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Contrary to the Western liberal school that argued that corruption is a product of moral laxity or decadence; lack of common standard of morality, growing cultural and religious decay, we posit that the root of corruption should not be sought in the value and attitude of individuals in the society rather in the nature of social relations of production. Despite the efforts by political leaderships to evolve anti- corruption strategies, agencies and programmes in Nigeria especially under President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007), the incidence of corruption remains the major enemy of economic growth. Owners of capital and investors consider the Nigerian economy as unsafe for investment due to the prevalence of corrupt political leaderships. In this paper, we explore the impact of political corruption on economic growth in Nigeria since the return of democratic government in 1999. Data was collected largely from documented evidence and analyzed with qualitative descriptive method. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p69

This paper examines the roles, limitations and prospects of AU in conflict resolution in Africa. It was conducted using documentary analysis as well as discourse analysis approaches. The paper observed that the mono-cultural political economy of Africa is the immediate cause of conflicts while the remote cause of conflicts in Africa is the arbitrariness in creation of the boundaries. The article examined the Peace Operation in Burundi; role of AU mediation team and the Abuja Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks; African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM); AU's role in recent crises in Libya and Côte d'Ivoire. The paper concludes that AU has played very important role in conflict resolution in the region. At least AU raises the alarm for international community to intervene. However, AU's missions have the limitations of financial barriers as well as dearth of technical capacity. The paper recommends that AU should appropriate over 70% of her annual budget to a special fund for responding to conflict emergencies so that it will react swiftly to conflict emergencies. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p325

AbstractThe use of hate speech for political mobilisation and its overall impact on democratisation have generated debate and controversy in both post-colonial formations and more advanced democracies. This is because hate speech tends to promote hatred between different ethnic groups. In Nigeria, it is usually deployed in the build up to elections. Using mixed methods approach, this study interrogates the consequences of hate speech as a political campaign strategy on electioneering and democratisation in Nigeria. The study argues that the use of hate speech in political campaign entrenches hatred and discriminatory voting pattern among citizens. It grossly affects democratisation, the quality of party programmes and candidates chosen by voters. Despite its appeal to extreme right populism based on ethnic voting and other forms of exclusionary politics, the use of hate speech as a political campaign strategy neither promotes the principles of majoritarian democracy nor protects minority rights.

The outbreak and spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is probably the most serious global challenge since World War II. While research has paid considerable attention to the technical, epidemiological and public health aspects of the pandemic in Africa, it neglects the social, economic and political dimensions. Relying on analysis of data on trends of COVID-19 infections from the World Health Organization and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and a rapid review of available international and national policy/programme documents on COVID-19 control responses in Africa, this study assessed the extant protocols and responses to COVID-19 in relation to urban governance principles. Utilizing the political economy framework, the social conditions of informal labour and business activities during the COVID-19 pandemic are explored with accession to social habitus of informality. The paper argues that in as much as the COVID-19 pandemic is a pervasive health problem it should be treated more as a social and political economy challenge given the large informal nature of urbanism in Africa. The study concludes that urban governance that incorporates collective organization, community groups, non-state and informal actors offers scope in the battle against COVID-19 in Africa. Rethinking African urbanism in line with the principles of the Global Campaign on Urban Governance is also canvassed.