Challenges Of Nation Building Research Articles

Gendering visions of the postcolonial modernist state through names: a literary onomastic analysis of Nii Ayikwei Parkes’s Tail of the Blue Bird (2009)

African literature is a crucial arena for deconstructing norms, and imagining communities or alternative modes of sociality and being. In many postcolonial African literary works, particularly those grappling with the legacy of European colonisation and the challenges of nation-building, the modernist state is frequently depicted as an entity emblematic of violence and dispossession inflicted upon the populace. However, it is also sometimes portrayed as offering a degree of hope and possibility amidst the turmoil. Drawing on literary onomastics and insights from Rights and Feminist theories, the article examines Parkes’ strategic use of names to articulate ethicality in Tail of the Blue Bird. Parkes argues for a true decolonisation by radically replacing and reassessing the patriarchal ideology that creates violence and trauma in postcolonial societies. This should happen by embracing the feminine principles represented by the main female characters in the novel. The article shows that the semiotics and character roles of Esi Mensisi and Yaa Somu as women constitute crucial sites for Parkes’ rumination on human flourishing and ethicality in the postcolonial modernist state. The article has implications for studies on literary onomastics, characterisation, and how African writers attempt to reimagine postcolonial politics and sociality.

A Socio-ethical Evaluation of the Challenges and Prospects of Religion in Nation Building Process in Nigeria

Religion is an element that promotes integrated development by providing both social and ethical measures which help in bringing about a better nation. In this regard, religion and nation building are inseparable. However, studies showed that there exist social and ethical bottlenecks such as poor policy formulation, lack of good governance, corruption, religious intolerance, perversion of justice, to mention a few which hinder the nation building in Nigeria. This paper therefore, investigated the challenges of Nation Building in Nigeria through the socio-ethical lens. The paper adopted the qualitative phenomenological methodology which focuses on the experiences of the people. The study found out that religion helps in inculcating ethical standards like sincerity, honesty, tolerance, respect for one another, peaceful coexistence and selfless service, etc. which are fundamental for nation building. The paper concludes that religion is a persuasive factor for nation building because it regulates human‟s social behaviour while also encouraging good relationship among people in the society. It is therefore, recommended that religious leaders should encourage their members to live by the dictates of their faith so as to engender nation building in Nigeria.

Social Justice in Nigeria: A Dialectical Discourse

This paper examined the nexus between social justice, national development, and nation-building in Nigeria. It adopted the qualitative and historical descriptive method of analysis because, by its nature, the topic was not amenable to quantitative analysis. One of the important findings of the paper is that though Nigerian citizens have remained together within the same political space in spite of many challenges, there are obvious cases of inequality and glaring examples of the negation of the principles of social justice by the leadership class. The result of the breaches of the constitutional provision for social justice is Nigeria’s inability to consolidate its diversity to achieve national development and nation-building, as is the case in other heterogenous federations like the United States. The paper concluded that a possible way out of this quagmire is for the federal government to adopt concrete official measures to encourage attitudinal and behavioural changes among both the leaders and ordinary Nigerians in order to ensure faithful adherence to social justice, which is considered a panacea for the challenges of national development and nation-building.

Western versus Indian Anthropology: A New Discourse

Indian anthropology, though established under the British rule had developed its own tradition of anthropological study. Some of the notable Indian anthropologists however critiqued their own anthropology as being colonial. In this paper, I have argued that quite remarkable anthropological studies were done by outstanding Indian anthropologists after the independence of the country, which encountered the major challenges of nation building, namely, resettlement of refugees after the partition of the country and development caused displacement by big dams and industrialisation.

The Challenges of Nation-Building in Nigeria and the State-Building Alternative

ABSTRACTNigeria’s current democratic dispensation is plagued by a rise in ethnic nationalism, agitations for self-determination and secession, claims of marginalisation, and ethnic, regional and religious tensions. These issues continually dominate state politics. For some analysts, these problems are symptoms of a lack of oneness among the multiple ethno-linguistic and religious groups that make up the country. They are of the view that the solution to the intractable problems lies in nation-building, suggesting the enthronement of a sense of common nationality. On the contrary, this article argues that the lack of national consciousness for a nation may not be the main problem but the lack of viable institutions that can promote deep inter-ethnic relations. State-(re)building in the form of institution-strengthening is rather important for unity in the plural society. Therefore, the creation of new institutions and the strengthening of existing ones, including the federal system, to produce a viable Nigerian state capable of delivering on public goods and good governance is more important to address the many challenges confronting the state.

The Challenge of Nation Building in Sri Lanka; Comparative Analysis Between Black July in 1983 and The Violence Happened in Sri Lanka After 9th of May Incident

The Challenge of Nation Building in Sri Lanka; Comparative Analysis Between Black July in 1983 and The Violence Happened in Sri Lanka After 9th of May Incident

The challenges of stateless nation-building. Comparing the paths of ERC and the PNV (1930-1939)

When comparing Basque and Catalan nationalism, research has often focused the very visible ideological and political differences between the two movements. This paper puts forward an alternative perspective, grounded in the comparative analysis of the discourse produced by the Catalan Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) and the Partido Nacionalista Vasco (PNV) during the 1930s. Its main argument is that these two parties led parallel and essentially similar nation-building processes directly linked to the achievement of home rule and the establishment of national institutions. The article also addresses how these processes were affected by the different Basque and Catalan political contexts, and by the final challenge posed by the Spanish Civil War.

Beyond colonial entrapment: profiling the economic challenges of nation building in post-colonial Nigeria

Beyond colonial entrapment: profiling the economic challenges of nation building in post-colonial Nigeria

Kentucky's Joseph C. S. Blackburn: Soldier, Statesman, and a Friend of All by Elizabeth Rouse Fielder

Reviewed by: Kentucky's Joseph C. S. Blackburn: Soldier, Statesman, and a Friend of All by Elizabeth Rouse Fielder Stefano Tijerina (bio) Kentucky's Joseph C. S. Blackburn: Soldier, Statesman, and a Friend of All. By Elizabeth Rouse Fielder. (Morley: Acclaim Press, 2018. Pp. vii, 384. $29.95 cloth) Having researched the Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn papers at the Kentucky Historical Society in search of primary sources that would shed light on his work as Civil Governor of the Panama Canal Zone, it is evident that Elizabeth Rouse Fielder's depiction of the life of Blackburn is idyllic. This does not demerit the fact that in Kentucky's Joseph C. S. Blackburn: Soldier, Statesman and a Friend of All, Fielder is able to effectively describe the dynamics of local politics and culture, and its impact on nation-building, as the United States moved past the Civil War and toward the unification of the national market. Fielder's objective was to describe the trajectory of the political career of Joseph Blackburn, while drawing parallels to the economic development of Kentucky and the consolidation of the nation-state, contributing to the historiography of the Reconstruction era from a southern lens. Blackburn's political life, as described by Fielder, reveals that the vision of nation-building and the realization of "Manifest Destiny" was not only the intellectual product of the North but also of the South. Her book is broken down into six parts. The first part describes the emergence of the Blackburn family in Kentucky, emphasizing their generational trajectory in the economic, political, and cultural spheres. This is followed by a section that gives agency to Blackburn's role in the American Civil War and that served as a means to connect him to the Reconstruction era and its impact on Kentucky's post–Civil War economic development. The third part contains the core of the development of Blackburn's political career, his vision as a Democrat, and his numerous battles, on the debate floor, in defense of a balance between state and federal powers, always placing country first (pp. 258–94). Part four of Fielder's work focuses on his years as Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (1907–1909), connecting Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine with nation-building [End Page 323] overseas, as the power of the United States expanded beyond its borders, threatening the interests of other superpowers of the time. This is followed by parts five and six which depict the concluding years of Blackburn's career, emphasizing the life of the Southern Democrat whose political trajectory was driven by the conviction that the United States was destined to a growing and influential role on the international stage (p. 315). Although lacking clarity, the concluding remarks let the reader know that without the conviction and dedication of Southern Democrats like Blackburn, the nation-state project would have been impossible to achieve. Perhaps Fielder's work will inspire scholars to move past the classical historical analysis, unveiling new local historical narratives that may shed light on the political, economic, cultural, social, and business history that shaped the nation during the first era of globalization. Ultimately, as shown by Fielder, Blackburn was face-to-face with the challenges of nation-building, juggling local interests and national interests, as the United States transformed into a regional power. Fielder's work is lacking in-depth historical analysis and only touches the surface in many instances. Nevertheless, it illustrates why it is important to move beyond the status quo of history, encouraging scholars to return to the archives, dust away old collections, and revise the narrative through new stakeholders that impacted the local, federal, and international trajectories of our nation-building process. Many questions remained unanswered: what were the worldviews of pro-federalists like Blackburn? What were his views on American expansionism? What were his views on Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine? What role did he see the state of Kentucky play as the first era of globalization unfolded? Perhaps some of these answers would explain why his political rivals back home would repudiate his "inconsistency" when it came to casting a vote in Washington, according to an op-ed piece...

A Reconstructor and Nation-Builder: General Yakubu Gowon and Socio-Political Development in Nigeria, 1966-1975

General Yakubu Gowon became Nigeria’s military ruler at a very critical period in the young country’s history in 1966. Due to the various tensions orchestrated by the different ethnic groups in the multi-ethnic state, Nigeria tethered on the verge of collapse by the mid-1960s and eventually lurched into a Civil War in 1966. By the time the war came to an end in 1970, Gowon was confronted with various nation-building challenges such as that of governance, federalism, ethnicity and democracy. To tackle these various nation-building challenges, Gowon introduced targeted programmes and policies designed to turn Nigeria into a cohesive and functional polity. This work is the analysis of the various initiatives used by General Yakubu Gowon between 1966 and 1970. The work discovers that Gowon made use of Praetorian, Conceptual and Institutional mechanisms to tackle the country’s nation-building challenges.

To Be and How Not To Be: The Challenges Of Nation-Building in Nigeria

The work is the analysis of both the various nation-building challenges that have confronted Nigeria since independence and the possible ways the country can overcome them. The dream of Nigeria since independence in 1960 is to turn itself into a viable and cohesive nation. This has become an impossible dream however due to a myriad of challenges. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic society with over 250 ethnic groups. Each of these ethnic groups also have religious and economic issues that separates them from one another. Nigeria’s diversity has been a major obstacle in its drive to become a global and responsible player in the international community. By using the qualitative research methodology, the work identified various challenges, such as corruption, autarky, governance and distribution that have been the major barriers to the creation of a viable polity. The style used in the study is also historical, descriptive and analytical. Crucially, the study also used the concept of nation-building as its Theoretical Framework. This has made it possible for the work to highlight and posit specific pragmatic and logical ways Nigeria can overcome its nation-building challenges and emerge a viable, cohesive and functional polity in the 21st century.

Mirroring the society, mirroring its hospitals: Hyginus Ekwazi's poetry and the challenge of nation-building

Anglophone African poetry has become a significant medium through which African society from the year 2000 to date is mirrored. The younger Anglophone African poets, widely referred to as the poets of the third-generation, have always used their poetry as means to respond to both historical and current socio-political circumstances that tend to distinguish Africa from the rest of the world. Their poetry now constitutes counter-hegemonic discourse against bad leadership in Africa and against corrupt African social and medical institutions. Using Hyginus Ekwuazi’s The Monkey’s Eyes as a representative poetry of the younger Anglophone African poets, emphasis is made on how the poet depicts the African society and its hospitals. The paper analyzes the collection as a sequel to all other collections of poetry produced by the younger poets at this period. It reveals the condition in which the poetry is produced and how it has responded to the decay in African society and its hospitals. The paper points out that though the older generation of the Anglophone African poets responded to similar socio-political situation, the younger generation of the Anglophone African poets has become the prominent voice in this period and that their poetry provides a clear picture of what is happening in Africa within this time space. Being a new set of voices on the terrain of the Anglophone African poetry, a study of this poetry opens up a new platform upon which this so-called “aesthetic of rage” is appreciated. Note: An earlier version of this paper was presented at Birkbeck University of London in an International Conference captioned “Mirror, Mirror: Perceptions, Deceptions, Reflections in Time” organized by London Centre for Interdisciplinary Research (LCIR) on 10th March, 2018 in London, UK.

The Challenges of Nation-Building and Nation Branding in Multi-Ethnic Suriname

This analysis of nation-building and nation branding in post-colonial, multi-ethnic Suriname builds on the notion that such policies are promising but also difficult to achieve in culturally divided societies. We zoom in on three episodes of nation-building and nation branding in the country and explain why and in what respects they succeeded or failed. We posit that in Suriname’s case, nation-building and nation branding are intertwined, because the latter cannot be seen in isolation from nation-building. In the Conclusion, we discuss the effects of colonial legacies in multi-ethnic societies on nation-building and nation branding.

National integration and the challenge of nation building : the Nigerian experience

National integration and the challenge of nation building : the Nigerian experience

Mentorship: A Strategic Technique for Achieving Excellence, Manpower Development and Nation Building?

Abstract The aim of the paper is to address the possibility of using mentorship as a strategic technique for achieving academic excellence, manpower development and in over-coming challenges of nation building. The authors conducted an extensive review of relevant literature from studies based on quantitative, qualitative, mixed method research and position papers on mentoring. This was followed with an analysis, synthesis and integration of ideas arising therefrom. Thereafter, they developed a logical link between the three variables. The paper concludes that while mentorship may not be the panacea to attaining these variables, it no doubt can play a vital role in achieving academic excellence, manpower development and nation building and therefore it is a strategy worth investing time, effort and money in adopting a combination of appropriate models.

The Military and Nation-Building in Nigeria: The General Ibrahim Babangida Regime, 1985-1993

On August 27, 1985, Major-General Ibrahim Babangida carried-out a coup d’etat against the then military ruler of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari. The main reason for the putsch was the believe that the Buhari regime had no plan to return Nigeria to civilian rule. Apart from this, the country was beset with various nation-building challenges that the junta had no clear-cut answers to. Such challenges include that of corruption, ethnicity, governance and religion. Babangida carried-out his coup ostensibly to return the country to civilian rule, tackle these nation-building challenges and turn Nigeria into a cohesive, functional and viable polity. To achieve these important aims and objectives, Babangida established a transition programme to return Nigeria to civilian rule and used institutional, praetorian and constitutional mechanisms to tackle the country’s nationhood challenges. This work is an analysis of the programmes, measures and initiatives that the Babangida regime used to tackle Nigeria’s nation-building challenges and prepare the country for eventual return to civilian rule.

Federalism and the Challenges of Nation Building in Nigeria

Federalism is often regarded as the appropriate governmental principle for countries with huge ethno-cultural diversities. Nigeria, with over two hundred and fifty ethnic groups inherited a federal system from Britain in 1960 and successive governments have attempted, with varying degrees of sincerity and commitment, to operate federal institutions that can accommodate the country‟s ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversities and nurture a sense of national unity. However, the leaders of these governments, at all levels, have failed to fulfil their obligations to offer good governance anchored on equitable political arrangements, transparent administrative practices and accountable public conduct. Indeed, failure to encourage genuine power sharing has triggered dangerous rivalries between the central government and the thirty six states governments over revenue from the country‟s oil and other natural resources. The defective federal structure has also promoted bitter struggles between interests groups to capture the state and its attendant wealth; and facilitated the emergence of violent ethnic militias, while politicians exploit and exacerbate intercommunal tensions for selfish reasons. Thus, communities throughout the country increasingly feel marginalized and alienated from the Nigerian state. This writer contends that the deeply flawed federal system in Nigeria constitutes a grave threat to national integration, stability and development; and that unless the government properly engages the underlying issues of resource control, power sharing, equal rights and accountability, the country will face an internal crisis of increasing and dangerous proportions. This paper seeks to examine the contentious issues in Nigeria‟s federal arrangement, and the challenges they pose for nation-building and national stability.

A Tale of Two Countries: Nation Building and Security Challenges in Myanmar and Indonesia

For most of the former European colonies of South and Southeast Asia, the end of the Second World War was also the beginning of the end of colonial rule. With independence came the challenge of unifying disparate ethnic, religious and linguistic communities into cohesive nations– a challenge that some countries met more successfully than others. The price of failure could be high – hundreds of thousands were killed, and many millions displaced in 1947, as inter-communal conflicts tore British India apart. Indonesia declared independence in 1945 (a declaration not recognised by the country’s Dutch colonial rulers until 1949), while Burma (as Myanmar was then known) was granted independence by Britain in 1948. Both countries were able to avoid tragedies on the scale of the Indian Partition. Nevertheless, nation-building has been a difficult and as yet uncompleted process, the source of continuing challenges tonational security. This article looks at the situation in the two countries, traces the origins of some of the current problems, and attempts to explain why Indonesia has generally been more successful in this respect than Myanmar, despite the similarities in the initial situations of the two countries.

Conflict and nation building challenges in Africa : transforming the peace-building role of international organisations

Conflict and nation building challenges in Africa : transforming the peace-building role of international organisations

Constitutions, Citizenship and the Challenge of National Integration and Nation-Building in Africa

Summary Most countries in Africa are both “multination” and “polyethnic” states. This is due partly to the forced amalgamation, by the European colonialists, of the continent’s “ethnocultural nations” into single economic and political units that were called “colonies.” These colonies eventually evolved into what are today’s independent African countries. Today, many of these ethnocultural groups want to secede and form their own independent polities in order to have more autonomy over policies that affect their well-being, including especially their cultural and traditional values. The struggle by these groups for either outright secession or so-called enhanced rights has created many challenges for governance, national integration and nation-building in many countries in Africa today. Throughout the continent, inter-ethnic conflict, for example, over the allocation of scarce resources, has produced sectarian violence that has led to civil wars (as occurred in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Nigeria) and significantly endangered prospects for peaceful coexistence. It has been suggested that the solution to this political quagmire is the creation of differentiated citizenship rights for each of these groups. The paper suggests that of the three types of differentiated citizenship that have been suggested as a way to accommodate diversity—self-government rights, polyethnic rights, and special representation rights—self-government rights pose the greatest threat to social, political, and economic stability in the African countries. The solution to this governance challenge may lie in inclusive and robust dialogue, which can help these groups find a way to remain citizens of their present polities, while at the same time, retaining their cultural identities.