An examination of the attempt by Western-educated African intellectuals to create a 'better Africa' through connecting nationalism to knowledge, from the anti-colonial movement to the present-day.
The book provides an in-depth exploration of representative bureaucracy within the context of Nigeria, starting with a theoretical and historical overview. It delves into the myths and contradictions surrounding public administration and policy-making, analyzing the complexities involved. Key concepts such as the meaning, forms, criticisms, and limitations of representative bureaucracy are examined. Additionally, it discusses the necessity for administrative reforms and evaluates past reforms, highlighting Nigeria's ongoing quest for an effective bureaucratic system to support nation-building.
The book explores the complex relationship between bureaucracy and democracy in Nigeria, highlighting seven historical challenges that have shaped this dynamic. Key issues include the legacy of colonialism, the enduring influence of both civil and military bureaucracies, and the impact of the British Westminster model on governance. It addresses the powerful role of bureaucracy, the struggle for national unity amid ethnic diversity, and the dual nature of bureaucratic power, all contributing to Nigeria's ongoing political and administrative challenges.
This timely and expansive biography of Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian writer, Nobel laureate, and social activist, shows how the author's early years influence his life's work and how his writing, in turn, informs his political engagement. Three sections spanning his life, major texts, and place in history, connect Soyinka's legacy with global issues beyond the borders of his own country, and indeed beyond the African continent. Covering his encounters with the widespread rise of kleptocratic rule and international corporate corruption, his reflection on the human condition of the North-South divide, and the consequences of postcolonialism, this comprehensive biography locates Wole Soyinka as a global figure whose life and works have made him a subject of conversation in the public sphere, as well as one of Africa's most successful and popular authors. Looking at the different forms of Soyinka's work--plays, novels, and memoirs, among others--this volume argues that Soyinka used writing to inform, mobilize, and sometimes incite civil action, in a decades-long attempt at literary social engineering.