Bibliography

This paper argues that the experiences of colonialism in Africa have led to the emergence of a unique historical configuration in modern post-colonial Africa: the existence of two publics – traditional and modern- instead of one public, as in the West. Many of Africa’s political problems are due to the dialectical relationships between the two publics. The author characterizes these two publics and attempt to explain some of Africa political features within the matrix of these publics. In order to give some empirical content to the distinction drawn here, the author illustrates the issues raised with examples from Nigeria.