Blighted Blues

Literature & Fiction

M.O. Ené

Literary

Adonis & Abbey Publishers

Dike, a regular contributor to debates on Nigeria, assesses how far the Obasanjo regime has lived up to its promises between 1999 and 2003, and concludes that the president's Ostrich leadership-style has turned the country into a place where socio-political and economic problems remain unresolved.

Nigeria and the Politics of Unreason: A Study of the Obasanjo Regime

History

Dike, Dr. Victor E

Africa

Authenticity - the external self in conformity with the inner self, to be sincere to oneself, is a state of genteel well being, and therefore of true happiness. It is the state of being whole, and in a sense, of experiencing holiness. It is the ideal of being a Christian in any cultural context, a challenge to all Christians everywhere. The response to the Word of God demands the readiness to be at its service. But this service is not simply allowing oneself to be an instrument, but also of actively being the agent, putting the word into action in the world. This means creatively activating the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Word, within the culture, in the world, in individuals and in peoples at any time and place. It means the challenge to break through the limiting structures of body and mind in order to get to people’s hearts, whatever may be their stations in life. These structures may differ from place to place and from time to time because every time or place has its peculiar challenges. For the Christian faith, the challenge is to activate the best within the indigenous culture of its practitioners, parishioners and sympathisers. The point of departure is that the best elements of a typical indigenous African culture are openness, sincerity of spirit, spontaneity, in a word, authenticity. These are far different from the superficial emotionalism, which some uninformed scholars and commentators have made these out to be. The reflections in the book suggest how the challenges to faith commitment in general, and in African socio-cultural context in particular, could be converted into opportunities to make faith-commitment a truly self-fulfilling vocation that will in turn create authentic discipleship.

The Challenge of Authenticity: African Culture and Faith Commitment

Politics & Social Sciences

Hevi, Jacob Kofi

Social Sciences

Nigeria and South Africa provide the socioeconomic and political contrasts in the African condition. Some of these contrasts can be demonstrated in the following dialectics: Nigeria is the Africa of human resources, South Africa is a land of mineral resources; Nigeria is repellant to European settlement; South Africa is a magnet for such settlement; Nigeria is a mono-racial society, South Africa is a multiracial society; Nigeria is grappling with the politics of religion, South Africa's is pre-occupied with the politics of secularism; Nigeria is Africa's largest exporter of oil, South Africa is Africa's largest consumer of oil; Nigeria is a paradigm of indigenization, South Africa is a paragon of Westernization. Building on these contrasts, Professor Ali Mazrui, master of the dialectical approach to socio-political analysis, demonstrates how the two most influential countries between the Niger and the Cape of Good Hope are alternative faces of Africa. _______________________ Professor Ali Mazrui needs no introduction to any student of African politics. Recently nominated as one of the 100 greatest living public intellectuals in the world by the Washington-based journal, Foreign Policy, Professor Mazrui is the author of more than twenty books and hundreds of articles published all over the world. He was the author and narrator of the highly regarded television series The Africans: A Triple Heritage (BBC/PBS, 1986). He is currently Director of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies and Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities, State University of New York at Binghamton. He is also Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large Emeritus and Senior Scholar in Africana Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA; Chancellor, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Thika, Kenya as well as the Albert Luthuli Professor-at-Large at the University of Jos, Nigeria. James Karioki is Professor of International Relations with a special interest in the African Diaspora. He has published extensively on African Politics, Global Africa and International Relations. He currently works at the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) in Pretoria where he is the Head of the African Diaspora Unit.

A Tale of Two Africas: Nigeria and South Africa as Contrasting Visions

Business & Money

Mazrui, Ali A.

Economics

From Monkey Sapiens to Homo Intentional: The Phenomenology of the Non-violent Revolution

From Monkey Sapiens to Homo Intentional discusses the theory and practice of the non-violent revolution, comparing the cultural influence of concepts arising from the fields of humanism, psychoanalysis, sociology and behavioural psychology. It critiques social Darwinism as a mere theoretical justification for the concentration of wealth and power in a few hands and calls for an alternative understanding of the human psyche that could be used to produce desired social and personal transformations.   The book posits that violence is for dummies and shows how different forms of violence oppress and suppress the human person. It sensitises the reader to ways in which language could be used to further the objectives of the powerful and also analyses some of the recent wars to show how commercial interests and the need to gain electoral advantages could trigger and sustain armed conflict. It also warns about the misapplications and misinterpretations of science, arguing that science needs to be given a humanising direction to enable it to fulfil its humane role for humankind. The book proposes the notion of New Humanism in which humankind rather than money is the central value, and articulates a manual for non-violent education that could help activate human intentionality as a powerful tool to defeat mechanical inevitability.  ________________________________ Silvia Swinden, Medical MRCPsych, is a medical doctor who has worked in the fields of Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Intensive Care. She campaigns on Human Rights and travels throughout Europe, Africa and the Americas lecturing and training teachers, community leaders, students and other activists on Education for Non Violence - a programme based on the Psychology of New Humanism. She has presented her work at several international Conferences.

From Monkey Sapiens to Homo Intentional: The Phenomenology of the Non-Violent Revolution

Swinden, Sylvia

Africa in China's Global Strategy

China, in the past five years, has developed a proactive global policy and is emerging as a new global power with particular focus on developing countries in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa. What is the role of Africa in China's emerging global foreign policy? In 1998, China's aid to Africa was $107 million. By 2004, it had reached $2.7 billion, 26% of its international assistance that year. In 2005, Africa-China trade reached $40 billion, 35% up from the previous year. China is interested mainly in four sectors: infrastructure projects, regional banks such as the African Development Bank, training of African professionals particularly in economic management, and institutions of higher education with the goal of establishing Chinese language programs. The human factor is also important. Chinese Diaspora is fast increasing. For example, in Zambia, it grew from 3,000 to 30,000 in ten years and, in South Africa, from practically none to 300,000. African countries constitute a new market for Chinese products. They also provide a source of raw materials. Today, the continent supplies 30% of China's import of oil and gas, Angola being the largest supplier with 522,000 barrels of oil per day to China. The last five years, Chinese oil companies spent $15 billion acquiring oil fields and local companies. The appetite for raw materials goes beyond oil and gas and China's foreign political strategy is primarily to solve its own domestic problems and protect its interests in the global arena. Will Africa be a pawn or a player in this emerging geopolitical game? Will China's deepening relations with the continent represent a new opportunity for African countries to negotiate a new partnership and skillfully use it to the best advantage of their citizens? These are some of the questions contributors to the volume have tried to answer by examining various facets of these deepening relations and underlining areas of concerns as well as the opportunities for mutually rewarding relations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Marcel Kitissou, a historian and political scientist, is a member of the public policy faculty at the Union Institute and University (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Visiting Fellow with the Institute for African Development at Cornell University. He was formerly Senior Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Global Studies at George Mason University. He has also been the Faculty Director of the Global Humanitarian Action Program and the Summer Institute on International Development of the same institution and Executive Director of the Washington DC-based Africa Faith and Justice Network. Earlier, he founded and directed the PEACE Institute of the State University of New York at Oswego; he directed a regional school of journalism in Lomé, and was Associate Director of the National School of Public Administration of Togo. He has published widely on security issues and the politics of water in Africa.

Africa in China's Global Strategy (African Renaissance)

Asia

Somali people speak quite a number of languages and dialects, Maay and Mahaa being the lingua franca of the majority. In 1972, the latter was put in a written format and became the national language of the country. This experiment alienated the other Somali languages and produced tremendous disenchantment, particularly on the part of the Maay speakers. In 2003, however, the Somali Peace and Reconciliation Conference at Mbegathi, Kenya, acknowledged that Maay will be another official language of the Somali Republic. This English-Maay Dictionary is the first experiment exploring the roots of Maay language and its relationship to the other Somali dialects as well the Kushitic family of languages in the Horn of Africa. The dictionary provides over 15,000 of the most frequently used words in Maay and their English translations, with numerous examples of their every day usage. The dictionary is a vital addition to reference collections supporting undergraduate and graduate programs on African and Middle Eastern Studies. It is also an essential tool for non-Somali case workers such as those in refugee camps, immigration and naturalization officials or lawyers dealing with Somali asylum seekers. It is equally a vital tool for interpreters and translators working on court cases, hospitals and legal papers as well as for public school teachers on ESL programs that teach Maay- speaking children in English- speaking countries.

English-Maay Dictionary

Reference

Mukhtar, Mohamed Haji

Ahmed, Omar Moalim

Dictionaries & Thesauruses

While the notion of Local Government remains contentious in literature, consensus appears to be that it brings government nearer to the people. The book discusses operations of the Local Government system in Uganda in the context of social accountability as a tool for deepening democracy. Using ACODE's social accountability strategies like local government council scorecards, civic engagement meetings and technology, the book examines roles that citizens and the civil society play in solving capacity problems. The book contends that functional decentralization empowers Local Governments, improves service delivery and fosters citizens' eagerness to demand accountability. ________________Arthur Bainomugisha holds a Master's degree and a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies from University of Bradford. Dr Bainomugisha teaches at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at Makerere University and is also the Executive Director of ACODE, a public policy think-tank based in Kampala, which was established in 1999.Kiran Cunningham is Professor of Anthropology at Kalamazoo College (USA) and a Research Associate at ACODE. She is an applied anthropologist with expertise in action research, gender analysis, community development, deliberative democracy, transformative learning and intercultural education. Lillian Muyomba-Tamale specializes in decentralization, local governance and human rights. She holds a Master's degree in Human Rights and a Bachelor's in Social Work and Social Administration from Makerere University. She is a Research Fellow at ACODE managing the Local Governments Councils' Scorecard Initiative Wilson Winstons Muhwezi has a jointly awarded PhD by Karolisnka Institutet, Sweden and Makerere University, Uganda. His experience straddles local governance, managing vulnerability and building resilience. He directs research at ACODE and holds a Professorship position at Makerere University.

Local Governments in Uganda: Democracy, Accountability and Civic Engagement

Politics & Government

Understanding Organizational Leadership through Ubuntu offers a creative, innovative and holistic approach to understanding organizational leadership using the principles embodied in the African philosophy of personhood known as ubuntu - or the essence of being human. Using African proverbs, folktales and indigenous concepts, the book discusses the organizational principles of ubuntu and the leadership lessons that modern organizations can learn from these principles. The principles include sharing and collective ownership of opportunities, responsibilities and challenges, the importance of people and relationships over things, participatory leadership and decision making, loyalty, reconciliation, experiential learning and knowledge management By using humorous ways that touch people's heart to communicate organizational and personal management and improvement strategies, the book demystifies organizational language while at the same time enhancing its power. It also contributes to the much-needed cross-cultural dialogue among organizations and societies. _______________________ Chiku Malunga is a consultant and author with many years experience of organizational development work among African and European NGOs. He is currently the director of Capacity Development Consultants (CADECO), an organization that promotes African- centered organizational improvement models. His books include: Understanding Organizational Sustainability through African Proverbs, Organizational Wisdom in African Proverbs, and Making Strategic Plans Work: Insights from African Indigenous Wisdom (2009). He holds a doctorate degree in Development Studies from the University of South Africa and is married with two children and is based in Malawi. He can be contacted at: cadeco@sdnp.org.mw Publication date: June 2009

Understanding Organizational Leadership Through Ubuntu (Hb)

Malunga, Chiku

Management & Leadership

Who is an African? At face value, the answer seems obvious. Surely, everyone knows who the African is, it would seem. But the answer becomes less obvious once other probing qualifiers are added to the question. How is the African identity constructed in the face of the mosaic of identities that people of African ancestry living within and beyond the continent bear? Do all categorised as Africans or as having an African pedigree perceive themselves as Africans? Are all who perceive themselves as Africans accepted as such? Are there levels of "Africanness", and are some more African than others? How does African identity interface with other levels of identity and citizenship in Africa? And what are the implications of the contentious nature of African identity and citizenship for the projects of pan-Africanism, the making of the Africa-nation, and Africa's development trajectories? Contributors to the volume, including Ali Mazrui, Kwesi Prah, Gamal Nkrumah, Helmi Sharawy and Marcel Kitissou, address these questions and more. They examine the issues of African identity and citizenship, the politics spurned by the co-existence of peoples of different Africanities in the same country, and the prospects of constructing an Africa-Nation in which Africans of all hues are as sentimentally attached to, as say, the Europeans are attached to Europe. Though the projects of pan-Africanism and the making of the Africa-nation have not achieved the desired levels of success, some of the contributors found sufficient grounds for optimism: These grounds include the deepening democratic ethos in the continent, which is believed will unleash a love of freedom that will supersede the fissiparous tendencies that underlie the various notions of Africanity; and the rise of new economic powers such as India and China, which are increasingly looking towards Africa as the next big destination. The emergence of Barrack Obama, whose father is Kenyan, as the President of the United States of America, also appears to be unleashing a new wave of can-do attitude. It is argued that for many Africans, Obama is both an African name they can relate to, and a metaphor expressing that anything is possible if you strive hard for it with the 'right attitude.' This 'right attitude' is an attitude that is post-chauvinism, for it is only by being post-racial and a reconciler that a Blackman, with an African Muslim father, who was not born into privilege, could emerge president of the most powerful country in the world. This lesson is not lost on Africans and it is a powerful boost to the African unity project.

Who is an African?: Identity, Citizenship and the Making of the Africa-Nation

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