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British colonial rule in South Africa in the first instance and the subsequent apartheid regime harmed nation-building with repercussions on good governance, citizenship, and overall development of the country. These negative impacts manifest in the form of high levels of citizen inequality, increased crime rates, poverty, unemployment, corruption, poor service delivery which questions the essence of the state. The origin of the South African state, its perverse character, and future trajectory were interrogated in this paper using qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The findings show South Africa is tending towards state failure unless measures are taken to stem this pivot. One way forward is the creation of a political system that will enable the state and citizens to renegotiate a more inclusive social contract.

Human rights violations remain a historical issue. Thus, exploring this concern amidst the dysfunctionality of the state is more alarming considering that political terrain could serve as a breeding and conducive atmosphere for further human rights violations. This paper explores the nexus between the dysfunctionality of states and its implications on human rights violations in Nigeria. Using secondary data and thematic analysis, we more specifically focused on human rights violation cases in the two terms of office of President Mohammadu Buhari (2015- 2023). The paper explored the state of dysfunctionality and the violation of human rights during this period. The findings show there were violations of socio-economic and cultural rights, freedom of the press, freedom of movement, right to peaceful demonstration, and freedom of gathering and association, in Nigeria during President Buhari's administration. The paper concluded that for citizens’ rights to be adequately protected, the causal factors of a dysfunctional state must be addressed to avoid perverseness and continuous violation of human rights. Recommendations were made in favor of a newly negotiated social contract.

Ghana, like other developing nations, was not left behind in embracing the eight time-bound Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in September 2000. The millennium development goals aimed towards peace and good standards of living have been faced with series of problems in its attainment in Ghana. These problems have undermined the extent to which Ghana could achieve the MDGs. The study adopting qualitative research method shows that Ghana is faced with difficulty in achieving these eight millennium development goals in certain portions of the nation most especially in the rural communities due to lack of infrastructure. The study therefore recommends that Ghana should focus more on improving the standard of living of the rural dwellers by increasing the public services in the area. The need for Ghana to focus more on solving these problems is strategic for a better result in this new era of Sustainable Development Goals.

South Africa has a long history as one of the most liberal constitutions in Africa and the world at large. The country's bill of rights, which is the cornerstone of its democracy, protects the rights of everyone. Nevertheless, there have been incessant reports of xenophobic attacks by South Africans against noncitizens, which have deteriorated intensely since end of the apartheid regime and the return to democracy in 1994. In South Africa, xenophobic incidents have had terrible repercussions, including fatalities, evictions, and unstable economies. This study investigates how democratic citizenship can help reduce xenophobia in South Africa. We examine the connection between four-dimensional understandings of citizenship, namely: rights, membership, participation, and identity; civic engagement; xenophobic sentiments; and democratic citizenship, using a desktop and historical approach. According to our findings, civic enlightenment about democratic citizenship considerably lowers xenophobic sentiments and raises their tolerance for foreigners. This is done by expanding the frontiers of the bourgeoning concept of ‘democratic citizenship’ where immigrants and host citizens see each other as stakeholders in the South African project. The results of this study guide policy initiatives meant to combat xenophobia and advance tolerance. Along with encouraging democratic citizenship and social cohesiveness, it also helps establish evidence-based strategies to combat xenophobia in South Africa.

In the 21st century, the intersection of religion and politics in Africa has become increasingly pronounced, with clergy having an important effect on forming political landscapes. This paper explores whether evangelicalism is now politically prophetic or prophetically political by examining the influence of religious leaders on political outcomes. The distinction between being politically prophetic and prophetically political is subtle yet significant: the former aligns religious voices with specific political agendas, while the latter involves speaking truth to power regardless of political affiliations. Using Nigeria and Zimbabwe as case studies, this paper adopts a descriptive narrative framework and a qualitative desktop review approach. It draws on the Marxian theory to rationalise theocratic influence and followership dogma, suggesting that clergy involvement in politics serves elite interests and maintains the status quo. The paper argues that religious prophecies significantly impact political participation and voter behaviour, often leading to controversies and questions about the authenticity of these prophecies. The analysis highlights the dual roles of religious leaders as both spiritual guides and political influencers, raising important questions about the integrity of the prophetic voice in the realm of politics. The challenge lies in maintaining this integrity while engaging with the political realities of the 21st century. The paper concludes that while the intersection between interest, politics, and religion will continue to shape political participation, there is a need to ensure the integrity of the prophetic voice while engaging with present-day political realities.

The notion of nationalism as a rallying force for national consciousness and liberation in Africa is a long-standing prism. In South Africa, it is historically conceived as a mechanism for promoting the unity, right, and emancipation South Africans from colonialism and subsequently, the apartheid regime. Contrary to this positionality on nationalism, contemporary South Africa finds itself more divided along racial lines nearly three decades (28 years) after the end of the apartheid regime. This paper, using historical and descriptive analysis from qualitative data, assessed the perceptions and impact of nationalism in South Africa. It explored the changes in meaning of nationalism over time as well as the impact of such changes on post-apartheid struggles in South Africa’s development. The findings of the paper showed that the continuous economic divide between the rich and poor as well as the incapacity of government to meet individual, household, and community needs and expectations has engineered over time, a lack of trust in government as saviour or mediator. There is also the rekindled mutual suspicion and hostility along racial line despite the projection of a ‘rainbow nation.’ The paper concluded that an approach on constitutional patriotism, which encourages norm changes and loyalty shift from ethnic/national loyalty to national value and loyalty, would fit a multicultural setting as South Africa.

The need to reclaim African territory – economically, socially, and politically – from imperialism and colonialism united Africans, especially after the Second World War, in pressing for the independence of African nations from colonialism is imperative. This period marked the emergence of Nationalism or Nationalist Movements in Africa. Nationalism presupposes African unity against European domination and rule in Africa or the creation in Africa united ‘nation-states’ as well as their economic and political transformation. Using the Nigerian case as analytical compass, this paper interrogates the concepts of Nationalism and Nationalist Agitations in Africa, especially during the colonial and the postcolonial periods. The paper employs historical and descriptive approaches and relies solely on secondary sources of data. The paper notes that, while all the ethnic-nationalities in Nigeria united against colonial rule and fought for its independence, sooner after independence in October 1960, the country began to divide against itself along ethno-religious-cultural cleavages. This division culminated in the Civil War fought between 1967 and 1970 and the continuous agitations by various ethnic-nationalities that make up the country either for more relevance within the larger Nigerian State or for outright abrogation of the State and creation of 'our own state'. These agitations are captured by the concept of Self Determination. The paper therefore concludes that there has been serious transformation in the meaning of Nationalism from what it used to mean under colonialism and presently under postcolonial state. The paper notes that this transformation is due in part to the colonial origin of the state itself and the insincerity of the postcolonial African leaders to make the state a 'nation-state'. To reawaken the Nigerianness nay Africanness nationalism, the paper recommends a political structure, which allows each ethnic-nationality some latitude of self-rule/governance in the likes of genuine federalism. Also there is need for spirited efforts at engendering good, transparent and fair governance, which will rapidly take many Africans out of the mouldy pond of poverty. This, we hope, will not only results in development of the states, but also transfer loyalties of the critical mass of the populace away from their micro ethnic-nationalities back to the state and strengthens the state against centrifugal forces.

This study examines the ionospheric chaos in the solar quiet current, Sq(H), across European and African sectors during 2009 and 2021 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events. The SSW was categorized into precondition, ascending, peak, descending, after-, and no-SSW phases based on the rising stratospheric temperature. 13 magnetometer stations, located within the geographical longitude of 26 to 40° across European and African sectors were considered. The magnetometer data obtained during the periods of SSW were used to derive the solar quiet current time series. This solar quiet current time series was transformed into a complex network using the horizontal visibility graph (HVG) approach, and fuzzy entropy (FuzzyEn) was applied to the resulting node-degree time series to quantify the presence of chaos or orderliness behavior in the ionosphere during SSW. The results revealed that the latitudinal distribution of entropy in the European sector depicts high entropy values, indicating the presence of ionospheric chaos. Consistent low entropy values unveiling the presence of orderliness behavior were found to be prominent in the African sector. This dominance of orderliness behavior during the phases of SSW in the African sector reveals that the SSW effect manifest orderliness behavior on the regional ionosphere of the African sector, while the pronounced features of ionospheric chaos found in the European sector reveal evidence of significant effects of SSW on the regional ionosphere in this sector. Finally, we found that after the peak phase of SSW, the ionospheric chaos is more pronounced.

This study was carried out with a view to establishing a routine for the selection of the optimum electrode spacing for the accurate measurement of resistivity within unusually thin (5–100 cm) subsurface layer in agro geophysics. The Hummel’s image theory for 2-Layer Wenner Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) formed the theoretical basis for the study. For the purpose of simulation, a computer program was developed using the theory. The simulation process involved varied upper and lower layer resistivities in conjunction with a spectrum of electrode spacings (a) and varied upper layer thicknesses (h). The relationship between electrode spacing and upper layer thickness was determined using the asymptotic resistivity characteristics of model curves and layer sensitivity models obtained from simulation. The deduced relationships were validated using the same approach on field data. It was observed from the model curves that with respect to electrode spacing and thickness, asymptotic limits remained the same irrespective of the nature of the upper layer resistivity (resistive or conductive). On the other hand, the nature of the resistivity of the lower layer was a factor in the attainment of its asymptotic resistivity. The observations from field data were congruous with those from simulation. Very strong (R = 0.99) direct linear relationships existed between electrode spacing and upper layer thickness with respect to the nature of upper layer resistivity. The study identified that the electrode spacing that will keep resistivity measurements within the upper layer with little or no interference from the underlying layer is less than half of its thickness. Also, electrode spacing not less than six times the upper layer thickness is required to accurately measure the resistivity of the lower layer when the upper layer is resistive. However, for a conductive upper layer, an electrode spacing of about twelve times the thickness of the upper layer is required to measure the true resistivity of the lower layer.