Building Democracy
Cameroon and Nigeria: Revised Book Editions
Three previously published books will be revised:
Gaullist Africa: Cameroon under Ahmadu Ahidjo (Enugu, Nigeria: Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1978)
This edited collection of essays by Cameroonian, French, British, and American authors included critical appraisals of political and economic developments in this understudied nation. In addition to correcting errors in the publisher’s version, the revised edition will incorporate important essays and documents as well as contributions from contemporary researchers. The turbulent experiences of this highly diverse, and culturally rich, nation of 25 million deserve greater attention.
Seminar at the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP), 2017
Radical Nationalism in Cameroun: Social Origins of the UPC Rebellion (Oxford University Press, 1977)
This monograph remains a key reference source on the transition in Cameroon from French colonial rule to a regime that has endured for six decades. The new edition will incorporate additional materials, such as J.F. Bayart’s introduction to the French edition (Karthala, 1982) and other commentaries, and will be made available in an affordable paperback. This book will also respond to the increased interest in the prolonged crisis of state and governance in this important country. In a new chapter, it will be shown how research on a resilient anti-colonial movement, led by the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), overcame many impediments.
From left, UPC leaders: Osendé Afana, Abel Kingué, Ruben Um Nyobé, Félix-Roland Moumié, Ernest Ouandié
Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria: The Rise and Fall of the Second Republic (Cambridge University
Press, 1987)
In this study, which provides detailed information on the competition for political power in post-civil war Nigeria, an innovative analysis was also advanced on the corrupt uses of government resources. The concept of prebendalism has influenced many subsequent studies of African and non-African countries. A Nigerian colleague, acknowledging the many references to this analysis and its centrality in political discourse in his country, proposed that an updated version be made available for wide dissemination. His proposal will now be explored.
Freedom Work: Memoir of a Scholar-Activist
The examination of the life and work of scholar-activist Thomas Hodgkin, mentioned above, opens the door to the writing of a memoir on my intellectual and political journey. It will cover the period since I immigrated to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago in September 1958. The memoir will span several decades from the confronting of racial segregation and exclusion as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, to the experience of working with Thomas Hodgkin, President Carter, and other scholars, political leaders, and policy practitioners regarding Africa.
With former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and Frederick Chiluba, opposition leader in Zambia, 1991, and Jerry Rawlings, President of Ghana, 1994