Nigeria is a bellwether, in an enormous continent, endowed with natural resources and human capital, whose development and greatness have been marred by political instability since gaining home-rule from Britain in 1960. The contemporary political, economic, and social quandaries that have stultified Nigeria's growth project flows from difficulties in cultivating patriotic leaders with pluck to enact efficacious policies that will catapult the country to greater heights developmentally. Nigeria in the Fourth Republic: Confronting the Contemporary Political, Economic, and Social Dilemmas, edited by E. Ike Udogu, examines some of the vital issues responsible for the current political malaise and recommends strategies for exculpating the country from her current political quagmires. The contributors to this book argue, inter alia, for the avoidance of false starts reminiscent of the military interventions that aborted the democracy project and advocates the enactment of effective policies to supersede decision dictated by politics. This volume proposes national healthcare strategies to address the country's healthcare needs and for dialogue to extinguish combustible inter-religious conflicts. The book recommends ways to assuage police highway malfeasance and explains why human rights observance is critical to further national cohesion while creating space for the subalterns to have their voices heard in discourses on how to advance peaceful coexistence.
E. Ike Udogu is faculty fellow and professor of African, Comparative, and International Politics at Appalachian State University.
Foreword A. B. Assensoh and Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh Preface Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations and Acronyms General Introduction E. Ike Udogu False Starts and Missed Opportunities in Nigerian Politics George K. Kieh, Jr. Public Policy and Economic Development in Nigeria Kelechi A. Kalu Strategic Reforms to Resuscitate the Nigerian Healthcare System Philip C. Aka and Joseph A. Balogun Christian-Muslim Conflict in Post-Civil War Nigeria: Prelude to the Fourth Republic Olufemi Vaughan The Nigerian Police Highway Corrupt Practices: Strategies to Curb the Transgression Bennett A. Odunsi Subaltern Voices and Implications for Nigerian Politics in the Fourth Republic: A Theoretical and Conceptual Analysis Samuel Zalanga Human Rights Conundrums in the Fourth Republic: A Search for Solution E. Ike Udogu Bibliography
