Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in Nigeria

Since independence, the political systems in African states have been western in character, and have, consequently, failed to synchronise with their peculiar realities, resulting in political crises, coups, and developmental woes. Nigeria – Africa’s largest democracy – is one of the states replete...

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Main Authors: Isma'il Husain Mshelia, A. G. Umar Kari, Basit Badmus Akolade
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Hradec Králové 2025-07-01
Series:Modern Africa
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/507
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author Isma'il Husain Mshelia
A. G. Umar Kari
Basit Badmus Akolade
author_facet Isma'il Husain Mshelia
A. G. Umar Kari
Basit Badmus Akolade
author_sort Isma'il Husain Mshelia
collection DOAJ
description Since independence, the political systems in African states have been western in character, and have, consequently, failed to synchronise with their peculiar realities, resulting in political crises, coups, and developmental woes. Nigeria – Africa’s largest democracy – is one of the states replete with colonially induced contradictions, controversies and developmental conundrum, and is the central focus of this paper. Using desk review of qualitative data, the paper establishes that Western political values operate more as liabilities than assets in Africa, hence the need for complete decolonisation – a multifaceted project that transcends the transfer of sovereignty. In line with a scholarly tradition that advocates the resurgence of functional African values, the paper makes a case for reforming African states’ structures, political systems, and economic systems as the surest route to completing the decolonisation project.
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language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher University of Hradec Králové
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spelling doaj-art-2a8cbddfc590401fa0d9f029049178442025-08-20T02:45:15ZengUniversity of Hradec KrálovéModern Africa2336-32742570-75582025-07-0113110.26806/modafr.v13i1.507Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in NigeriaIsma'il Husain Mshelia0A. G. Umar Kari 1Basit Badmus Akolade 2Department of Sociology, University of Abuja, Nigeria Department of Sociology, University of Abuja, Nigeria Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Abuja, Abuja Nigeria Since independence, the political systems in African states have been western in character, and have, consequently, failed to synchronise with their peculiar realities, resulting in political crises, coups, and developmental woes. Nigeria – Africa’s largest democracy – is one of the states replete with colonially induced contradictions, controversies and developmental conundrum, and is the central focus of this paper. Using desk review of qualitative data, the paper establishes that Western political values operate more as liabilities than assets in Africa, hence the need for complete decolonisation – a multifaceted project that transcends the transfer of sovereignty. In line with a scholarly tradition that advocates the resurgence of functional African values, the paper makes a case for reforming African states’ structures, political systems, and economic systems as the surest route to completing the decolonisation project. https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/507decolonisationcolonialismpolitical valuesdemocracyAfrica
spellingShingle Isma'il Husain Mshelia
A. G. Umar Kari
Basit Badmus Akolade
Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in Nigeria
Modern Africa
decolonisation
colonialism
political values
democracy
Africa
title Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in Nigeria
title_full Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in Nigeria
title_fullStr Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in Nigeria
title_short Towards Decolonising African Political Values: A Critique of the Dominant Political Views and Practices in Nigeria
title_sort towards decolonising african political values a critique of the dominant political views and practices in nigeria
topic decolonisation
colonialism
political values
democracy
Africa
url https://journals.uhk.cz/modernafrica/article/view/507
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AT basitbadmusakolade towardsdecolonisingafricanpoliticalvaluesacritiqueofthedominantpoliticalviewsandpracticesinnigeria