In many parts of the world, cultism creates an atmosphere of negative peace as a result of its footprints in the security market which facilitate arms proliferation. Youth cultism is one of the sources of violence in most Nigerian cities. Several studies on cultism have focused on the evolution of cult related activities in Nigeria from non-violence to the proliferation of splinter secret cults in tertiary institutions and communities. This study examines the socio-economic and security implications of cultism in Nigerian cities. The study answers the following questions: What are the linkages between cultism, crime and violence in the country? How do cult groups engage in lethal violence? Why are Nigerian cities prone to cult related activities? How does cultism affect people in cities? This qualitative study found that the abatement of cultism so far has not yielded expected results as some innocent people are murdered by cult groups with dangerous weapons. The assurances of safety, protection, success in the society and the influence by members when they join do not always materialise as desired. Fatal incidents indicate that membership of cult groups is not an antidote to associated lethal violence. The study recommends that informal peace education and security collaboration by all stakeholders remain crucial to the management of cult violence in Nigerian cities. Timely identification of notorious groups or members through early warning system will go a long way to discouraging the spatial spread and recruitment of new members.

One of the fundamental objectives of US foreign-policy since the mid-twentieth century has been the spread of democracy across the globe. Africa’s records of military authoritarianism provide the enabling conditions for US democratic exertion. Specifically, Nigeria’s strategic importance accounts for US interest in the establishment of a popular and enduring political order. This article explores the efforts made by the US in forestalling the possibilities of political crisis in the 2015 Presidential Election. The article adopts a descriptive method to highlight the circumstances that surrounded the election, and also the US interest in the processes leading to, and the outcome of the election. This provides explanations for the interest in Nigeria’s political adventure. The point is made that the combination of support provided by the US and the genuine interest of the dominant political actors ensured that the 2015 Presidential Election had a relatively positive outcome.

This piece comparatively examines the challenges involved in conducting elections that are credible, free and fair as a cornerstone of the democratic consolidation process in emerging democracies in Africa. The focus was on the 2017 general elections in Liberia and Kenya. Methodologically, documentary evidence was used to generate relevant data for qualitative analysis. Institutional theory underpins democratic functionality in achieving governance ends that meets citizens’ expectations and aspirations. It is clear that both countries are plural societies deeply divided along ethnic lines. Inter-group electoral competition was then framed on the ‘we’ and ‘them’ narrative, turning elections into a zero-sum game. Electoral bodies are also steeped in this ethnic framing thus hampering their credibility in conducting credible elections. The interve-ntion of the Supreme Courts of both countries to direct the electoral bodies to adhere to the provisions of the law is a remarkable demonstration of the independence of the judiciary in Africa. Building strong state institutions is therefore imperative for and instrumental to the enforcement of the rule of law towards achieving democratic consolidation.

Child marriages in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) and around the world have been associated with enormous complications, especially relating to the developmental potential of young girls/women within society. SSA is confronted with the issue of child marriages and seemingly with governments failing to clamp down on the practice. Child marriages have continued to manifest themselves, especially in deep rural areas where traditional beliefs are still rife. The study used a qualitative research method were the systematic review of the literature relating to child marriages and their implications was undertaken. Apart from an extensive literature search, the study utilized thematic content analysis to deduce its findings, with the hope of bringing in more meaning to the overall content of the paper. The literature pointed out that poverty, inequality and a slow government response, contributes to increased child marriages. Furthermore, the failure to develop, implement and enforce policies is another major contributing factor. Thematic content analysis was used to identify analyse and report patterns of themes that emerged from the data analysis. The implications of child marriage include; early school dropout, early pregnancy and the increased possibility of domestic violence. The study concludes that better access to support services and education is key in ensuring that the governments in SSA are able to better position themselves, in dealing with child marriages in the region.

Empowerment of students at various South African universities, as agents of change entails acquisition of knowledge and skills that are actually contextual-ized in real African; while at the same time, students can globally compete with their contemporaries. To actualize learning in this context, as the reality that can indeed transform students into responsive citizenry, the calls for decolonisation of curriculum and methodology in South African universities continue to enjoy clamours from both students and the academics. The question remains, how can education be decolonised in South African universities, if the curriculum offered to students in each higher institution remains ethnocentric and Western in both nature and structures? Decolonisa-tion of education therefore, revolves around the academic staff that facilitates teaching and learning. Theories of social realism and social transformation have been used to underpin this article review. The paper, therefore recommends professional learning communities as effective approaches for academic staff development on the reality of deco-lonisation of education to transform South African universities.

The world has seen a growing emphasis on the role of social dialogue in matters relating to social and economic development since the 2008 global financial crisis, however social dialogue as an approach to development issues has not been used to describe any multilateral cooperation. The closest utilisation of this concept is “dialogue” in the context of BRICS affairs, where the relationship between the countries is constantly viewed as a multilateral dialogue. This paper utilises the social dialogue approach to show how multilateral social dialogue is used by the BRICS in the pursuit of coexistence. The paper argues that the BRICS and their coexistence can be better understood as a form of an institutionalised multilateral social dialogue, based on cooperation among states that seek to shape the direction of economic and social policy in the international development landscape. The coexistence of the BRICS is further entrenched and demonstrated through the establishment of the BRICS institutionalised social dialogue platforms, which go beyond government interaction to include civil society and business.

Female migrants are given less attention in migration thus opening room for their vulnerability. Various scholars have tried to incorporate gender into female immigrants’ vulnerability but ignored the role played by other intersecting factors contributing to vulnerability. Through a qualitative approach, this study aimed at determining the intersectional factors contributing to the vulnerability of young Zimbabwean female immigrants in Johannesburg. The findings of this study highlighted that the young Zimbabwean female immigrants are vulnerable to abuse, discrimination, xenophobia, poor health, and social and economic problems as a result of the intersecting factors. These include nationality, gender, legality, language barriers, type of work, poverty (and the desperation it generates), and competition over job opportunities. The study indicated that these female immigrants do not look for the law’s protection because they are afraid of the abuse by the police and being deported. The study recommends a multi stakeholder approach to minimise the young women’s vulnerability through dealing with all the factors that contribute to their vulnerability.

The phenomenon of Pentecostalism has been exhaustively discussed as a contemporary and topical issue. Thus, Pentecostalization of African Christianity has become a new phenomenon that has engaged the attention of many scholars since the mid-1960s. African, perhaps, Nigerian Pentecostalism, has constituted the fastest growing Christianity in the world. A handful of scholars have attributed this growth to the fact that they are distinct from the influence of the African Charismatic movements. In addition, some opine that Nigerian Pentecostals have no resemblance with African Instituted Churches. Despite the fact that some claim independence from the Pentecostals of Kenneth Haggin, Seymour, Topeka and Osborne, others subscribe to the fact that the above-named televangelists influenced the popularity of African perhaps Nigerian Pentecostalism. Out of these several submissions, the emphasis has to be placed on historical fact. Pentecostalism as a religious movement that started in the 20th Century has its origin in the emergence and spread of the African Independent Churches and emphasizes on visible gifts of the Holy Spirit, faith, healing and miracles as evident in both Old and New Testaments. Besides, some of the features of African Indigenous Churches are re-enacted and re-emphasized in the Nigerian Pentecostals. The paper, therefore, adopted historical, theological and interpretative methods leading to the fact that the old wine in the new wineskins is the corresponding re-definition, re-emergence, continuity, and re-emphasis in the Nigerian Pentecostals that enhance the faith of both Pentecostal Christians and contemporary Neo-Pentecostal churches with new vigour and modern vitality. The paper, therefore, postulates that the emergence and spread of African Charismatic Movements immensely and tremendously contributed and still contribute to the phenomenal growth and popularity of Nigerian Pentecostalism. The paper concludes that the Holy Spirit, which though poses intellectual difficulty in scholarship, is the catalyst behind the old wine in the new wineskins.

Focusing on the faculty of Human and Social Sciences of the North West University (NWU), this paper examines the contribution of African immigrants in increasing the knowledge repository in Institutions of higher learning. The paper employs quantitative research method and uses content analysis as a data collection technique, in order to tally faculty publication records for the academic years 2015, 2016 and 2017. The sample was 54 African immigrants employed in the faculty of Human and Social Science of the University. The paper found that, African immigrants contribute in the research outputs of the faculty with their significant production of publications in various academic journals as well as contributions in edited books. Furthermore, the econtributi-ons of African immigrants goes beyond just journals and book chapters due to the fact they expand the knowledge repository of both the University and South Africa as a whole. Conclusively, these publications are available to various readers and therefore inform the increase in societal knowledge base and have a propensity to shape policy making of various government institutions in South Africa.

Democratic consolidation in Southern Africa must be viewed in the lenses of National Liberation Movements (NLMs) that became ruling parties in the post-liberation struggle. Contrary to the very reason that kindled the NLMs, there are tendencies of a political culture, desirous to capture the state and centralization of power. Yet, one would have expected a renewed focus on democracy, human rights, civil society, the rule of law and a robust media. The study is qualitative in nature, using secondary data to interrogate democratic deficits, providing hopes of genuine liberation hinged upon moral, intellectual regeneration and political realignments. It is revealed that, although it is not possible to completely discredit the governance of Liberation Movements and how they affect democratic consolidation, some principles are seriously threatened to present a paradox to the people who supported the cause of these NLMs. Reality manifests the contradictions of revolutionary optimism transformed into self-satisfied entitlement culture.

Nigerian people in the 21st century are faced with bad governance and leadership as a result of corruption, instability, senseless killings, insecurity, and among others. This idea of suffering also has praxis of humanity. Thus, where people experience evil, retrogression, anti-development and loss are substantia-lly there undoing. Therefore, this undoing is the product of Arialusi which as an Edo religious concept means the law of retribution; sowing and reaping. As a matter of fact, Arialusi means the law of retributive justice; law of nemesis; a cosmic law of justice which holds that one’s life is determined by the performance in the previous life that spills to the present and the future. Arialusi is a human ‘sim’ that imprints itself as a hidden force or potential in one’s life. This hidden force or potential when activated by an external stimulus or natural law, produces corresponding effects either good or bad, happiness or suffering, progress or retrogression. This paper adopted moral, socio-cosmic methods leading to the fact that much emphasis on materialism and acquisition of wealth than spiritual knowledge are the bane of Nigerian leaders. Arialusi is a never-ending process of life. Therefore, Arialusi is an eternal and immutable law of nature that has its seat in the soul of every human. No doubt, the payoffs are gain or loss, comfort or pains, enjoyment or suffering. To this end, the work postulates that Arialusi is about cause and effect and political activities are also accounted for by omission or commission. The end, the product of every political activity has corresponding effect either for the individual or the society

The purpose of the paper is to interrogate how instructional leadership enables the occurrence of multi-grade teaching in primary schools. This is a conceptual and a positional paper. The paper followed a route of the qualitative case study design. Observation technique and the literature study were used to collect data. Out of the population of thirteen primary schools in one of the circuits of Mopani district in Limpopo Province, South Africa, three primary schools were conveniently sampled. Those are the educational institutions that are currently experiencing multi-grade classes. Research findings revealed that firstly teachers involved in multi-grade classes have had inadequate training. Secondly, such teachers are further receiving insufficient support from their School-Based Support Teams (SBSTs). Thirdly, there was an absence of the relevant multi-grade material. Fourthly, there is reliance on old-fashioned teaching methods. Lastly, teachers were found to be receiving workshop from the department. As part of the conclusion, the researchers recommend that multi-grade classes be accompanied by multi-grade assessment. In addition, the researchers recommend that multi-grade teaching in primary schools, be viewed not as a burden, but as a remedy where mono-grade learning is impossible to occur. Lastly, the researchers recommend for instructional leaders in primary schools to serve as enablers of the smooth occurrence of multi-grade teaching there.

In Africa, the play of sphere of influence in environmental mitigation policy-making too is deeply entangled in the politics-administration dichotomy debate. Ordinarily, cooperation between politics (i.e. elected officials) and administra-tion (i.e. permanent officials) is the best way to safeguard policy failures, uncer-tainties and derailments. Unfortunately, the norms of the drama of power inter-play between political officials and the bureaucratic- permanent officials in managing policy issues dovetail more and more away from cooperation. This paper interrogates the dominant character of politics-administration relations in policy formulation and explores whether it aids or mars the alleviation of policy failures inclusive of the environment sector. Taking Lagos State as a template for Africa, the paper posits that where political officials strive to exercise authority to lay-down policy ideals for social engineering devoid of hegemony over the vital knowledge of perspective, strategy, method and approach that the bureaucratic permanent official portends in policymaking will produce functi-onal public policies. The paper proves the above proposition using a data anal-ysis orientation tagged ‘quantitative-positivist epistemology’. 20 questionnaires each was distributed in 15 ministries of the Lagos State Civil Service. The Two-way Chi-square statistical tool at df= 4@ .05 level of significance = 9.488 was used to test two formulated hypotheses. The results show that the level of bureaucratic capability and skill brought to bear in policy formulation have significant impact on public policy successes and also that hegemony of administration in policymaking is counterproductive to policy realisations. It concludes that politics set the values for addressing society’s governance challenges, but that less involvement of the permanent bureaucrat in defining these values produce less than viable options for curtailing policy disappoint-tments especially environmental hazards. It recommends amongst others the constructive involvement of administration in setting political values in policymaking.