PREBENDALISM AND A FUTURE FORETOLD: Reimagining Nigeria
Patrick O. Okigbo III, in conversation with Prof. Richard Joseph
Date: Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Time: 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (WAT)
Zoom: https://bit.ly/DevDisc_PAF
In his 1978 work, Affluence and Underdevelopment: The Nigerian Experience, Prof. Richard Joseph argued that, despite Nigeria's abundant resources, the country was not on a path to join the ranks of fast-developing nations. He explained that the oil boom deepened Nigeria's developmental challenges rather than driving economic growth. Later on, in his 1987 seminal work, Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria: The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic, Prof. Joseph further argued that “prebendalism” is a significant obstacle to the nation's development.
Prebendalism describes a system where government officials exploit their position and resources for personal gain and distribute public offices and state resources as patronage to their followers, co-ethnics or co-religionists. Richard Joseph popularised this term in his analysis of Nigerian politics, especially in his 1987 book, Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria.
Prof. Joseph's insights have materialised. Nigeria has not achieved the high-growth trajectory most economists envisioned at its independence. Six decades later, the country underperforms across all critical development metrics. Despite having the largest economy in Africa, it has one of the world's largest poor populations. Karl Maier's book, This House Has Fallen: Nigeria in Crisis, aptly portrays the country's fragile state. He cautioned that Nigeria teeters on collapse unless it confronts its pervasive corruption, political instability, and economic decline.
Can Nigeria reverse this decline and rewrite its history? What would a transformed Nigeria look like, and what critical steps are required to get there? What lessons can Nigeria draw from countries that have broken free from prebendal politics? What roles can the youth, civil society, and other stakeholders play in driving this change?
Join Prof. Richard Joseph and Patrick O. Okigbo III as they explore these critical questions. Drawing on Prof Joseph's knowledge of politics and governance in Africa, including his seminal work, Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria, they will examine Nigeria's past and present state and discuss pathways to rewrite its future.
Prof. Richard Joseph previously taught at Emory University, Dartmouth College, the University of California at Los Angeles, the University of Ibadan (Nigeria), and the University of Khartoum (Sudan). He has held research fellowships at Harvard University, Boston University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Institute of Development Studies (Sussex, UK), Chr. Michelsen Institute (Norway), and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (France).
Prof. Joseph has devoted his scholarly career to studying politics and governance in Africa with a special focus on democratic transitions, state building and state collapse, and conflict resolution. He directed the African Governance Program at the Carter Center (1988-1994) and coordinated elections missions in Zambia (1991), Ghana (1992), and peace initiatives in Liberia (1991-1994). He has been a longtime member of the Council of Foreign Relations. Joseph has received numerous fellowships and awards, including a Rhodes Scholarship, a Kent Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2002-03, he held visiting fellowships at the US Institute of Peace and the National Endowment for Democracy. He was a Fulbright Scholar in France and a Fulbright Professor in Nigeria.
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