Monday 27 August 2012

THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT COMMONLY CALLED BOKO HARAM: THE WAY/OUT

THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT COMMONLY CALLED BOKO HARAM: THE WAY/OUT
THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT COMMONLY CALLED BOKO HARAM: THE WAY/OUT
That phenomenon called Boko Haram! What is it? What is its identity? As of now no one can say. It is still on process of formation.
Let us assume is not a religious movement! Not of foreign invaders or tribalists sent to cause chaos in Northern Nigeria. Neither a state terrorist organization.
Unfortunately, educated Nigerians have dissolved into street opinion about the subject and the solution. So, we are not making progress to understand and keep on talking about what could be the many dimensions of the way out.
I think, if there is any identity one could give to this phenomenon, it is youth upheaval in the urban centres, simply, urban youth violence.
Nevertheless, like the street talks, the intellectuals located in centres of learning and research are hardly aware that this kind of urban youth violence is a global phenomenon.
Many decades ago, precisely in the 1930s, a period of economic breakdown in the USA, produced distress and confusion in the daily lives of millions of people. This resulted in deepening contradiction in the elite and violence by the urban youth, which became known as unemployed movement, in order to streamline it within the framework of the law of United States of America. In Europe, even recently the youth had taken over some major streets, in some major cities, as a result of the Euro-Zone financial crisis.
In the twenty-first century, there is a resurgence of this global phenomenon in developing countries. In Latin America, liberalization and democratization of the society produced this trend. In Asia it is less, because Nationalist market Economy provided a shock-absorber.
In Urban centres in Africa is very common but is expressed in different form of violence.
Take the case of Nairobi in Kenya and Cairo in Egypt. In Nairobi, this has created a posture of confusion among the elites and in order to manage power, they adjust to maintain power.
There has been youth urban violence, in Northern Nigeria too! Because it is in the North, not in the South of Nigeria, it is being interpreted with sentiment. People do not mind to examine the structure of injustice, the greediness of the elites, elites response to youth problem, etc. in the two regions.
However, from whatever, perspective one takes it, this kind of violence may end up in positive or negative social change which will affect the whole of Nigeria as a nation or even not as a nation.
In many places where this occurred, the changes have become positive. But it depends how they are managed. How?
  1.  Recognize the movement as a social force which could be used for development of the society.
  2.  Let it be a social organization which, could talk and write on its demands
  3.  Let it be or make it to be an open organization, whose activities are governed by legal provisions in the country.
  4.  It should become an organization to talk openly with any group or any group including the state to negotiate with it.
  5.  People should not be arrested and killed for whatever reason without facing the law.
  6.  In case violence persists the law is already there to deal with the case accordingly.
M. M. Yusif
March, 2012
              This is for academic purpose.
It has no political or any                        other inclination. Whenever it is used must be acknowledged.


SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT 2011/2012 SESSION

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
SEMESTER ASSIGNMENT 2011/2012 SESSION
POL 2204  POL4301
POL 3314  POL 4313
POL 8406
The distinction between Theoretical Framework and Literature Review in construction of knowledge is indisputable but the distance between the two is doubtful as any literature review is an assessment of many theories on the subject under study and theoretical assumptions are constructed with available literature relevant to the assumption.
Subsequently, from methodological point of view a literature review contains many theoretical postulations.
Each seminar in all the above five courses is to formulate a theoretical assumption relevant to the course offered. For postgraduate students is each student:- for example:
  •  Differences in language and religion stand out among the factors that generate conflict and tensions.
  •  Shift of global production to service-oriented changes the patterns of global trade
  •  Commodity production, of exchange value leads to development of capitalism
  •  New Military New Mission and Operation
  •  To understand youth upheavals in Africa today is to get to the relation between State and Economy.
These are examples of theoretical assumptions derived from POL 4313, POL 3314, POL 2204, POL 430 and POL 8406 respectively.
So, each seminar/individual from the above five levels is to formulate a theoretical assumption similar to above. But note that a theoretical assumption may be of a descriptive type; paradigmatic; abstractly theoretical; classificatory; or interpretative.
Then you are to search for relevant materials to construct the assumption to become like a theoretical framework. In other words it is like building a literature review on the assumption.
The following are to be observed:-
  1.  If you are ten not less than twenty different texts to be reviewed. If fifteen as in POL2204 not less than the number of students in the seminar times two.
  2.  Presentation must be according to standard i.e. to acknowledge all the references used e.g. (Mandel 1975:20) i.e. by Harvard system.
  3.  Each report is not to be less than 10 pages computer processed.
  4.  Each seminar/individual is to submit the assumption for approval this week and then within 4 weeks to finish and submit.
  5.  When submitted, reports would be exchanged between the seminar for review and discussion.
  6.  The report may appear like an article with sub-headings
  7.  All references must be listed as references at the end of the work.
Good luck
M. M. Yusif

GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION OF TEACHING OF POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETYGRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION OF TEACHING OF POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION OF TEACHING OF POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY
FIRST SEMESTER
2011/2012 ACADEMIC SESSION
BY
M.M. YUSIF
AUGUST, 2012

Introduction
The original title of this course as in the books of the University is “Military and Politics”. However, I have unofficial title which I have given as “Military and Society”.
This is not without reasons. One is because there is a radical transformation of the Armed forces everywhere across the globe, although is uneven. Secondly, there is also transformation of state as well as of society. So, the triad of the state, Military and Society should not be treated as in the old order.
From Science point of view there is also a paradigm shift to analyse and understand the changes and the new relationship between the triads.
In the last fifty years military science has gone through three major approaches to military and society. One is informed by modernisation. Second, beginning roughly from mid-1970s by Marxist theory. The third one, has no specific name, but the best term to characterise it is post-modern approach.
These changes in the study of Military and Society reveal that society does not remain static. It changes. This shows that as society changes the military also changes. That is why in different era of human society there is different organisation, function, mission and objectives of the military. The trend reveals a pre-modern military; modern military; late modern military and post-modern military. (Charles C. M. John A. W. and David R. S (eds.) (2000).
A critical student may ask what would be the future of the post-modern Army. Both Science and Post-modern reasoning do not tolerate one direction of an answer to any social problem. One scenario would be to go back to renationalisation of the military from its present global mission, training and organisation. Secondly is, if we apply post-industrial society theory, in post-capitalist society there will be no conflict, so harmony will prevail, so there would be no need of military. The third scenario would be more sophisticated technology, more sophisticated military.
Specifically, we are going to examine the relation of military to society. The focus is to bring out the changes the military of various countries are going through in order to cope with its legitimate responsibilities. We would tackle these changes both from theory and practice perspectives.
As noted above the changes are uneven. Some countries have seen these changes more than others. We would trace the factors for these differences and we would employ a comparative approach to show the differences and the similarities between countries.

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 1
Armed Forces, State and Society: Theoretical Perspectives
Society produces both State and Military. So as society changes they also change. However, the relationship between the three agencies is complex. The two are not necessarily under the control of the society. Yet, as it changes, they also change. The contemporary world is a new society. This means there was the old one. You are hereby to create two models of complex relationship between society, state and military.
Old Model
New Model
Explain these two similar models to show the differences
M. M. Yusif
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 2
Military and Society: Historical Perspectives
Human society is not static. It changes. An old society contains elements of a new one. When an old society finally breaks which would ultimately give rise to new one, ideas, theories and concepts also break down to produce new ideas, theories and concepts. Although the old ideas would remain relevant in scientific studies, but cannot explain the new society, unless they are reformed.
More so when the old society changes, its institutions, agencies, actors etc. also changes, including their mission, function, organization, etc. This is also the case of military as an institution.
Look below the changes in the military which accompanied changes of the society and nature of the state.
Your assignment this week (week No. 2) is to explain the above.
  1.  Bring out the characteristics of each historical phase in the development of military and society.
  2.  What elements each contained of the following phase of development
  3.  How did the transition to the new take place
  4.  After the current phase what is the future?
M. M. Yusif
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 3
Military and Society: Paradigm Shifts
The relationship between military and society could be explained and analyzed from different theoretical perspectives.
Nevertheless, different historical periods are dominated by a given paradigm. A paradigm or a theory is an explanatory framework which explains something. In the case of military and society there are paradigm shifts, which followed transformation of the society to understand the change.
Observe the above carefully and answer the following questions.
  1.  Date the period of each theory
  2.  Give the characteristics of each
  3.  What does each tell on society military relation?
  4.  What characteristics of the society which produced each paradigm
M. M. Yusif

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 4
Constructing Military-Society Relations in Neo-Liberal Society
Military and Society in Neo-Liberal order rejects analysis from both classical modernization and Marxian theory. This seems to support the idea that in human society today there are diverse changes that, is not every theory that can explain and reach a correct conclusion.
This conveniently gives rise to a post-modern approach. On the one hand post-modern is not a theory on the other it is. However, if it is a theory, it has no body of ideas constructed or to be constructed to serve as a tool of analysis.
A post-modern analysis selects from the existing literature on the subject or from its reality to construct value-free instrument with a view to understand the phenomenon.
The Debate on Analysis of Military-Society Relation in Neo-Liberal Order:
You are to interprete the above figure of the tools of analysis of          Military-Society relations in a Neo-Liberal order.
M. M. Yusif
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 5
Debate on whether there is Post-Modern Military

Explain this figure including giving names of the debators.
M. M. Yusif


DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 6
Military-State-Society Relation: New Military New Civil Military Relation
Study this figure and show how the Old and the New Military relate with State and Society.
M. M. Yusif


DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 7
Information Technology and Weapon System
Explain this figure to show the impact of I.T. on weapon system in war.
M. M. Yusif


DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 8
Military Transformation: Comparative Models
Study this figure and compare the models
M. M. Yusif
DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES
BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO
POL4301: MILITARY AND SOCIETY - WEEK NO. 9
Theoretical Conclusion: The Future of Post-Modern Military – Moskos Model
Explain this figure to predict the future of the PMM
M. M. Yusif