Ojogbon Globalization

The Fuel Subsidy matter remains a gaping wound in the Nigerian body politic.  Everyone knows Nigeria is dependent on its earnings from the exploitation of its petroleum resources.  The new year in 2012 began with Nigeria bringing itself to the attention of the world in a new way. The Goodluck Jonathan administration decided to engage in doublespeak that was pleasing to the neoliberals at home and abroad, who consider corruption and profligacy a simple matter of venal elites gone wild.  The response through organized protests by Nigerians challenged this conclusion.  I most admire the Save Nigeria Group's stance, most recent of which is the lawsuit against the Nigerian government, see: Gbenga Adeniji's "SNG sues FG for N2.5tn subsidy payments" http://www.punchng.com/news/sng-sues-fg-for-n2-5tn-subsidy-payments/ and the combination of God's word with social critique by Pastor Tunde Bakare in his sermons, see: http://www.latterrainassembly.org/media.php is much appr...

It is hardly any surprise to confirm what most Nigerians knew from the beginning of the fuel subsidy wahala--that the Nigerian political system is riddled with corruption and the removal of the fuel subsidy was an unfair attempt to penalize ordinary Nigerians for the excesses and profligacy of the government officials and their crony businessmen and women.  The House of Representatives probe has documented some of the ways in which the crony system operates.  It has identified some of the culprits.  The report should point out to the Goodluck Jonathan administration that business as usual is no longer tenable.  It should be used as the first step in identifying the processes and procedures appropriate for cleaning house in the petroleum sector.  It should also be the first in the lineup of probes that would be used to root out corruption in Nigeria.  Nothing less is acceptable.  For the full report of the probe, see: http://premiumtimesng...

Paper presented for the Panel on Women, Water and Migration in Africa: The Case of Ghana, Zimbabwe, Guinee and Chad--a Side Event at the 56 th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, sponsored by The Drammeh Institute Tchad Agir Pour l’Environnement. 777 UN Plaza, Saturday, March 03, 2012, 10:30am to 12 pm Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome Professor of Political Science Brooklyn College, City University of New York Since we are African, and our philosophies of life demonstrate an engagement with the issues that we face in our daily lives, it is appropriate to begin with African aphorisms.  Unfortunately, I only speak Yorùbá, so, I will use some proverbs from my mother tongue that are relevant to our subject matter today.   Omi l’ènìyàn: People are water—they flow Eni bá da’mi síwájú, á te’lè tútù—whoever throws water forward will walk on wet ground—if you do good, you will reap the rewards. It is also important to pay attention to African pop...

The AMISTAD Spirit: Wangari Maathai and the Nobel Peace Prize Paper presented at the Symposium--"Wangari Maathai: Visionary, Environmental Leader, Political Activist and Educator" Brooklyn College, Student Center, Gold Room Mojúbàolú Olúfúnké Okome, Ph.D. Professor of Political Science Brooklyn College, CUNY March 28, 2012 In 1901, Henry Dunant, founder of the Red Cross and won the first Nobel Peace Prize.  According to the organizers, "The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 92 times to 124 Nobel Laureates between 1901 and 2011– 99 times to individuals and 23 times to organizations."  The names and the dates of the awards are found here:   http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/index.html Introduction When Wangari Maathai was honored with the Nobel Peace Award in 2004, for her contributions to sustainable development, democracy and peace, I was personally excited.  But the award evoked many critical...