Research
A Paradigm Shift From Tradition To Modernity In Nollywoodas Projection Of African Narratives
The Nollywood movie industry, since its inception in the early nineties, has progressively projected the African cultural heritage to other parts of the world. This encompasses both good and bad aspects of the culture. Today, many Africans in Diaspora tend to feel at home whenever they watch any of the Nollywood movies just like the Hollywood and Bollywood project, the American and Indian weltanshuung respectively. Interestingly, there has been a consistent transformation of the Hollywood and Bollywood from the traditional to the postmodern stages. This is not applicable to the Nollywood Industry. The paper, therefore argues that there should be a paradigmatic shift of Nollywood movies from tradition to modernity since virtually all the African Narratives being projected by the industry hitherto are not only pristine and anarchronistic but also fall short of the existing realities of the African way of life. This has impacted negatively on the socio-cultural development of Africa, and in particular portray some Nigerian ethnic groups as uncivilized and backward.
TERRORISM, FOREIGN POLICY AND HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN NIGERIA
Confronting terrorism has become one of the most important fundamentals of national governments’ foreign policies. The fight against the scourge has increasingly and generally gained legitimacy and justification among the international community particularly as many nation-states consider it to be their international obligation to support the global movement to ameliorate if not to eliminate the menace. The paper sets out to examine the causes of terrorism and its effects on Nigeria’s foreign policy. It argues that the escalating rate of terrorist acts demonstrated in varying dimensions is not unconnected with frustration caused by high rate of unemployment particularly among the youth. The paper also emphasises that terrorist acts are employed by political elites to fight their political opponents and also to gain relevance and popularity in the political market
CHALLENGES OF INTERNAL DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIAaS POLITICAL PARTIES: THE BANE OF INTRA-PARTY CONFLICTS IN THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF NIGERIA
Preparatory to the 2011 general elections in Nigeria, there already exists public (mass) apathy and cynicism in town. The attitude however suggests that, as usual, the elections will not be credible, free and fair. The people have become atrophied by cynicism and mistrust of government and people in government. What may have informed this development is the abysmal collapse of internal democracy in Nigeria’s political parties. It is in the light of this, the paper attempts to examine some of the basic challenges of internal democracy as it constitutes the main factor for the intra-party wrangling rocking the fabrics of the Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria. In conclusion, the paper advances few means of tackling the menace so as to pave way for smooth and free-flow elections in 2011.
Ideological Battle in the Nigerian State: An interplay of democracy and plutocracy
It has been widely argued that democracy is an imperative for development in the 21st Century Nigeria. Perhaps, it is because the concept has been tested in some societies, particularly in western societies and it worked. The paper argues that one of the reasons democratic institution has not yet been properly rooted in Nigeria is that it has been choked off and smothered by plutocracy. The attendant consequences include, impoverishment of the citizenry, gradual deterioration of established democratic institutions and agencies and high level of criminality, militancy and terrorist-oriented activities.
