Secularism and National in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: an Empirical Study

Nigeria is a plural state with diverse culture, ethnic and religious institutions. These portray the beauty of the country to the outside world and successive Nigerian governments have not ceased to preach the nation’s desire to forge unity in diversity. However, the reality on the ground is that ethnic chauvinism, ethnic politics, ethnic consciousness, ethnic factionalization, religious fanaticism and extremism have overshadowed the desire for unity, which is a basic ingredient for national development. These are manifested in political and constitutional instabilities, ethnic and religious violence, bad leadership and governance, political competition for power, insecurity of lives and property, corruption, tribalism and nepotism, injustice, immoral acts, bloodshed, and intolerance. The challenges of national development in Nigeria assume such an awful proportion that seems to defy any kind of antidote; this is the stage at which the concept of secularism becomes most apt. This study therefore explored the effect of secularism on national development in Nigeria’s fourth republic. A descriptive method was adopted and data was collected via a survey of 900 respondents comprises of Christian leaders, Muslim leaders, Traditional leaders, leaders of Civil Society groups and Youth leaders. Data collected were analysed using Pearson product moment correlation and linear regression analysis. The result of the study revealed that there is a positive and significant relationship between secularism and national development. The result also showed that secularism does have a significant effect on national development in Nigeria’s fourth republic. Requisite recommendations and conclusion were provided in the light of theoretical and empirical findings.

A stylistic study of selected poems in Jide Balogun’s ‘The Desert in the River’

Every society in a quest for nationhood undergoes series of stages, which are inevitable and necessary for its growth. Nigeria’s pursuit for legitimate growth and development has been hampered by certain hindrances which have brought the nation to disrepute and slow development. This paper explores, from a linguistic perspective, the varying thematic issues that have impeded the growth of the nation. The paper x-rays the thematic nuances as discussed in Jide Balogun’s ‘The Desert in the River’ using stylistic tools. Five poems were purposively selected from the collection. The selection is done across the five parts of the collection. The study found that, the theme of corruption and bad leadership pervade the texts and the duo stood as the hydra-headed monster to the growth and development of the nation. Also, the theme of power and unity are evident in the text. The author posits that unless power is appropriately dispensed and unity is fostered among different divides, development is a mirage. The study therefore concludes that, beyond the frantic quest for industrialisation, proper attention must be devoted to dealing with corruption in the land, bad leadership, creating avenue for unity and ensuring proper dissemination of power and justice.

Barnabas: A leadership model for the Nigerian society

It has usually been accepted that the success of any organisation or nation depends on the ability of its leader to govern and manage its affairs. The failure of most developing countries, especially Nigeria, has often been blamed on bad leadership. Most Nigerians are of the opinion that the leadership problem in Nigeria has been the major impediment in the nation’s development. Most people also agree that corruption and bad governance, which are prevalent in Nigeria today, are the results of leadership failure. The consensus among scholars, critics and observers of the Nigerian state is that the current situation of the nation is the result of lack of good and purposeful leadership. It is because of leadership failure in the country that Nigerians today clamor for good and purposeful leadership. This paper is a contribution to the search for the long-awaited leader. This paper examines Barnabas’ character using the narrative method.Contribution: This article reveals that Barnabas was a bridge-builder, team player, non-discriminatory and not power or position drunk and these are the traits that should be used as a model in selecting or electing leaders within ecclesiastical and secular circles.