Most commentators on political and development crises inNigeria have identified corruption as the prime factor. A number of factors have been adduced as responsible for the prevalence of corruption in the country. However, the aspect of culture is yet to be adequately captured. Yet, the place of culture in the high incidence of corruption as well as the constraints to its entrenchment cannot be underestimated. While the culture of the people abhors corruption, yet, we have various instances where culture has been invoked to support corrupt practices as well as fight against it. This article seeks to focus the angle of cultural dimension to the issue of corruption in Nigeria. It seeks to explain how culture has contributed to the menace of corruption and how it can be invoked for its extermination. In essence, it looks beyond the formal to the informal angle in the issue of corruption discourse in Nigeria.

For the crafters and drafters of the African Union’s (AU) Constitutive Acts particularly the Addis Ababa Charter and the Lomé Declaration of July 2000 and the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Protocol on Good Governance and Democracy, the novel idea was to provide a regional, sub-regional, platform of support to democratic governments and also deter any forms of unconstitutionalism. However, recent events have put to the test the political capacity of these organisations to uphold the sanctity of the normative framework and the protocol supportive of democratic processes. In the case of the AU, the outburst of revolutionary movements in the north African region provided a platform for a thorough assessment of the AU’s Normative Frameworks related to constitutionalism and democracy. While it was accepted that the case of Tunisia followed the democratic process, the Egyptian and Libyan cases were seen as a negation of the principles of the framework.Likewise,in the case of the ECOWAS, there were myriads of problems that tested the organisation’s democratic credentials. For instance, Guinea Bissau experienced two coup d’états in two years (2009 and 2012), Guinea in December 2008; Niger in March 2010; and Burkina Faso in 2015. The AU and ECOWAS have been challenged and pulled along by two parallel but not equal forces: the need to ensure respect for the principle of total rejection of unconstitutional changes of government, and the necessity to recognise the reality on the ground. This study therefore employs both historical and comparative methodologies to assess the roles of these organisations in being true to the values of democracy as contained in their normative framework and the protocol, as well asalso examines the challenges faced in the context of the situations in Libya, Mali and Guinea Bissau.

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The public service remains very critical and crucial to national development and democratic stability in developing societies. While years of military rule and authoritarian regimes in most developing societies have impacted negative political culture on the character and philosophy of the service, yet, its roles in national development cannot be undervalued. However, since military regimes and other authoritarian regimes have lost their appeal in modern government the need to reform public service to be in tune with democratic values becomes highly imperative. There is no gainsaying that the public service plays critical role in galvanising the nation and its resources to development. An efficient public service acts as catalyst in the development of nations. While on the other hand, its inefficiency can constitute as one of the heaviest millstones round the neck of developing nations. Therefore, it is important to note that the public service must be efficient to service the newly found democratic project for stability and survival of the polity. Since it is the vehicle and machinery of public policy formulation and implementation, the service has a very critical role to play. It is also worthy to note that democracy with its attractive valves will enhance the workings of the public service and redefine, re-orientate and reposition it to be more effective, mobile and productive partner in national reconstruction agenda. Public service must be a partner in reform driving which is imperative for democratic survival. This paper therefore intends to examine the symbolic and complementary roles of public service and democracy in developing societies especially a transiting society from authoritarian rule to democracy.

Greater African integration has long been a cherished but elusive Greater African integration has long been a cherished but elusive goal. Political leaders at official conferences and formal summits have long promoted the idea, although with only limited results on the ground. There is a renewed impetus to establish closer economic and political ties among the continent's numerous countries, based on a heightened appreciation of the need for regional integration and a clearer understanding of the past failures. Political liberation and de-colonisation was the rallying ideology upon which economic integration and unity, found eloquent articulation in the 1960's. With the independence of several African States and the subsequent establishment of a plethora of integrative mechanisms, all the Pan-African conferences were particularly unequivocal in their advocacy of freeing Africa in an all-round sense with an urge for economic cooperation as the basis of economic and political transformation. These efforts culminated to the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963. Nevertheless, Africa has no positive integrative story to tell after several years of the OAU especially as the continent become threatened increasingly by its failure to cope with the challenges of development and globalisation. Thus, the current integrative reforms in the continental body constitute a response to the emerging global order. A conscious effort to expand economic and political space as well as the needed instrument to strengthen integration in Africa. This paper therefore, examines the current African integration efforts in the age of globalisation in a bid to show the current development and future challenges.