Socialscientia: Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities

Measurement Indicators of State Performance

2025-01-22T17:02:09+00:00

State capacity and performance across the world are periodically reviewed to measure commitment to espoused targets of human development and economic growth. In this vein, indicators emerge as tools for assessment and index however depleted with methodological limitations. In cognizance of this reality, this study assess critically globally acclaimed measurement indicators and rankings. From qualitative design, the paper revealed that inspite of the import of measurable indicators in their classifications there are still concerns in inaccuracies, errors in measurement and misleading data. From these findings, the paper recommends for transparency and clarity in the use of indicators as measurement institutions subject their procedures and methodology to public scrutiny among other measures to bolster the value of indicators and its generalizations for wider acceptance and use.

Migration and Human Security Among Resettled African Refugees in Post-Brexit United Kingdom

2025-01-22T16:56:20+00:00

The United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union (Brexit) has introduced a new era of uncertainty and insecurity for African refugees resettled in the country. This exploratory study examines the impact of Brexit on the human security of resettled African refugees in the UK, focusing on their migration experiences, settlement challenges, and perceptions of security. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions with refugees from various African countries, this paper reveals significant concerns about livelihoods, healthcare, education, and social protection. The findings highlight the intersectional vulnerabilities faced by African refugees, particularly women and children, who experience heightened insecurity due to Brexit-related policy changes, xenophobic rhetoric, and socio-economic exclusions. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing nuanced insights into the human security implications of Brexit for African refugees in the UK. The paper underscores the need for targeted policy interventions to address the human security concerns of resettled African refugees, ensuring their successful integration and well-being in post-Brexit UK.

Nigeria’s Debt Burden and the Challenges of Economic Development

2025-01-22T17:08:17+00:00

Nigeria, with a population of over 200 million people, is a resource-rich country that has been grappling with significant debt burden despite its vast natural resources occasioned by the activities of external actors. This has affected its international image. The origin of her indebtedness is traced to the 1970s when the country began borrowing extensively to finance various development projects. Since then, the trend has continued unabated with profound implications on her national life. This study therefore investigated Nigeria's debt burden and the challenges of economic development with an eye on the theoretical debate on external interest in profiling of third world states. The study was divided into three main subsections respectively. It examined the resource curse theory and other theoretics that help explore the phenomenon under investigation. The study employed a mixed-method approach to examine the dialectical relationship between external interest in Nigeria’s domestic affairs and her debt burden and the implications of this on her overall economic development efforts vi-s-a-viz its profiling among the comity of nations. It adopted qualitative and quantitative analysis of data. Results from the study show that Nigeria's debt accumulation, driven by government misdirected spending, resulting from the nature and character of economic policies that are rooted in external interests has negative implications for economic development. While debt is utilized as a tool for financing development projects, its mismanagement and resultant excessive accumulation in Nigeria resulting from the gimmicks of external interest hinders sustainable development and exacerbate socio-economic inequalities. Thus, the study recommended, strengthening institutional capacity to manage borrowed funds; investment in critical sectors to enhance socio-economic independence, and prudent debt management, transparency, and accountability to mitigate the adverse effects of excessive borrowing in Nigeria and other third world states which has conditioned her image in the international arena.

Role of the Judiciary in Shaping Policy and Upholding the Rule of Law in Nigeria

2025-01-22T17:04:41+00:00

The judiciary is a fundamental institution in democratic governance, playing a critical role in upholding the rule of law, shaping public policy, and ensuring accountability in Nigeria's multifaceted political and socio-economic landscape. This article explores the judiciary’s contributions to policy-making through judicial review, advancing social justice, addressing legislative gaps, and fostering public interest litigation. Landmark rulings have demonstrated its capacity to influence governance, safeguard constitutional principles, and mediate power dynamics among the executive, legislature, and citizenry. However, the judiciary's effectiveness is constrained by significant challenges, including executive interference, corruption, capacity constraints, and a pervasive trust deficit. Judicial independence, though enshrined in Nigeria’s Constitution, is frequently undermined by political interference and the lack of financial autonomy, weakening its ability to deliver impartial justice. Corruption further erodes public trust, while insufficient infrastructure, inadequate training, and systemic inefficiencies hinder judicial performance, particularly in addressing complex policy issues. Despite these obstacles, the judiciary remains a critical player in driving societal reforms and ensuring governance aligns with constitutional ideals. This article highlights actionable recommendations to enhance judicial effectiveness, including securing financial and administrative autonomy, improving transparency through technology-driven reforms, strengthening ethical oversight, and building capacity through targeted investments in training and infrastructure. Additionally, legislative harmonization and civic engagement are essential to restore public trust and ensure judicial rulings have a lasting impact on governance. Addressing these systemic issues will enable the judiciary to fulfill its constitutional mandate more effectively, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of Nigeria’s democratic development.

Internal Governance Challenges and Nigeria’s International Relations Goals

2025-01-22T16:59:14+00:00

Nations enhance their overall development and global standings through international relations. Nigeria’s poor conditions of development and international image crisis worry scholars and other stakeholders of African politics considering its high participation status in foreign relations. Accusing fingers are directed at internal factors vis-a-vis foreign relations. The paper examines the complex interplay between Nigeria’s internal governance challenges and the weakness in attaining international relations goals. The paper is a qualitative research. It used a mixed-method approach of data collection dwelling on in-depth interviews and published data from relevant sources. A purposive sampling technique was used to select interview respondents. The paper adopted the liberal institutionalism theory for explanation. As a critique of realist military power and state-centric perception of international relations, Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye, Jr underscored the roles of international institutions, cooperation, and governance in attaining national and international goals. They argue that national governance composition considerably influences a country’s capacity to pursue efficient international relations and achieve targeted goals. The theory posits that states are not only anxious about power, but they are also anxious about achieving mutually beneficial gains through cooperation. Findings show that Nigeria is a major socio-economic and political interest in Sub-Sahara Africa and has recorded enormous engagements in the global international system over the decades. However, its foreign relations are undermined by internal governance deficiencies that led to collaborated imperialism, fraud, and mismanagement of public resources; international image crisis, and stringent living conditions for Nigerians and the failure to exploit global interconnectivity and interdependence of economies, politics, and culture.

Transforming Nigeria’s Civil Service

2025-01-22T16:50:26+00:00

This paper investigates the complex correlation between public service reforms and Nigeria's foreign policy, with a specific emphasis on how bureaucratic dynamics impact the nation's diplomatic endeavours. The research employs a comprehensive examination of secondary data from periodicals, government databases, archives, and internet sources to examine different reform attempts from 2007-2013. The key results indicate that despite attempts to reorganise and improve the public service to increase efficiency and effectiveness, there are still obstacles such as bureaucratic fragmentation, uneven execution, and political influence that continue to exist. The implementation of reforms like as the Monetization Policy and the development of the Service Compact with Nigerians (SERVICOM) has had varied outcomes, enhancing some parts of public service provision while falling short in other areas. Human resource development and ongoing training are essential elements in constructing a skilled and adaptable public service. The research emphasises the need for practical, gradual changes that promote moral behaviour, responsibility, and efficient management. Through including academic perspectives, this debate offers a thorough comprehension of how public service changes might be used to improve Nigeria's foreign policy results. It advocates for a more unified and proactive approach to international relations. The results provide useful insights for policymakers and researchers who are interested in the intersection of public administration and foreign policy.

Nature and Essence of Governance

2025-01-22T17:06:25+00:00

Governance as a concept is pliant in response to dynamics within and beyond formal structures of government. This paper therefore re-examined governance interpretations in credence to evolving realities in modern state and spotlight the relevance of governance epistemology in humanity disciplines of Africa most populous country, Nigeria. From qualitative desk review and textual analytical technique, the discourse evinced etymological and conceptual trends of governance idea to increasing interest in governance practice. However, the paper revealed disciplinary deficit in governance studies in curriculum of Political Science and Public Administration disciplines as indicators of assessment remain instructive in the analysis of governance performance and impact. From these findings, the discourse recommend for governance studies to be mainstreamed in the curriculum of Political Science and Public Administration disciplines, creating enabling environment for research and innovation in governance process in deference to priorities of national development among other measures to bolster value of governance practice in Nigeria.