Constitutional Development and Promotion of Human Security in Africa : Focus on Nigeria & South Africa

Abstract

Constitutional development in African states was at it peak during the days of the Cold War and the realists emphasis on state-centric and politico-military security which was preferred above other paradigm. This relegated human security concerns to the lowest ladder of security consideration. Howbeit, the end of the Cold War in 1990 herald the ascendancy of human security in sociopolitical discourse on the continent due to the widening of threats and the securitization of entities and issues which were left out of security concern by Western countries. This study dwells on the dynamic nexus between constitutional development and the promotion of human security in Africa, with focus on South Africa and Nigeria. It seeks to unveil the similarities and differences between the variables in the two countries and their relevance to the continent. The study adopts historical research design, and therefore depends on secondary data which would be presented and analyzed qualitatively with...