Department of Political Science

Permanent URI for this community

https://uilspace.unilorin.edu.ng/handle/20.500.12484/1648

Browse

Browsing Department of Political Science by Title

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Item
    AN ASSESSMENT OF LEGISLATIVE EFFECTIVENESS IN NIGERIA’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY (1999-2011)
    (UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2018-06) BAKARE, ADEBOLA RAFIU
    The legislature is an important arm of government in democracy given its lawmaking, oversight and representation roles. It is inconceivable to have democracy without the people’s assembly which in Nigeria is called National Assembly. Since 1999, the level of effectiveness of the National Assembly has generated some concernsamong political analysts, scholars and other stakeholders. The significance of its role in entrenching good governance is inevitable, but its legislative output and impact on the people are questionable. It is against this backdrop that this study assessed the level of effectiveness of the National Assembly in lawmaking between 1999 and 2011. The objectives of the study were to: (i) identify the factors that determine the effectiveness of the National Assembly in lawmaking; (ii) compare the lawmaking performance of the 4th, 5th and 6th Assemblies; and (iii) examine the impact of some Acts of the National Assembly on good governance in Nigeria. The study adopted the neo-institutional theoretical framework. It employed the sequential mixed method research design using both primary and secondary data. Primary data was sourced through purposive in-depth interview, while secondary data was sourced from National Assembly’s official documents, relevant journals, newspapers and textbooks. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including directional graphs and Institutional Legislative Effectiveness Score (ILES) based on the ILES benchmark of τ = 0 – 1 (where the closer to 0, the poor). The findings of the study were that: i. of the six factors that determine the effectiveness of the National Assembly in lawmaking, cognate experience, educational qualification, turnover, innate ability, Committee chairmanship and ideological consideration ranked 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th respectively; ii. the lawmaking effectiveness of the National Assembly between 1999 and 2011 was ‘fair’ given the value of average ILES of 0.27 on the benchmark; iii. by comparison, the 4th Assembly’s average ILES of 0.20, 5th Assembly’s 0.25 and 6th Assembly’s 0.31, indicated that lawmaking effectiveness is relatively progressive in the 6th Assembly; iv. there is positive relationship between Bill sponsorship and passage in the 4th (288:84) and 5th (395:149) Assemblies but the 6th Assembly (490:112) recorded inverse relationship; and v. the National Assembly enacted 183 Acts in 12 years which comprise 35% economic, 18% social, 2% cultural, 22% political and 23% regulatory Acts. Most of these Acts did not significantly impact positively on the people. For instance, despite the Child Right Act 2003, as at 2017, approximately 6 out of 10 children in Nigeria still experienced physical violence. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 10 boys experience sexual violence. The study concluded that the impact of the Acts of National Assembly is not felt by the people as the core values were not achieved. This is attributed mainly to low capacity of most legislators and unhealthy political terrain which led toweak enforcement of the Acts. The study recommended improved capacity building for legislators and reduced bureaucracy to ensure harmonious governance for the benefits of Nigerians.
  • Item
    AN ASSESSMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO 1999-2010
    (Department of Political Science, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ilorin in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science., 2017) AYODELE, Bonnie Oluyemi
    The protracted armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains a major concern to the global community based on its high level of destruction. This had necessitated the establishment of the first mission called the United Nations Operation in Congo in 1960. The failure of the mission in resolving the conflict led to the establishment of the second mission tagged the United Nations Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in 1999. Therefore, the study assessed the performance of MONUC in relation to its mandate of resolving the ever-present crisis in DRC. The main objective is to assess the impact of MONUC on the peace process in DRC. The specific objectives are to: (i) identify the political dynamics of the peace process (ii) assess the roles of civil society organisations in the peace process (iii) examine the challenges of the mission in relation to its overall mandate (iv) draw lessons from the mission for future UN’s peacekeeping missions in Africa. The study adopted the realist theoretical framework, and employed qualitative research methodology. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. Primary data were collected through interviews using interpreter in some occasions. Secondary data such as journal articles, reports and books were used to complement the primary data. Using purposive sampling method, sixty-five key informants were interviewed. These included one past UN Secretary General, eighteen UN officials who were involved in peacekeeping operation in DRC, ten diplomats representing countries that initially participated in the conflict such as Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe; ten civil society organisations engaging in peace-building in DRC; ten African Union representatives that participated in the peace process; fourteen armed militia members (male and female) from DRC and twelve journalists, who reported on the conflict in DRC. The analysis was done descriptively. The findings of the study revealed that: i) The political dynamics of the peace process was complicated by the interest of internal and external interested actors who found the resources in DRC attractive for easy exploitation. ii) The lack of robust support from civil society organisations led to an increase in the number of active militias from about 12 to 24 groups within the study period. Consequently, the overall success of the mission was minimal due to suspicions among the local populace and lack of robust support for the UN mission. iii) The mandate of MONUC was relatively underachieved, however, the mission conducted a post-war election but was unable to reduce civilian deaths and prevent further humanitarian crisis. The study concluded that for durable peace to be achieved in the DRC, it recommended that there must be an inclusive political engagement with all actors in the conflict. Establish effective post-conflict natural resources management in the DRC. In addition, the support of the civil society in the DRC is very crucial in earning the trust of the local populace. To reduce civilian death and arrest humanitarian crisis, it is recommended that the mission should formulate a strategic peace-building architecture toward demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants/militia
  • Item
    AN ASSESSMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS PEACEKEEPING MISSION IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO 1999-2010
    (University of Ilorin, 2017) AYODELE, Bonnie Oluyemi
    The protracted armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) remains a major concern to the global community based on its high level of destruction. This had necessitated the establishment of the first mission called the United Nations Operation in Congo in 1960. The failure of the mission in resolving the conflict led to the establishment of the second mission tagged the United Nations Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) in 1999. Therefore, the study assessed the performance of MONUC in relation to its mandate of resolving the ever-present crisis in DRC. The main objective is to assess the impact of MONUC on the peace process in DRC. The specific objectives are to: (i) identify the political dynamics of the peace process (ii) assess the roles of civil society organisations in the peace process (iii) examine the challenges of the mission in relation to its overall mandate (iv) draw lessons from the mission for future UN’s peacekeeping missions in Africa. The study adopted the realist theoretical framework, and employed qualitative research methodology. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the study. Primary data were collected through interviews using interpreter in some occasions. Secondary data such as journal articles, reports and books were used to complement the primary data. Using purposive sampling method, sixty-five key informants were interviewed. These included one past UN Secretary General, eighteen UN officials who were involved in peacekeeping operation in DRC, ten diplomats representing countries that initially participated in the conflict such as Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe; ten civil society organisations engaging in peace-building in DRC; ten African Union representatives that participated in the peace process; fourteen armed militia members (male and female) from DRC and twelve journalists, who reported on the conflict in DRC. The analysis was done descriptively. The findings of the study revealed that: i) The political dynamics of the peace process was complicated by the interest of internal and external interested actors who found the resources in DRC attractive for easy exploitation. ii) The lack of robust support from civil society organisations led to an increase in the number of active militias from about 12 to 24 groups within the study period. Consequently, the overall success of the mission was minimal due to suspicions among the local populace and lack of robust support for the UN mission. iii) The mandate of MONUC was relatively underachieved, however, the mission conducted a post-war election but was unable to reduce civilian deaths and prevent further humanitarian crisis. The study concluded that for durable peace to be achieved in the DRC, it recommended that there must be an inclusive political engagement with all actors in the conflict. Establish effective post-conflict natural resources management in the DRC. In addition, the support of the civil society in the DRC is very crucial in earning the trust of the local populace. To reduce civilian death and arrest humanitarian crisis, it is recommended that the mission should formulate a strategic peace-building architecture toward demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants/militia
  • Item
    THE DYNAMICS OF FISCAL FEDERALISM IN NIGERIA 1999 - 2011
    (UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-01) IDOWU, Oyediran Olanrewaju
    Fiscal federalism in Nigeria has been a source of intense political contestation for many decades. The contentious issues are equitable distribution and utilisation of revenue among tiers of government and inadequate legal instrument for revenue generation. The frustration arising from this fiscal dilemma has given rise to strident calls for political and economic restructuring of Nigeria. This study examined the dynamics and challenges of Nigerian fiscal arrangement under the Fourth Republic. The objectives of this study were to (i) examine the changing pattern of fiscal federalism in Nigeria between 1999 and 2011; (ii) analyse the challenges of Nigeria’s fiscal federalism; and (iii) assess the extent of the application of the revenue allocation principle. The study adopted decentralization theory which explained the extent to which subnational governments were given autonomy to determine the generation, allocation and utilization of their own revenue. Data for this study were sourced from both secondary and primary sources. Secondary data were derived from government official publications along with journal articles and books. Primary data were sourced from interviews with twenty respondents who were key stakeholders in the area of study. The study utilized qualitative research methodology for the analysis of data. The descriptive and historical aspect of qualitative analysis was adopted as the major tool of analysis. The findings of the study were that: (i) there was a noticeable concentration of governmental functions at the federal level thereby making it to dominate major tax nets to the fiscal disadvantage of the other tiers of government. The 1999 constitution (as amended) lend credence to this observable phenomenon. (ii) there was lack of transprency on the part of federal agencies generating revenue to the distributive pool; (iii) visible inequality exists in national revenue distribution as a result of wide disparity in the per capital allocation between states generating bulk of the Value Added Tax revenue vis-à-vis states contributing little to the pool. (iv) with the lopsided nature of Nigeria’s fiscal federalism, virtually all the tiers of government were dependent on the allocation from the Federation account. This suggest that the federal structure has almost been transformed into a unitary form; with allocation formula in the ratio of 52.68%, 26.6% and 20.60% for federal, state and local governments resectively. This has led to a serious agitation for a review of the extant revenue allocation formula. The study concluded that in Nigeria, an urgent fiscal reform that would redress the existing mismatch through the increase of the taxing powers of lower level governments is very necessary. The study recommended the linking of equity and accountability in revenue allocation, effective government and balanced development to the core issue of national integration. This in essence can lead to resolving the problem of fiscal federalism and the national question in Nigeria.
  • Item
    PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PROCESS IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF PERFORMANCE OF BUREAU OF PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (2007-2015)
    (UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN, 2021-03) IFEJIKA, SOLOMON IFEANYICHUKWU
    There were challenges that characterized public procurement in Nigeria prior to 2007 such as the absence of a dedicated procurement law. The Nigerian government took some steps including institutionalization of reform in the procurement system and enactment of the Public Procurement Act, 2007 that culminated in the establishment of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) in 2007. This study examined the impact that the BPP made on Nigeria’s procurement system between 2007 and 2015. The objectives of the study were to: (i) examine what brought about the reform of Nigeria’s procurement system; (ii) investigate the level of success made by the BPP in ensuring transparency in the procurement process; and (iii) examine the level of compliance with procurement regulations. The study adopted the institutional theory as its theoretical framework, which places emphasis on institutions that shape actions in the investigation of political phenomena. The study relied extensively on secondary sources of data while information derived from primary sources were used to complement it. It adopted the In-depth Interview (IDI) approach. The purposive sampling technique was used to select participants for the study. The sample comprised of twenty respondents which included officers of the BPP, relevant Federal Ministries, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and reputable contracting firms. The data for the study were analysed using the qualitative-descriptive method with particular reliance on content analysis. The findings of the study were that: (i) Public procurement process in Nigeria prior to 2007 was characterized by lack of openness, inadequate legal instruments, and abuses of procurement process thereby raising the costs of government contracts; (ii) the BPP saved Nigeria a total of N558 billion within the period under review as against N102 billion saved by the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit that preceded it; and (iii) there was a 75% level of compliance with the stipulations of the PPA in the procurement process during the period under study. However, there are still some deficiencies arising from the non-compliance attitude of some MDAs, and lapses in the enforcement of statutorily stipulated sanctions on erring government entities by BPP. The study concluded that the advent of BPP has brought about noticeable improvements in Nigeria’s procurement system, especially in the areas of transparency and compliance with procurement regulations. The study recommended, among others, stricter application of the transparency measures, strengthening of the procurement surveillance mechanisms, and strict imposition of sanctions by BPP in accordance with the Public Procurement Act, 2007.