The Young League Forum

COVID-19: WHY MEN REBEL BY A. O. EZE Relative Deprivation Relative deprivation is the lack of resources (e.g. money, rights, social equality) necessary to maintain the quality of life considered typical within a given socio-economic group.  The deprivation  model suggests that people who feel they are being deprived of something considered essential in their society (money, rights, political voice, status) will organize or join social movements dedicated to obtaining the things of which they feel deprived.  The major proponents of the model are an American sociologist Robert K. Merton, Ted Robert Gurr in his work titled “Why Men Rebel”, published in 1970 and British statesman and sociologist Walter Runciman. Walter Runciman listed four required conditions that can trigger the sense of deprivation: 1. A person does not have something 2. That person knows other people who have the thing 3. That person wants to have the thing 4. That person believes they have a r...

Origin of Democracy GREEK:  Democratic system of government originated from ancient Greek city-state of Athens around 550BC. History has it that Athens was the first recorded democratic city-state in the world. Athens is a small Greek city-state where all qualified citizens (excluding slaves) were convened to take final decision on the issues or problems that are confronting them collectively. Athenians’ democracy is based on direct representative.  It is because of this democratic nature of Athens that made Aristotle to postulate that man by nature is a political animal due to the gregarious nature of democracy in Greek polis (city-state). IGBO: Before colonialism the Igbos were democratic and republican by nature. Igbo region practiced decentralized system of government and direct democracy more than that of Athenians, in which powers and authorities that exist in the region were decentralized or shared to all different political segments. Political powers and position...

Origin of Democracy GREEK:  Democratic system of government originated from ancient Greek city-state of Athens around 550BC. History has it that Athens was the first recorded democratic city-state in the world. Athens is a small Greek city-state where all qualified citizens (excluding slaves) were convened to take final decision on the issues or problems that are confronting them collectively. Athenians’ democracy is based on direct representative.  It is because of this democratic nature of Athens that made Aristotle to postulate that man by nature is a political animal due to the gregarious nature of democracy in Greek polis (city-state). IGBO: Before colonialism the Igbos were democratic and republican by nature. Igbo region practiced decentralized system of government and direct democracy more than that of Athenians, in which powers and authorities that exist in the region were decentralized or shared to all different political segments. Political powers and posi...

COUP D’ ÉTAT      According to Shively (2005: 187), “the most dramatic alternative to democratic government is military government, in which a group of officers use their troops to take over the governmental apparatus and run it themselves.” Andrew Heywood in his major work, Politics asked thus: when does the military seize power? This occurs when successful coup d’état happens, he answered.       Military coup has been defined by many scholars and analysts in different ways although, the meaning remains the same. Heywood (2007; 411) views it as “a sudden and forcible seizure of government power through illegal and unconstitutional action.” It can be defined as an illegal or unconstitutional means of overthrowing existing government by a section of the armed forces. Ugwuanyi (2008:37) views military coup as “illegal, forceful and often violent change of government by the military....

Eze Andrew Oforma, Andrew Oforma Eze.

CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY        This is a body that is made up of intellectuals, constitutional lawyers or jurists etc., composed for the purpose of ratifying a draft constitution by the constitutional draft committee. Constitutional draft committee on the other hand is a body that drafts new constitution for a country. The primary functions of the Constituent Assembly are: to examine and ratify the primary function of the constitutional draft committee which is to draft new constitution for a state.

CIVIL SOCIETY &#13 ;     Civil society is a group of non-governmental, non political and non religious organization that protects the civil liberties of individuals in a state. Civil society is a neutral, non partisan and unbiased body that fights against any forms of social injustice in society. It plays numerous roles in the formation and modeling of democratic structures in society. It is an agent of social change.

BEHAVIOURAL REVOLUTION      This is the hallmark of scientific origin of political science which started in the 1920s in Europe and North America.  According to Gerardo L. Munck, “the first turning point in the evolution of US political science can be conveniently dated to the 1921 publication of a manifesto for new science of politics, which implied a departure from the history embraced by many founders of political science in the US, by the University of Chicago professor, Charles Merriam (1874 – 1953).’’ This publication led to the convention of National Conferences on Science of Politics which was an important event to the discipline (political science). According to Munck, it was also followed by the formation of Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the world’s first national organization of all social sciences. What this connotes is that new crop of scholars in political science and new methods of political an...

BEHAVIO URAL REVOLUTION      This is the hallmark of scientific origin of political science which started in the 1920s in Europe and North America.  According to Gerardo L. Munck, “the first turning point in the evolution of US political science can be conveniently dated to the 1921 publication of a manifesto for new science of politics, which implied a departure from the history embraced by many founders of political science in the US, by the University of Chicago professor, Charles Merriam (1874 – 1953).’’ This publication led to the convention of National Conferences on Science of Politics which was an important event to the discipline (political science). According to Munck, it was also followed by the formation of Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the world’s first national organization of all social sciences. What this connotes is that new crop of scholars in political science and new methods of political a...

BATTERY     Battery is an unlawful use of any physical force on another person including beating or offensive touching without the person’s consent. Israel (2009:66) defined battery as “to slap somebody on his face, or to hit somebody with any object on his body, or to strike somebody with any object.” He goes on to argue that “Kissing anyone unknowingly is battery.”      But, what did the law say about battery? According to the Criminal Code Act Chapter 77 the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1990, Section 338 defined battery as thus: 1. Unlawful wounds on another or; 2. Unlawful, and with an intent to injure or annoy any person, cause any poisonous or other noxious thing to be administered to or taken by, any person. Such a person is guilty of a felony, and is liable to imprisonment for three years.     Note that battery is different from assault. Battery invol...

About the Author Andrew Oforma Eze, hails from Ede-Oballa in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. He is a graduate of Political Science from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.  He gained admission in the institution in the year 2011. He completed his secondary school education at the Community Secondary School Ede-Oballa in the same year. Andrew is a young political analyst, human rights activist, social critic and consultant on political issues. He is the Founder and National Coordinator of Young African Writers League (the Young League), the Ideological Revival Movement (IRM), and a one-time honourable member of the Parliament in the Department of Political Science, University of Nigeria Nsukka. Apart from this book he is the author of the Contemporary Basic Concepts in Government and Politics, and many other yet to published works. Andrew is a budding scholar in the field of political science.

Forms of Corruption Corruption can be in any form, but it often manifest its dreadful face in the form of bribery, misappropriation of fund, embezzlement of fund, money laundry, falsification and adulteration of goods, etc. Furthermore, corruption has become so rampant and prevalent in the Nigerian polity with its putrefaction effect. Due to its celebrated status in Nigeria, an average Nigerian has his/her own definition of corruption. An average Nigerian will define corruption as any act which he/she does not benefit from whether it is moral or immoral. As long as the system favours him/her nothing will be wrong with the system. Nigerian political elite especially during Jonathanian era have constantly argued that stealing is not corruption. “There is no corruption but mere stealing in Nigeria” as Jonathan usually contends during his administration. This corruption which is an asocial act is being committed by man who is a social being. What irony! The que...

REFLECTION ON AHIARA DECLARATION AND THE NEED FOR BIAFRA BY EZE ANDREW OFORMA [THE NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF YOUNG AFRICA WRITERS LEAGUE]. THIS ARTICLE IS PERSONALLY REFLECTION; IT DOES NOT REPRESENT THE INTEREST OF THE YOUNG LEAGUE. Email: ezeandrew50@gmail.com       Ahiara Declaration is a term used to describe the principles of the Biafran Revolution or struggle. Achebe (2012:148), excerpts that “it was an attempt to capture the meaning of the struggle for Biafran sovereignty.”  It was a document Written by the National Guidance Committee of Biafra (NGCB) which was chaired by the late literary icon Chinua Achebe. Other members of NGCB include, Justice A. N. Aniagolu, Emmanuel Obiechina, Chieka Ifemesia, Ikenna Nzimiro, Dr.Ifegwu Eke and Eyo Bassey Ndem. And it was delivered by the defunct Biafra Head of State, Late Gen. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu at Ahiara which is located at Mbaise, Imo State on June 1, 1969. According to Achebe (2012:145), ...

style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> YOUNG AFRICAN WRITERS LEAGUE                         9/05/2015 [THE YOUNG LEAGUE] A WRITER AND VISION A visionary writer is a successful writer, says Stephen King. A writer must have vision, says Bill Newman . The two words are inseparable and intertwined. A writer without vision is like a pilot without a compass. Your imagination is one of the most powerful things you possess.   We should remember our today’s quote from Helen Keller that “the greatest tragedy to befall a person is to have sight but lack vision.”   There is nothing that excites and motivates people like a vision to accomplish something special. Vision is a comprehensive sense of where you are, where you are going, how you are going to get there and what you will do after you get there. It is dreaming dreams about the future. It is seeing...

YOUNG AFRICAN WRITERS LEAGUE                        1/05/2015 [THE YOUNG LEAGUE] THEME: WHO IS A SUCCESSFUL WRITER? This question has been a controversial issue. There are two schools of thought in this debate. The first group belief that there is nothing like a successful writer, rather what we have is a lucky writer. The disciples of this school contend that writing is a creative cum imaginative mental ideas which many people have but few are lucky to discover them and also utilize them. They further argue that the so called successful writers are those the machinery of the state [government] favored, if not their work might not have seen the light of the day.   On the contrary, the second school opined that there is a successful writer. That successful writer is different from lucky or favored writer. The apostles of this school contend that a successful wr...