The present Issue of Affrika: Journal of Politics, Economics and Society (JPES) attempts a somewhat panoramic look at the African continent by engaging with issues concerning various African countries.  In specific terms, the Issue contains eleven scholarly contributions on seven different African countries namely Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Nigeria. More remarkable is the fact that one of such articles foraged beyond Africa by beaming its searchlight towards the interplay of Africa and the United States of America. At the end of it all, the Issue comprises seven research articles, one opinion article or commentary, and three book reviews. The beauty of this lies in the representation of the three foci of the journal, namely politics, economics, and society, in this Issue. These indeed are among the factors demonstrating the uniqueness of the present Issue, as will be articulated below.

In their article entitled “Terrorism in Africa: A Comparative Evaluation of Al Shabab and Boko Haram”, Victor Ojakorotu and Kelechi Ani expose the stereotypes that characterise analyses and interpretations of the activities of both Al-Shabab and Boko Haram Movements.  The paper attempts a comparative evaluation of the two sects by highlighting their operational dynamics as well as the implications of their activities to their countries of origin and beyond. Nigeria, Somalia, and even Kenya are among the African countries that received some attention in the paper, in this regard. The highest point of this article lies in its recommendation of a roadmap to check the sects’ activities, the embrace of multi-track peace building strategies and counter-insurgency strategies both at both the domestic and international levels.

Udo Chikezie Osisiogu and Samuel Mathew Mamman contributed a piece entitled “The nature of examination malpractice in a tertiary institution in Nigeria”. The article examines the nature of examination malpractice in a tertiary institution in Nigeria by selecting a sample size of students using interviews and a structured questionnaire, to collect data. Consequently, the research reveales that examination malpractice by students can be attributed to the desire for academic success at all cost, crowded examination halls, lack of effective supervision and insufficient preparation among other factors. The authors argue that the major forms of examination malpractice include cooperation amongst students and sometimes lecturers during examinations, spying, use of foreign materials and impersonation. They further argue that the outcome of ineffective examinations could result in poorly equipped graduates, discouragement of hard work and a reduction in the standard of education in general. Of great value is the finding that the culture of examination malpractice has potential to indoctrinate young people into the culture of dishonesty and fraudulent behaviour.

In her own article entitled “Women’s Entrepreneurship in Nigeria: A Theoretical Rationale”, Hafsah Olatunji investigates the emerging concern over the perceived nature of women’s entrepreneurship as an important untapped source of economic growth. She demonstrates how   this perception finds support in the women entrepreneurs’ potential to create new jobs for themselves and others as well as in their potential to offer the society different solutions to management, organizational and business problems. The heart of her thesis is that women unarguably represent a minority of all entrepreneurs as she rationalizes that such an experience suggests a regime of discrimination against women’s possibility to become successful entrepreneurs, Her paper attempts to address the long-felt need for a systematic study on women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Ultimately, her article provides considerable theoretical bases for research on women entrepreneurs in Nigeria and beyond

“Political Economy of Biofuel in Tanzania: Review Approach” is the title contributed by Eliana Mkuna, George Mgendi and Gulilat Taruku.  The paper articulates the place of biofuel as a source of fuel in the contemporary energy sector.  The authors argue that the growing demand for energy, and concerns about global warming, in the face of   continued rise in world fuel pricing, has caught the minds of majority. Through literature review and conceptualization derived from public choice and agricultural policy theme, the authors assessed critically   the political economy of biofuel in Tanzania and  pointed out that there is a policy dilemma regarding biofuel production and land acquisition, food security, conservation and environmental issues related to biofuel, lobbyists (private investors), local communities and government.  It concludes that absence of specific policy for the sector has a negative effect on the country at large and therefore recommended that the policy that is to be formulated should adequately address the interests of different groups in the sector.

From Tanzania, the current Issue of the journal advances to the Sudan and later, back to Nigeria via the article entitled “The Sudanese Mahdism and Nigerian Maitatsinism as Precursors to Boko Haram Radicalism and Terrorism” by Saheed Ahmad Rufai. The author contends that religious extremism and, by extension, radicalism and terrorism,   is a subject that can hardly be meaningfully discussed without an incursion into the orthodoxy/heterodoxy divide. He maintains that the idea of extremism in religion revolves essentially around the question of orthodoxy/heterodoxy.  He engages critically with the growing scholarship revolving around the categorization of religious practices into orthodoxy and heterodoxy and adds that the word ‘orthodoxy’ which means “right teaching’ and in Islam, is used in reference to the Sunni tradition, although it is not impossible that non-Sunnis, too, such as the Shiites can also define for themselves ‘a set of right beliefs and do not go very far beyond them”. The author ultimately demonstrates through scholarship the traceability of the Boko Haram radicalism and terrorism to the Sudanese Mahdism of the early 20^th century and the Nigerian Maitatsinism of the 1980s.

There is an advance across the continent  and beyond through Chris Ojukwu and Ebenezer Oluwole Oni’s paper, “Multiculturalism, Racialism and the Dilemma of the African-American in the Twenty-First Century” which explored the nature and dynamics of multiculturalism as an ideology that has the potency of integrating and interconnecting the world by the promotion of cultural identity, diversity and equity. The authors argue that decades after the dismantling of the apparatus of legal segregation and subsequent erosion of the cultural support of racial domination in America, racial discrimination has remained a norm and pervasive fact of life which has been demonstrated both in mundane social interactions and in the major institutional contexts. The authors maintain strongly that the birth of multiculturalism in America has done little to circumvent the rising tide of racial inequality and stigma against the African-Americans. To the authors, the symbolic and expressive life of the American society, is a reflection of the incursion of multiculturalism.

As regards Siambombe Abednico’s article, “A wrong without design: assessing racism and white color crime in Zimbabwe” the reader is given an overview of a perennial cause of differences between the white and black community in Zimbabwe. The author traces the origins of this endemic misunderstanding and illustrates its effects which has brought about some catastrophic consequences. He contends that it is impossible for Zimbabwe to exist as solely a black community without other races given the current globalization and integration systems in the international arena. The author emphasized the need for the citizens to talk about the past, and the need for the government to implement reconciliation to the fullest capacity and allow the freedom of expression by both sides.

The only opinion article in this Issue is contributed by Femi Olufunmilade under the title, “Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Nigeria: An Overview of Boko Haram”.  According to the author, the paper is a conflict resolution framework. The heart of his argument revolves around the perspective that a conflict can only be resolved if all the issues surrounding it are carefully identifies and meaningfully examined. He argues that such issues as may be examined in such a situation are causes, the dramatic personae, the issue involved as well as the various option that could be explored in resolving it.

The Issue features three well-crafted book reviews. One of the books is Women in Ministry: Questions and Answers in the Exploration of a Calling, authored by Shannon Smythe and reviewed by Zinthatu Mazamane. The second one is Psychosocial Impact of Polygamy in the Middle East by Alean Al-Krebawi, reviewed by Anele Gewabe while the third one is Lost Orchard: Prose, Poetry from the Kickland College Community edited by Jo Pitkin (2014) and reviewed by Zuziwe Khuzwayo.

Seven research articles plus one opinion article plus three book reviews make a total of eleven scholarly contributions! These are what constitute the June, 2017 Issue of our prestigious journal. Each piece makes an interesting read and we assure you of a rewarding reading experience.

Prof. Ufo Uzodike

Editor-in-Chief

Saheed A. Rufai (Ph.D)

Editor