Under the Fourth Republic since 1999, the challenge Nigerian leaders face like never before is how to create a state that matches the expectations of their diverse peoples at home and abroad. Taking this proposition as starting point, this book advances proposals for a human-right policy, referred to alternately in the work as principled foreign policy, for Nigeria under the Fourth Republic, taking advantage of the inestimable opportunity afforded by General Muhammadu Buhari’s departure from the political scene on May 29, 2023, after the famine, domestically and externally, wrought by his two terms of office as President. It is a broad-ranging argument, draped in the less arcane constitutional vocabulary and material of human rights, for thoroughgoing reforms at home and abroad as the only antidote to the nation-building dilemmas Nigeria confronts in the first quarter of the twenty-first century. Buhari’s departure marks the end of military teleguidance of Nigerian politics under the Fourth Republic in the camouflage of democratic rule, a birthmark of remote control dating back to the first military intervention in the country in January 1966.
These momentous events within Nigeria coincide with equally epoch-making developments in the UK, Nigeria’s former colonial overlord, with ripple effects in Nigeria, signified by the death of Queen Elizabeth II, after seven decades on the throne, and the emergence of Prince Charles as King of England. A new monarch in Britain adds to the opportunity that falls open for the reconfiguration of Nigeria’s external relations with ramifications for the application of human rights in those relations. Despite its known disabilities, Nigeria has the potential infrastructure, including its sizable population, to conduct a human-right policy, if its leaders rationalize the country’s resources more wisely.
Table of Content
Chapter 1, Argument.- Chapter 2, Creating a State Worthy of Its Peoples’ Dreams at Home and Abroad.- Chapter 3, Historical Background.- Chapter 4, Reconstructing Nigeria’s National Interest in Readiness for Human Rights Work.- Chapter 5, Increased Respect for Human Rights at Home.- Chapter 6, The Technical Aid Corps (TAC).- Chapter 7, Peacekeeping.- Chapter 8, The ECOWAS Court of Justice.- Chapter 9, Enacting Serious Reforms at Home and Abroad.- Chapter 10, Conclusions and Prospects for the Future.
About the author
Philip C. Aka is Regional Director of Global Academics Coalition, LLC, a US higher-education consultancy based in Gainesville, Florida, as well as former Dean and Professor of Law, International University of Sarajevo, among other prior academic positions in the US in Political Science, and Criminal Justice. A member of the Illinois State Bar since November 2004, Professor Aka received a Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) degree from the Robert H. Mc Kinney School of Law at Indianapolis, IN; a Ph D degree in political science from Howard University, Washington, DC; a Juris Doctorate (JD) degree from Temple University Beasley School of Law, Philadelphia, PA; an LL.M. degree with summa cum laude from the Robert H. Mc Kinney School of Law; an MA degree in political science from the University of North Texas, Denton, TX; and a BA degree in political science with magna cum laude from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, Edinboro, PA. Most recently, Professor Aka completed two graduate certificate programs, including one in Conflict Resolution from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, in June 2021. A former Fulbright Specialist on Electoral Reforms in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Professor Aka has authored or coauthored more than 110 publications, including nine books.
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