required for an emergency. Cross-matching involves mixing a
sample of the recipient’s serum with a sample of the donor’s red blood cells and checking if the
mixture agglutinates, or forms clumps. If agglutination is not obvious by direct vision, blood
bank technicians usually check for agglutination with a microscope. If agglutination occurs, that
particular donor’s blood cannot be transfused to that particular recipient. In a blood bank, it is
vital that all blood specimens are correctly identified, so labeling has been standardized using a
barcode system known as ISBT 128.

The blood group may be included on identification tags or on tattoos worn by military
personnel, in case they should need an emergency blood transfusion. Frontline German Waffen-
SS had blood group tattoos during World War II. In Nigeria, the Drivers’ licenses issued by
Road Safety Corps now carry the individual’s blood group of ABO and Rhesus.

7.2.4 ITQs
i. How many alleles are involved in ABO blood system?
ii. In Rhesus blood system, how antigens are important and which is most significant?
ITAs

Rare blood types can cause supply problems for blood banks and hospitals. For example, Duffy-
negative blood occurs much more frequently in people of African origin, and the rarity of this
blood type in the rest of the population can result in a shortage of Duffy-negative blood for
these patients. Similarly, for RhD negative people, there is a risk associated with travelling to
parts of the world where supplies of RhD negative blood are rare, particularly East Asia, where
blood services may endeavour to encourage Westerners to donate blood. Table 3 shows the
Red blood cell incompatibility table with reference to ABO and Rhesus blood groups.

Table 7.3: Red blood cell compatibility table

7.2.5 ITAs
i. Three alleles are involved in ABO blood system, namely 1A, IB and I°
ii. In Rhesus blood system, 5 antigens are important (C, D, E, F, G), and D is the most
significant.

7.3 PATERNITY TESTING

Apart from transfusion, blood group can also be employed in legal medicine. This is to help the
judges in law courts to solve the problems and litigations involving cases of disputed paternity,
mix-up babies in the hospitals and more legal issues of like situations. This is achieved by
matching the blood of individuals involved in the cases using the Isoagglutinogens as earlier
stated. The results may solve it out rightly or other parameters will be applied such as DNA
fingerprinting and Molecular diagnostics. For example, an AB individual cannot be the parent of
an O individual, two A individuals may be the parents of an O individual if both are AO.

7.3.1 ITQs
i. Based on ABO and Rhesus blood systems, which blood groups are referred to as
universal donor and universal recipient?
ii. Which blood group can a possible father of an A child has?

7.3.2 ITAs
i. O- is a universal donor and AB+ is a universal recipient
ii. A or AB
7.4 SEX DETERMINATION IN HUMANS
In humans, as in any other species, there are obvious phenotypic differences between the
sexes, known as sexual dimorphism. In some organisms, the differences are limited to the
gonads, while in others, including humans, secondary sex characteristics such as body size,
patterns of fat distribution, and amounts and distribution of body hair emphasize the differences
between sexes.

7.4.1 Sex Chromosomes

In humans, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the cells except the sex cells that
have 23 units. Among the 23 pairs, 22 pairs constitute the autosomes; these are chromosomes
that codes for traits apart from sex and the last pair, called sex chromosomes are responsible
for the determination of sex. In humans, the sex chromosomes are designated as X and Y
chromosomes.

7.4.1.1 XY Mechanisms
What determines maleness or femaleness is a complex interaction between genes and the
environment. In some cases, environmental factors play a vital role. For example, in some
reptiles such as turtles or crocodiles, sex is determined by the incubation temperature of the
eggs. Eggs incubated at higher temperatures produce females; those at lower temperatures
produce males. In humans, on the other hand, sex determination is primarily associated with
sex chromosomes. Females have two X-chromosomes (XX) and males have an X and a Y
chromosome (XY).

All gametes produced by females contain an X chromosome, while males produce two kinds of
gametes in equal amounts, those containing an X chromosome and those containing a Y
chromosome. Because the male makes two kinds of gametes, he is referred to as
heterogametic, and the female is homogametic, since she makes only one type of gamete. An
egg fertilized by an egg-bearing sperm results in an XX zygote that will develop as a female.
Fertilization by a Y bearing sperm will produce an XY or male zygote and consequently, a male
child will be the result. Clearly, then, it is the male gamete that determines the sex of the
offspring.
Although the XX-XY mechanism of sex determination seems straightforward, it does not provide
all the answers to the question of what determines maleness and femaleness. Is a male what is
it because he has a Y-chromosome or because he does not have two X — chromosomes? This
question was answered about forty years ago with the discovery that some humans carry
abnormal number of sex chromosomes. Rarely, individuals with only 45 chromosomes (45,X),
Turner syndrome are born and these individuals are female with characteristics tending towards
masculine among others such as shortness, wide-chested, underdeveloped breasts and they
lack ovarian development.

At about the same time, males carrying two X chromosomes and a Y chromosome was
discovered (47, XXY) as Klinefelter syndrome. From the study of these and other individuals
with abnormal numbers of sex chromosomes, it is clear that some females may have only one X
chromosome and that some males can have more than one X chromosome.

Furthermore, anyone with a Y chromosome is always male, no matter how many X

chromosomes he may have. The conclusion is that the male phenotype is associated with the
presence of a Y chromosome and the absence of a Y chromosome results in the female
phenotype. However, two X chromosomes are required for female development to take place in
a normal fashionand a single X chromosome is required for normal development.

7.4.2 Sex-Ratio
Since the sex of the offspring is determined by the presence or absence of a Y chromosome
and because males produce approximately equal numbers of X- and Y-bearing gametes, males
and females should be produced in equal proportions. This proportion, known as the sex ratio,
changes throughout the life cycle. The sex ratio at conception, known as the primary sex ratio,
should be 1:1. While direct determination is impossible, estimates indicate that the ratio is
skewed in favour of males and may be as high as 1.6: 1(160 males for every 100 females).
Although reasons for this discrepancy are not clear, it may involve the size difference between
the X and Y chromosomes.

Because the Y chromosome is much smaller than the X, it is thought that Y-bearing sperm is
lighter and can swim faster and farther than X-bearing sperm. If more Y- bearing sperm reach
the vicinity of the egg, a higher number of male fertilizations would result. While this idea may
seem farfetched, laboratory methods for separating X- and Y- bearing sperm called
centrifugation on the basis of weight have been successful and can be used in conjunction with
artificial insemination to produce male or female offspring of choice 75% of the time.

The sex ratio at birth known as the secondary sex ratio is about 1.05 (105 males for every 100
females). The tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of adults. When measured at 20 to 25 years of age,
it is - 1.00; thereafter females outnumber the males in ever increasing proportions. The
underlying reason for the higher death rate among males is not known for certain but includes
both environmental and genetic factors. Accidents are the leading causes of death among males
aged 15 to 35 years, and the expressions of deleterious X-linked recessive genes also lead to a
higher death rate.

7.4.3 Pre-Determination of Sex

It is scientifically possible to determine the sex of an unborn child by several methods. Apart
from the billing’s method of determining rhythm and ovulation periods in women to calculate
when to copulate and so on, it could be consciously determined with more precise results using
the following avenues

1. AMNIOCENTESIS: A surgical technique for obtaining amniotic fluid and analyse the
fluid using the cells from the foetus. It will be determined to see which of the sex-
chromosomes are present.
2. Artificial Insemination with Choice
3. SPERM: The semen is spun in a centrifuge and the desired sperm bearing either X or Y
is selected and used artificially to fertilize the ovum from the woman. If a baby boy is
desired the Y-bearing sperm is selected and an X-bearing sperm is selected for a girl
child.
SPERM BANKS: This is storing sperms in liquid Nitrogen and selected for preferred sex
or other features.
7.4.4 ITQ
Why is the sex ratio skewed in favour of males making it as high as 1.6: 1?
7.4.5 ITA
Because the Y chromosome is much smaller than the X, it is also thought that Y-bearing sperms
are lighter and can swim faster and farther than X-bearing sperms.
7.4.6 Activities
a. List different blood groups in ABO system
b. Mention the significant antigens in Rhesus blood system
c. Explain blood transfusion and compatibility
d. Describe 3 ways by which the sex of an unborn child could be determined.
7.5 Sickle Cell Awareness

It is very important that intending couples know their respective genotype before saying ‘Yes, I
do’ to each other since they wish to spend the rest of their lives together.

Table 7.4: Sickle cell status and marriage compatibility

GENOTYPE APPROPRIATE SUITOR REMARK

AA AA Excellent
AA AS Good
AA SS Fair
AS AS Bad
AS SS Very Bad
SS SS Extremely Bad (In fact, should not be
tried)

7.5.1 ITQ
Why is it very important that intending couples should know their respective sickle cell status
before marriage?
7.5.2 ITA
To determine the possibility of any of their unborn child either being affected or carrying the
sickle cell trait.

7.6 Blood Group Compatibility

Table 7.5: Blood Type and frequency of occurrence.

Blood type How common Percentage in Population

O+ 1 in 3 (Most common) 37.4%

A+ 1 in 3 35.7%

B+ 1 in 12 8.5%

AB+ 1 in 29 3.4%

O- 1 in 15 6.6%

A- 1 in 16 6.3%

B- 1 in 67 1.5%

AB- 1 in 167 (Rarest) 0.6%

7.6.1 Compatible Blood Types based on ABO and Rhesus Systems.

O- can receive O-
O+ can receive O+, O-

A- can receive A-, O-

A+ can receive A+, A-, O+, O-

B- can receive B-, O-

B+ can receive B+, B-, O+, O-

AB- can receive AB-, B-, A-, O-

AB+ can receive AB+, AB-, B+, B-, A+, A-, O+, O-

In some cultures, the belief is that one’s blood group also speaks about his/her personality.
However, it should be noted that this has no scientific basis. For example:

A+: Good leadership.

A - : Hardworking.
B+: Can Sacrifice for others and very ambitious, tolerance.
B - : Non flexible, Selfish & Sadistic.
O+: Born to help.
O- : Narrow minded.
AB+: Very difficult to understand.
AB- : Sharp & Intelligent.

7.6.2 ITQs
i. Which blood type is most frequent?
ii. Which blood group is the universal donor?
iii. Which blood type is associated with people that can sacrifice for others?

7.6.3 ITAs
i. O+
ii. AB+
iii. B+

7.7 GENETIC IMPLICATIONS OF MATERNAL AGE ON CHILDREN

Impending parenthood makes many couples aware of "heredity" and consequences of abnormal
children. These include aberrations caused by chromosomal irregularities. After marriage most
couples are anxious of becoming pregnant and giving birth to healthy young individuals. In
most cases, little attention is given to the age of the parents. Nigeria, being a heterogeneous
society consists of diverse cultures where each group among has peculiar beliefs on age of
couples before marriage.

According to Ngangah (1998) culture, being a way of life of a people is usually difficult but not
impossible to change. Culture prohibits a number of things among certain groups of the society
(Omoso, 2009). Culture which breeds custom is defined as a usage or practice of the people
which by common adoption and acquiescence and by long and unvarying habit has become
compulsory and has acquired the force of a law with respect to the place or subject matter to
which it relates (Grener, 2009).

In some communities in Nigeria, particularly the Eastern part, emphasis is placed on the bride-
price as against age of the girl or lady, where a woman is regarded as an object or article in a
commercial transaction. Bride price is the money price a man or the groom pays to purchase his
bride/wife. The payment is made to the father or guardian of the bride on her account in
respect of her traditional marriage to the groom. Though bride-price varies from area to area;
some are low, while others are high (Nwogugu, 1990). However,the resultant effect is that
many girls are left unmarried and allowed to advance in age and this has serious genetic
consequences.

7.7.1 Genetic Abnormalities

Variations in chromosome number of a cell or an organism give rise to abnormalities referred to
severally as: aneuploidy, monoploidy, and polyploidy etc, depending on where and when the
variation occurred to cause a deviation from the normal chromosomal number or structure. In
aneuploidy, a cell or organism has one, two or a few whole chromosomes, more or less than
the basic number expected to be present. In monoploidy, an organism that is usually diploid
has only one set of chromosomes. In polyploidy, an organism has more than its normal number
of sets of chromosomes. Any or all of these abnormal conditions may have serious
consequences to the organism.

7.7.2 Age of Mother and Risks of Genetic Anomaly

One popular genetic condition that is considered a consequence of age is trisomy 21, otherwise
known as Down syndrome (Sloane, 1985: Suzuki et al., 1981). Trisomy 21 occurs when there
are three copies of the chromosome 21 instead of the normal two, it is an aneuploidy condition.
The meiotic error that causes aneuploidy is called nondisjunction (Lewis, 1997). Maternal age
has a strong influence on the incidence of trisomy 21 (Kumar et al., 2007). Down syndrome is
the most common of the chromosomal disorders and is a major cause of mental retardation
(Kumar et al., 2007). The most common cause of trisomy and therefore Down syndrome is
meiotic nondisjunction (Suzuki et al., 1981)

7.7.3 ITQs
i. How do you define culture which breeds custom?
ii. What is trisomy-21?
7.7.4 ITAs
 i. Culture which breeds custom is defined as the usage or practice of the people which by
common adoption and acquiescence or by long and unvarying habit has become
compulsory and has acquired the force of a law with respect to the place or subject
matter to which it relates.
ii. Trisomy 21 occurs when there are three copies of the chromosome 21 instead of the
normal two.
7.8 Implications for Society and Culture
The table below shows that as the mother increases in age, the higher the risk of having an
imbecile child.

Table 7.6: Relationship between maternal age and risk of Down syndrome

Age of Mother Risk of Down syndrome in child

< 29 1/3000

30 – 34 1/600

35 – 39 1/280

40 – 44 1/70

45 – 49 1/40

All mothers combined 1/665

(Russell, 2010)

7.8.1 Other Trisomies

A variety of other trisomies, involving chromosomes 8, 9, 13, 18 and 22 have been described.
Only trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) are slightly popular as
Down syndrome. They share karyotypic and clinical feature with Down syndrome. Thus, most
cases result from meiotic nondisjunction and carry extra copy of chromosome 18 or 13. Also, in
these conditions, maternal age has been implicated. The malformations in trisomy 18 and 13
are much more severe than Down syndrome, as a result, affected infants rarely survive beyond
the first year of life.

Table 5: Phenotypic expression of different Trisomies

Chromosomal constitution Syndrome Phenotype

Trisomy 21 Down Mental retardation, abnormal pattern of palm creases,
flat face, sparse, straight hair, short stature, high risk of
 cardiac anomalies, leukemia, cataract, digestive
blockages.

Trisomy 13 Patau Mental and physical retardation, skull and facial

abnormalities, defect in all organ systems, cleft lip,
large triangular nose, extra digits.

Trisomy 18 Edward Mental and physical retardation, skull and facial

abnormalities, defect in all organ systems, extreme
muscle tone

7.8.1 ITQs

i. What name is given to trisomy that affects chromosome 13?

ii. What chromosome is affected by Edward syndrome?

7.8.2 ITAs
i. Patau syndrome
ii. Chromosome 18

7.9 Summary of study session7

 The two most significant blood group systems were discovered by Karl Landsteiner, a
Viennese physician and a Nobel Prize winner during early experiments with blood
transfusion: the ABO group in 1900 and in co-operation with Alexander S. Wiener the
Rhesus group in 1940.
 Knowledge of these two systems are used in blood transfusion and paternity testing.
 In humans, the sex chromosomes are designated as X and Y chromosomes. Females
have two X-chromosomes (XX) and males have an X and a Y chromosome (XY).
 The sex ratio at conception, known as the primary sex ratio, is the ratio of number of
males per female. It is expected to be 1:1. While direct determination is impossible,
estimates indicate that the ratio is skewed in favour of males and may be as high as 1.6:
1(160 males for every 100 females).
 It is scientifically possible to determine the sex of an unborn child by several methods
such as amniocentesis, artificial insemination with choice and sperm banking.
 It is very important that intending couples should know their respective sickle cell status
before marriage in order to determine the possibility of any of their unborn child either
being affected or carrying the sickle cell trait.
 In blood group compatibility, O+ has the highest percentage while AB- is the lowest in a
population. In the same vein, O- is said to be a universal donor and AB+ is a universal
recipient. In some cultures, the belief, though not scientific, is that one’s blood group
also speaks about his/her personality.
 Variation in chromosome number of a cell or an organism gives rise to abnormalities
referred to severally as: aneuploidy, monoploidy, and polyploidy. Any or all of these
abnormal conditions may have serious consequences to the organism.
 One popular genetic condition that is considered a consequence of age is trisomy 21,
otherwise known as Down syndrome. Maternal age has a strong influence on the
incidence of trisomy 21. Generally, as the maternal age increases, the higher the risk of
having an affected child.
 Other popular trisomies are trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau
syndrome) which share karyotypic and clinical features with Down syndrome.
7.9.1 SAQs
1. Explain why O- blood type is said to be a universal donor and AB+ is a universal recipient.
2a. Which syndrome results from trisomy 13?
b. Describe the phenotypic expression of the syndrome.
3. Can AB blood type individual be the parent of an O individual? Explain your answer.
4. Explain the following, giving the sex characteristic of each:
a. homogametic
b. heterogametic
c. Turner’s syndrome.

References/Suggestions for further Reading

Campbell Neil A., Reece, Jane B. et al. (2008). Biology Pearson 8thi Edition. Benjamin
Cummins. San Francisco, USA. l267pp.

Cummings, M. (2006). Human Heredity: Principles and Issues. 7th Edition. Brooks/Cole UK.

Freeman Scott (2011). Biological Sciences Pearson 4th Edition. New York: Benjamin
Cummins, 1127 p.

Hartl, Daniel (2010). Essential Genetics. 5t Edition. Jones and Bartlett. UK.

Klug, W.S. (2010). Essentials of Genetics. 7th Edition. Prentice Hall Inc. USA.

Kumar, V., Abbas, A. and Fausto, N. 2007. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease.
Seventh edition. Elsevier. 1525pp.

Lewis, R. 1997. Human Genetics concept and applications. Second edition. WCBMcGraw-Hill.
427pp.

Lewis, Ricky (2001). Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications. Overview to Genetics. New
York:Macmillan, 462pp.

Ngangah, C. (1998). The Politics of Human Rights: A view from the Third World. Kaduna:
Klamidas Communications Ltd.

Nwabueze, B. O. (1974). Nigerian Land Law. Enugu: Nwamite Publisers Ltd

Nwogugu, F. I. (1990). Family Law in Nigeria. Ibadan: N.E.D.

Omoso, C. I. (2009). Women in Nigeria: Religion, Culture, and the AIDS Pandemic. Retrieved
from www.iheu.org/node/979
Russell, P. 2010. Genetics. Third edition. HarperCollins publishers. 758pp

Sloan, E. 1985. Biology of women. Second edition. Delmar publishers Inc. 656pp

Strickberger, Monroe W. (1985). Genetics. 3 Edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing

Company, 842pp.

Suzuki, D., Anthony, J. and Richard, C. 1981. An Introduction to Genetic Analysis. Second
edition, with freeman and company publishers. 911pp
 Study Session 8
Crime, Security and Peace-Building in Africa
8.1 Introduction
Peace is one of the basic necessities of life but in the developing world, it is the most expensive
aspect of life. Since the end of the Cold war, the issue of crime control and peace-building in
Africa has come to the centre stage of development discourse of the international community.
This is because in the last fifty years of independence, many African countries have been
entrapped in a vicious circle of conflicts. From the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo
to the recurrent religious violence in Nigeria, Africa has come under intense political conflicts
threatening the little progress made from the collapse of military rule and the return of
democracy to the continent in the late 1990s (Africa Development Bank, 2014; Boas, 2007;
Lyman & Morrison, 2004).

Although Africa was not immune from political conflicts before the Cold war, Boas (2007) notes
that, the end of the Cold War and the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center
in New York in the United States changed the security architectures of many African countries,
emboldened radical groups in the continent and shifted the struggles to individual African
nations. Several reasons have accounted for this change.

First, the end of the Cold war shifted global attention to peace in Africa. Due to the continent's
enormous resources and its benefits for the new world order, many world leaders now want to
courting African nations in order to have access to their resources.

Second, it was discovered in many African countries that democracy raised new questions about
good governance. Thus, groups that had been marginalised in the past are now using this
opportunity of the return of democracy to the continent to ventilate their grievances. In the
final analysis, the end of the Cold and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center created
enormous opportunities for the radical Islamist groups in the West, East and North-African
regions to key into the clash of civilisations between the West and the Arab World (Huntington,
1993).

By keying into the struggle, they believe that they can use it to activate their local grievances
and attract both illicit arms and military support needed at home to end their perceived corrupt
regimes. This is one of the factors that is responsible for the emergence of the radical Islamist
groups such as Al Qaedar in the Islamic Magreb, Al Ashabaab, Boko Haram, Ansur and now
Islamic State of West-African Province, who through their several attacks, have killed, maimed
and displaced thousands of people across the African continent.

This study session is designed to examine the impact of crime and security on peace-building in
Africa. In this study session, it is assumed that, peace-building is sine qua non to the realization
of sustainable economic and political development in Africa. You will learn that enduring peace-
building is critical to the process of healing the wounds left by long years of military rule, civil
wars and political dictatorships in many African countries. You will appreciate that a sustainable
peace-process can help individual African government create the required enabling environment
for government to fight poverty, end hunger, create jobs, protect human rights and defend the
interests of the larger society.

8.1.1 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this study session, you should be able to:
i. define the concepts of crime, security and peace-building
ii. mention types of crime and nature of security challenges in the continent.
iii. develop the capacities to analyse the peace-building in the Africa and their implications for
the challenges of terrorism, war and violence in the continent.
iv. identify obstacles to the achievement and sustainability of peace-building in Africa.
v. develop the capacities to work with the governmentand other security agencies to achieve
enduring peace-building in Africa.

8.2 The Concepts of Crime, Conflict, Security and Peace-Building

The concepts of crime, security and peace-building are interrelated in development discourse.
They pertain to either the cause of social disorder or the process of making peace among the
ethnic or religious nationalities in a society. Although all the concepts relate to the problem of
social order in modern capitalist society, they do not literally mean the same thing.

1. Crime
Crime is any act that is committed by an individual or a group of individuals which violates the
criminal law of a sovereign state, attracts punishment such as fine or imprisonment, and is
more likely to bring discomfort to the society where the act was committed. In this definition,
three key issues have arisen:

The first is the act of violating a criminal law. Before an act is declared criminal, the person
involved must have wrongly acted in a way that violates the criminal law of his country or
another country.

The second issue is the criminalization of a social behaviour by the state through the enactment
of a law or criminal law. What this implies is that, once an act is declared criminal by law, it
becomes an offence in such a society (this is also called Mala Prohibita). Where the law does
not declare an act as criminal, such an act remains in the realm of deviant behaviour or social
vice.

The third component of the definition of crime that is presented here is the fact that a crime
must ''attract a punishment by the state''. What this implies is that a criminal act must be
sanctioned with payment of fines or sentenced to specified number of years in prisons. The
latter is the commonest way of rebuking a criminal in the developing world because punishment
of a crime has not really shifted towards the rehabilitation of criminals.
While crime covers a wide range of offences such as terrorism, armed conflict, and kidnapping
that endanger the peaceful coexistence of the citizens of a country, the concept of security is a
more restrictive concept.

2. Security
In development circle, the word security will be taken to mean the process of putting in place
strategies and socio-economic and political structures which are aimed at protecting lives and
property of the citizens, and at the same time creating an enabling environment for the
government to function effectively. In this case, one may be relating it to national security
because it entails the enactment of laws that provide government with the powers to establish
security agencies, equip such agencies with modern technologies needed to protect both the
state and the citizens from internal and external aggression (Shinoda, 2004).

In most security literature, the concept of security is often used interchangeably with human
security. While security connotes human security, the concept of security can be extended to
the establishment of all possible legal, institutional, environmental, technological, national and
international strategies that helpgovernment safeguard lives and property, and at the same
create an enabling environment for the economy to grow (Shonida, 2004). In his analysis of
Sadako Ogata and Amartya Sen's Commission on Human Security, Shonida (2004) states that:
''Human security means protecting fundamental freedoms-freedoms that are the essence of life.
It means protection from critical (severe) and pervasive (widespread) threats and situations. It
means using processes that build on people's strengths and aspirations. It means creating
political, social, environmental, economic, military and cultural systems that give people the
building blocks of survival, livelihood and dignity'' (see Shonida, 2004; 14).

3. Conflict
Conflict is a situation whereby two parties disagree over an issue, which results in the use of
physical force to express the disagreement or expression of a disagreement through non-violent
means. Conflict, like crime can come in different forms. It can either be material conflict or
ideological conflict.

Material conflict is the type of conflict that usually ensues because of an individual or a group’s
lack of access to material necessities of life such as food, shelter, jobs, qualitative health care
services, education etc. Because material conflict bothers on the conditions of the individual in
society, improved welfare can help reduce this type of conflict than any other type of social
conflict. This debate has since been settled by the radical political economist, Karl Marx in his
theory of wage labour.

Unlike material conflict, ideological conflict is usually rooted in the cultures, religions,
civilizations and belief systems of a people. For most people, it is about life and death because
it touches their existence as a people in terms of their religious affiliation and adherence to its
ideology (Huntington, 1993). Ideological conflict poses more danger to society than material
conflict because once it degenerates, it is not easy to end. Terrorism is an example of
ideological conflict that the world is currently battling with. Terrorism is not only rooted in the
problem of civilizations and religions, it is a challenge that is being promoted by different
ideological leanings of our world leaders.

4. Peace-Building
The idea of peace-building was first suggested by a former UN Secretary-General, Boutros
Boutros-Ghali in his 1992 address to the United Nations ''Agenda for Peace''. To him, peace-
building is the process of putting in place machineries for ending hostilities, warfare, conflicts,
animosity and violence in a particular country at a particular time. It means the deployment of
legal, social, political, economic and welfare services to communities, states, countries or
nations that are ravaged by violence with a view of building enduring peace and mutual
understanding among the warring parties in these societies (Dedgrig, 2004; Shinoda, 2004).

Dedgrig (2004) holds that peace-building also entails the deployment of humanitarian aids to
countries that are confronted by wars or conflicts, and making comprehensive arrangements for
the rehabilitation of individuals that are traumatised by the conflicts. Peace-building, though, is
aimed at achieving one cardinal objective, which to end hostility among worrying parties, it has
different phases that peace-builders must follow in an attempt to institutionalise enduring peace
in a community.

These phases include peace-making, peace-keeping operations, humanitarian aids and peace-
building. For instance, when a conflict erupts in a community, government's first step in
quashing the conflict is to deploy peace-makers to the conflict rattled community with a view to
bringing the two aggrieved parties to a roundtable for possible resolution of the problem. This
approach to conflict resolution may work for micro-conflicts but for major conflicts, peace-
making may not ultimately help government end the conflict.

8.2.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is peace-building?
2. How does crime differ from deviant behaviour?
3. Is conflict the same thing as crime?

8.2.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Do a critical review of any peace-building undertaken by the Federal Republic of Nigeria to
deescalate violence in the Niger Delta.
2. Identify a media advert purposefully designed by the Federal Government of Nigeria to
reduce the incidence of hate speech.

8.3 Crime and Security Problems in Africa

Crime and security problems remain critical issues that many African countries are confronted
with. In this section, a critical review of the major crimes in Africa are undertaken.
8.3.1 Organised Crimes in Africa
Organised crime is what security experts will simply refer to as ''sophisticated crime''. It exists
all over the world but more proliferated in the developing societies where the state has almost
lost control of crime. Organised crime is called sophisticated crime because it is different from
other forms of crimes both in terms of planning and execution. This is why Friedrichs defines it
as any crime which involves two or more persons and is carried out with the intent to defraud
or use fraudulent means to acquire the property of others or gain unlawful access to the money
of other people for the purpose of converting the proceeds of such crime to personal use
(Friedrichs, 2007). Unlike minor offences, organised crimes are usually planned by professional
criminals and sometimes aided by agents of the state (Friedrichs, 2007).

Organised crimes thrive not only because they are always well-planned but because they enjoy
the support of the elites in society who use their powers to influence the criminal justice system
that is supposed to arrest or prosecute these offenders of the law. In weak democracies and
weak states, the police usually find it difficult to combat organised crimes because the
perpetrators understand how the system works, are tightly connected to the criminal justice
system, share intelligence with the police and have illicit access to arms supplied to them
sometimes by agents of the state (Mazzitelli, 2007).

Unlike the developed world where government has intelligence to stifle the activities of
organised criminal networks, in most developing societies including Africa, organised criminal
groups have the capacity to infiltrate the ranks and files of the criminal justice system, evade
arrest and prosecution by state officials. In contemporary Africa, organised criminals sometimes
organise themselves into syndicates with the capacity to engage in multiple crimes such as illicit
arms trade, armed conflict, embezzlement, advanced fee fraud, cybercrime, cyber terrorism,
prostitution, illicit sale of natural resources, political and bureaucratic corruption, kidnapping,
abduction, suicide bombing, terrorism (Mazzitelli, 2007; Schroeder & Lamb, 2006).
The harrowing effect of organised crimes in Africa is that they promote conflict and help state
and non-state actors destabilise society (Mazzitelli, 2007). Boko Haram is one of such organised
crimes that has dealt heavy blow on contemporary African society by claiming over 20, 000
people in the West-African region (see International Crisis Group, 2016; Onuoha & Oyewole,
2018).

8.3.2 Corporate Crimes in Africa

Corporate crimes are crimes of the elites which Edwin Sutherland called ''White Collar Crime''.
By white collar crime, he meant the crimes of the elites and the privileged people in the society.
Corporate crimes exist all over the world, like other types of crimes. They grow and multiply as
the complex organisations in a society becomes modernised (Friedrichs, 2007). Clinard and
Quinney (1973) define corporate crime as ''offenses committed by corporate officials for their
corporation and the offenses of the corporation itself''(p.188).
With the rise of globalisation and increasing complexity in the delivery of public services,
corporate crimes have emerged as a major challenge to development in Africa. In Africa,
corporate crime exists in the delivery of public services such as the collection of taxes, delivery
of social services to the poor, treatment of patients in public hospitals, award and execution of
governmental contracts, foreign exchange dealings, arrest of criminals, and involvement in
international trade. Because the public service is usually the most conspicuous bureaucracy to
the citizens in most developing countries, most citizens rarely come across corporate crimes in
the private sector (World Bank, 2011).

Whereas the public service is constantly contacted for social services, private individuals and
governmental agencies are usually the ones who come in contact with the corruption in the
private sector.

Adisa (2013) & Mbaku (2003) identify some of the corporate crimes that constitute a major
challenge to development in postcolonial Africa. These include tax reduction, tax fraud, political
and bureaucratic and political corruption, currency racketeering, admission racketeering, rent-
seeking, contract inflation, embezzlement, money laundering, political opportunism, identity
fraud, ATM fraud, cybercrime and money laundering.

In a recent time assessment of corruption in Africa, the World Bank (2011) observes that one of
the major forms of organised and corporate crimes that has undermined development in the
continent is the challenge of cartels in the running of government. Cartels now help government
officials and politicians secure governmental contracts, and at the same time, ensure that the
incumbents stifle opposition with the proceeds of corruption.

8.3.3 International Crimes in Africa

International crimes, otherwise known as 'transnational organised crimes'' remain one of the
greatest sources of political and economic instability in Africa. These crimes are not only
obstacles to development, they prevent nations in creating safe investment climate for foreign
investment that should have helped developed the continent's human and material capital. No
wonder, the World Bank (2017) remarks that organised crime slows down economic growth and
makes it difficult for government to fight poverty and eradicate economic disparities among the
people in Africa.

Mazzitelli (2007) notes that international crimes are those crimes that are usually perpetrated
by international criminal actors which usually occur between the borders of two or more
countries, and are intended to breach the criminal codes of one of these countries or violate
international criminal law. Because the crimes usually involve international relations and
multiple international systems, a country is more likely to face multiple international criminal
actors in the course of getting international criminals arrested (Mazzitelli, 2007; United Nations
Office On Drug and Crime, 2005). When convicted, the beneficiary of this conviction must be
ready to comply with international codes before stolen asset is returned to the country of origin.
The case of money laundering is most critical among the international crimes.

Money laundering, which is the illegal transfer of stolen funds into foreign accounts, has
constituted a major challenge for most developing countries. It is a challenge because most of
these countries are usually faced with tough legal and administrative battles in recovering their
stolen assets. This is due to the spurious conditions that foreign governments often give to
some of these national governments particularly on how such repatriated funds should be spent
(World Bank, 2011). A good example of this is the tough battle that Nigeria has been facing
with the US government on repatriation of stolen assets until recently when Buhari government
is able to secure substantial part of the money.

Money launderingis, however, not the only international crime that Africa is currently confronted
with. A lot of African countries are still confronted with and overwhelmed by the problems of
illicit arms trade, illicit arms trafficking, human trafficking, trafficking in contraband goods in
countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin Republic etc. Rattled by the failed
state syndrome, many African countries have lost the capacity to effectively secure their
borders from transnational organised criminals, the result of which is the emergence of different
armed groups in the region.

Although West-Africa served as a hub of organised crimes in the 1970s and 1980s, the sudden
penetration of global technology into the continent, widespread inequalities among the citizens
and government's inability to provide meaningful jobs for the citizens have emboldened the
youths to engage in different forms of organised crimes such as cybercrime (Mazzitelli, 2004;
Onuoha&Oyewole, 2018). Cybercrime is now a means of livelihood for many these jobless
youths who are determined to meet up with the culture of crass for materialism, which is
prevalent among the political class in the region.

8.3.4 Street and City Crimes in Africa

Cities and streets are potential sources of conflicts and criminal behaviours. Street crimes are
those crimes that are usually committed in the city as a result of the rising influence of
urbanization and industrialisation.

Without urbanization and the concomitant changes in the structural conditions of a city, many
places on earth would have remained natural habitats of minor infraction of the law. With the
emergence of urbanization, many African cities have become urbanised leading to sharp
increase in the population size and density of the cities. Similarly, there have been changes in
the topography of the city coupled with massive industrialization and sudden convergence of
people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds in urban areas (Mabogunje, 1968). All of
these phenomena have implications for peace and social order in the continent.
Every society has the tendency of developing from simple-less industrialised society to complex-
industrialised society. When this change occurs, individuals who have experienced massive
urbanization in their lives, are more likely to jettison the traditional lifestyles that dominate life
in the village for urban culture brought by modernization (Stark, 1992; Giddens, 2006).

Unlike the developed world where governments have very good urban policies to balance the
development between urban and rural areas, in Africa, and in most developing countries, lack
of coherence in urban development policies have resulted in poor governance of most urban
areas leading to large population size, high population density and high cost of living among
urban dwellers. Burdened by these multitude of problems, people resort to urban or city crimes
for survival (World Bank, 2017).

This is why Africa is the home to different forms of city crimes such as armed robbery, political
violence, terrorism, homicide, insurgency, armed conflicts, kidnapping, abduction, street
violence among others. In Nigeria, the menace of street cultism is not unconnected with lack of
synergy between government development plans, arms control and youth unemployment that
has been neglected for decades by successive governments (Punch Newspaper, 2017).

8.3.5 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you understand by transnational organised crime?
2. Why is it difficult for African countries to repatriate stolen funds from foreign countries?
3. What danger does corruption pose to the Nigerian society?

8.3.6 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Identify two agencies that are saddled with the task of fighting money laundering in Nigeria,
and discuss two cases being pursued by any of these agencies.
2. Discuss the practical steps of repatriating a stolen asset

8.4 Security Challenges in Africa

8.4.1 Armed Conflicts
Armed conflict is one of the greatest security challenges in contemporary Africa. It is a security
challenge because it has continued to endanger the peace, unity and progress of the African
continent. Armed conflict is any conflict that is provoked by or involved the use of weapons or
ammunitions by different armed groups in a country which has collateral damage on the
society. Whether in Africa or Europe, armed conflict has led to the death of millions of people,
destabilised nations, causing the death and displaced millions of people from their ancestral
homes (Adeniyi, 2017).

Despite the concerted efforts made by world leaders to end the rising incidence of conflicts
around the world, the persistence of illicit arms trade and unfettered access to small arms and
light weapons in Africa continue to embolden the armed groups and terrorist organisations in
the region (Garrison, 2009; Kuperwasser, 2009). The scenario is almost in most developing
societies where arms produced illegally found their ways into these countries and used in
destablising society. For instance, since 2011 Syria has gone into civil war.

The conflict which initially started as a protest against Asad regime plummeted into full scale
civil war and destroyed millions of people and property because arms groups in the country
enjoyed considerable arms supply from foreign nations such as US, Russia, Iran and Saudi
Arabia. One of the consequences of the war on the world is the emergence of Islamic State,
Islamic State Levant and Iraq.
Although the problem of armed conflicts in Africa is not new, in contemporary Africa, the
proliferation of the conflicts and its connection to nationality stability call for concern. How then
did the problem start? In Africa, the history armed conflicts date back to the colonial era but
has been traced more to events accompanying the political independence of many African
countries in the 1960s & 1970s. At independence, many Africans believed that the attainment
of political independence would provide them with the much-needed opportunity to unite the
diverse ethnic nationalities in their societies.

In many African countries, the elites promised their followers that political independence would
give them the opportunity to rebuild, reconstruct and reposition the post-colonial African
society in a manner that it would be acceptable to the people. They also promised that the new
state would be capable of harnessing the human and material resources of the country in order
to fight poverty and material deprivation that over 100 years of colonialism had caused the
continent (Adisa, 2013; Mbaku, 2003).

Few years later, it became clear that the elites were no longer interested in the development of
the African state (Ake, 1996; Meredith, 2015). Instead, they were interested in capturing the
state and using its powers to amass wealth for the benefit of themselves and their cronies.

Dissatisfied by the performance of their elites, many Africans became polarised along ethnic and
religious lines. Some invited the military to seize power from the corrupt and capricious political
elites. Eventually, the state in post-colonial Africa became preoccupied with conflicts. Arms flew
in from different parts of the world to support the corrupt and autocratic regimes. The regimes
too used the opportunity to oppress their people and convert the state to private property. This
development later culminated into the emergence of armed groups and armed conflicts at
different levels of political structures of post-colonial African societies leading to civil war in
Nigeria in 1967. Between 1960 and the end of 1980s, virtually all African countries had tasted
the bitter pill of civil wars and civil conflicts. Liberia, Sudan, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Democratic
Republic of Congo all went into protracted civil wars which culminated into loss of lives of
millions of people (Meredith, 2005).

By the end of the 20th century, more than 40 African countries had been dragged into
protracted conflicts that did not threaten their political unity, it exposed them to global conflicts
aided by unfettered access to small arms.
8.4.2 Insurgency
Insurgency is another form of armed conflict. It is, however, different from terrorism in many
ways. Insurgency is the use of arms by armed groups in a country against civilian populations
or opposition groups either to canvass or activate local issues relating to the distribution of
economic resources and power in a state.

While insurgents are usually driven by long-drawn structural inequalities, terrorists usually have
wider ambitions that go beyond the non-satisfaction of economic and political demands. In the
course of engaging in warfare with the state, an insurgent group may transform into a terrorist
group. Such transformation may be provoked by the religious content of the conflicts in which
the insurgents are trying to activate in the context of national conflict (Underwood, 2009). Such
is the case of Boko Haram in Nigeria which started as a radical Islamist group and later matured
into full-fledged terrorist organisation by 2009.

In Africa, the Niger Delta militant groups present the best picture of insurgents. They are
insurgents because they emerge to challenge the right of the Nigerian state to the control of oil
wealth in the Niger Delta. Since 1958, the Nigerian state has been involved in the exploration of
oil in the Niger Delta but most of the states and communities where Nigeria is exploiting its oil
wallow in poverty and are economically backward.

Burdened by this paradox, a group of Niger Delta elites in the 1990s led by the late Ken Saro-
Wiwa wrote a Bill of Rights of the Ogoni People detailing the rights of an average Ogoni
man/woman. The decision did not go down well with the Federal Military Government. In the
ensuing crisis, some Ogoni elders were killed. In order to find the culprits, the Federal Military
Government accused Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni elders of killing their fellow men. After a
hurriedly heard prosecution, Saro-Wiwa was sentenced to death by the government of General
Sanni Abacha.

Though the global community called for amnesty for Ken SaroWiwa and the Ogoni 9, the
military junta of the late Sanni Abacha executed these people against the wish of the majority.
The decision taken by the military did not go down well with majority of the citizens of the
Niger Delta at the time. Dissatisfied and disillusioned by the actions of the Nigerian state, the
Niger Delta people decided to form different militant groups in the 1990s and 2000s. One of
these movements was MOSOP-Movement for the Emancipation of the People of the Niger Delta
(Smock, 2009). Unlike the dreaded Boko Haram insurgency, which is driven by religious
ideology, the Niger Delta crisis was and is still purely a socio-economic and political conflict.

Boko Haram is an Islamist sect in the north-eastern Nigeria. It started initially as a radical
Islamist sect but later transformed itself into a global terrorist organisation by engaging the
Nigerian state in large scale warfare, killing over 20, 000 people (Onuoha & Oyewole, 2018),
and displacing more than 1.6 million people from their ancestral homes. Boko Haram's violent
campaign in Nigeria started in 2009 but its history dates back to the early 21st century when a
group of young Muslims secluded themselves from the rest of the Muslims in Borno State, in the
capital of Maiduguri. The sect was initially led by one Mallam Yusuf who wanted to establish an
Islamic State from the Nigerian state. Yusuf thought that the Nigerian state has been corrupted
by infidels and self-centered elites who were not interested in the plights of the poor. With this,
Yusuf vigorously embarked on campaigns against the Nigerian state and the need for the
purification of Islam.

Boko Haram is an armed group that is driven by a mixture of economic, political and religious
discontent. The sect, apart from being disillusioned by the high level of corruption in the
country, wants to the introduction of Sharia Law in the northeast and eventually the
establishment of an Islamic State in the northeast. Boko Haram has a long-term mission that
goes beyond those of the Niger Delta militants. Apart from requesting for the establishment of
an Islamic State within the Nigerian State, it wants a total overhaul of the socio-political system
that produced the current corrupt political elites (Onuoha & Oyewole, 2018).

8.4.3 Terrorism
Terrorism is another form of armed conflict in contemporary Africa. It is the deadliest armed
conflict in modern history after civil war, which has the capacity to eliminate thousands of
people in a day. Terrorism is deadly, not only because it causes the death of thousands of
people around the world, its act of violence, whether in the developed or developing world, is
more lethal, dangerous and destructive to society (Adisa, 2017; Boas, 2007; Lyman & Morrison,
2004).

Terrorism is a large-scale violence unlike other forms of political violence. According to Boas
(2007), it is the use of force, intimidation and violence by sub-national group or groups against
a civilian population with the purpose of threatening the government of the state or
destabilising the state for the purpose of achieving political and religious objectives. It involves
the use of conventional war strategies to intimidate a government, impose fear in the civilian
population in the country and compel the government to take decisions it would not have taken
when there was no terror attacks (Boas, 2007; Lyman & Morrisson, 2004; Pantucci & Jesperson,
2015 ; Thomson, 2012).

Since the September 11, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, in New York, Africa has
witnessed an upsurge in terror attacks. For instance, on September 21, 2013, the Somali-based
terrorist organisation, Al Shabaab threw Kenya into mourning when it attacked the West gate
Mall in Kenya killing 67 people and injuring others. As if that was not enough, the terror group
stepped up its attacks in Somalia in 2014 and 2015 further destabilising a state that was
already a fragile state. Trained by Al Qaedar in the Islamic Magreb, Al Shabaab's presence in
East-Africa has continued to pose threats to regional security in the region (International Crisis
Group, 2018).

In the West-African sub-region, Boko Haram continues to carry out its deadly attacks in Nigeria,
though its offensives in Cameroon, Chad and Niger have reduced maximally since 2015 when
combined military operations from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger and Chad were intensified
following the election of President Muhammadu Buhari. Notwithstanding, the sect's recent
attacks on the military in Nigeria indicate that Boko Haram's threat is not likely to disappear
soon from the radar unless drastic steps are taken to deescalate the violence by the Nigerian
government and the international community. Across the African continent, terrorism remains a
significant threat to the security of lives and property as well as the stability of democracy
(Lyman &Morrison, 2004) This is because the more the Western powers fight the crime at the
global level, the more they find safe haven in weak and fragile societies.

In order to buttress the above point, the 2018 Global Terrorism Indexes of 20 top countries in
the world in the world are presented below:

Table 1.0: 2018 Global Terrorism Index (World)

Rank Country Score

1 Iraq 9.746

2 Afghanistan 9.391

3 Nigeria 8.660

4 Syria 8.315

5 Pakistan 8.181

6 Somalia 8.020

7 India 7.566

8 Yemen 7.345

9 Eqypt 7.345

10 Philippines 7.181

11 Democ. Republic of Congo 7.036

12 Turkey 7.036
13 Libya 6.987

14 South Sudan 6.756

15 Central African Republic 6.719

16 Cameroon 6.615

17 Thailand 6.252

18 Sudan 6.178

19 Kenya 6.114

20 USA 6.048

Source; Selected from the 2018 Global Terrorism Index

The above table shows that terrorism is a severe security problem in Africa. This is evident in
the number of African countries that made the first 20 most terrorist ravaged nations in the
world. As displayed in the table, Nigeria and Somalia are the worst hit terrorist nations in Africa
followed by Egypt and Democratic Republic of Congo. Nigeria and Somalia's positions are
understandable considering the increasing lethal attacks of Boko Haram and Al Shabaab in the
last decade.

8.4.4 Arms Proliferation

Armed conflicts would not have occurred in many parts of the world if armed groups were not
given access to arms that are used in fighting their enemies or confronting the state, are not
available. Arms are not usually readily available in some countries, they are either bought
through black market or stolen from the armouries of soldiers in their countries. The illicit arms
trade business in Africa is one of the significant sources of armed conflicts in the continent
(Schroeder & Lamb, 2006).

Arms as used here are those ammunitions and weapons used by warlords, armed leaders,
insurgents, criminals and terrorists to kill, destabilise, and cause collateral damage to their
countries or people outside their jurisdictions. Because there are usually varieties of arms in
different parts of the world, access to arms by warlords and terrorists is a matter of the policy
of arms control adopted by the government. Where a government is unable to control arms
supply to his security agencies and the country at large, armed groups and merchants of death
may seize the opportunity to establish ''illicit arms markets” across the country. This is the case
of most African countries since the 1990s.

Since the last three decades, illicit arms trade has become a major problem of many African
countries following the proliferation of armed conflicts, prolonged military rule and increasing
poor governance of many of these postcolonial African societies. Confronted with the problem
of porous borders, many African countries have concentrated much of their energy on internal
control of arms while militia men and terrorists, who are in need of these arms to confront the
state and its political elites use such porous borders to sell and exchange arms with the
''merchants of death''. Except for a few African countries, arms move freely from one armed
group to the other and can be used to kill even senior security officers within a state security
apparatus (United Nations, 2005; Schroeder & Lamb, 2006).

Apart from the fact that armed groups in the continent have been having free access to small
arms and light weapons, the recent emergence of the global terrorist organisation, the Islamic
State in the wake of the war in Syria and the collapse of Mamma Gaddafi's regime in Libya have
further emboldened the armed groups in the continent. All of these issues are not unconnected
with the rise and the persistence of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and the West-African
region.

8.4.5 Terrorist Financing

Terrorist financing is the covert or illicit sponsor of terrorist organisations by individuals, states
or organisations for the purpose of threatening a nation, region or endangering global peace.
Without money, terrorist groups will not be able to carry out their nefarious attacks on innocent
people around the world. Money, therefore, plays a key role both in the planning and
actualization of a terrorist operation (Financial Action Task Force, 2016).

Since terrorism is a criminal act, in most parts of the world, the sponsorship of terrorist
operations is not always overt. People hardly know those who are behind the deadly terrorist
organisations in their societies. Except covert security intelligence is carried out, terrorists too
do not always like to reveal the identity of their sponsors. This is why it has been difficult for
the international community to effectively combat terrorist financing in the West-African region
where the financial system is highly vulnerable to political manipulation (FATF, 2016).

The complexity of the terrorist financing problem is reflected in the difficulty of understanding
the true sources of SALWs to violent groups in West-Africa. For instance, the Inter-
Governmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa (2013) made this remark
about sources of arms to the Islamist sect in Nigeria, Boko Haram. According to GIABA (2013):
Boko Haram acquires its arms from Niger, Chad and Cameroon-countries that
share borders with Nigeria at the northern part of the country. Nigeria's
extensive borders with Cameroon, notorious as smuggling routes for illicit
SALWs, perfectly serves the purpose of the Boko Haram, especially with the
northeast being its primary operational base. With most of its original members
hailing from the northeast, the group easily facilitates the flow of illicit SALWs
from Chad into Nigeria. Indeed, the use of AK-47 rifles to carry out attacks is
an indication that most of the arms used by the group were smuggled into the
country. For instance, during the April, 2011 elections, the police and other
 security agencies recovered 3 AK-47 rifles and other arms from Boko Haram in
a raid on Maiduguri (p.34).
8.4.6 Herdsmen-Farmers' Conflict
Conflicts between herders and farmers has joined the list of armed conflicts in contemporary
Africa despite the fact that the continent is already overwhelmed by many security challenges.
The conflict, whichis common in the East and West-African regions, has led to loss of lives and
property worth millions of dollars, in the affected countries. (International Crisis Group, 2018).

For centuries, farmers and herders had lived together in peace, with each community engaging
in its agricultural activity without engaging in fierce battles over land rights that usually
characterise contemporary conflicts between them. The emergence of democracy, the politics of
power sharing and harsh conditions thrown up by climate change have altered the old pattern
of relationship among the pastoralists and farmers, and replaced it with violence.

Although the struggle over lands rights predate today's herdsmen-farmers' conflict, it is
important to note that the bifurcation of the state by the colonial masters and the subsequent
struggles for political domination among the Fulani-pastoralists and the farmers caused the first
set of communal and violent conflicts in East-African countries such as Kenya, Uganda etc.
Unlike Nigeria where herdsmen-farmers' conflict is new, Kenya has been faced with this type of
armed conflict for decades (International Crisis Group, 2018).

The current crisis between the pastoralists-the Fulanis and the farmers in states such as Benue,
Jos, Kogi and parts of the South-Western and South-Eastern Nigeria, has been traced to two
major factors; politics and climate change. For the later, the increasing desertification and
changes in climatic conditions in the North have necessitated the movement of the pastoralists
to the South for water and food for their cattle. This movement, though good for the
pastoralists, has turned to pains for some farmers whose crops are often damaged by the
cattle.

Unable to find permanent solution to the problem, some elites have politicised the issue thereby
escalating violence in areas that were already rattled by ethnic and religious violence for
decades (International Crisis Group, 2018). The International Crisis Group reported that in the
first half of 2018, more than 1, 300 Nigerians died in violence involving herders and farmers
(International Crisis Group, 2018).

8.4.7 Civil War

Africa's commonest conflict since independence is civil war. From Nigeria's 30 months civil war,
which began in 1967 and ended in 1970 to the civil war in Somalia that has lasted for over
decades, Africa has spent the larger part of its independence in civil war than any other
engagement. Civil war is the type of armed conflict that usually involves two or more ethnic or
religious groups from the same country. Unlike terrorism, civil war is a large-scale armed
violence involving members of the two groups with the determination to secede from the
present political arrangement.

Civil war can occur in both developed and developing worlds but its primary drivers around the
world are unresolved boundary issues, wealth redistribution, power sharing, domination and
ethnic and religious differences. In addition to these, is weak governance system, which should
have helped to cushion the effects of ethnic and religious disharmonies that are present in
those countries. Considering the nature and character of postcolonial Africa state, which is
capricious and exploitative, civil war is definitely inevitable in the process of transiting from one-
party regimes to modern democracies.

At independence, Africans inherited a state that was polarised along ethnic and religious lines.
In several African countries such as Niger, Nigeria and Sudan, religion has been a critical
determinant of civil war, most especially in countries where there is perception that a section of
the society has been in control of national resources and the political power of the state. The
Muslim-Christian dichotomy in Sudan and Nigeria has played a major factor in who controls
political power at the centre. It has also determined both the recruitment and the control of
national forces-the police, the army and other armed forces. In Somalia, age-long ethnic and
religious disharmonies are indeed responsible for the civil war in the country that has almost
turned the state into a failed state

In spite of the return of democracy to the continent, the phenomenon of civil war has not
ceased from the political scene. In the Central Africa, there is an ongoing war and violence in
Democratic Republic of Congo (Bjarnadóttir, 2017). The South-Sudan war, which has claimed
several lives, has seriously destabilised the region and caused the international community
millions of dollars through UN peacekeeping operations

8.4.8 Ethnic and Religious Conflicts

Ethnic and religious conflicts portend great danger to nationality just like terrorism. It is also
one of the commonest forms of conflicts in Africa. Although there are many nations around the
world where people of different ethnic and religions still tolerate one another, in Africa, ethnic
and religious differences have remained the basis for political contestation among the elites and
their followers.

The 1994 Rwanda genocide has remained a typical example of ethnic cleansing in Africa's
postcolonial history. This is because since then, there has never been any country on the
continent where people from one ethnic group systematically exterminated people from another
ethnic group as a result of ethnic animosity. In his work ''When Victims Become Killers;
Colonialism, Nativism and the Genocide in Rwanda'', Mamdani (2007) remarkson the horrific
incidence in human history, thus:
No one can say with certainty how many Tutsi were killed between March and July,
1994 in Rwanda. In the fateful one hundred days that followed the downing
 of the presidential plane-and the coup d'etat thereafter-a section of the army
and civilian leadership organised the Hutu majority to kill all Tutsi, even
babies. In the process, they also killed not only Hutu political opposition, but
so many non-political Hutu who showed reluctance to perform what was
touted as a ''national'' duty. The estimates of those killed vary; between ten
and fifty thousand Hutu, and between 500, 000 and a million Tutsi. Whereas
the Hutu were killed as individuals, the Tutsi were killed as a group, recalling
German designs to extinguish the country's Jewish population. This explicit
goal is why the killings of Tutsi between March and July, 1994 must be termed
'genocide'. This single fact underlines a crucial similarity between the
Rwandan genocide and the Nazi Holocaust (p. 5).

8.4.9 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you understand by illicit arms trade?
2. How does armed conflict contribute to the problem of instability in Africa?
3. What role does terrorist financing play in the promotion of terrorism around the world?

8.4.10 In-text Answers (ITAs)

1. Take a particular armed conflict in Nigeria in the last 5 years and describe the nature and
consequence of the armed conflict on national unity.
2. Identify two routes used by armed groups to smuggle their arms into Nigeria.
3. Identify one terrorist organisation in Nigeria, and describe how it carries out its attacks.

8.5 Causes of Insecurity in Africa

Conflicts do not just occur in a society. They are usually caused or driven by several factors
within and outside our society. In Africa, security experts have identified some of the major
causes of conflicts and the problem of insecurity in the continent. These include the problems of
colonial legacy, poor leadership, poverty, ethnic politics, illicit arms trade and arms proliferation,
economic crisis and climate change. This section is designed to examine some of these factors:

1. Colonial Legacy, Bifurcated Post-Colonial State and the problem of Armed

Conflicts in Africa
There is no way a robust analysis of the causes of armed conflicts in Africa can be done without
a recourse to colonialism. Colonialism, came into many African countries in the nineteenth
century as a foreign policy of the Europeans to take over the vast territories of Africa and bring
them under colonial rule (Ekeh, 1975; Mbaku, 2003). Through the use of brutal force, many
African societies succumbed to the whims and caprices of the colonialists.

Hurriedly, the Europeans created many African states, without recourse to the social, cultural,
linguistic, and ethnic differences among the members of these new nations they created.
Although the colonialists tried to make constitution-making to be inclusive by selecting and
including some educated Africans, such decisions were in most cases arbitrary, capricious and
selective. The colonial state, in large measure ruled the natives with maximum brutal force in
some societies while in others it used their leaders to get compliance to colonial rule. Mbaku
(2010) notes that this attitude to governance sowed the first seeds of discord between those
favored by the colonialists, and those marginalised by colonial administration.

South-Africa is a typical example where White supremacy and the Apartheid policy of the
colonial government sowed the seeds of conflicts between the Whites and the blacks. Until
1994, South-Africa was under Apartheid that gave the White people in the country superior
hands over the Blacks. The policywhich started in 1948 subjected the black South-Africans to
discrimination in terms of access to Western education, jobs and economic opportunities
(Mbaku, 2010; Mamdani, 2004).

In fact, South-Africa is not the only African country where colonialism laid a legacy of armed
conflicts. In Nigeria, the colonialists ruled the North through indirect rule policy while it ruled
the South through direct policy, though, officially it proclaimed that it used direct policy across
the country. Meredith (2005) notes that it is this North-South dichotomy in colonial policies
coupled with elites attitudes to the building of a formidable post-colonial society that is
responsible for the majority of the problems of armed conflicts in Nigeria.

The case of Sudan also exemplifies the deleterious effects of colonial legacy and the bifurcation
of the state on the problem of armed conflicts in Africa (Meredith, 2005). Northern part of
Sudan was occupied majorly by Muslims who have had firm grip of political power since
independence. Unable to effectively tame the North, agitation for equitable sharing of power
and national resources resulted in violent confrontations against the people of the North by the
South. Because this country could not sustain this armed struggle, South-Sudan had to be
created out of Sudan in 2011.

2. Poor Leadership, Corrupt Political Class and Poor Governance Systems

One of the legacies of African countries is the persistence of corrupt and capricious political
class. At independence, many Africans thought that African leaders who wrestled powers from
the colonialists would be desirous of building an acceptable postcolonial society that would be
capable of uniting the different ethnic nationalities in the country.

As it turned out after more than fifty years of independence, most African countries are ruled by
elites who are not interested in the development of their country but in the primitive
accumulation of capital. This is why they can do and undo to capture power and maintain
regime security. In 1996, the late African political economist, Claude Ake gave a vivid picture of
the development crisis in Africa, a description that has not changed significant in today's Africa.

According to Ake (1996); ''It is easy to seethat the political environment at independence was
profoundly hostile to development. The struggle for power was so absorbing that everything
else, including development was marginalised. Those who were out of power constantly worried
about their exposure to every kind of assault by a state that was hardly subject to any
constitutional or institutional restraints. Since what mattered in this type of politics was the
calculus of force, the out-of power elites strove constantly to put together credible force to
challenge those who are in power, or, at any rate, to limit their own vulnerability to harassment
and abuse'' (Ake, 1996; 7). Has the condition of politics and power struggle among the elites
changed in contemporary Africa? Let us reflect on this in view of the current conflicts in the
continent.

3. Ethnic Politics and Armed Conflicts

Ethnic politics is a significant cause of the problem of armed conflicts and insecurity in Africa.
Polarised and fractionalised by ethnic differences, power, nation-building and wealth
redistribution in Africa are now determined by the ethnic group that people belong to and not
by the skills they belong to. Interestingly, the public sector that should have helped to reduce
the influence of parochial factors also thrives on ethnic configuration (Egwaikhide,
Isumonah&Ayodele, 2009; Nnoli, 1978).

In countries where ethnic animosity is high, ethnic politics has resulted in ethnic and religious
crises, and poses a great danger to the stability of democracy in Africa. In Nigeria, the
persistent call for restructuring and agitation for resource control are not unconnected with the
challenge of ethnic politics in postcolonial Nigeria.

4.Poverty, Economic Crisis and High Level of Hunger in the Land

Poverty and bad economic policies also fuel crisis and cause the problem of insecurity. The
2017 Human Development Report 2017 showed that only a few African countries have made
considerable gains in fighting the problem of poverty and unemployment. Increasingly, the
persistence of lack of jobs and high cost of living have continued to create conditions of poverty
that are conducive for armed conflicts. This is one of the reasons why Boko Haram used money
to entice its members in the north-eastern Nigeria (Pantussi & Jesperson, 2015).

5. Illicit Arms Trade and Trafficking

Illicit arms supplied to armed groups, terrorists and criminals are critical agents of violent
conflicts in Africa. While the illicit arms trade is a global security problem, the inability of African
countries to secure their borders contribute tremendously to their inability to terrorism in the
continent (GIABA, 2013).

8.5.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is the role of colonial legacy in the problem of armed conflicts in Nigeria?
2. How has the problem of economic crisis in Africa emboldened armed criminals in the
continent?
3. How has the problem of arms proliferation aided the challenge of Boko Haram insurgency in
Nigeria?

8.5.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Take the September 2013 Westgate Kenya Mall Attack, and describe the strategies used by
the terrorists to carry out their operations
2. Identify and describe two killing tactics of armed terrorists in Nigeria
3. Account for three tactics used by Cameroon to dislodge sect Boko Haram in the country.

8.6 Consequences of Insecurity on the State, Society and Citizens in Africa

No matter how small a conflict is, human beings and the society where the conflict takes place
are more likely to pay dearly for the conflict. The negative impact of conflict on society and the
victims is what is regarded as consequence of insecurity. In Africa, conflict has had several
consequences on the African society, too numerous to be discussed even in a volume of book.
It is however important to highlight some of its impact on the state, society and the citizens in
this section:

1. Political Instability and the Problem of Failed State

The problem of political instability is one of the greatest consequences of armed conflict in
Africa since independence. Since the 1960s, armed conflicts including the protracted civil wars
witnessed in the continent in the 1990s have helped polarised many African societies along
ethnic and religious lines. Because the state is politically weak, it has lost its autonomy on the
centrifugal forces in the society to the corrupt and politically rich elites who use state power to
amass wealth, and disintegrate the society further. Politics, which should have helped to
strengthen individuals' access to the state has remained a tool in the hands of few criminally
minded people who used it to oppress those who are outside their camps. The consequence of
this, is that, the state has lost its firm grip of society and become vulnerable to all sorts of
assaults.

2. Deaths, Loss of Property and Refugee Problems

Death is one of the immediate consequences of armed conflict in Africa. Depending on the
nature of the armed conflict, the death of citizens from armed conflicts can leave devastating
impact on a nation. It will not only reduce the nation's manpower, it can cause sectional crises
that will make peace-building in a society difficult.

Writing about the human costs of in Africa, Adeniyi (2017) reports that an estimated 4.3m- 8.4
m people have lost their lives from armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan
and Rwanda between 1983-2005. In 2018, Onuoha & Oyewole state that the Nigerian-based
terrorist organisation, Boko Haram is believed to have killed more than 100, 000 people and
displaced over 2.6 million from their ancestral homes. These are in addition to schools,
mosques, churches and government's property that have destroyed by the deadly sect.

3. Armed Conflicts Create Fear in the Minds of the Citizens

The fear of death is the beginning of wisdom for citizens who witnessed an armed conflict but
were not consumed by the conflict. Aside from death that people in developed and developed
societies often suffer, the fear of crime is often heightened by lethality of armed conflicts.
Where the tactics used by an armed group, is so lethal and new to many citizens, the fear of
crime in such a society may be heightened by the criminal incidence. In the developing world,
the fear armed conflict has led to the emergence of new armed groups who partake in violence
in order to demonstrate that no group has the monopoly of violence in the country. In Nigeria,
the failure of the state and the fear of being crushed by an armed group, are at the heart of the
problem of armed groups and cultism in the country.

8.6.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you understand by consequence of insecurity?
2. List and explain two consequences of insecurity in Africa
3. How does the fear of crime or armed conflict aggravate violence in the larger society?

8.6.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Take a Boko Haram incidence in year 2018, and discuss the consequences that such an
incident had on the Nigerian society.
2. Identify and discuss two psychological problems that refugees often face in their camps.
3. Discuss the 2018 ambush on Nigerian soldiers, and how this changed government's attitude
towards the war against terrorism in Nigeria.

8.7 Peace-Building in Conflict Ridden Societies in Africa

Peace-building is the process of building an enduring legacy of peace in a country that is
ravaged by armed conflicts or prone to violent conflicts. The idea, which was first used by a
former UN Secretary General in 1992 Boutros Boutros-Ghali in his address to the UN General
Assembly states that ''An Agenda for Peace'' has become a global strategy for helping nations
overcome the challenge of armed conflicts. On the meaning of the concept, Ghali defines peace
building as any ''action taken to identify and support structures which will tend to strengthen
and solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse to conflict''.

About 15 years later in 2007, the United Nations Secretary-General Policy Committee expanded
the meaning of peace-building to mean; ''A range of measures to reduce the risk of lapsing or
relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at all levels for conflict management,
and to lay the foundation for sustainable peace and development. Peace-building strategies
must be coherent and tailored to the specific needs of the country concerned, based on national
ownership and should comprise a carefully prioritised sequenced, and relatively narrow set of
activities aimed at achieving the above objectives'' (United Nations Peace-building Fund, 2018;
1).
Notwithstanding the divergence of opinions that may befall the definitions of the concept, the
UNDPF (2018) opined that peace-building is generally designed to achieve the following goals;
1. Establish the Drivers of & Causes of Armed Conflicts in a Country
2. Build capacities in national government and its institutions in a way that government is
capable of fighting violent conflict and restoring peace in its country.
3. Establish systems of social cohesion in the society that can that help to build peace
4. Connect the citizens to the state by strengthening state/civil society relations and building
public trust and political legitimacy.

If these are the major objectives of peace-building in the developed and developing worlds,
why is it difficult to achieve relative peace in conflict-ridden societies? Peace-building in conflict-
ridden societies is one of the most difficult tasks for most countries of the world particularly in
the developing world where government either lacks funds to address the conflicts or does not
have the manpower to face its armed groups. Because conflict-ridden societies are usually
fragile societies in terms of their vulnerability to violent conflict, peace-building is not only
cumbersome to address, it is tasking for many national governments, the United Nations,
regional governments and foreign allies.

A number of issues often determine whether peace-building will be successful in conflict-ridden

societies; (1.) Attitude of the state to the Peace-process (2) Attitude of the
Stakeholders/Warring Parties to the Peace-process (3) Ability to Determine and Understand the
Magnitude of the Problem at Home (4) Ability to Understand the Root Causes of the Conflicts
(5) Ability to Utilise the Available Human and Material Capital for the Management of the
Conflict (6) Ability to Monitor Dissenting Voices in the Peace-process (7) Ability to Prevent a
Relapse to Violent Conflict (8) Effective Management of information that will aid in the
formidable of contending issues among the feuding parties.

Considering the level of development of most developing nations, peace building is always a
huge challenge to government and the international community. Even in situations where
national government has the required resources to address a violent conflict, the politics of
resource control also serves as a setback to the peace process.

8.7.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you understand by peace building?
2. Why is it necessary for the peace makers to understand the magnitude of the problem in a
conflict-ridden society?
3. Who do we refer to as peace makers?
8.7.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)
1. Identify two peace-building strategies used by the Federal Government of Nigeria to
deescalate violence in the Niger Delta?

2. Which peace makers featured prominently in the Federal Government peace-building in the
Niger Delta in 2015?

3. Identify two conflict-ridden societies in Africa and explain the reasons why they qualify to be
grouped into this category.
8.8 Processes of Peace-Building in Conflict Ridden Societies
There are different stages in building peace in a society. Based on global best practices, the
processes of peace-building may be classified into the following; (1) Preventive Diplomacy (2)
Peace Making (3) Peace Keeping (4) Peace Enforcement (5) Peacebuilding or Stabilization
phase.
Since every conflict, will always have a beginning, a middle and an end, peace building
processes can be further divided into three; (1) Onset Phase (2) Transitional Phase (3)
Stabilisation Phase. Let us now look at the various stages in peace building:

(1) Onset Phase/Conflict Phase

1. Preventive Diplomacy
This is the stage at which national government and other peace makers in a society work hard
to prevent disputes from arising or prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflict. In
preventive diplomacy, the peace makers are expected to explore all avenues of diplomacy with
the aggrieved parties in a dispute with the hope of preventing a conflict from occurring
(Uesugki, 2004).
1. Peace Making
This is the process of bringing the hostile parties to an agreement. It is the process of finding
the meeting points in the issues tabled before a peace committee. In a society where the peace
mediators are very good and the parties are desirous of resolving their disputes, conflict may
not even arise in the first instance. Preventive diplomacy entails tracing the roots and drivers of
a disputes and finding ways to prevent such forces from escalating conflict in the society
(Uesugki, 2004).

3. Mid-Conflict Phase
1. Peace-Keeping
Peace Keeping is the presence of peace keepers in a country to help deescalate conflicts,
monitor the implementation of arrangements relating to the control of the conflict (such as
cease-fire) and work hard towards the resolution of the conflict by encouraging parties to sign
peace pact (Uesugki, 2004).

4. Humanitarian Aids
As conflict is ongoing in a country, UN peacemakers and other members of the international
community who are desirous of giving aids to the victims of armed conflicts are expected to
identify individuals affected by the conflicts and create refugee camps where various types of
humanitarian aids are given to them. Usually, the UN missions come with food, clothes and
medical aids to support the victims of such conflict particularly children, women and the aged
(Shonode, 2004; Uesugki, 2004). For instance, UN Peacekeeping missions are in the Democratic
Republic of Congo and Somalia to restore sanity to these countries.

(5) Stabilisation Phase

(1) Peace-building
The stabilisation phase is the phase at which the peacebuilders help government monitor the
peace process, prevent escalation of violent conflicts and help build confidence in the state. This
phase is very important to the entire peace process because it is the stage at which government
can authoritatively say that it has restored peace to the society. In Nigeria, the stabilisation
phase can be likened to the periods when the Nigerian governments rebuilt schools allegedly
destroyed by Boko Haram sect in the north-eastern part of the country.

8.8.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is peace-building?
2. How does peace-making differ from peace keeping?
3. Who are the possible peace builders in a developing society?

8.8.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Discuss the Federal Government of Nigeria's Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta under
former President Umar Musa Yaardua, and explain how it has contributed to peace building in
the Niger Delta.
2. Identify a programme undertaken by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address the
herdsmen-farmers conflict in the middle belt.
3. Describe how cease-fire worked in Congo to end its 1998-2003 war.

8.9 Agencies involved in Peace-Building in Africa

Peace is always very costly to buy, once a society loses it. The task of returning peace to a
society that has been sacked by war or ravaged by conflict is always a major problem to many
people around the world. Whether in the developed world or developing capitalist societies, it is
better to avoid conflict than to allow peace evade a society.

Agencies of peace are the agencies of government, institutions of the global community and the
people that help transmit messages of hope and messages of peace to the citizens in war-torn
or conflict-ridden societies. These institutions will be discussed in this section:

1. National Government and Peace-Building in Africa

The first agency of peace in any society that is confronted by conflict is the national
government. By constitutional provisions, national governments are usually empowered to
protect their citizens from both internal and external aggressions. In discharging these
responsibilities, every national governmentestablishes the police, the army and internal security
intelligence agencies.

Besides these, they are expected to establish humanitarian agencies that help government
deliver humanitarian aids to those affected by conflicts and monitor human rights abuse in
refugee camps. In advanced democracies, human rights group are allowed to serve as peace
brokers and help government deepens the peace process. The reverse is ,however, the case in
most developing countries.
For instance, in many African countries, one of the first steps that most African leaders often
take is to use police force to dowse tension in conflict ravaged societies. Has this approach
worked? Of course, it has not worked in many countries in the last five decades of the
continent's transition to postcolonial era.

i. The Police
The police is the first agent of peace building in many African societies but its activities have
come with sharp criticisms. The Human Rights Watch (2010) and Amnesty International (2018)
note that the attitudes of the police in conflict-ridden societies are far below international
standards. From extra-judicial killings to torture, the police in Africa have been accused of
violating the human rights of the people affected by wars or conflicts.

2. The Army & Other Armed Forces and Peace-building in Africa

The army, the air-force, the navy and other security agencies have also been involved in peace
keeping operations across the African continent. Like the police, the army's involvement in
peace-keeping operations in many African countries have also come with criticisms. For
instance, Amnesty International (2018) reports that human rights abuse by the military is a
regular occurrence in many developing countries. The agency cites the examples of Burkina
Faso, Mauritania, Eritrea, Cameroon, Nigeria where suspects accused the military of torturing
them.

2. Sub-Regional Agencies -Economic Community of West African States and Peace

Building in Africa
Sub-regional agencies like Economic Community of West-African States also play active role in
peace-building in Africa. Established to fight for the economic and political interests of countries
in the West-African sub-region, ECOWAS MONITORING GROUP (ECOMOG) contributed
significantly to the successful restoration of peace to Liberia) and Sierra Leone when the
countries were devastated by wars in the 1990s.

3. Regional Agencies-the African Union and Peace Building in Africa

The African Union is the organisation of 55 African countries. It is saddled with the protection of
the social, political and economic interests of Africans around the world. Since its emergence in
2002 as a replacement of the Organisation of Africa Unity, the AU has played active roles in
peace-building in continent. It has, through its peacekeeping operations, assisted in peace
process and taken part in post-conflict reconstruction and development in countries such as
Sudan, South-Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria (African
Union, 2018).

4. The United Nations Security Council and Peace Building

The UN Security Council is one of the six principal agents of the United Nations created in 1946
after the Second World War to help maintain global peace and security. In 2005, the UN
strengthened the capacity of the Security Council by establishing the UN Peace Building Fund
following a paradigm shift on peace building and security around the world.

Although the UN Security Council has been criticizedfor being dominated by the Western
countries, its peace missions in war-torn African countries such as the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Somalia and South-Sudan cannot be underestimated (Dedring, 2004; Uesugki, 2004).
Just recently, the Nigeria's deadly terrorist organisation, Boko Haram is reported to have
executed one of the peace brokers of the UN working in the north-eastern part of the country.
This is one of the several prices the UN and other peace brokers pay across the African
continent.

5. Foreign Allies, Citizens, Joint-Military Operations and Peace-building in Africa

Because government and the international community cannot do it along, the task of peace
building in developed and developing worlds has now been taken as a joint enterprise. Apart
from the foreign countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada and
Russia that have been playing prominent role in peace building around the world, increasingly,
private individuals and non-governmental organisations are becoming more visible in the peace
enterprise than in the 1990s.

8.9.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is the role of national government in peace-building in Africa?
2. How does ECOWAS contribute to peace-building in Africa?
3. Discuss the critical role of the UN Security Council in global peace.
In-Text Answers (ITAs)

8.9.2 In-text Activities (ITAs)

1. Select and discuss two African countries where UN Peace Building is currently engaged in
peace-building
2. Compare UN operations in South-Sudan with those in the Democratic Republic of Congo
3. Using Liberia as a case study, discuss five specific peace operations undertaken by ECOWAS
in this country during the country's war.

8.10 The Challenges and Prospects of Peace-Building in Africa

With the increasing proliferation of weapon of mass destruction and the rising influence of
globalisation on world civilisations, the world is more likely to witness more conflicts in the next
five decades unless urgent actions are taken by the international community. Just as the
conflicts are proliferating so also the challenges facing governments in combating terrorism and
ending conflicts in their countries.

Several challenges currently face African governments. These include (i) Addressing the root
causes of conflicts (ii) Building a virile and democratic state can urgently address the problem of
inequality that is fuelling the crisis (iii) Building the economy and repositioning to address
poverty and material deprivation (iv) Addressing age-long injustice through legal and
constitutional review and reconstruction, and (vi) Developing virile institutions that can
effectively help to build peace in these countries.

The prospect for peace in Africa is high because African leaders are increasingly coming to the
realisation that one-party regime and statist approach to the management of the economy can
no longer guarantee peace (Mbaku, 2015). The interest in institutional reforms and state
reconstruction is increasingly high in many African countries. As the political economies of these
countries improve, conflicts arising from economic deprivation are likely to wane while political
reforms are expected to deepen inclusive institutions in African countries.

8.10.1 In-text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you understand by inclusive institutions?
2. How can inclusive institutions help deepen peace in Africa?
3. What is the role of the state in peacebuilding?

8.10.2 In-Test Activities (ITAs)

1. Examine five roles of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) an agent of peace
building in Nigeria.
2. Cite two cases where police intervention in a conflict situation led to the resolution of a
conflict in Nigeria
3. Cite two cases where the intervention of the Nigerian military has helped to protect innocent
people in the northeast.

8.11 Summary of Study Session 8

In this study session, you have learnt the role of crime and security in peace building in Africa.
You have been taught that peace is a basic necessity of life because it creates a conducive
atmosphere for every citizen to exercise his/her freedoms. Because of the nature of African
societies, peace has however become a major problem in postcolonial era. This study session
has highlighted several factors such as colonial legacy, poor governance system, corruption,
ineptitude of African leaders, arms proliferation etc. The study session, however,concluded that
the hope for peace in the 21st century Africa is high following the return of democracy to the
continent.

8.11.1Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs)

1. What is crime?
Crime is any action that violates the criminal law of any country which is punishable by the
government of such country where the law is violated.
2. What is security?
Security is a broad concept that is often to describe all activities that pertain to the protection of
lives and property of the citizens either by their national government or the international
community.
3. What is peace building?
Peace building is a broad concept that is used to describe all activities designed to bring peace
back to a society that is ravaged by conflict or to prevent conflict from occurring in the first
instance.
4. What is the impact of armed conflicts on peace and security in Africa?
Armed conflicts, whether civil war or terrorism, are deleterious to the peace and security in
Africa. They have caused the death of millions of people in in Nigeria, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Mali,
Somalia, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya etc.
5. What is the prospect for peace in Africa?

The prospect for peace in Africa is high following the return of democracy and the sudden shift
of the attention of the global community to peace in Africa. With legal, economic and political
reforms, it is expected that Africa will overcome the challenges of armed conflicts in the
continent.

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Smock, D. (2009). Crisis in the Niger Delta, Washington D.C., United States Institute of Peace

Thomson, V. (2012). Boko Haram and Islamic Fundamentalism in Nigeria, Global Security
Studies, 3 46-60

Uesugki, J. (2004). The Nexus Between UN Peacekeeping and Human Security: Reviewing the
Functions of UN Peacekeeping from a Perspective of Human Security in Shinoda, Hideaki
& Jeong, Ho-Won Conflict and Human Security: A Search for New Approaches of Peace-
Building, Japan, Institute of Peace Science, Hiroshima.

UN News (2017). Nigeria: UN Chief Condemns the Killing of Aids Workers by Boko Haram
Insurgents, https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/03/1004022

United Nations Development Programme (2017) Human Development Report: 2017, UNDP
United Nations Office On Drug and Crime Control (2005) Crime and Development in Africa,
UNODC

United Nations Peace-building Fund (2018). Preventing a Relapse into Violent Conflict,
http://www.unpbf.org/application-guidelines/what-is-peacebuilding

World Bank (2017) Rapid Urbanisation in Africa: Investing in the Development of Africa's Cities,
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2017/05/02/rapid-urbanization-in-africa-
investing-in-the-development-of-africas-cities
 Study Section 9
POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHIC ISSUES IN AFRICA

9.0INTRODUCTION
In this study session, you will learnabout the dynamics of human population.This will enable
you to become familiar with concepts like demography, fertility, mortality, migration, census,
population policies, family planning and population theory. However, you will be able to obtain
a very good score in this session by studying the entire session carefully, attempting all in-text
questions (ITQs) and participating in the Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs)in order to get a
good grade for yourself.

Learning Outcomes for Study Session 9

At the end of this study session, you should be able to:
 Define the concepts of population and demography
 List the components of population
 Identify measurements of fertility and mortality
 List the sources of demographic data
 Highlight the consequences of rapid population growth
 Define population policy

9.1 WHAT IS POPULATION AND DEMOGRAPHY?

What do you understand by the term “population’?In the context of population studies, the
term “population” refers to the inhabitants of a particular territory. A territory can be a country,
a state, a local government area or community. Population can also be referred to as a group of
people co-existing within a specific geographical area. It can equally be used to describe
subpopulations within group such as the population of males, population of females, population
of youth, population of married people, population of the unemployed, population of those in
school,population of the Hausa, the Igbo and the Yoruba, and so on and so forth.In all, the
term describes the collection of human beings in a particular geographical location either as a
whole or as a component part.

Demography, on the other hand,is the branch of social sciences that studies human population.
It involves the scientific description of human population. It focuses on the scientific
examination of population size (the number of people in the population), analysis of
thestructureof population (the composition according to age, sex, marital statusand other
characteristics etc.),examination of the distribution of the population (the spatial dispersal or
spread such as how many people are living in rural areas relative to those living in urban areas)
and population change.The study of human population is very essential because it gives
knowledge of the size, structure and rate of growthof the population.Such knowledge helps
governments and policymakers to make proper planning for the citizens.According to 2018
World Population Data Sheet, Nigeria isestimated to be about 196 million people.Thisrepresents
the seventh most populous country in the world. China, with about 1,394 billion people, is the
most populous country in the world followed closely by India with 1,371 billion people
(Population Reference Bureau [PRB], 2018).

9.1.1 In-Text Questions (ITQs):

 Distinguish between population and demography
9.In-Text Activities (ITAs):
 Check the current population of Nigeria and state the first and seventh most populous
countries in the world.
In-Text Answers (ITAs):
 The term “population”means the collection of human beings in a particular geographical
location either as a whole or as a component part.
 The current population of Nigeria is 195.9 million. The first most populous country in the
world is China, and Nigeria is the seventh most populous country in the world.

9.2 Components of Population

Demography was defined earlier as the scientific study of human population in terms of its size,
structure, distribution and population change. The components of population size and changes
are fertility, mortality and migration. What this means is that,it is the interactions of these three
elements that operate to shape the population of a country or any geographical territory.

9.2.1 Fertility:
Fertility refers to the incidences of live birth by women in a population. It is defined as the
actual reproductive performance of individuals, couples or groups.Another related concept in
the study of fertilityis fecundity. However, whilefertilityis based on actual live births or children
born alive, fecundity is the potential level of performance. In other words, fecundity has to do
with the physical capability to bear children by men and women. Among women, it relates to
the ability to conceive or become pregnant, while in men, it entailsthe ability of the male sperm
to fertilize egg.

9.2.2 Mortality:
The study of mortality deals with the effect of death in a population. Death is inevitable and it is
bound to occur in every human society. Thus, mortality refers to death as a component of
population change. Members of every society experience death from time to time but the rate
at which it occurs is linked to a number of factors such as age, sex, race, occupation and social
class. The incidencesand patterns of death in a countrycan reveal information about the
country’s standard of livingandavailability of health care and level of development.

9.2.3 Migration:
Migration has to do with movement of people from one location to another involving a change
in the place ofusual residence.Not all movements that involved a change of place of usual
residence translate to migration. For a movement to qualify as a migratory movement, it must
meet two criteria. (i) The time duration. Here, the movement must last for at least, one year. In
some cases, a six-month cut off mark or interval is adopted (Adepoju, 2010). Consequently, any
movement with time duration of less than six months, in this case, is not classified as migratory
movement. (ii) The second criterion is crossing a political or administrative boundary. For a
movement to be classified as migration, the mover must cross an administrative border that is
politically demarcated, and this can be state boundary (in the case of internal migration) or
national boundary (in the case of international migration).

As you might have noticed, there are two types of migration: (i) Internal Migration and (ii)
International Migration. Internalmigration isa movement from one location to another involving
a change of place of usual residence and crossing a political or administrative boundary within
the country.According to this definition, a person moving from Ogun State to Edo State is
involved in internal migration, provided it is within the same country.

In internal migration, coming into another location is referred to as in-migration, while going
out is termed out-migration. A person who is involved in in-migration is an in-migrant, and the
one moving out is an out-migrant.Movement from one location to another within the same local
government is known as change of residence. Such a change or movement does not entail
migration because no political boundary was crossed.

On the other hand, international migration has to do with any movement across international
boundaries. Thus, a person moving from Nigeria to Togo, or Nigeria to France is involved in
international migration. In international migration, moving out is known as emigration, while
coming in is referred to as immigration.A person moving out of a country is known as emigrant,
while the one coming into a country is called immigrant.

From the foregoing, it should be clear that the size of the population of any country can only
change through the processes of fertility, mortality and migration. There are only two ways of
entering a population: being born (i.e., fertility) or moving into the population (i.e., in-migration
or immigration). There are equally only two ways of leaving a population: dying (i.e., mortality)
or moving out (i.e., out-migration or emigration).

9.2.4.In-Text Questions (ITQs):

You have been introduced to the components of population. Assess how much you have learnt
about it by considering the following questions:
i. Identify the components of population.
ii.Differentiate between international migration and internal migration.
iii. What is the difference between out-migrant and immigrant?
In-text Answers
i. The components of population are: fertility, mortality and migration.
ii. International migration is the movement of people from one country to another that involves
a change of place of usual residence, whereas internal migration has to do with movement that
involves crossing local administrative boundaries such as state’s or local government’s
boundaries that entails change in the place of usual residence.
iii. An out-migrant is a person that moves from one state or local government into another with
the intention of changing the place of usual residence; while an immigrant is a person coming
into a country from another country.

9.3 Measurements of Components of Population

Earlier in this session, demography was defined as the scientific study of human population in
terms of the size, structure and distribution.Some components that affect population size were
also discussed. Expectedly, these components have the way they operate to contribute to the
size and shape of a population. In this segment, we shall identify the various ways by
whichthese three elements of population can be measured:

9.3.1 Measurements of Fertility

The various measures of fertility are:
1. Crude Birth Rate(CBR):
2. Child-Woman Ratio (CWR)
3. Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR)
4. General Fertility Rate (GFR)
5. Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
6. Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR)
7. Net Reproduction Rate (NRR)

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

Crude birth rate measures the number of live births per 1,000 population, over the total
population of a given territory, in a given year. It is very easy to calculate, but its major
limitation is that it puts togetherthe total population irrespective of age and sex.It is computed
as follows:
CRB = Number of Live Birthsx K, where K=1,000
Total Population

Crude birth rate shows, at a glance, the level of fertility in a country, and at the same time, it
can be taken as indicative of the level of a country’s development. In general, the higher a
country is developed, the lower is the fertility.

Child-Woman Ratio (CWR)

This measures the ratio of children under age five years, to women of childbearing age, per
1,000 women of childbearing ages, within a specific geographical territory, in a given
year.Women of childbearing age are usually regarded as women between ages 15 and 49
years. The formula for calculating CWR is:
CWR = Children age 0-4 yearsx K, K= 1,000.
Women ages 15-49

Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR)

Age Specific Fertility Rate (ASFR) measures the rate of births to women of a given age group
per 1,000 women in that age group. In population and demographic studies, women are said to
pass through seven age groups in the course of their childbearing years beginning from age 15
years and ending at age 49 years, with a five-yearinterval between successive groups.They are:
15 – 19, 20 - 24, 25 – 29, 30 – 34, 35 – 39, 40- 44, 45 – 49.Thus, ASFR measures fertility rates
of each age group from the first group through the last group.

General Fertility Rate (GFR)

General Fertility Rate measures the number of live birthsper 1,000 women of reproductive ages
(age 15-49 years) divided by the number of women in reproductive ages, within a specified
territory, in a given year. This is more refined than CBR because it relates birth more closely to
women of childbearing ages. It is given by:

GFR = Number of Live Birthsx K, K= 1,000.

Women ages 15-49

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Total Fertility Rate measures the average number of children that a woman will give birth to
alive during her life time if she passed through her childbearing ages conforming to the age
specific fertility rate. Just as CBR, TFR can also be used as in indicator of socio-economic
development of a population. In most highly developed nations, TFR is usually low, while the
reverse is the case in developing nations (National Population Commission [NPC] & ICF
International, 2017).

Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR)

This represents the average number of daughters that would be born alive to a woman during
her life time, if she passedthrough her childbearing ages conforming to the ASFR of that
population. This is similar to Total Fertility Rate, but the difference is that GRR is concerned
with only daughters while TFR looks at children as a whole, that is both males and females.

Net Reproduction Rate (NRR)

NNR measures the average number of daughters that would be born alive to a woman in her
life time if she passed through her childbearing ages conforming to the ASFR and mortality
rates. Net Reproduction Rate issimilar to GRR, but it takes into account the rate at which people
die through the different age groups.In other words, NRR recognizes that people die and works
to account for it in its calculation.
9.3.2 Measurements of Mortality
Every human population experience deaths of its members, especially deaths among children
and women. The rates and patterns of deaths can reveal the standard of living and the
condition of health care services in a population. The following are some of the ways by which
the occurrence of deaths in a population is measured in demography.
1. Crude Death Rate (CDR)
2. Age Specific Death Rate (ASDR)
3. Cause Specific Death Rate (CSDR)
4. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)
5. Child Mortality Rate (CMR)
6. Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

Crude death rate measures the number of deaths per 1,000 population, over total population. It
is similar to CBR, but its focuses on mortality or incidences of deaths, while CBR is mainly
concerned with birth rates. It is calculated by multiplying the number of deaths in a population
by 1,000, divided by the total population.

Thus, CDR = Number of Deathsx K, K= 1,000.

Total Population

Age Specific Death Rate (ASDR)

Age Specific Death Rate is obtained by computing death rate separately for each age group. It
helps to understand the rate of death that occurs in a particular age or age group.

Cause Specific Death Rate (CSDR)

This is usually adopted to measure the number of deaths due to a specific cause such as
disease, accident, armed robbery and social conflict.It is calculated by computing the number of
deaths per specific cause, multiplied by 100,000, over total population.
Thus, CSDR = Number of Deaths per specific causex K, K= 1,000.
Total Population

Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

Infant Mortality Rate measures the death of live born children who have not reached age one.
It is defined as death by infants who are less than one year, per 1,000 live births in a given
year.

IMR= Deaths of infants less than a year oldx K, K= 1,000.

Number of Live Births
Sometimes, deaths of newborn within the first four weeks are examined. This is known as neo-
natal period. Neo-natal period could be early neo-natal or late neo-natal periods. The
measurement of the death of children within the first four weeks of their birth is referred to as
Neo-Natal Mortality (NNM). It is calculated thus:
NNM= Death of infants 0 – 28 days x K, K= 1,000.
Live Births

Early Neo Natal Mortality (ENNM) has to do with deaths of infants within the first one week.

Therefore, ENNM = Deathof infants 0-7 daysx K, K= 1,000.

Live Births

Child Mortality Rate (CMR)

Child Mortality Rate is usually measured by the number of deaths of children who are between
ages one and four (ages 1–4years), per 1,000 population of those ages 1-4 years in a given
population. It is computed as follows:
CMR= Number of Deathsof children ages 1-4 yearsx K, K= 1,000.
Population of children ages 1-4 years

Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)

Maternal Mortality Rate takes account of the number of women who die in the course of
childbearing, per 100,000 live births within a given population, in a given year. Such deaths are
considered as deaths within 28 days after delivery. It is calculated as follows:
MMR = Number of MaternalDeathsx K, K= 100,000.
Number of Live Births

Measurements of Migration
Both at national and international levels, net migration and gross migration can be calculated. It
was noted earlier that in international migration, coming into a country is known as
immigration, while moving out is emigration. To measure net migration rate (NMR) for
international migration:
NMR = 1- ExK,
P
Where K=1,000; I = Immigration; E= Emigration, P = Total population.
Immigration Rate = 1 x 1,000
P
Emigration Rate = E x 1,000
P
Gross Migration Rate (GMR) for international migration is calculated by adding Immigration and
Emigration multiplied by 1,000, over total population.
That is: GMR= 1+ E x K
 P
Similarly, in calculating rates for internal migration:
I = In-Migration, O= Out-Migration, P = Population, K= 1,000.
Thus, Net Migration Rate = 1- 0 x K
P
Gross Migration Rate = 1+ 0 x K
P
In-Migration Rates = 1 x K
P
Out-Migration Rate = O x K
P
9.3.4 In-Text Questions
i.List five measures of fertility and four measures of mortality

In-Text Answers (ITAs)

Measures of Fertility:
i. Crude Birth Rate (CBR):
ii. Child-Woman Ratio (CWR)
iii. General Fertility Rate (GFR)
iv Total Fertility Rate (TFR)
v. Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR)

Measures of Mortality:
i. Crude Death Rate (CDR)
ii. Age Specific Death Rate (ASDR)
iii. Cause Specific Death Rate (CSDR)
iv. Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)

9.4 Sources of Population and Demographic Data

Demographic analysis involves the use of a wide-range of information on population trend and
characteristics. The availability of demographic data and knowing where to find the information
constitute important aspects of demographic analysis. The principal sources of information for
the study of population are population censuses, vital statistics/registrations and surveys
(Rowland, 2003).

9.4.1 Population Census

A census is a national enumeration of an entire population at the same time. It is the total head
count of every person living in a defined geographical territory simultaneously at a particular
time such as a fixed date usually referred to as Census Day (Oyekanmi, 2011). A widely
recognized definition of census given by the United Nations (UN) is the process of collecting,
compiling and publishing demographic, economic and social data pertaining to all persons in a
country or delineated territory at a specified time (UN, 1975).The UN recommended that census
should be conducted at regular interval of every five years (known as quinquennial census) or
every ten years (known as decennial census). Whichever interval a country decides to follow,
population census is expected to be carried out at regular intervals. It is a major source of
information for a country for the effective and strategic planning and management of national
resourcesand delivery of social services.

9.4.2 Vital Statistics

Most countries have a registration system that collects information from individuals when they
experience vital events such as birth, death, marriage and divorce. The data generated through
these sources are usually compiled for publication in the country’s annual vital statistics
bulleting.Some of these sources include the following:

9.4.3 Vital Registrations: This has to do with a continuous, permanent and compulsory
recording of the occurrence of vital events and their characteristics. Such events include births,
deaths, marriages and divorce. In almostall developed countries, registration of these events is
compulsory and certificates are issued bythe institution or official legally responsible for the
assignment. Such certificates are used for purposes of identification, entering a legal contract,
life insurance policies; and where proof of such characteristics as age, marital status, inter alia
is required, the certificates are presented.

9.4.4 Surveys: Survey involves the collection of data from a segment or sample of a larger
population.Whereas censuses collect data on entire population at a point in time, surveys collect
from a fraction of the population and inferences are made about the larger population on the
basis of the survey.

9.4.5 Migration Register:Although not regarded as part of vital registration system,

manycountries take record and information about people moving in and out of the country. This
information is recorded and kept in aregister called migration register.Data relating to this are
usually collected on international arrival and departure points by immigration officials at ports of
embarkation and disembarkation – land, sea, road and air. One major challenge of this source
is that it is unable to capture information on migrants using illegal or unconventional routes.
While information from migration register is important and enables a country to have an idea on
the level of migration flow in and out of the country, the problem of illegal migration makesdata
from this source inaccurate.

9.4.6 In-Text Questions:

i.State the importance of census.
ii. Why are data from migration register not quite reliable?

In-Text Answers:
i. Census is important because itenables government to understand the total number of people
living in a country and the structure of the population. Information from census helps
government to make plans and budgets for the citizens.
ii. Migration register is not quite reliable because some people travel through illegal means, and
theirinformation cannot be included in the register, making the register inaccurate.
9.5. Theories of Population
Theories are useful tools for explaining social phenomena. A theory is a systematic and logically
interconnected body of ideas that is used to provide explanation to events or phenomena.
Population theories, therefore, are explanations that have been offered by population and
demographic scholars in attempts to provide interpretations tothe issues of population growth
in human society. Over the years, a number of theories of population have been developed by
scholars in the area of population. Some of these theories include Malthusian Theory (derived
from Revered Thomas Malthus), Demographic Transition Theory (DTT), Caldwell’ Wealth-Flows
Theory, Human Ecology Theory, and Proximate Determinant Theory, among others (Poston &
Bouvier, 2010).For the present purpose, only the DTT and Caldwell’ Wealth-FlowsTheory will be
considered.
The Demographic Transition Theory (DTT)
The Demographic Transition Theory (DTT) is a dominant theoretical model in demographic
discourse. The theory describes demographic changes that had taken place over the years in
advanced industrialized nations, and the ongoing demographic changes in developing countries.
The origin of the theory is associated with the work of an American Demographer, Warren
Thompson, circa 1929; and later continued by another American Demographer, Frank Wallace
Notestein, in 1945. In its original formulation, the DTT involved three stages; but recent
research indicates that the transition has reached about a fourth, and possibly a fifth stage.

The first stage (i.e. the pre–decline stage) is the stage in which death and birth rates are high
and roughly in balance, leading to little or no population growth. The second stage is the
transitional stage. Here, death rate drops rapidly due to technological innovations that brought
about improvements in food supply and health care services; but birth rate remains relatively
high (Weeks, 2004). In stage three, birth rate falls due to access to contraceptives,
urbanization, and reduction in subsistence agriculture, increase in the status and education of
women, a reduction in the value of children’s work, government policies and other social
changes. Consequently, population growth occurs at low rate annually. Current version of
Demographic Transition proposes four stages of fertility and mortality decline that follow the
process of ongoing modernization of human society (Poston & Bouvier, 2010).

Although the DTT is elaborate, the theory has been criticized for being over-determined and
generalized in assuming that all countries will go through the same fertility experiences as
Europe, without consideration for subtleties and variability in the transition process (Oyefara,
2005). Hence, some authors are calling for its reformulation.Notwithstanding the supposed
shortcomings of the DTT, the theory has been adjudged useful in some of its basic postulates,
especiallyits ability to link population to level of development (Weeks, 2004).
Wealth-Flows Theory
The Wealth-Flows Theory, or Caldwell’s Theory of Intergenerational Wealth–Flows, is a
theoretical framework that was developed to interpret the role of economic rationality on high
fertility, particularly in Africa. The theory evolved from research efforts on fertility dynamics in
West Africa, notably from the works of an Australian demographer, John Charles Caldwell in the
1980s. Caldwell postulates that wealth (economic gain) can flow from children to parents
(wealth through labour, favouring high fertility), or from parents to children (costs of
training/rearing and supporting children); and depending on the direction of net wealth–flows,
there is always a corresponding fertility desire which affects the tendency to limit number of
children or not. This consideration, it is argued, expressed itself in the willingness to adopt or
not to adopt modern family planning methods (Bankole, 2000; Caldwell, 1982).

The theory has been adopted to explain high level of fertility in most agrarian and informal
economies where having many children is considered a huge investment that would yield
returns to the family. Caldwell maintains that in societies with net upward wealth flows, the
economic rational decision is to want to have many surviving children because each additional
child improves the parents’ wealth, enhances the chances of better security in old age, and
guarantees social and political well-being.

Scholars have attempted to test the Wealth-Flows Theory to determine if changes in the
economic roles of children are associated with changes in fertility. In their studies, DeLancey
(1990) and Makinwa-Adebusoye (1994) found evidence in sub-Saharan Africa that parents
perceived upward wealth-flows (from children to parents) in high fertility contexts. However, as
society transits from agrarian to industrial society with positive changes in the level of
urbanization, there is supposed to be a corresponding desire for fewer children in consonance
with the diminishing need for many hands for farm work in agrarian-rural economy. But that is
not the case as records indicate that even with the changes or transition taking place such as
increasing urbanization and rural-urban migration in some parts of Africa, for instance
Nigeria,people, especially in Africa, still like to have many children leading to rapid population
growth(Isiugo-Abanihe, 2003).

Furthermore, among some families and groups across the Nigerian socio-cultural and ethnic
spaces such as the Yoruba and the Igbo, observational and anecdotal evidence indicates that
some men with large number of children tend to transfer wealth to their children. That is,
wealth moves or flows from them (the parents) to their children; rather than from children to
parents). Yet, they have large number of children.

Caldwell’s Wealth-Flows hypothesis has also come under attack by other scholars on theoretical
grounds. Willis (1982) for instance, argues that members of an altruistic older generation tend
to see offspring’s success as a substitute for their own, and will therefore be willing to invest in
offspring human capital at a higher rate than would be predicted, if parents were acting
exclusively in their own self-interest. Similarly, some studies that involved micro-level data
analysis in India did not show evidence of upward intergenerational transfer of wealth in fertility
context (Das-Gupta, 1994; Vlassoff, 1982). Be that as it may, the theory remains relevant to
fertility researchers in Africa today as the question of high fertility in much of sub-Saharan
Africa remains unresolved.

9.5.1 In-Text Questions

i.State the characteristics of the first three stages of the DTT.

In-Text Answers
The first stage is characterized by high fertility and high mortality, leading to low population
growth rate. The second stage consists of low mortality and high fertility resulting in population
increase. The thirds stage is characterized by low fertility and low mortality and consequently,
low rate of population growth.

9.6. Consequences of Rapid Population Growth

The question of whether rapid population growth constitutes a problem to national development
has been a subject of intense debate. Some scholars, especially those leaning towards socialists
and Marxistsideas deny the existence of population problems, and denounced attempts at
attributing societal problems to rapid populationgrowth as naive. According to them, any talk
about population problem in a capitalist society is a tactic to divert attention from the real
issues of exploitation, corruption and class conflict.They attribute all problems in human society
to capitalist organizationof the society (Kelley, 1988).

However, some scholars have noted that, given any specific level of knowledge and pattern of
social organisation, there are limits to the number of people who can be supported by the
resources available within a limited geographical region (Mamdani, 1972).In other words, there
are inevitable economic, social and environmental consequences of a population expanding
beyond the means of sustenance in human society. At the economic level, unregulated
population can lead to unemployment and famine. This was demonstrated to an extreme form
in 1984 and 1985 in the famine experienced by the population of the Sahel countries such as
Ethiopia (Findlay & Findlay, 1991; UN, 2001).

Population growth poses a serious problem when it outpaces economic growth. For instance,
Oyekanmi (2011:28) notes that there is a link between population and per capita income, and
points out that, “on average, per capita income in high-fertility countries is less than one-twelfth
the level in low-fertility countries”. The relationships between rapid population growth and
physical, ecological and environmental degradations, as well as political destabilization are well
documented (UN, 2001; Cohen, 1995). Ehrlich (1971: 5) used the notion of “population bomb”
to capture the appalling sceneriothat follows rapid population growth.
The social consequences manifest in form of social strife, corruption and increasedcrime rate as
too many people compete for scarce available resources.Rapid population growth also leads to
environmental degration.Too many people concentrating in one place brings about congestions
and depreciation of the environment and facilities, as well as out break of diseases. Even the
current global anxiety about climate change is traceable to increase in human population
(Bolarinwa, 2010). Furthermore, when there are too many people, there would be little or no
savings for investment. Rapid population growth shifts government spending into areas such as
health andsecurity at the expense of more productive and growth-oriented investment. This
tends to frustrate development efforts and keep the country in a state of stagnation.

9.6.4 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

i. State the consequences of unregulated population growth.

In-Text Answers (ITAs)

i. Uncontrolled population growth has some consequences. They include overpopulation,
unemployment, high crime rate, environmental degradation, social strife and low per capital
income among others.

9.7 Population Policy

Policy is a set of principles or plans that are adopted by governments and policymakers to direct
the actions and activities of government in their efforts at delivering public goods and
services.Therefore, population policy can be definedas a set of statements by a government,
organization or interest groupsthat seek in deliberate ways to change and regulate the size,
growth, composition or distribution that affect population size, growth rate, composition or
distribution of a given society,accompanied by specific means of achieving them (Findlay &
Findlay, 1991; Isiugo-Abanihe, 1994).
9.7.1 Type of population policies

Population policies can be categorized into the following:

9.7.2.Expansive population policy: This is a policy that is technically designed to increase

the population of a country. This is achieved by means of three pathways. The first pathway or
approach is through the elimination of the economic liability of having children. This can be
done through the provision of free basic services such as public school, health care
facilities;provision of food to school age children, and tax reduction for large family.

The second pathway or approach is to make fundamental changes in the norms of a society in
order to accommodate certain practices such as premarital sex and early age of entering into
marital union. The third pathway or approach is by relaxing the law prohibiting illegitimate
children, abortion, and Polygyny. Expansive population policy is a pro-natalist population policy
designed to increase the population of a country.

9.7.3 Restrictive population policy: This is a deliberate policy to reduce high population
growth in the country. These are strategies used by governments to reduce the population
through various birth control mechanisms. Restrictive population policy is anti-natalby
nature.That is, it discourages bearing many children. Several countries around the world such
as China and India have adopted anti-natal policies in order to control the growth of their
population. Some of the programmes which they have used to achieve the stated goals include
funding of birth control techniques and helping people to delay marriage through higher
education.

9.7.4 In-Text Questions (ITQs):

i. Define population policy.
ii. Which category of population policy is China practising?

9.7.5 In-Text Answers (ITAs):

i. Population policy represents a set of principlesor statements by government aimed at
regulating the size, growth, composition or distribution the population of a particular territory.
ii. China is practicing restrictive population policy. The aim ofrestrictive population policy is
tolimit population growth.

9.8 Family Planning

The concept of family planning is composed of two separate words, family and planning.
Family, according to George Peter Murdock is a social group characterized by common
residence and reproduction which includes adults of both sexes, at least, two of whom maintain
a consensual sexual relationship and one or more children which may or may not begotten of
adopted children of the sexually cohabiting adults (Murdock, 1957). On the other hand,
planning refers to a systematic preparation for action. In general, every human action, unless it
is the result of a sudden impulse, is preceded by some conscious or unconscious preparation.

However, from the standpoint of population and demography, family planning refers to the
conscious effort by couples or individuals to control the number of children to have and
determine the interval between births (Pressat, 1985; UN, 2010). Eshleman and Wilson (1995)
conceived of family planning as directly related to determining whether to have children, how
many to have, and when to have, as well as selecting the means of accomplishing these ends.
The concept is sometimes used interchangeably with birth control, which means to have
children according to plan (Wallach & Grimes, 2000). Family planning is important to avoid
unintended pregnancies and induced abortion, as well as help couples to have the number of
children they can adequately cater for.
9.8.1 Methods of family planning
Family planning methods are grouped into modern methods and traditional methods. Modern
methods can be categorized into female methods and male methods. Female only methods
include the pill, intrauterine device (IUD), implants, injectables, diaphragm, foam/jelly,female
condom and female sterilization. Male methods are male condom,vasectomy and gossypol. The
traditional methods of family planning are withdrawal and rhythm methods.
Withdrawal method, known also as coitus interruptus, is probably the oldest technique which
couples adopted in order to avoid having children. It refers to the withdrawal of the penis from
the woman’s vagina just prior to ejaculation so that the semen is deposited outside the genital
tract. The rhythm method requires the knowledge of a woman’s physiology so that sex can be
avoided when she is most likely to become pregnant.

9.8.2 In-Text Questions (ITS)

i. Define family planning.

In-Text Answers (ITAs)

i. By family planning, we mean the conscious effort by couples, individuals or group of people to
control and determine when to have children and how many children to have.

9.9 HIV/AIDS and Emerging Diseases in Human Population

Disease is a universal phenomenonthat is found in one form or another in every society. In
some cultures, people mayview the event of diseases as an omen or sign relating to certain
phenomenon in that society. Whichever way the presence of disease is viewed, efforts are
made to curtailits impact on a population. Therefore, knowledge and awareness of diseases in a
population is central to curtailing the spread of deadly and contagious diseases, avoiding public
health crisis and preserving the health of the population.

The emergence ofHuman Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency System

(HIV/AIDS) brought a major health concern in human society. HIV/AIDS is a global pandemic
that is posing a serious threat to human race.AIDS itself is caused by a human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The virus is said to have originated from non-human primates. In
the course of scientific attempts to understand the nature of the virus, researchers have
discovered two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2.According to studies, HIV-1 is more contagious
and destructive, and is said to be the source of the spread and infection of the disease world
over. HIV-2 is not easily transmittable, and according to reports, it is largely confined to West
Africa (Pepin, 2011).
The AIDS epidemic has decimated a significant segment of African population especially, sub-
Saharan Africa, leaving the household and family structured disrupted.In Nigeria, the majority
of all AIDS-related deaths and an estimated 60% of all new infections occur among young
people between the ages of 15-24 years. The first HIV case in Nigeria was reported in a 13-
year-old female child in 1986 (Blum, 2009; Asubiaro et al., 2009). Currently, Nigeria has the
second highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHIV) in the world after South
Africa.

In general, Africans are much more infected and affected by HIV/ AIDS. According to a report
by the WHO (2014), sub-Saharan Africa remains the most severely affected continent,
accounting for an estimated 71% of the burden of people living with HIV/AIDS.The disease is
transmitted majorly through sexual intercourse.It can also be contracted by sharing a sharp
objectthat has been contaminated with the bloodof a person with HIV/AIDS, if the object is not
sterilized before it is used.

As a result of its deadly nature, many countries have stepped up efforts to curtail the spread of
the disease, and most of the efforts at curtailing it focused on prevention. Nigeria adopted the
ABC (abstinence, be faithful and use condom) prevention approach. However, in a society with
high level of sexual activities, the first two points (abstinence and being faithful) cannot be
relied upon as effective preventive measures.The low level of condom use among sexually
active individuals andthe prevalence of risky sexual behaviour tend to pose serious challenges
to efforts at preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.As new cases continue to be
recorded, efforts should be intensified to encourage people to know their HIV status and avoid
risky sexual behaviours

9.9.1n-Text Questions (ITQs)

9.9.1 Point out one major challenge in efforts at curtailing the spread of HIV/AIDS.

9.10 Summary of Study Session 9

In this study session, we defined population and demography. Also, the components of
population and their measurements were treated. We examined the various sources of
population and demographic data. We also considered some theories of population and
consequences of rapid population growth. Population policy was equally defined in the session
and types of population policies were treated. Furthermore, the concept of family planning was
definedwhile the methods of family planning were identified as well. The session also briefly
considered HIV/AIDS as an emerging disease and highlighted some challenges to efforts at
curtailing the spread in Nigeria.

9.10.1 Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 9

Now that you have studied this study session, do you really understand the meaning of
population and demography? Are you able to comprehend others issues treated in this study
session? Can you answer the following assessment questions? Write down in your notebook any
area that you find difficult to comprehend. Discuss this with your lecturer in the next tutorial
class.
i.Define demography
ii. List the components of population
iii. List the sources of demographic data
iv. Highlight the consequences of rapid population growth
v. List the different types of population policies
vi. Differentiate between Gross Reproduction Rate (GRR) and Net Reproduction Rate (NRR).
vii. Name the two types of HIV you learnt in this session

References/Suggestions for Further Reading

Adepoju, A. (2010). Introduction: Rethinking the Dynamicsof Migration within, from and to
Africa,International Migration: Within, to and from Africa in a globalised world. (ed.)
Aderanti Adepoju, 9-44. Legon-Accra, Ghana: Sub- Saharan Publishers.

Beyer, C. (2005). Introduction. In Kenneth H. Mayer & H.F. Pizer (eds.), The AIDS pandemic:
Impact on science and society. New York: ELSEVIER Academic Press.

Caldwell, J. C. (1982). Theory of Fertility Decline. London: Academic Pres

Ehrlich, P. (1971). The Population Bomb. New York: Sierra Club/Ballantine Books.

Findlay, A. & Findlay, A. (1991). Population and Development in the Third Word.In Bale, J. &
Drakakis-Smith, D. (eds.) Introduction to Development.London: Routledge. Pp.1-13.

Isiugo-Abanihe, U. C. (1994). Reproductive Motivation and Family Size Preferences Among

Nigerian Men. In Studies in Family Planning, Vol. 25, No. 3. Pp. 149-161.

Isiugo-Abanihe, U. C. (2003).Male Role and Responsibility in Fertility and Reproductive Health in

Nigeria. Ibadan: Centre for Population Activities and Education for Development.

Mamdani, M. (1972). The myth of population control: Family, caste and class in an India village.
Monthly Press Review, 1884. New York.

National Population Commission & ICF International (2014). Nigeria Demographic and Health
Survey 2013. Abuja and Maryland: NPC & ICF International.

Oyefara, J. L. (2005). The Position of Population Policy in Socio-Economic Development in

Nigeria, in Oyekanmi, F. A. D. (ed.) Development Crisis and Social Change. Department of
Sociology, University of Lagos, Nigeria.

Oyekanmi, F. D. (2011) Population and Development: Myths and Realities in Nigeria. An

Inaugural Lecture Delivered at the University of Lagos, Akoka, Wednesday 17, 2011.

Poston, Dudley T. & Bouvier, Leon F. (2010).Population and society: An introduction to

demography. Uk: Cambridge University Press.
Pepin, J. (2011). The origin of AIDS. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Population Reference Bureau (2018).World Population Data Sheet. Washington: PRB.

Pressat, R. (1985) The Dictionary of Demography. Oxford: Basil Blackwell Ltd.

Rengel, M. (2000) Encyclopaedia of Birth Control. Arizona: Oryx Press.

Rono, P. K. (1998). Family Size Preferences and Attitudes Towards Contraceptive Use Among
Men: The Case of Kaptumo Community in Nandi District of Kenya, in Union for African
Population Studies. No. 3, 1998.

Rowland, D. T. (2003) Demographic Methods and Concepts. Oxford University Press.

The Africa Report (2011). World’s Population Growth and Zero Anticipated Increase in Land and
Water Resources. No. 8. March 2011. P. 35

United Nations (2010) World Population. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population
Division of the United Nations, New York.
 Study Session 10

Democracy, Public Policy and National Development in Africa

10. 1. Introduction

Democracy and public policy are two sides of a coin in modern society. This is because without
democracy, it will be difficult for many governments to achieve effective and functional public
policy particularly in developing world where cabals and cartels run the government and have
hijacked the state for their personal interests. As good as democracy is, it is not all countries of
the world that have been blessed with the opportunity to enthrone democratic principles that
are capable of breaking the barriers to sustainable public policies (Ake, 1996; Ardersen, 2012;
Hope, 2009; McDonagh, 2002). Comparatively, a lot of nations in the Third World still struggle
with anti-democratic forces in their attempts to better the conditions of living of their citizenry
(Habib, 1997; Mbaku, 2015).

Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, many African countries have witnessed the collapse of
one-party regimes and the return of democracy amidst pressure from the citizenry. The return
of democracy to Africa is not incidental, both external and internal factors orchestrated by the
Cold War and the conditions in Africa made it possible (Ake, 2000; Adejumobi, 2000; Meredith,
2005).

Before the Cold War, the international community and many European nations rarely talked
about democracy in Africa. Democracy rarely appeared on the agenda of the international
community on Africa, though there were concerns about human rights abuses by military
dictatorships across the continent. The reasons for not supporting democracy in Africa before
Cold War are not far-fetched:

First, it appeared that during the Cold War, some European nations enjoyed the military and
funding support given by some African countries to the war, and reversing this relationship
would mean that the relationship between the superpower and peripheral nation would be
strained. As a result of this, majority of the authoritarian regimes in Africa enjoyed the tacit
support of world leaders who in exchange for their support enjoyed massive supply of illicit
arms and ammunition from foreign nations. In addition to this, many African leaders used the
period of the Cold War to enjoy foreign aids to bolster their hold on political power at home.

Pitched between two world powers, many African leaders at the time concentrated on their
external relations at the detriment of their societies. This eventually pushed many African
countries into massive economic crisis, corruption and gross mismanagement of the meager
resources, which should have been used to fight poverty and improve human conditions at the
time (Ake, 2000).

The second reason attached to this attitude to democracy in Africa is that the end of the Cold
War threw up new challenges about global politics, the war against corruption and the reform
of non-market economies in the developing world. Relying on emergence of America as the new
global power, the attitude of the West to Democracy in Africa changed positively. Western
countries as a result of the wave of democratization in Eastern European Europe realized that
there was no way their hold on Africa could continue without first dismantling the authoritarian
regimes in the continent. This development led to the support for democractic movements
across Africa, and the support for the war against corruption in the public service.

It is almost two decades since the return of democracy to many African countries, human
conditions have still not significantly improved. Of all the countries reported by the United
Nations Human Development Programme as belonging to the low Human Development Index in
2017, Africa is the host of the majority of these countries. What this symbolises is that there is
a disjuncture between democracy, public policy and national development in Africa.

This study session is designed to introduce us to the role of democracy and public policy in the
development of African countries.

10. 2 Learning Outcomes for Study session 10

At the end of this session, you should be able to:

1. state the meaning of democracy, public policy and national development

2. mention nature and types of democracy and public policy in Africa

3. discuss the role of democracy in the formulation and execution of public policy,

4. highlight connection between public policy formulation and execution and the development of
African countries

5. Develop the capacities to identify, analyse and explain the constraints to reforms and public
policy formulation and development in Africa

10.3 The Concepts of Democracy, Public Policy and National Development in Africa

1. Democracy

Democracy is a system of government that was invented by the Greek which was later adopted
by the West in eighteenth century following the enlightenment that swept through Europe and
eradicated all vagaries of feudalism in France. As a result of the spread of the Industrial
Revolution and the French Revolution, the ideology spread to other parts of the world. For most
African countries, it was colonialism, which forcefully imposed the system on the indigenous
African societies, and subjected the traditional institutions to Western and colonial systems of
administration (Ekeh, 1975).

Anchored on the rule of law and popular participation of the citizens, democracy is a system of
government that believes every citizen must be allowed to take part in the governance of the
affairs of his/her country. This is why the issue is central and sacrilegious to the continuity and
veracity of democracy in any country. Unlike oligarchy (which is the rule by the minority),
democracy believes that decisions which will affect the wellbeing of the society and the
livelihood of the citizenry must emanate from the public (Ake, 2000).

Democracy differs significantly from other systems of government that came before the
Industrial Revolution because it is rooted in the notion of collective ownership of government by
the people. Thus, both the election and the impeachment of government officials must not
only follow the precepts of the rule of the law, they must adhere strictly to the constitutional
requirements for the election or dismissal of public officials (Eso, 2003).

10.3.2 Types of Democracy

Over the years, scholars in the field of politics have tried to present different types of
democracy that are practised around the world. These include direct democracy, representative
democracy, liberal democracy, socialist democracy, presidential democracy, parliamentary
democracy.

1. Direct Democracy

Direct democracy is the type of democracy in which the people have direct contact with the
government of the day. It is a system whereby every citizen decides what happens in
government. Direct democracy is a much complex form of democracy because it requires that
every government in a country derives its decisions from the decision of every citizen. This is
only possible where the population of the country is small and the people do not live in far
places (Ake, 2000).

Direct democracy was the earliest form of democracy practised by the Greeks. It was nurtured
by them and then, inherited by the Europeans

2. Representative Democracy

Representative democracy is the form of democracy where the elected representatives of the
people represent them in government. It is the commonest form of democracy around the
world because of the increasing popularity of America democracy. Though representative
democracy is more expensive to practise, ironically, most African countries such as Nigeria,
India, Kenya, South-Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Benin Republic practise this form of
government.

Representative democracy is common because it gives every section of the society the
opportunity to be represented in government. Although citizens may not be directly involved in
how laws are made, through representative democracy, they elect their leaders and give them
the mandate to make laws and implement policies. Unlike the Western world, where
representative democracy gives most citizens the opportunity to elect their leaders, in most
developing countries, the choice that people make is often determined by the level of political
patronage and money-bag politics in the country. This is why elections in most in postcolonial
Africa are characterised by political violence.
3. Constitutional Democracy

Constitutional democracy is similar to representative democracy but differs slightly. In

constitutional democracies around the world, both the actions of the government and the
citizens are guided by the constitution. The constitution is the ground-norm upon which the
elected representatives of the people make laws, formulate policies and provide services to the
public.

Non-constitutional democracy is the direct opposite of constitutional democracy. It is a crude

form of democracy where the political class is not constrained by the constitution.Or it is a
situation the constitution is frequently violated by the state. In this type of society, the rule of
man prevails over the rule of law (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013). It is important to note that
non-constitutional democracy is similar to authoritarian regime where democratic institutions
exist at the mercy of cabals who dominate the state and convert its resources for personal
gains. To stretch it further, authoritarian regimes can be ruthless both in the implementation of
public policy and enforcement of the law.

4. Presidential Democracy & Parliamentary Democracy

A presidential democracy is a form of democracy in which the executive arm of government is

elected separately from the legislative arm of government. In this type of democratic system,
the chief executive is the president, who is expected to exercise strictly the executive powers as
contained in the constitution of the country. For the purpose of checks and balances,
presidential democracy allows citizens to elect their legislators, whose job is to carry out
oversight functions on the policies of government. The question is, to what extent do these
legislators carry out their oversight functions on the executive arm of government in developing
countries particularly in Africa where government is run by patronage (Mbaku, 1996).

Parliamentary system of government or parliamentary democracy is the type of democracy in

which political power is vested in an elected legislature. The legislature makes lawsand also
helps to appoint the prime minister who is expected to head the executive arm of government.
The elected legislature can remove the prime minister at any time by a vote of no confidence,
which is expected to be passed at a sitting of the legislature. Britain is one of the typical
examples of parliamentary democracies around the world. In fact, it is indeed the symbol of
parliamentary system of government in modern history.

5. Liberal Democracy

Liberal democracy is the type of democracy that is driven by neo-liberal economic policies.
Apart from proselytising popular participation of people in government, liberal democracy is out
to promote and protect neo-liberalism around the world.

Liberal democracy believes in private ownership of property and limited role of the state in the
regulation of market forces. By asking the state to play limited role, liberal democracy allows
each member of the society to participate in productive activity. This is the crux of US human
rights policy.

It should be noted that this type of democracy, which is largely practised by the United States
and its allies, does not succumb to the prism of socialism that the state should help in the
redistribution of income and eradication of social inequalities (Ake, 2000). Whether ravaged by
poverty or not, proponents of this system hope that democracy will increasingly lead to the
creation of an open society where every citizen will be free to exercise his/her right and will be
capable of fighting poverty. With the rising influence of America in the Third World, many
African leaders have increasingly claimed that they practise liberal democracy but in reality,
what they practise is ''socialist democracy'' or ''a mixture of the two''.

6. Socialist Democracy

Unlike market-driven democracy, socialist democracy believes in interventionist approach to the

management of the economy and the running of affairs of government. The system believes
that the welfare of the citizens cannot be left in the hands of the market. Market forces, if
uncontrolled by the government can impact negatively on the livelihoods of the citizens and
defeat the whole essence of democracy.

10. 3.3 Characteristics of Democracy

Democracy is often distinguished from other systems of government with the following
characteristics:

1. Popular Participation

One of the basic characteristics of democracy is popular participation of the citizens in the
affairs of their country. Because democracy is the rule of the majority, every citizen is expected
to have a voice on how the governance of his/her country is run. This is why it presents
governance structures that defer from authoritarian regimes such as military rule, one-party
regime, oligarchy etc. Unlike military regimes where citizens may not have the opportunity to
call government to question, democracy, through popular participation expects accountability,
transparency and probity to be the watchwords of government. The reverse is however the
case in most developing countries where corruption and political patronage have thwarted
political processes leading to lack of transparency of government (Mbaku, 2000).

2. Constitutionalism & The Rule Of Law

Because democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people,
government is expected to derive its legitimacy from the people. The law or the constitution,
therefore, is the tool by which the people confers authority on public officials. Without
authority, no government is legally recognised to exercise any political power. Where a public
official exercises a political power without recourse to the law, such power can be declared null
and void by a competent court of law (Eso, 2003).
3. Election

Election is the process by which the citizens of particular country exercise their franchise or
elect their representatives in government. It can also be defined as a means by which citizens
remove a government that has deviated from its electoral mandate or involved in acts of
corruption. Unlike the developed world where there stable electoral system to regulate both
the conduct of an election and the declaration of the result of the election, in most developing
countries, the conduct ofelections is usually fraught with controversy ranging from manipulation
of results, election riggings, corruption, vote-buying, intimidation of voters to political violence.

Africa is not an exception to election-related controversies (see Meredith, 2005). For instance,
in 2011, Nigeria witnessed widespread election violence as a result of violent clashes that
greeted the conduct of that year's general election in the election. In the ensuing violence,
many people died in Kano and Kaduna where protesters were alleged to have been involved
violent clashes.

4. Political and Economic Freedoms

Democracy is also a system of government that allows people to exercise their political
freedoms. In this type of political system, citizens are constitutionally empowered to exercise
their rights and also enforce them through the courts of law. Unlike extractive systems where a
few individuals control political powers, democracy is designed to give individuals power to
make their political choices. It discourages the intimidation of voters with the use of security
agents. Meredith (2005) notes that one of the problems of democracy in Africa is the refusal of
the state to allow citizens make their choices under a free and fair political system. Apart from
political freedom that citizens enjoy in a democracy, liberal democratic system, for instance,
allow individual ownership of property and encourage the protection of property rights by the
state.

5. Political Parties

Political parties are the political structures by which citizens express their political freedom. The
development of a political party is a function of the level of political maturity enjoyed by a state.
In advanced democracies, political parties have developed along economic and political
ideologies. This has in so small measures helped the governments their economies and advance
the rights of their citizens. The reverse is the case in the developing world where the formation
of political parties has been informed largely by ethnic and religious colouration (Huntington,
1993). Thus, lack of clear-cut political ideologies has remained a major challenge to democracy
in the Third World (Smith, 2003).

6. Media Freedom

One of the basic characteristics of democracy is media freedom. Media freedom is the freedom
of the media to cover and report news around the country without fear or favour. The idea of
media freedom is often built on the premise that the media is the fourth estate of the realm. As
the fourth estate of the realm, it is the voice of the people. Since democracy is popular
government, the media is the channel through which the government hears the voice of the
voiceless in the society. Though media freedom is very important for the growth of democracy,
it has enjoyed its anticipated support from many African governments who constantly breach
media rights to report events in their countries (The Conversation, 2018).

10. 3.3 Public Policy

A public policy may be defined as government's plan of action on the maintenance of law and
order in a country or the management of the economy of the state (Dibie, 2000; Smith, 2003).
A public policy can also be defined as the blue-print of government on how government will
harness the economic, social, political and technological potential of the nation for the benefits
of its citizenry.

Unlike personal programmes which are often driven by what individuals want for themselves,
public policy is usually a product of public interest. Public interest is what the generality of the
people in a country want which is contained in the constitution or derived from encounters of
individuals with the socio-economic and political crises in their country. Since the constitution is
usually enacted before a government is put in place, the constitution cannot contain all what
the people desire. Based on this reason, government must rely on everyday experiences of
citizens and development in the country in order to formulate good and formidable policies
(Dibie, 2000; Smith, 2003).

10.3.3.2 Types of Public Policy

Public policy can be categorised in the following ways;

1. Fiscal and Economic Policy

One of the greatest challenges of governments around the world is the problem of economic
management. Thus, the success of any government is dependent on the extent to which it is
able to manage its economy.

Fiscal policy is the process by which the government of a sovereign state regulates its monetary
policy in order to manage its micro and macroeconomic indices. Depending on the economic
ideology that the country adopts, a country's fiscal policy is expected to monitor the money in
circulation and the flow of such money into domestic and private investments.

For a country to perform diligently, its economy must be predicated on sound fiscal policy that
is sensitive to both domestic and foreign investments (Todaro & Smith, 2009). One of the
problems of many African countries is lack of congruence between local demands and economic
policies adopted by the government. While some bad economic decisions are often taken by
corrupt government officials, poor planning and lack of continuity often contribute to the failure
of the economies of many African countries (Mbaku, 2000).
2. Health Policy

Health policy is government's blue-print on the management of the health of the nation. In a
Federal system of government like Nigeria, health policies are often formulated at three levels:
Federal, state, local. The Federal policy on health is usually designed to serve as guide to health
policies that are undertaken by the state government. A good example of health policy in
Nigeria is the National Health Insurance Scheme.

3. Educational Policy

Education policy is government's plan of actions on education at different levels of the

educational system in a country. It is usually woven around government's attitude towards
education. For instance, in the early period of independence of many African countries such as
Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Sudan, Benin Republic, education policy was tilted towards socialist
orientation. As a result of the collapse of the economies of many of these countries in the
1980s, government withdrew from public education and encouraged partial privatisation of
public education at least at secondary and tertiary levels. This approach to the management of
public education is not unconnected to the incessant industrial actions of University unions in
the country particularly the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) (This Day,
2017).

4. Transportation Policy

A public policy can also focus on the transportation system of a country. It outlines the
procedures for managing the system and the expected benefits for the people of the nation.
Because liberal democracy has partially opened hitherto statist economies in most developing
countries, liberalised transportation system is fast replacing the old policy on transportation
where government was in charge of public transportation. The Bus Rapid Transport System in
Lagos is a typical example of a liberalised tranportation system, though some critiques of the
system have argued that state monopoly is one of the reasons why the sector has not been
completely liberalised.

5. Energy Policy

Energy policy addresses government's efforts at generating, managing and distributing energy
for public and private consumption at a particular time in a country. Like the transportation
sector, the energy sector in Nigeria had been managed for years by the government before it
came under privatisation in the early 2000s. Despite the privatisation of the power sector,
power supply is still epileptic in the country.

6. Social Policy

A social policy is a form of public policy that is deliberately put in place by government to
address a particular social problem in society. The policy, if genuinely implemented, is expected
to improve or better the conditions of living of the citizens (Nwabueze, 1992).
7. Foreign Policy

Foreign policy is the form of public policy that regulates how a government manages its affairs
with foreign nations including the international community. As a form of public policy, a
country's foreign policy is expected to be responsive to the needs of its citizenry and at the
same time, maintain sustainable international relations with regional, sub-regional and foreign
governments. The ability of a government to balance these relations between the state and the
citizenry on one hand, and the state and the international community on the other hand, will
determine its place in national development. For instance, when a harsh foreign economic
policy is impacting negatively on the lives of its citizenry, a good government is expected to
examine this policy critically and look at the possibility of expunging it or mediating the sources
of pains (Todaro & Smith, 2009).

10.3.3.4 National Development

National development as development construct, is often used to describe the development

potential that a nation possesses at a particular time. This potential may the social, economic,
political, technological and scientific.

One of the greatest measures of a nation's development is its economic resources. The extent
to which a nation is able to diversify will determine the extent to which it becomes competitive
at the global markets. Diversification of the economy means that the government explores
other avenues for revenue generation other than what the nation is known for at the global
market. The benefit of this, is that, the government is able to create more jobs and increase the
GDP and GNP. The more the GDP increases, the higher the tendency that the per capital
income of the citizens will increase, and the more the conditions of living for the majority of the
citizens (Smith, 2003). Experiences in the developing world have however shown that it is not
automatic that increase in economic growth will translate into commensurate improvement in
human condition. This is because of the poor management of the economy by the elites and
the challenge of corruption that concentrates resources in the hands of a few people (Kaufmann
& Dininio, 2006).

Apart from considerable changes in the economy, development experts also use infrastructural
development to measure the desirability of a country's national development. Where social,
economic and technological infrastructure are archaic, many citizens are not likely to make
headway in their attempts to match modern technological creativity. This may consequently
result in brain drain. People would naturally move to countries where their services are needed
rather than staying in their home country where government is not only unproductive but lacks
the will to invest in development (Ake, 1996).

In most African countries, the level of infrastructural development is still very low. Most
government services are yet to be digitized and public services are still far from meeting global
standards. No wonder, the continent is still unable to critically address the problems of maternal
health and infant mortality despite the increasing global attention in the last two decades.
10.3.4 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you understand by democracy?

2. Why has liberal democracy grown in the developing countries following the collapse of the
Berlin Wall?

3. What are the differences between a presidential democracy and a parliamentary democracy?

10.3.5 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Identify two characteristics of liberal democracy in the governments of Nigeria and Ghana.

2. Mention two natural resources that contribute to national development in Nigeria.

3. Mention two communities in the Niger Delta where oil is being exploited by the Nigerian
government.

10.4 Democratisation, Institution Building and Reforms in Africa

1. Democratisation

Democratisation is the transition from an undemocratic or autocratic regime to a democratic

society where citizens are free to participate in the governance of the affairs of their society.
Because democratic regimes differ significantly from undemocratic regimes, the process of
moving from undemocratic society to democratic society has not always been easy in the
history of the world. From Latin-America, Asia to Africa, the struggle for democracy has been
characterised by political protests, violence and war. Freedom does not come easy.

Based on Africa's political trajectories and previous analyses by Ake, (2000), Diamond (1997) &
Huntington (1993), it is possibleto say that Africa has gone through four waves of
democratisation.

i. First Wave of Democratisation in Africa

The first wave of democratisation began in the 1940s, when the struggle for political
independence started a form of decolonisation across the African continent and ended in the
1960s and 1970s when eventually the Europeans granted the request of many African countries
to be independent from colonial rule. The struggle for democracy at this time was meant to be
a struggle against colonial rule in Africa. It began with the nationalist movements and later
dovetailed into full-fledged political struggle against colonialism. In his book, the Wretched of
the Earth (1961), Frantz Fanon describes how colonial emancipation in Algeria turned out to be
a revolution against colonial ideologies.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many African countries came into independence amidst funfair with
the hope that, the attainment of political independence from the Europeans would lead to rapid
economic growth and economic development. Few years later, it became clear that though,
''Independence changed the composition of the managers of the state but not the character of
the state which remained the same much as it was in the colonial era. Its scope continued to be
totalistic and its economic orientation highly statist. It presented itself often as an apparatus of
violence, its base for compliance unduly on coercion rather than authority. With few exceptions,
the elite who came to power decided to inherit and exploit the colonial system to their own
benefit rather than transforming it democratically as had been expected. This alienated them
from the masses whom they now had to contain with force'' (Ake, 2000:36).

Unable to stir the affairs of the postcolonial society and reposition the state and help the
indigenous people fight poverty and material deprivation, the nationalists and their collaborators
were pushed aside by the military which swept through African countries (Meredith, 2005). In
quick succession, Meredith notes, that African leaders were removed from office, and replaced
by army chiefs who promised the people that they would fight corruption and wastage in
government, and transfer power to the civilian administration. As a result of this, the military
abruptly ended the First Republic in many African countries.

iii. Second Wave of Democratisation in Africa

The second wave of democratisation started in the 1970s and ended in the early 1980s with the
return of the military to government. The Nigeria's case is a very good example. At the end of
the Nigeria's civil war in 1970, the regime of General Yakubu Gowon promised Nigerians that he
would reconstruct the Nigerian society, fight corruption and strengthen national integration so
as to heal the wounds of the civil war. Overwhelmed by the euphoria of the victory of the civil
war and his ability to keep Nigeria intact, many Nigerians accepted his government.

Not too long, it was discovered that the corruption that characterised previous regimes had also
infiltrated the ranks and files of the Nigerian military under Gowon's administration (Mbaku,
2000). By 1975, his regime had given in to a military coup by General Muritala Muhammed, a
disciplined Nigerian soldier. Muhammed's reign was relatively peaceful. He embarked on the
purge of the Nigerian civil service; some judges and top civil servants were dismissed from
service while a good number of others forfeited their property to the military government. For
the first time, Nigerians saw a determined military officer that was ready to crush corruption
and move the country to the next level of development. Angered by his approach to combating
corruption in the civil service, Gen. Muritala Muhammed was violently assassinated in 1976,
thereby leaving Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo with the opportunity of returning Nigeria to civil rule.
Though his regime was short-lived, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo succeeded in returning Nigeria to
democratically elected government headed by Nigeria's first Executive President, Alhaji Shehu
Shakari (Mbaku, 2000).

Instead of learning their lessons from past administrations, Shagari's government and his
political allies were deeply involved in corruption, a development that raised corruption to the
highest level in the public service. Under Shagari's administration, politicians and civil servants
stole government's money at will and election campaigns and conduct were characterised by
widespread corruption and political opportunism. In 1983, Gen. Muhammed Buhari, announced
the return to military rule. He introduced operation War Against Indiscipline (WAI) targeted at
rebuilding the Nigerian society (Ake, 2000; Meredith, 2005). With his iron fist approach to
governance, it was not long before Gen. Muhammadu Buhari's government lost its goodwill
among Nigerians and was ousted by Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. The new military
government promised that it would fight corruption and return Nigeria to civil rule. Gradually,
people realised that Gen. Babangida's regime was not determined to hand over power to the
civilians but clinched on to power and converted national resources into personal use (Meredith,
2005).

iii. The Economic Crisis of the Mid-1980s, the Cold War and the Third Wave of
Democratisation in Africa

The Third wave of democracy in Africa started in the 1980s and ended after the Cold War. It
was a struggle against poverty, economic mismanagement, corruption and military rule in Africa
(Ake, 2000; El-Khawas, 2001; Habib, 1997). Ordinarily, the military would have been spared if
they had been able to control the economic crisis that accompanied the recession of the 1980s.
Since the military were not trained administrators, they mismanaged the economies of many
African countries, siphoned billions of dollars of oil money and threw the masses into poverty
(Ake, 2000; Meredith, 2005; Nnoli, 1993).

To overcome this challenge, they resorted to external borrowing from the Brettonwood
institutions; the World Bank and the IMF (Ake, 1996; Nnoli, 1993). By the mid-1980s, many
African countries had incurred much debt. Unable to pay back some these loans, the
Brettonwood institutions gave them conditions. One of these conditions was to reduce their
over-bloated public bureaucracy. They also insisted that African governments must be ready to
privatise their moribund public sectors. Though the conditionality was harsh, many African
governments introduced the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). The adoption of SAP led
to downsizing of the public sector, inflation skyrocketed, people lost their jobs in the private
sector, students also experienced increase in the cost of higher education.

Considering the impact of SAP on the wellbeing of the ordinary people, the Academic Staff
Union of Nigerian Universities, National Association of Nigerian Students, Nigeria Labour
Congress and human rights groups resorted to public protests against military rule. As usual,
the military deployed soldiers to quell the violent protests in Nigeria, Togo, Zambia but the
results of military actions were the same across the continent-total shut-down of the economy
and violent protests everywhere (Ake, 2000). The experience was such that the more the
military pushed its men to inflict untoward attacks on the people, the more the people widened
their grievances against military rule in Africa. Except for a few, many African military dictators
succeeded in inflicting injuries on their people.

The reason for this was not far-fetched. It was due to African leaders' involvement in the Cold
War and the attitude of the West to democracy in Africa. During the Cold War, African countries
expressed their supports to the super powers. Some chose America while some were on the
side of Russia. With this kind of support, European countries pumped money and weapons into
the continent. The West turned blind eyes to the high level of corruption of African leaders
(Ake, 2000; Diamond, 1997).

At the end of the civil war in 1989, Africa's strategic importance to the West waned (Kaufmann
& Dinninio, 2006: 13-14). The West was no longer interested in using the African dictators in
wars. Instead they wanted a commitment from them on the return of democracy to their
countries.

Hurriedly, many African leaders switched over their commitment to democracy. In Nigeria, the
regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida planned a long transition programme that was to stretch
from 1986 to 1992 (Ake, 2000). Eventually, it was discovered that ''as this long programme
unfolded, it became quite clear that instead of being a programme for yielding to civilian
successors. Periodically, General Babangida issued decrees banning people from participating in
politics. By this steady diet of bans, he reduced the civilian leadership and encouraged the
emergence of civilian supporters and surrogates rather than successors'' (Ake, 2000:67).

While Togo and Benin went through relatively peaceful National Conference, the return to civil
rule in Nigeria after the Cold War was characterised by violence, following the cancellation of
the June 12, 1993 Presidential alleged to have been won by late M.K.O Abiola by the regime of
President Ibrahim Babangida on June 23 of the same year (Ake, 2000). Undeterred by military
antics, the pro-democracy groups rose to the occasion and deployed enough media and public
protests against the brutal regime of Gen. Sanni Abacha. They criticised it for the various
human rights violations that his men were alleged to have committed across the country. The
pro-democracy groups also criticised his regime for starching away billions of naira in foreign
banks (Babatope, 1995; Pierce, 2006).

Upon Abacha's death on June 9th, 1998, Gen. Abdul Salam Abubakar was installed as the new
military ruler but announced a short transition to civil rule programme unlike his predecessors.
On the 29th May, 1999, General AbdulSalam Abubakar handed over to a democratically elected
government headed by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Like majority of African countries, Nigeria has
experienced relatively stable civilian to civilian transition since the 1990s.

iv. The Arab Spring and the Fourth Wave of Democracy in Africa

The Arab Spring is one of the greatest struggles for democracy in Africa, after the struggle for
decolonisation in the 1940s and 1950s. It was a great struggle because it marked the euphoria
that greeted the fall of one-party regimes in North-African countries starting from 2011. The
democratisation process was said to have been sparked by a political protest caused by an
incident that occurred in Tunisia in December of 2010 when a Tunisia fruit seller set himself
ablaze after policemen seized his goods (News Africa, 2011).

Jama (2011) notes that the protests in Eqypt were determined to remove Hosni Mubarak the
way Zine al Abidine Ben Ali's who ruled Tunisia with iron fist for 23 years was removed. From
Egypt to Yemen, people clamoured for political and economic inclusiveness. Gradually, the crisis
spread to the Arab world leading to the war in Syria. Initially, the protest began as a protest
against President Assad’s regime.Later it turned to a bloody civil war and then advanced to
international war involving the US, Russia and Iran. One of the worst experiences of Africa from
the Syria war is the emergence of the Islamic State of Levant and Iraq, and the spread of global
terrorism to African countries (Foreign Affairs, 2018).

2. Institution Building

Institution building is the process of rebuilding society from the debris of colonialism and long-
years of military rule. It would be remembered that after the political independence of many
African countries, successive military administrations destroyed the existing democratic
institutions such as the police, the legislature, the judiciary, the media, the security system and
the electoral institution etc.

In the process of this military interregnum, democratic institutions were militarised including the
police. The police came to be used as an instrument of oppression against the so called
''enemies of the state''. The judiciary that was long respected as the hope of the common man
was infiltrated by politicians and military elites thereby subverting the rule of law (Oputa, 1986;
Oputa; 1993; Sonia, 2003). Of course, the judiciary was not the only democratic institution that
was ridiculed, the electoral body was disbanded several times and ridiculed by military juntas
that brought them.

The return to democracy was, therefore, not only an attempt to accept democracy, it was a
struggle to build democratic institutions that are capable of building inclusive societies in the
continent (Acemoglu & Robinson, 2013). In Africa, institution building entails making new laws,
building new institutions and reviewing existing policies that cannot guarantee the future of the
country (Mbaku, 1994).

In Nigeria, a new constitution came into place in 1999 at the verge of the return to democratic
rule. The constitution established the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
outlined the powers of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government. It also
outlined the powers of the police, the army, the navy and the air force. For the first time, the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria created an anti-corruption agencyfor the
judiciary called The National Judicial Council (NJC). The NJC is meant to supervise the activities
of judicial officers and the judiciary, and recommend disciplinary measures for erring judicial
officers in the country.

The NJC is not the only anti-corruption body that the constitution created.It also created the
Code of Conduct Tribunal for the prosecution of public office holders who violate the codes of
conduct of their offices. Jolted by the fear of being paraded before CCT, many public servants
began to disclose their assets, a development that was largely strange to Nigeria's democratic
history. Though the Code of Conduct Tribunal is still in force, its role in the war against
corruption in Nigeria has since been outshined by the two anti-corruption agencies (the ICPC
and the EFCC) established by Nigerian government under President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2000
and 2004 respectively.

3. Policy Reforms and Development in Africa

Policy reform is an attempt to reform an existing policy of government in order to reposition it

for greater goals that bothered on the improvement in human conditions (Habib, 1997, UNDP,
2013). It can also be described as a macro or micro strategy adopted by government to reform
the performance of a public or private sector institution with a view to reposition it for greater
productivity. Although every regime undertakes reform, some historical factors usually trigger
large scale reforms in the public and private sectors of a nation's economy.

Like in many parts of the world, the Cold War between the United States of America and
Russia, which ended in 1989 has played a significant role in the policy reforms in the developing
world. The Cold war is particularly important because it set the stage for a new World Order
(Unipolar regime) (Mbaku, 1994).

Before the Cold war, many African countries were divided between the Western world
(capitalistic oriented regimes) and Russia (socialist oriented regimes). Considering the role of
the state in development, many African leaders favoured and supported statist economic
system where the state is allowed to intervene in the regulation of market forces. With this
ideological thinking, statism thrived in most of the Third World at the detriment of the capitalist
economy. For many years, the African post-colonial state determined what was produced and
how it should be produced. The system gave the state enormous opportunity to dominate the
public sector such as the public sector was used to settle ethnic scores (Ekeh, 1975).

Eventually, the state became enmeshed in corruption such that most public institutions could no
longer render efficient services to the public without engaging in bribery and corruption. By the
mid-1980s, many African countries had experienced povertyand material deprivation because
government could no longer cope with the huge cost of public expenditure. In order to survive,
African leaders resorted to borrowing from the Breton Wood institutions (The World Bank, The
International Monetary Fund).

Worried about the high level of corruption of African leaders and the limited role given to the
private sector in the liberalisation of the economies of post-colonial African societies, the World
Bank suggested that African governments must adopt Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP).
Though SAP sounded promising for the liberalisation of the public sector, it became a huge
burden on the masses. This resulted in mass protests across the African continents (Ake, 2000;
Mbaku, 1994). It was this legacy of economic and political instability that many African
countries carried to the post-Cold War era. To revamp the economy, the Western world led by
the United States of America, Britain and France advised their erstwhile colonies to adopt liberal
democracy and embark on the reform of the public sector.

The reform process first began with the political process. In many African countries, a new
constitution was put in place to replace the hitherto military decrees. Thoughthe constitution in
many of these countries was crafted by the military juntas, the military carried out the
constitution in connivance with their civilian cronies whom they trusted (Mbaku, 2015). The
return of democracy to African countries, therefore, meant the return of popular government.
This consequently led to the liberalisation of the political space (Olukoshi, 2007). The dignity of
the judiciary was restored following the insertion of the principle of separation of powers in the
constitution as opposed to the era of the military when the executive usurped some judicial
powers. This is not to say that there were not instances of executive lawlessness and attempts
to blatantly abuse the rule of law (Ijalaye, 2008).

Having settled with the political process (state reconstruction), many African leaders focused
their attention on revamping the ailing economy. It would be recalled that many of these
countries had suffered from macroeconomic problems and were also known for incurring huge
debt from the Paris Club. In order to move forward, the Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo, on his election in 1999 promised that he would fight corruption, reduce the nation's
debt and return Nigeria on the path of economic progress (Okonjo-Iweala, 2012).

To actualise this dream, the President constituted his economic team comprising a serving Vice
President of the World Bank, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. With her experience, she navigated Nigeria's
macroeconomic problems and identified corruption as a key challenge to the nation's economy.
Informed by preliminary works on revamping the economy, President Olusegun Obansanjo
pushed a Bill to the National Assembly on the establishment of an anti-corruption agency-the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Commissions (ICPC). The Bill was swiftly
passed into law. This gave the President the legal framework to effectively fight the problem of
corruption in the public service (Ijalaye, 2008). With ICPC in place, the government exposed the
cancer of corruption festering on the public sector. It also helped government to create a new
awareness on the danger of corruption for the progress of Nigeria. By 2004, a new anti-
corruption agency was created by the Federal Government of Nigeria i.e the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Unlike the ICPC, the EFCC was saddled with the mandate to fight corruption and other financial
crimes in the country. The EFCC began its anti-corruption clean-ups with its war against
advance fee fraud.Later, it shifted to the banking industry and the public sector (Human Rights
Watch, 2011; Ribadu, 2010). Vigorously, the EFCC pursued the war against corruption in
Nigeria such that by 2011, the anti-corruption agency had succeeded in arraigning 1,200 people
for advance fee fraud and secured more than 400 convictions; a development that surpassed
previous attempts to wage war against financial crimes in Nigeria. By the time banking reform
started, the EFCC had sent panic in the minds of corrupt bankers (Human Rights Watch, 2011).
Of course, policy reform in Nigeria went beyond the regime of Obasanjo.It continued with the
government of late Musa Yar'adua who introduced sweeping reforms in the electoral process
and significantly worked on the crisis in the Niger Delta. While the reforms under President
Good Luck Jonathan touched virtually every aspect of public life, the apparent weakness of the
government on the war against corruption affected both its reputation and the perception of the
performance in the eye of the Nigerian public. The development was what gave President
Muhammadu Buhari resounding victory in 2015 when he promised to fight corruption head on.

It should be noted that Nigeria is not alone in the post-Cold War reforms.A lot of other African
countries also undertook sweeping reforms to cleanse their public sector, institutionalise
democratic governance and open up their economies to the world. This is one of the success
stories of South-Africa, a nation that was ruled by Apartheid regime for more than forty years
before its election in 1994. According to the Human Development Report 2013, South Africa
along with India and Brazil is among the fastest growing developing economies in the world.
But the common denominator of the reform process in many African countries is the challenge
of overcoming the problem of corruption in the public sector.

10.5 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is democratisation?

2. How has Africa benefitted from the waves of democratisation since the end of the Cold War?

3. Why does policy reform fail to achieve its desired objectives?

10.5.2 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Describe the process leading to the Arab Spring and Hosni Mubarak ouster from
government's house in Egypt.

2. Identify and discuss two top cases successfully prosecuted by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission.

3. Identify two factors that have contributed to the failure of power sector reform in
contemporary Nigeria.

10.6.1 The Rule of Law and the Electoral Process in Africa

The rule of law has played critical roles in the promotion of democracy around the world. It is
the funnel through which government officials monitor and manage the electoral process for the
common interest of the people. Without law, both the electoral process and the democratic
anticipation of the citizenry might be in jeopardy (Eso, 2003; Mbaku, 2012).

By rule of law, we mean the supremacy of the law and the belief that the rule of law must take
precedence at all times. It means that no one is above the law. It also implies that both
governmental actions and the activities of non-state actors must be guided by the law or the
constitution of the country (Mbaku, 2012).

The idea of the rule is derived from the modern notion of social contract between the state and
the citizenry. Human beings are known to be self-centered and egoistic in nature, therefore, the
law is required to regulate human behaviour and punish the excesses of those who disobey
lawful regulations of society. Without law, human society can degenerate into a jungle where a
man is a law unto himself. In order to avoid such Hobbesian state of nature, law is put in place
to regulate both the behaviour of the state and the citizenry.

Considering the centrality of power to an election, the rule of law is sine qua non to the
maintenance of law and order. It is the instrument that the state uses to set a limit to the
behaviour of the state and the activities of the individuals in the electoral process. This is why
enactment of an electoral law is the first requirement expected in setting the stage for a good
electoral process. Because electoral laws are subsidiary laws to the constitution, the constitution
of a country must give clear guidelines on the conduct of an election or modalities for declaring
a candidate who stood for election. The electoral law is, therefore. the blueprint that helps the
government carry out some of the guidelines already set by the constitution.

In most African countries, elections have not always complied with the provisions of electoral
laws. In most post-independence African societies, elections are instruments by which the
political class assert themselves, capture the state and convert its resources for personal use.
This is why since independence, elections in most postcolonial African countries have been
fraught with corruption, violence and political opportunism (Mbaku, 2012; Mbamalu, 2012).
Electoral competition is usually seen as a fierce political contest (Ake, 1996). For instance, in
Kenya, a post-election violence which occurred between 2007 and 2008 was reported to have
claimed over 1, 000 lives as a result of election-related violence (Olurode, 2013;). The violence
was sparked by the disputed re-election of President Mwai Kibaki.

1 Subversion of the Rule Law, the Travesty of Justice, and Nigeria's Chequered
History of Electoral Corruption

Nigeria has had a chequered history of electoral violence since 1960 when the country gained
its political independence from the British. Elections were either conducted under intense
political violence or marred by political brigandage.

While the 1964/1965 “Operation Wetie” in the Western region of Nigeria symbolised a
significant episode of political violence in early period of Nigeria's independence, the entry of
the military into the country's political history marked the beginning of utter disregard for the
rule of law in the conduct of the elections and management of democracy. Like Nigeria, the
military in Kenya, Sudan, Benin Republic, Algeria, Ghana, Uganda, Togo, Ivory Coast etc also
helped to subvert the rule of law and to reverse democratic gains made by many postcolonial
African societies in the 1960s.
Because the military was not trained to be obedient to law, it dished out decrees, suspended
the constitution and intimidated the judiciary. The military demonstrated this in this case of
Lakanmi v. Attorney General of the Western Region (1970), when it stated inter alia, its
government was a revolutionary government and was not bound by the constitution.

Similarly, in the case of Governor of Lagos State v. Ojukwu, the Supreme Court of Nigeria
rebuked the military when Uwais JSC stated inter alia;

I think I should stress that it is a matter of grave concern that the Military
Government of Lagos State should be seen to disregard a lawful order issued
by a court of law. If governments treat court orders with levity and contempt,
the confidence of the citizens in the courts will be seriously eroded and the
effect of that will be the beginning of anarchy in replacement of the rule of
law. If anyone should be wary of orders of court, it is the authorities; for they,
more than anyone else, need the application of the rule of law in order to
govern properly and effectively.

Not minding the pronouncement of the Supreme Court, the military handled most electoral
matters in the 1990s with disdain particularly the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election by
the military Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (Ake, 2000). The election is particularly important to our
discussion because it showed the weakness of the military in allowing the will of the people and
the rule of law to prevail on the mandate of Chief M.K.O Abiola who was acclaimed to have won
the election with a landslide.

The departure of the military and the return of political powers to the civilians in 1999 did not
change both the character of the state and the attitude of the political class to the travesty of
justice. Ijalaye (2008) deeply expressed concerns over this when he stated inter alia that; ''Any
court of law or tribunal in Nigeria will not hesitate to take judicial notice of the notorious fact
that the rule of law has for a long time been under persistent siege in the country. Successive
governments in Nigeria have through the power of incumbency, continued to show utter
disregard for the rule of law. This wanton disregard has, inter alia, manifested itself in the
outright disobedience of court orders, unprecedented corruption in the polity, reckless abuse of
the impeachment procedure, and massive and shameless rigging of elections at the federal,
state and local government levels. In addition, there have been other assaults by the
government against the rule of law'' (Ijalaye, 2008; 1).

2. Transition from the Era of Electoral Fraud and Disobedience of Court Orders to the
Reform of the Electoral Process

Reform is very central to the continuity of a democracy and the success of an election. In order
to sanitise Nigeria's electoral process, successive governments in Nigeria have undertaken
several reforms aimed at ensuring justice and fairness in the polity.
Although previous regimes had attempted to reform the electoral system in Nigeria, the late
Yar'Adua's reform process has remained a watershed in the history of elections in Nigeria. It is
the reform that set up a new agenda for greater democratic experiment in Nigeria.

At the inception of his administration in May, 2007, the late President Musa Yar'Adua promised
Nigerians that he would reform the electoral process and eliminate corruption in the conduct of
elections in the country. In line with his promise, he set up a 22-member electoral reform panel
headed by a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Justice Muhammed Lawal Uwais.
Some of Uwais’ panel were Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Olisa Agbakoba SAN and Professor
Attahiru Jega. At the end of its sittings, the committee recommendations condemned the era of
political brigandage and election rigging. For the first time, INEC was asked to use strictly public
officials and NYSC corp members as INEC Ad-hoc staff. It was this reform that ultimately
culminated in the adoption and use of electoral voting system by the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) under the Chairmanship of a former ASUU Chair, Professor
Attahiru Jega.

Despite the avalanche of reforms including the enactment of the electoral act, 2010 and the
recent amendments to the act, elections in Nigeria are still fraught with abuse of court orders
and travesty of justice by some judicial officers. Corruption, which Yar'Adua administration
thought that he would eradicate from the system still pervades the country's electoral process.
This is evident in the way elections are conducted in contemporary Nigeria where fear,
intimidation and violence by security forces compromise the universal suffrage of the citizenry
(Olurode, 2013).

3. Significant Strides in Nigeria's Electoral Reforms

i. Continuous Voters Registration

This electoral reform addresses the registration of citizens in every part of the country. It
implies that every citizen who has not been registered by INEC can get registered before the
election.

Continuous voters’ registration is to enable INEC give every qualified Nigerian an opportunity to
be part of the electoral process. Also, it affords INEC the opportunity of updating its records
and those of the voters across Nigeria.

ii. Electronic Voting System

The electronic voting system is part of the reforms that has changed the face of Nigeria's
electoral system. It is designed to infuse information and communication technology into the
conduct and determination of election results.Nigeria has not fully transited into the EVS
because of the level of technology of the country and the hiccups encountered during the 2015
elections. (Chijioke, 2015).

iii. Use of Public Officials as INEC Ad hoc Staff

One of the most significant aspects of Nigeria's electoral reforms is the use of University
teachers as returning officers. Since the adoption of this method, INEC has witnessed a
reduction in the number of disputed elections.

iv. Judicial Discipline and Avoidance of Frivolous Injunctions

Unlike in the past, when court orders were used by politicians to stall the conduct of elections
or bar the court from releasing the results of an election, the Nigeria of the 21st century has
progressed from this age of judicial rascality and frivolous injunctions to the era of judicious
treatment of election matters.However, the judiciary is not completely immune from the
corruption in the larger Nigerian society.

10.6.2 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is electoral reform?

2. How does the abuse of court process undermine electoral process and endanger the stability
of democracy in Africa?

3. What is the significance of the Electronic Voting System (EVS) for the stability of democracy
in Africa?

10. 6.3 In-text-Activities (ITAs)

1. Identify two disputed elections in Nigeria under the militaryand explain the role of the
military state in Nigeria.

2. Using the 2007 Kenya disputed election, how does violence contribute to the
underdevelopment of democracy in Africa?

3. The June 12, 1993 elections is the disputed election in Nigeria's history, explain the role of
the court in the annulment of the election.

10.7.1.The State, Citizenship and Civic Obligations in Democracies in Africa

The state is a critical player in the rise and fall of democracies around the world, just as it is a
key determinant of the wellbeing of citizens and their commitment to civic duties and
obligations (McDonagh, 2002). By state, we mean the entire governmental structure recognised
by law or the constitution as the body saddled with the protection and the welfare of the
citizenry. It consists of the executive, the legislature, the judiciary, the security apparatuses
(the Police, the Armed Forces, the Para-military Agencies, the Security Intelligence agencies)
and the public service. A state must also have a territorial boundary, a currency and defined
population with its socio-cultural, linguistic and historical peculiarities such that in the midst of
other nations, people can distinctly identify both the culture and the people of the state.

Central to the idea of the state in modern society is the idea of citizenship. Citizenship is a
broad concept used in determining the status of a person under the custom or law as being a
legal member of a sovereign state. It is often used to denote all the legal, cultural and political
issues relating to a person's claim of citizenship of a country either through birth or
naturalisation. When someone's claim of citizenship is through birth, a person must have been
born in the country where he or she claims to belong to. For avoidance of doubt, such an
individual must be able to substantiate the claim with official demographical data derived from
Vital Register in a state or local government area.

1. The Role of the State in Development

Since the eighteen-century Enlightenment, many people have continued to ask empirical
questions about the role of the state in development. Before then, there was no clear-cut roles
for the state because the state was fused with the church; the state was the church and the
church was the state. With the coming of modernization following the separation of the church
and the state, the state acquired new legally codified roles based on rationality that comes with
modernity (Giddens, 2006). Not only this, the state quickly turns into the collective property of
the public and not the property of the church or the feudal lords. It was this development that
informed the emergence of the modern state that is found in democracies around the world
(Ekeh, 1975; Smith, 2003).

a. The State as a Protective State

The state, historically emerged from the social contract between it and the citizenry. The social
contract is the mutually agreed terms which the state entered into with the citizenry. As the
property of the public, the state is expected to be protective. A protective state is expected to
provide the lives and property of the citizens in its domain, prevent the state from external
aggression and guarantee the security of private property.

In performing the protective role, the state is expected to establish and equip the police, the
armed forces and para-military agencies that help in the security of lives and property in the
country (Mbaku, 2000; Smith, 2003). By equipping the armed forces, citizens anticipate that the
state would be immune from external aggression.

Unlike the West where the state is technological viable to protect its citizenry, the state
inpostcolonial Africa cannot guarantee the security of lives and property of its citizenry. Not only
this, the state in postcolonial Africa lacks the required autonomy to control the centrifugal
forces that are causing conflicts and endangering the stability of the country. Instead of being a
formidable force, the state in most postcolonial African societies have been hijacked by corrupt,
capricious and opportunistic elites who use its resources to maintain their monopoly on power.

Confronted by multitude of hostile forces, the state in most postcolonial African societies, is now
plagued by multitudes of political conflicts and contradictions of development evidenced in the
rise of terrorist attacks across the continent. Ake (2000) harps on this when he concluded that
the state is a privatised enterprise of the elites.
b. The State as a Productive State

Just like security of lives and property, a formidable state is expected to help citizens develop its
economy by regulating market production. In a capitalist society, the state is expected to play a
limited role in the determination of prices of goods. Instead of resorting to the state for price
regulation, market forces help determine the prices of goods in most capitalist societies.

Because most African countries favoured centralised economic system at independence, they
adopted statism. Statism is an economic system where the state is allowed to regulate market
forces for the benefits of the citizenry and the development of the nation's economy.

Several factors contribute to why African countries adopted statism at independence. First, at
independence, many African leaders felt that it would be dangerous to leave the management
of the post-colonial economy in the hands of few African bourgeois and their European
collaborators at a time, when many of their people in the continent were confronted by the
problem of poverty and material deprivation. Second, most African leaders believed an
independent African country would be capable of harnessing the potential of the post-colonial
economy for the benefits of the diverse ethnic and religious nationalities in the continent. Third,
African leaders believed it was in the best interest of the people to ensure that the state was
not hijacked by corruption (Mbaku, 2003; Meredith, 2005).

As evidenced in the practice of statism across the African continent, the much-anticipated rapid
economic growth and economic development expected from statism has not come to pass.
Instead of reducing poverty and setting Africa on the path of economic prosperity, statism in
most African countries helped African countries develop one-party states and patrimonial
regimes that specialise in the plundering of state resources.

For most African countries, statism came to allow the state to dominate every aspect of the
economy -transportation, aviation, education, health, foreign exchange, banking and financial
sector, oil and gas and consequently, left a legacy of a corrupt public service (Ekeh, 1975;
Mbaku, 2003). By the 1980s when most African opted for structural adjustment programme to
liberalise their economies, statism had allowed African leaders to plunder the economies and
leave a legacy of massive debt (Ake, 2000: 27-28).

Even today when majority of African countries have liberalised their economies, the state is still
unable to provide the needed infrastructure to bolster massive economic growth and economic
development. Electricity, which is supposed to be the engine of economic growth is still epileptic
in Nigeria-Africa's supposed biggest economy.

2. Citizenship, the Civic Public and Civic Obligations in a Democracy

One of the beauties of modern society is the distinction between the civic public and the private
realm. By civic public, we mean the realm of thesocietythat deals withpublic interest. How then,
do we distinguish between public interest and private interest? Public interest is any interest
that affects the collective interest of society as defined by law or the state. This includes the
protection of public property.

Over the years, scholars have been able to distinguish between public interest and private
interests by examining our relationship with the state. As citizens of a particular country, we are
expected to perform certain civic obligations. These may include:

1. Payment of Taxes

2. Voting or Exercise of our Political Franchise

3. Protection of Public Property

4. Obedience to Law and Order as contained in the Constitution

5. Working in the Public Sector for the Development of the country

6. Joining the Military or the Police to Participate in Security of the Country

7. Contributing to national assets through creativity and innovation

3. Managing Citizenship Crisis and Civic Obligations in a Developing Society

Citizenship crisis is the struggle arising from people's claim of being members of a state or
community at a particular time. Ordinarily, citizenship should not have generated much debate
in a liberalised society because the law is always clear about who is a citizen of a country.

In most developing societies, several factors come into play in the discussion of citizenship. One
of the major factors that has been widely debated in the development circle is the colonial
legacy (Mamdani, 2004).

Colonialism left many African societies with a bifurcated state. The state, though exists as a
political entity, lacks the legitimacy to rule because it was imposed on the people by the
colonialists who expropriated colonial identities to harness African resources and alienate the
indigenous people. In the course of pursing its objectives, colonialism created dual identities-
Citizens and Subjects.

Built around power and access to economic resources, citizenship is configured to mean what
the colonial state defined it to be and not what the people believed it was. By so doing, it
engendered social, political and economic crises among the indigenous people.

After political independence in the 1960s, the elites carried this legacy over to the postcolonial
society. They used postcolonial identities to claim access to power and national resources.
Political power was configured around ethnic and religious affinities. In fact, only a few leaders
saw the postcolonial state as capable of overcoming the colonial bifurcation of the African state.
From Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, Somalia, Republic of Congo, Rwanda to Mali, state
reconstruction was not meant to heal the wounds of colonialism. Rather, it was intended to
further divide the state, appropriate its capital to the dominant ethnic group and subject the
minority groups to all sorts of abuse and humiliation. This is why citizenship claims in most
post-colonial Africa generated such volatility leading to civil war in Nigeria, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Somalia, Liberia, Togo, Angola etc. (Abrahamsen, 2013; Besley & Reynal-querol,
2014; Nnoli, 1978; Mamdani, 2004).

The first set of citizenship crisis in Africa was the citizenship crisis that ensued between the
Whites and the Blacks, the natives. Because the colonialists saw colonialism as a civilising
project, they accorded much power and privilege to the White race in the colonies. In some
instances, they seized Black man's lands and handed them over to the White. In the case of
South-Africa, White supremacy was made an official policy of the colonial state in 1948.

With this policy in place, the black man's identity was relegated to the background. The
existence of this policy then opened up avenues for the white to discriminate against the
children of the black. The indigenous people lived in their own country like foreigners (Mbaku,
2010).

The departure of the colonialists brought Africans to the second phase of citizenship crisis. This
was a crisis engendered by the artificial creation of the colonial African societies. It would be
remembered that at the verge of creating colonial territories, the colonialists (both French &
British) did not give much preference to the historical and cultural similarities of many pre-
colonial African societies. The colonial territories were created as it pleased the African colonial
state. With this approach to state creation, the colonial masters sowed the seeds of hatred
among the ethnic nationalities they brought together. This hatred did not, however, materialise
until after independence when these groups began to jostle for political powers.

In order to have access to political power, the elites recreated their cultural identities and
realigned their forces. This favoured some and did not favour others. For some, it helped them
to dominate the political power of the state, amass wealth for themselves and use such
enormous resources to under-develop other groups - the groups that lacked access to Federal
powers. In Nigeria, the struggle reached its pinnacle in 1967 when the Ibos went into civil war
with the rest of the country in a bid to secede and become the state of Biafra.

4. How has the State fared in the Management of Citizenship Crisis in Post-Colonial
Africa?

The state in post-colonial Africa has not fared better in the management of citizenship crisis.
The reasons for this are not far-fetched. First, the state inherited from the colonial state has
been preoccupied with the struggle for power rather than development. In most countries, the
state has failed both as a protective state and a productive state (Ake, 2000; Mbaku, 2000;
Meredith, 2005, UNDP, 2017). Since it cannot guarantee its own safety, it has increasingly
engendered the culture of violence and exposed its citizens to lethal political conflictssuch as
global terrorism. Citizens now resort to violence as an alternative means of defending
themselves from criminals and the corrupt political class. Thus, the crisis in post-colonial Africa,
is now more of crisis of development, than crisis of nation-building. This is because only a small
proportion of the population is interested in the whole idea of nation-building. Even in countries
where citizens participate in voting and other democratic projects, participation is conditioned
by money accruing from such political activity.

The second reason is close to the first.This is because it talks about the state as a productive
state. As a productive state, the African postcolonial state has failed to build formidable material
base for the development of African economies. Poverty, unemployment, and material
deprivation have remained the lots of many people in the continent. Except for South-Africa,
and a few African countries, the level of economic stagnation in the continent today surpassed
those of the 1990s in many countries. The 2017 Human Development Report indicated that the
poorest countries in the world reside in Africa and only a few African countries have been able
to climb the ''Medium Human Development Index''. In spite of its huge oil resources, Nigeria
still wallows in the low human development index with conflict-ridden societies like Somalia,
Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is hoped that with democracy, Africa will expand its economic infrastructure, run inclusive
economies and integrate its citizens that have been alienated by decades of corruption and
political opportunism (UNDP, 2017).

10. 7. 2 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you by citizenship?

2. How does it relate to voting in a democracy?

3. What are the challenges facing citizenship in postcolonial Africa?

10.7.3 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Identify and discuss two African countries where the issue of citizenship has affected national
elections?

2. Using case study, how does citizenship crisis contribute to the 1994 Rwanda Genocide?

3. Identify and discuss two colonial policies that have contributed to the problem of citizenship
in colonial Africa.

10.8.1 Public Policy Making, Implementation and Evaluation in a Democracy

The desire of every citizen is to benefit from a government he/ she voted into office. Since
government cannot directly get to every citizen in the country, public policy is the means by
which government delivers public good to the citizenry. Ordinarily, the issue of public policy
ought not to have generated heated debates among political scientists and development
experts but the fact that, it is not all governments that usually deliver public goods to their
citizenry has made it a serious issue around the world particularly in developing countries where
public policy making and implementation have been fraught with corruption (Campos &
Bhargava, 2007; Hope, 2009; Kaufmann & Dininio, 2006).

1. What then is Public Policy?

Public policy is a programme of action of any government on a particular issue in the society. It
is the blue-print of government that is carefully designed on a wide range of public issues
(water, sanitation, health, transportation, education, aviation, infrastructure, banking, finances,
forestry, agriculture, oil and gas) which is meant to serve as a guide on the development of
society. Since the problems of our society are many, public policy usually touches every aspect
of our lives. It is shaped by the nature of government in place and the distribution of powers at
a particular time. Public policy is also shaped by the character of public institutions in the
society.

In a society where both the government and its institutions are extractive, public policy is likely
to serve as an avenue to plunder government's resources, extract money from the public and
convert government's property into personal use (Shah, 2007). In an extractive society, it is not
uncommon to find situations whereby money budgeted for public services are cornered by
public servants or diverted into private accounts. In such a society, government officials are
motivated not by the desire to work for common good but by the desire to engage in primitive
accumulation of capital. This is one of the reasons why endemic corruption has continued to
undermine public services in most developing countries (Campos & Bhargava, 2007).

2. Public Policy Process/Stages in Public Policy Making

There are five major stages in public policy making in developed and developing democracies
around the world. These include: (i) Agenda Setting (ii) Policy Formulation (iii) Policy Adoption
(iv) Policy Implementation (v) Policy Evaluation.

i. Agenda Setting

Agenda setting is the stage at which government identifies or decides on a problem it intends to
solve. Since human society is usually confronted with numerous problems, government must
choose from these multitudes of problems. In taking a decision on the problem that requires
urgent government's attention, government may consider the extent of public outcry on the
issue or the extent to which the problem has affected the generality of society. For instance, in
2014, Nigeria government was forced to adopt a decisive government's policy on Ebola virus
following its outbreak in the country that year.

ii. Policy Formation/Policy Formulation

Policy formation or formulation is the stage at which government looks for solutions to the
problem that has been identified. Once, a problem has been established the next step in the
policy process is to invite experts in the area to a roundtable for serious academic and scientific
dialogue on the problem. Such a dialogue may require collaborations with multilateral agencies
such as the World Health Organisation, the World Bank, the United Nations and the United
Nations Population Funds if the problem pertains to the health of the population. For instance,
during the Ebora Virus outbreak in the West-African sub-region, West-African governments held
series of scientific meetings with the international community to put an end to the problem
(Songwe, 2016).

In order to ensure that policy formulation ultimately solves the problem it is designed to solve,
government may ask policy makers to conduct empirical research to establish the veracity of
the problem, if existing data cannot effectively help government take a decision on the problem.

Unlike the Western world where public policy formulation is often subjected to research, in most
developing countries, policies of government may be at variance with the realities on
government because public policy making is guided by research. A public policy formulation
that is guided by research is more likely to produce the desired result. This is because
government's decision will be informed by what the people want.

iii. Policy Adoption

Policy adoption is the stage at which government adopts the policy that has been formulated by
public officials. This stage usually involves consultation with members of the public-the
academia, community leaders, residents, the media, religious organisations, the business
community, and the civil society organisations.

The difference between policy adoption in a democratic society and a non-democratic society is
that in a democratic society, government is expected to go through wide consultation with the
people. This is to ensure that the policy receives public acceptability and is not at variance with
the reality on ground. Once, a policy is adopted, the next stage is policy implementation.

iv. Policy Implementation

Policy implementation involves the actual implementation of policies of government using public
institutions and officials of government. In fact, public policy implementation may be defined as
the process of putting public policy into practice-''matching theory with practice''.

In putting public policy into practice, every government in a democratic society is expected to
ask civil servants to test if government's decision is viable enough to meet up the expectations
of the people. It is, however, important to note that unless health workers go to the public,
they may not be able to determine whether people like the continuous child immunisation
programme in Nigeria or not.

v. Policy Evaluation

Policy evaluation is the process of subjecting public policy to empirical test beyond the face-to-
face interaction that citizens have had with social workers or civil servants implementing public
policy. At this time, government is expected to engage the services of social researchers who,
through multitude of research methods, will subject the policy to empirical examination. Social
survey is usually favoured because of its chances of covering large number of people in a
country or constituency. As good as it is, social survey may not reveal individual experiences.
This is why social survey may be complemented with case studies and key informant interviews.

3. Why Do Government Take Certain Decisions? A Critical Review of Public Policy

Models

Several ideas have been developed by political scientists to explain the reasons why policy
makers take certain decisions. This section will discuss some of these theoretical models in
policy analysis:

(i) Interest-Group Theory of Government & Public Choice Approach

The interest-group model assumes that public policy is a product of diverse interests in the
society. It is usually made from what the government feels is the collective decision of the
people. Because modern capitalist society is usually a diverse society, public policy is usually
endogenously determined through consultations with certain well-organised interest groups in
the society and also in agreement with other disorganised groups in the society. The interest-
group theory assumes that what we see in modern society as policy outcomes are
endogenously determined (Mbaku, 2000).

The public choice approach goes a bit further to argue that public policy making is ''interest
driven''. Using rational choice theory, the public choice approach assumes that civil servants are
rational animals and may not make policies for the government without considering their
personal interests. Unlike the developed countries where institutional frameworks are effective
in curbing civil servants’ excesses, in most developing countries, what we see as policy failure
may even be a well-calculated attempt by government officials to circumscribe government's
decisions and plunder government's resources (Hope, 2009; Shah, 2007).

(ii) Pigou's Market Failure Theory of Public Policy

The theory assumes that government is a ''benign and benevolent pursuer of public interest''. It
argues that the reason for government’s involvement in public policy making is to regulate the
economy and ensure that the public benefits from the dividends of the markets. Pigou's Market
Failure approach argues that governments in developing countries cannot afford to neglect the
regulation of market forces especially when a country is faced with market failure. Public policy
making is, therefore, not only a product of collective interests but an attempt to stabilise the
economy of society (Mbaku, 2000; 132).

(iii) The Principal-Agent Theory

The principal agent theory assumes that civil servants are agents of the society (the principal),
and the purpose of being in government is to formulate formidable public policy that can
ameliorate human condition, cushion the effects of poverty and reduce suffering in the society.
It is, however, important to note that what we see in most developing countries is a situation
where civil servants who are supposed to be agents of the state use public policy
implementation to corner government's resources and leave elephant projects as outcomes of
public policy (Mbaku, 2000; Okonjo-Iweala, 2012).

iv. The Political Economy of Public Policy in Africa

The political economy of public policy in Africa assumes that public policy making and
implementation in Africa are determined by the nature and character of political economies in
Africa. First, it assumes that the nature and character of the state determines the type and
viability of public policy that is made by government's officials. As a capricious and corrupt
state, the political economy approach argues that Africans should not expect human centered
public policies from the post-colonial African state because both the character of the state and
that of the political class are conducive to public policies that extract benefits from the public
and push them into poverty. Unless corruption is tackled head on, the political economy
approach believes that most public policies in most African countries would remain empty
promises that may not have the capacity to aid sustainable development in Africa (Adisa, 2013;
Mbaku, 2003).

The second argument that political economy of public policy in Africa advanced is that the
problem of public policy failure is as a result of the problem of institutional failure in post-
colonial Africa. Policies failed, not because they are not properly conceived.In most cases, it is
because the institutions that are designed to implement government policies are suffering from
moral depravity and institutional decadence. Neglected by successive governments, the public
service has been hijacked by cabals who use the public service to capture the state and proceed
to convert its resources into personal gains (Adisa, 2013; Mbaku, 2003; World Bank, 2011).

10.8.2 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What do you understand by public policy?

2. Why do public policy making in developing countries fail to yield their anticipated results?

3. What is the benefit of exploring the political economy approach in our understanding of
policy failure in contemporary Africa?

10. 8. 4 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Identify and discuss a public policy that is designed to end the scourge of AIDS in Nigeria.

2. Identify and discuss two critical stakeholders in public policy making in Nigeria.

3. Using the Continuous Child Immunisation Programme as a case study, discuss the best way
of evaluating the programme in Lagos.

10. 9. 1. The Welfare State, Public Policy and National Development in Africa
In every discussion of democracy and public policy in developing world, the issue of the welfare
state is more likely to come up. It would come up because in spite of decades of democracy in
some developing countries, government's policies have not significantly ameliorated human
condition (Hope, 2009; Ninalowo, 2015). Instead, democratic projects which ought to have
reduced poverty and raised the standard of living of the citizenry has become an instrument of
plunder in the hands of a few individuals; politically and economically powerful elites who are
determined to impoverish the majority of people in their society. Thus, the question of who
does democracy favour has remained on the lips of many citizens of developing countries. This
is why the issue of the welfare state is discussed here.

The welfare state is a state that is deliberately organised to cushion the effects of capitalism
and capitalistic oriented production on the lives and property of the citizens of developed and
developing worlds. Briggs (1961) defines the welfare state as ''a state in which organized
power is deliberately used (through politics and administration) in an effort to modify the play
of the market forces in at least three directions: first, by guaranteeing individuals and families a
minimum income irrespective of the market value of their work or their property; second, by
narrowing the extent of insecurity by enabling individuals and families to meet certain “social
contingencies” (for example, sickness, old age and unemployment) which lead otherwise to
individual and family crisis; and, third, by ensuring that all citizens without distinction of status
or class are offered the best standards available in relation to a certain agreed range of social
services” (Briggs, 1961).

1. Origin of the Welfare State

The idea of the welfare state dates back to the end of the Second World war when world
leaders began to look at the implications of capitalism on social welfare around the world. The
big question at the time was how can the state remain neutral in the hands of the crushing
socio-economic conditions created by capitalism? What should the state do to alleviate the
plights of the poor and the downtrodden in society? (Briggs, 1961). At the core of the questions
of the welfare state is the issue of social development.

Considering the centrality of capital accumulation and power to capitalism, development

scholars have provided different models for understanding the role of the welfare state in
modern state. These are 1. Residual Model 2. Developmental Model.

2. Models for Understanding the Welfare State

i. Residual Model of the Welfare State

The residual model assumes that the welfare state should only intervene in social problems that
are germane and pose danger to the stability of the society. In other words, government should
not be too benevolent as to intervene in all sorts of problems because such approach to
governance will not only negatively contribute to the growth of capitalism, it would make the
citizens perceive the state as their primary means of livelihoods. For decades, many developed
nations practised this type of welfare state but by the 1970s, it became clear that most people
in the developing world could not be left alone to bear the whole burden of poverty and
material deprivation in the society. Thus, development experts began to agitate for a
development model that was people-oriented and human-centered. (Smith, 2003).

ii. Developmental Model of Welfare State

The developmental model is rooted in the idea of social development and the United Nations
social development policy. The approach to the welfare state argues that, despite the presence
of democracy, government must play its active role in the formulation of social policies that can
minimise the suffering of the people and help put an end to poverty and material deprivation in
the developing countries (Anderson, 2012; Mbaku, 2010).

From the 1960s to 1970s, many African countries adopted this approachto development. The
thinking then, among African leaders was that a state was people-centered would be able to
unite Africans, overcome the ills of colonialism and bring the diverse ethnic nationalities
together for the greater task of achieving rapid economic growth and economic development.
Few years after independence, many African leaders derailed from their promise.In theory, the
state existed as a welfare but in practice, it became an instrument of primitive accumulation of
capital. Instead of crushing the problem of poverty and material deprivation among the citizens,
the state became an instrument of corruption and political opportunism. In most parts of post-
colonial Africa, the elites defeated the whole essence of the welfare state by engaging in
massive looting of national treasury.

By the mid-1980s, many African countries had entered into deep economic crises that made it
clear that they were not capable of implementing the idea of welfare state. Though the
developmental model was partially suspended in most African countries in the 1980s as a result
of the SAP programme, it has since resurfaced with the return of democracy to the continent
(Olukoshi, 2007). To what extent will democracy deepen social welfare in Africa? How far has
the welfare state benefitted the citizenry? Has this changed national development in Africa?
These are the questions that the next decades of democratisation in Africa will determine.

10.9.2 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is welfare state?

2. Why is social policy a special instrument of the welfare state?

3. How far has the idea of the welfare succeeded in cushioning the effect of poverty in Africa?

10.9.3 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Identify two social welfare policies that are formulated and implemented under Buhari's
administration in Nigeria.
2. List and discuss two indices of determining if Nigeria is a welfare state.

3. Using the National Health Insurance Scheme, explain the benefits of NHIS to public servants
in Nigeria.

10.10.1. The Problems and Challenges of Public Policy Implementation in Africa

It is public policy making or implementation that is the problem of policy failure in

Africa.Perhaps, it is the ill that is associated with the process. Increasingly, many people across
the African continent are hoping that the next decades of democratization will deepen
democracy and good governance (Olukoshi, 2007).At the time, they think that African leaders
should reflect on the challenges of development that have undermined efficient public policy
making and implementation in the continent. This section will examine some of these problems
with a view to exposing us to the challenges ahead of 21st century African societies.

10.9.1.1 Political Corruption

Political corruption is Africa's greatest problem to good governance and efficient policy making.
It is the process by which political office holders or politicians use their offices to steal
government resources, embezzle public funds and enrich themselves at the detriment of the
people they represent (Kaufamann & Dininio, 2006). In this type of society, political power is
both an opportunity to acquire illicit wealth and also an avenue to keep others away from
government (Mbaku, 2000). Since the 1990s, many African leaders have been prosecuted for
corruption. The most recent was the standing of former President of South Africa, Joseph
Zuma, for corruption-related charges.

10.9.1.2 Bureaucratic Corruption

Bureaucratic corruption is the type of corruption that is usually committed by people appointed
or elected to carry out government services. It can also be committed by private bureaucrats
who in the course of carrying out public services mismanage the powers and privileges of their
offices. Bureaucratic corruption is common in developing countries where both the state and
the public service have been hijacked by the political elites who use their control of
government's powers to amass wealth for themselves and their cronies.

Since government renders services in different ways and at different levels of government,
bureaucratic corruption can take many patterns and mechanics. In Africa, bureaucrats who
engage in bureaucratic corruption may not hesitate to take part in illicit services such as tax
reduction, contract inflation, extortion of money from members of the public, admission
racketeering, falsification of public documents and outright embezzlement of public funds
(Kaufmann & Dininio, 2006). A good example of this was the embezzlement of N17.7 billion by
former Police Boss, Tafa Balogun (Human Rights Watch, 2011).

10.9.1.3 Bureaucratic Bottlenecks

Although corruption has caused a lot of setbacks for development in Africa, the challenge of
over-bloated bureaucracy and rigid public bureaucracy have helped to significantly slow down
public policy implementation across the continent (Mbaku, 2000). It is hoped that with the
emergence of e-Governance and its adoption in post-colonial Africa, citizens will reap the
dividends of democracy (Shah, 2007).

10.9.1.4 Mismanagement of Public Funds

Mismanagement of public funds is also a common phenomenon in postcolonial African society.

Though the cause of mismanagement of public funds in most African countries may be
attributed to the endemic corruption, poor handling of public funds by incompetent civil
servants also contribute to the setbacks (Shah, 2007). This is because public service job is now
a matter of political patronage.

10.9.1.5 Budget Deficit

The survival of democracy in Africa in the next decades will also depend on how African leaders
maximize the gains of their economies to faithfully implement democratic projects. When a
country experiences budget deficit, it may not be able to conduct its elections and carry out
essential services necessary for the survival of democracy. A good example of this was in 2018
when INEC asked for extra-budgetary allocation for the conduct of the 2019 general elections
slated for Feb. & March of the year (Umoru, 2018).

10.9.1.6 Funding

Funding is an important aspect of public policy implementation. In any society where public
policy is well funded, citizens are more likely to reap the benefits of public policy (Siffin, 1976;
Scartascini & Mariano, 2012). Because of parity of funds and the self-centeredness of the
political elites, most public policies are not usually properly funded. This consequently affects
the extent to which the state lives up to the expectations of the citizenry.

10.9.1.7 Elites' Conspiracy

Elites' conspiracy is defined here as elites' disillusioned interest in development. It is a common

phenomenon in most developing countries because most of the elites in government are neither
interested in the development of their society nor interested in the welfare of their citizens
(Ake, 1996). The only reason why they are in government is to satisfy their quest for power,
which is a guarantee of unlimited access to the wealth of the nation (Ake, 2000).

10.9.1.8 Poor Public-Private Partnership

With the rising influence of globalisation, it has come to the knowledge of policy makers in the
developing world that government cannot do it alone.They must collaborate with the private
sector to rapidly increase productivity and efficient services in all facets of public life (Shah,
2007). It is, however, important to note that despite the acceptance of this development
strategy, the continued rancour and suspicion between public servants and the opportunist
private practitioners have continued to pose a grave danger for effective public policy
implementation in the Third World.

10.9.2 In-Text Questions (ITQs)

1. What is political corruption?

2. How does political corruption pose a danger to development?

3. Who are the main perpetrators of bureaucratic corruption in Africa?

10. 9. 3 In-Text Activities (ITAs)

1. Using two case studies, one from Nigeria and Kenya, explain the role of political corruption in
the underdevelopment of African countries.

2. Identify and explain two cases of political corruption prosecuted by the EFCC since its
inception.

3. Identify and discuss two cases of mismanagement in the health sector in Nigeria

10.11 Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for study session 10

1. What is democracy?

Democracy is the government of the state people, by the people and for the people.

2. What is the role of public policy in a democracy?

Public policy is the tool by which government implements its numerous policies and
programmes in a democracy. It is the tool that helps government delivers dividends of
democracy to the people. Without public policy, government's decision on social services may
be discriminatory (not guided by any form of logic), and when it is discriminatory, it engenders
the peace and stability of society.

3. Why do citizens of developing countries still agitate for the adoption of welfare state in spite
of the presence of democracy?

Citizens want the welfare state because it will guarantee them freedom from the oppression of
capitalism. In a capitalistic oriented democracy, government expects the state to play limited
role in social development. The implication is that each person in the society will determine his
means of livelihood by participating actively in productive activities. It also means that
government will play limited role in the regulation of market forces. Considering the level of
poverty in Africa, the adoption of the welfare state will not only deepen social democracy
among Africans, it will reduce the burden of material deprivation that liberal capitalism would
have imposed on people with weak material base to participate in neo-liberal policies and
programmes.
4. What danger does corruption pose for democracy and development in Africa?

Corruption is indeed a major problem of development in Africa. It is a problem because it has

caused the underdevelopment of the continent by African leaders. Corruption is at the heart of
the massive unemployment, poverty, homelessness and material deprivation faced by majority
of citizens of Africa.

10. 12 Summary of study session 10

In this study session, you have learnt the notions of democracy, public policy and national
development. By democracy, we mean the government of the people, by the people and for the
people. The session also examined types of democracy viz-a-viz types of government practised
in African countries. It argued that liberal democracy is the rising form of democracy around the
world following the collapse of the Cold War and the concomitant influence of globalisation in
the Third World.

The session argued that because of the weakness of the state in Africa, the adoption of neo-
liberal policies in the formulation and implementation of public policy may not serve the interest
of majority of Africans who are economically weak to withstand the competitive hands of the
neo-liberal markets. Thus, as a tool of mediating poverty, the session argued that it is only
public policy that is woven around the welfare state that will go a long way in reducing poverty
and mediating many challenges imposed on the people by corruption. The session concluded by
arguing that the war against corruption must be sustained in order to consolidate on the gains
of democracy in Africa.

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