Democracy is a political culture that seeks to promote majority participation in the process and art of governance, with the aim of developing a society; based on the principles of equality, freedom and social justice. This implies that democracy must operate within the confines of a State structure, which means there must be a State before we can talk about the enthronement of democratic culture and institutions. Thus, this paper examined the nature of African States and discovered that Africans are operating a dislocated state structure that is at far variant, with Universal Characteristics of a State. This is so because the contemporary African States are part of African colonial legacy and the failure of African peoples to evolve after 50 years of colonialism are responsible for this state of affairs. Hence, the paper defended the thesis that until Africans reform their institutional arrangement, to reflect the Universal Characteristics of a State Structure, democracy in Africa will not deepen, and development will keep eluding the continent and her people. This reform agenda which the paper is proposing is premised on traditional African values and spirituality. The paper employs the method of critical analysis.

The way society patterned its institutions and framed its laws, is predicated on the prevalent values of the people, which is rooted in their culture, philosophies, and spirituality. The way such a society makes progress and promotes coexistence is linked to the values that they uphold. Similarly, African values are those axiological principles that form the foundation of social living and social ordering in traditional African society, which can still be relevant today. These social values of the African people are what were used to construct African inclusive institutions in the traditional setting before it was eroded by colonialism and imperialism. Thus, for Africans of today to rebuild inclusive institutions that will guarantee sustainable development across the continent, there is a need to revive and reintegrate the principles from the study of African values into the reform of contemporary African social institutions. Therefore, in this paper, the authors argue that for African institutions to deliver the good of sustainable development, they must be reformed along the lines of foundational principles of African cultural values. The paper employs the philosophical method of critical analysis in dissecting the issues within this discourse.

For sundry reasons, every human community is replete with aberrations of varying magnitude. Some aberrations become so through the criminalisation process by society, some other human acts are considered ontologically uncongenial to human nature. Driving on the left lane of the road in Nigeria, for example, is a traffic offence. It is so because Nigerian road traffic experts consider it convenient to keep right while driving, thereby criminalising driving on the left lane of the road. The aberration of driving on the left lane of the road cannot be said to be adorned with ontological colouration. The phenomenon of rape is considered an ontological aberration in this article and repugnant to human nature. Both the victim and the perpetrator of rape are exposed to social and psychological repercussions. Unfortunately, some of the repercussions on the victim of rape are unnecessary, as they are cosmetically imposed by society, and there is no necessary connection between the aberration and the social consequences. Some of the social and psychological consequences of the phenomenon of rape are considered in this work, and it is argued herein that the social consequences imposed on the victim of rape are unnecessary, and that they unnecessarily compound the traumas that the rape-victim suffers. It is, therefore, suggested herein that some cultural perceptions among most Nigerian tribes should be reviewed to ameliorate the repercussions of rape in the rape-victim.

This paper critically analyses Pan-Africanism as an ideology for the liberation of Africa, with a view to assessing the possibilities of a common African citizenship. This paper argues the claim that the focus of Pan-Africanism should shift from activism, agitations, and struggles to a univocal platform that will define authentic African identities by crystallising a common nationality for Africans on the continent and those in the diaspora. This claim is known to be rooted in the age-long African values of brotherhood, complementarity, and family hood (Ujamaa) that make Africans see other Africans as brothers who share the same humanity. This is different from the Africans of today who have assimilated western values of individualism, which are divisive and exclusive in nature, which in reality is a negation of authentic African personhood and society. This has given rise to ethnic agitations, xenophobic attacks, populism and hatred against "outsiders". Therefore, it is in the forging of common identities for Africans that African citizenship can be made possible. It should be the way forward for Pan-Africanism in the 21st century. Thus, in this paper, we employ the philosophical method of critical analysis in carrying out our investigation of the various issues that necessitated this research work.