Gideon Nyan

ideas have consequences

Gideon Nyan

Tunisia and Egypt: Re-Examining the policy of supporting undemocratic leaders

A new day in the global village If there was any lesson to be learnt from the recent crisis that ousted the former both Presidents Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt was that the long standing policy of supporting dictators for sake of stability and continuity are no longer necessary, viable and sustainable. The need to continue to be backing vision less leaders for sake of stability is no longer necessary for this is a new day. Peoples of world are yearning for freedom and liberty. The end of cold war brought by the defeat of communism…

Kenya and Constitutional Referendum

Beyond the Constitutional Referendum From Mombasa to Nairobi, Kenyans came out in droves to pass and celebrate the new constitutional referendum, the most significant since the country attained her independence from Britain in 1963. The catalyst for the reform was the 2007–2008 Kenyan (political, economic, and humanitarian) crisis that erupted after incumbent PresidentMwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election. Supporters of Kibaki's opponent, Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement, alleged electoral manipulation. Both sides were subsequentlyguilty of instigating and participating in the crisis that later took ethnic and religious overtone and sentiments. The referendum was…

New States Creation in Nigeria

Answer to the Institutional Inefficiency? The critical factors in the failure of the modern African countries have been the inability of these nations to analyze institutional ills which maybe cultural, political, and economic. By locating contradictions in the solutions these problems have not been properly resolved because of the inefficiency of the ruling class. Most of these African nations operate systems and institutions that exist as a byproduct of colonial rule that were designed to create rivalries and distrust among groups. The structures in these countries do not encourage unity of purpose and allegiance to the native countries. African countries…

Trade or Aid for African development

From the fifteenth century to the present day, there have been ideological debates about Africa and her relationship with the rest of the world. Western pseudo- geneticist and evolutionist questioned the humanity of the African and suggested her existence on earth as just a mere savage. When that theory was disproved, the debate shifted to the inability of the African to govern herself and whether she possessed the skills and the intellect necessary to control her environment and society. All these challenges to the credibility of the African were made with disregard for history and Africa's contribution to mankind.The debate…

African Neo-Psyche: Hindrance to development

There is a psychological disorder known as Stockholm syndrome, this occurs when a victim shows loyalty to a powerful abuser regardless of the danger this can pose to Its well-being. This is common among victims of domestic violence, kidnapped victims and abused children. The psychological ramification of slavery and colonization on the Africans is the single biggest hindrance to development on the continent. Theories, policies, and plans that have been proven to be effective everywhere always fails in Africa. Intellect is not the problem because the African in diaspora has excelled in every field of human endeavor. So why do…

Examining Globalization: The weakness in Free Market Economy

For years proponents of globalization and free market economy labeled those who desire to include social justice, wealth distribution, fairness, and equity within economic framework as either socialist or communist. Most neo-liberal economic thinkers considered themselves the foremost custodians of capitalism and as the visionary thinkers of the modern age. The modus operandus in the economy, they claimed must be market based and must be the waves of the future; if it’s not working for you then something must be wrong with you.We know from history that markets have always existed since the beginning of time. The fundamental difference with…

Institutional Fear and the Developing World

Importing ideas from one country to another without properly examining the social factors of the country will only lead to failure. Micro finance banks have become the rave in developing countries to reduce poverty due to the success of the nobel laureate Yunus Mohammed in impacting the lives of rural women in Bangladesh. His success has become a model being duplicated all over the world. In my recent trip for to Nigeria I was pleasantly surprised to see two micro finance banks in my village in Zonkwa in the heart of Nigeria. Curiosity led me into one of the banks…