The main focus of the paper is to reflect analytically on the likely place/role of international solidarity in global refugee protection context in the coming years. Following a short introduction, the paper begins with brief discussions of certain preliminary questions related to the nature of the concept of international solidarity. These discussions are followed by a consideration of some discrete issues related to the “norm/practice chasm” in the operation of international solidarity in global refugee protection. Thereafter, the future of international (...) solidarity in the global refugee protection context is pondered in its duality and complexity, especially the claim that the future of international solidarity is likely to be shaped by a harsher trend that is styled “de-solidarity” in the paper. (shrink)

Research Ethics, Volume 18, Issue 1, Page 13-23, January 2022. School-based research presents ethical challenges, especially with respect to informed consent. The manner in which pupils and their parents respond to an invitation to participate in research is likely to depend on several factors, including the level of trust between them and the researchers. This paper describes our recruitment and consent process for a school-based eye study in Nigeria. In the course of our study, a particular governmental incident helped to (...) fuel public mistrust in governmental programs and posed a potential threat to our recruitment efforts. The recruitment and consent process included series of advocacy visits to stakeholders in the education sector, highly interactive briefing and health talk sessions in schools, use of telephone services as a medium for information dissemination, age-appropriate study information, parental consent, and pupil assent. Of the 6598 pupils provided with study information, 5723 returned parental consent forms. There were 69 cases of pupils who dissented despite having parental consent. The two leading concerns for the parents/guardians were the rumors regarding a military/governmental-sponsored health campaign and the side-effects of the dilating eye-drops. Nevertheless, our high level of recruitment suggests our recruitment and consent process was successful in assuaging fears for the vast majority of pupils and their parents. (shrink)

This work is an attempt to contribute on the perennial question, how community life should be organized for human beings to achieve their basic aspirations of development? Drawing from the thoughts of Dewey and Nussbaum, this work offers democracy as a superior form of social organization. Democracy is superior not because it serves the interest of the majority but because of the values promoted by democracy which include but not limited to freedom, equality, interaction and deliberation. However, given that Dewey's (...) and Nussbaum's understanding of democracy is rooted in the American experience, the question is, is their proposition that community life be reconstructed along the line of democracy not a tool for cultural domination and hegemony? Though the values and principles of democracy must have been thought out at a particular time, in a certain historical context, it does not mean they cannot be applied to other cultures. They are valid for all peoples and cultures because they are necessary for living a life that has worth and autonomy. Then again, for Dewey and Nussbaum, though every culture has the potential for democratization, it is education that facilitates it. This work proposes liberal education because it is the kind of education that leads to the emergence of reasonable and responsible subjects. In a democracy, where reasonableness and responsibility are the defining attributes of the individual, the model of citizenship that emerges will likely be richer and broader. (shrink)

Against those who question that ethical character should be considered as convincing factor of the human constitution based on empirical reasons, Obiora F. Ike gives good arguments, based on the agenda of the human development and education across the planet, to reaffirm some truth about character formation. There should be no question that simplifications, related to some sort of skepticism over the moral character, are at best purely theoretical fanciness, at worst irresponsible. Passivity in a world made of urgent (...) challenges around education and economic inequalities is not acceptable. Our need to believe, to trust and to act in the real world, lead us to praise some dogmatism on the ground assumption that we act accordingly to our [moral] character. Education has shown us the value of developing moral character. Cross-situational consistency of integrity needs to be shared across cultures, against the impression that it opens a room for abuses, as integrity is also a social construct. (shrink)

The way we answer the question, .what ought I to do?. goes to show what we believe about our life and the way to live that life. However we answer the question .what ought I to do?., we are prescribing a mode of -/- action and this action has a direct bearing on other people and our society at large. So the moral question has a direct connection with what society becomes. If we answer rightly then the impact on our (...) society will be salutary but if wrongly, the impact too will be fatal. So, what we do influences society for good or bad. -/- In this book, the meaning of morality and, ethics and how these can help in personal and national development will be examined. (shrink)

The 30 chapters of this book form a panorama across various disciplines on five key themes integrating education or research ethics as research ethics and 1) administration, 2) business/finance, 3) education, 4) environment, 5) justice and law. The goals of this book is to gather contributions in various disciplines on contemporary ethics in education and research in the global context and to show by conceptual argumentation how some normative ethical views have a global value and manage to overcome local controversy (...) and disagreement and have an essential relevance for the ethics of research or education. (shrink)

This book on the topic of ethics and poetry consists of contributions from different continents on the subject of applied ethics related to poetry. It should gather a favourable reception from philosophers, ethicists, theologians and anthropologists from Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America and allows for a comparison of the healing power of words from various religious, spiritual and philosophical traditions. The first part of this book presents original poems that express ethical emotions and aphorism related to a philosophical questioning (...) of the grounding of our values for life. The poems are written by twelve authors coming from four continents, for whom poetic emotions are sources of artistic inspiration and that can be used for conflict resolution. In the second part, which features short essays, nine authors tackle how poems, symbolic representations, metaphorical narratives and lies impact the space of possibilities, in which we are moved to action, knowledge formation, and how we imagine the world together. (shrink)

This is a first attempt at the philosophical articulation and projection of the Igbo concept of law and the role of law in the traditional environment. In the Igbo traditional setting, the rules of law are uncodified. The author, who teaches philosophy of law and logic at the University of Nigeria, defines the law of a given community as the body of rules recognised as binding by its members. On this concept of law, he has based his attempt to elucidate (...) the philosophical underpinning of those rules recognised in Igbo traditional legal system as law. Unless the philosphical foundation is understood, the traditional law, machinery for enforcement, and legislative and judicial processes may appear incomprehensible. The first part gives a descriptive insight into the moral, religious, socio-political and legal background of the Igbo. The second part is devoted to the fundamental questions concerning the concept of law, the various types of laws, the reciprocal influence between law and Igbo religion and the end of laws. Finally, the author examines the nature of right in Igbo traditional thought and locates the philosophical background. (shrink)

A decade or so ago, graphic depictions of female circumcision came to define the heart of a campaign presumably aimed at sensitizing the world about the tragic consequences of the practice. At the height of the campaign, it was easy to assume that the prospect for meaningful change was dim. Evolving knowledge about the practice illuminates the bottom-line of issues and demonstrates the centrality of empowerment as an elimination strategy. Interrogating an acclaimed initiative that has successfully helped bring about the (...) abandonment of female circumccision in several places, this article analyzes the definitive role of attending to the full belly for anti-circumcision purposes. (shrink)

Ethnophilosophy is so called because its focus is on the thought that underlies the life patterns and belief system of a people. It is folk philosophy insofar as it is an exposition of the philosophical thought undergirding the way of life of a people as a collectivity. African and Japanese philosophy belong to this tradition. Western philosophy, however, is based on reason and logic; in contrast with ethnophilosophy, it developed ab initio as a critique of folk thought and worldviews. Both (...) traditions are not contradictory but complementary. Each bears the marks of its peculiar culture and history. (shrink)

Although naming-and-shaming (shaming) is a commonly used tax enforcement mechanism, little is known about the efficacy of shaming tax evaders. Through two experiments, this study examines the effects of shaming tax evaders on third-party observers’ perceptions of retributive justice and tax compliance intentions, and whether the salience of persuasion of observers moderates these relationships. Based on insights from defiance theory, the message learning model, and persuasive communications, this study predicts and finds that shaming evaders increases observers’ tax compliance intentions. Furthermore, (...) the results show that higher persuasion, which includes sanction and normative appeals, affects observers’ tax compliance intentions. This study also suggests that shaming has a positive effect on perceptions of retributive justice. Importantly, the results reveal that perceptions of retributive justice in shaming punishment mediate the effect of shaming on tax compliance intentions. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. (shrink)

Rwanda witnessed devastating conflicts leading to genocidal attacks in 1994 with active participation of the police in the pogrom. Various reports implicated the police in high-handedness, torture, extra judicial killings, intimidation, rape, and other heinous crimes during the conflicts. The police force was reformed for optimal performance. This paper examines the impact of the post-conflict reconstruction of the police on internal security management in Rwanda. Findings from the study, which relied on secondary data, are that reform impacted positively on the (...) performance of the police, sharpening its skills in crime detection and prevention and leading to improved security for lives and property in Rwanda. Over-reliance on dwindling external sources and dysfunctional equipment still undermines maximum performance by the police. There should be adequate provision of advanced security devices and better funding of the police for the optimal discharge of their constitutional mandates of securing lives and property in Rwanda. (shrink)

The issue of wedding is of immense socio-cultural and pastoral concern for the Igbo people. The challenge revolves around the question of which wedding(s) the intending couple should choose. Which wedding is cost effective or more socially acceptable? Which wedding incorporates the extended families or alienates them? These choices are often so interconnected that to choose one is to reject the other. As a result, many young people have started cohabiting as families without wedding, or have had one wedding which (...) is considered incomplete, adversely affecting their sense of belonging and participation in their churches, or in the family and socio-cultural settings. This article intends to expose the origin, causes and consequences of the issue. It does not elucidate the rituals of traditional or church wedding, instead it explicates the nuances of both weddings vying for superiority, and the subtle, yet sophisticated contention over their values in Igboland. Then it suggests solutions to help alleviate it. (shrink)

Concern is growing as research continues to find evidence of academic misconduct among medical students. There is, however, paucity of information on this issue among medical students and medical graduates in Africa. We determined the perceptions and attitude of house officers on academic misconduct within Nigerian medical schools. We conducted 7 focus group discussions among pre-registration house-officers working in a Nigerian Teaching hospital between October and November 2013. A FGD guide containing 7 broad questions related to their perception and attitude (...) on academic misconduct was employed. Ethnographic content analysis and manual coding were adopted in identifying themes, issues and representative quotations. A total of 58 participants out of an eligible pool of 76 PRHOs were recruited. All the groups associated academic misconduct chiefly with cheating in examinations, and perceived it as a commonplace problem. “It is a part of school life”, admitted one PRHO. Copying during exam appeared to be the commonest form of cheating. Another respondent opined that “The lecturers should be more concerned with helping students understand better. They should not make passing an exam a do-or-die affair.” The perception and attitudes towards academic misconduct may be a reflection of the prevailing moral decline in the contemporary Nigerian society. Underlying the reasons adduced by the participants for getting involved in academic misconduct is the fear of failure in examinations. Apart from consolidating formal and informal medical ethics education, the medical schools should ensure that the opportunities and pressures to indulge in academic misconduct are minimized. (shrink)

The informal business sector has made enormous contributions to Nigeria's economic growth and development, but this sector is not given the necessary attention to transforming these businesses toward sustainability. This study explores the depth of informal business sector practices in Nigeria. It underscores the inputs of stakeholders in the transformation of businesses in the Nigerian informal sector to increase tax remittances and employment generation for job security in the Nigerian economy. Also, it underpins value chain performances to transform the informal (...) sector and rescue it from liquidation through voluntary company arrangements, administration, merger, takeover, and acquisition schemes. The study adopts a conceptual review. The research relies on extant literature relating to the antecedence of informal business sector activities in Nigeria. It relies on reports from tertiary data sources such as academic articles, books, newspapers, the Internet, and website sources. It further explores the views of researchers, covering the informal sector development and the support of the provisions of the social services in Nigeria. There is the absence of a model for the transformation and sustainability of the informal sector enterprises in Nigeria. This study recommends a model approach to address informal sector enterprises' issues and challenges necessary to transform the businesses into a formal status while supporting their sustainability and resilience. (shrink)

The idea of transgender identity is less perceived as a mental illness but as a sexual health condition in many parts of the Western world, while it is seen as an anomaly in most parts of Africa. Transgender identity is a gender expression that differs from the naturally assigned sex. The widely accepted reason behind transgender is unsatisfactory feelings toward assigned sex by the individual. This work sets out to explore transgender identity and family life in Africa. Several works have (...) explored the concept but with less emphasis on family life as it relates to the African setting. Furthermore, this work sets out to demonstrate some implications of transgender identity in an ideal African family. In this work, we shall argue that once transgender identity is normalized in Africa, it will be a threat to family life. The arguments to be used are historical, analytical, descriptive as well as evaluative. (shrink)

Indigenous spiritualities among Africans, both in Africa and in the diaspora, are flourishing. In Lagos, Nigeria, for example, shrines compete with churches and mosques in adherents and positions. Beyond Africa, the rise of African spiritualities has become conspicuous. Reasons range from Afrocentrism to anti-religious tendencies to the popular religions, from racial animosity to politico-economic ideologies, yet insufficient attention is being paid to this new Afro-spiritualities. Can this renaissance in African spirituality bring forth or support a renaissance in Africa? Africa arguably (...) domesticates the future of humanity. From ecological perspectives to the productivity of offspring, from economic potentials to viable youths for the future, Africa must become progressively discursive in the global platform. A good way to indulge in this would be to understand the spirit of Africa, in the traditional spiritualities that constructed orientations and worldviews of the people. Understanding and addressing African spiritualities constitute an important key in understanding the African identity. (shrink)

As the practice of medicine inevitably raises both ethical and legal issues, it had been recommended since 1999 that medical ethics and human rights be taught at every medical school. Most Nigerian medical schools still lack a formal undergraduate medical ethics curriculum. Medical education remains largely focused on traditional medical science components, leaving the medical students to develop medical ethical decision-making skills and moral attitudes passively within institutions noted for relatively strong paternalistic traditions. In conducting a needs assessment for developing (...) a curriculum germane to the Nigerian society, and by extension most of Sub-Saharan Africa, this study determined the views of Nigerian medical students on medical ethics education, ethical issues related to the doctor-patient relationship and the ethical/professional dilemmas they are confronted with. Using self-administered 63-item structured questionnaires, a cross-sectional survey of the final year medical students of the University of Nigeria was conducted in July 2015.Using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software (SPSS Version 17), frequency counts and percentages were generated. The sample included 100 males (71.4%) and 40 females (28.6%), with the respective mean (SD) age being 24.6(5.61) and 21.8 (6.38) years. Only 35.7% were satisfied with their medical ethics knowledge, and 97.9% indicated that medical ethics should be taught formally. Only 8.6% had never witnessed a medical teacher act unethically. The dilemmas of poor communication between physicians and patients, and the provision of sub-standard care were reported highest for being encountered ‘often’. A majority (60.7%) indicated that “a doctor should do his best always, irrespective of the patient’s wishes”. No significant difference in responses across gender was noted. There is a strong desire by the contemporary Nigerian medical student for medical ethics education. Their lack of exposure in medical ethics in an ethically challenging environment suggest a dire need for the development of an appropriate medical ethics curriculum for them and the provision of an ethically conducive learning environment. (shrink)

African philosophers such as Olusegun Oladipo, Lansana Kieta, Kwama Nkrumah and Kanu Ikechukwu proposed to revisit the semantic of the word “development”. From their viewpoint, instead of seeing economic growth as the DNA of development, we should actualize the notion as rather aiming at the universalities of cultures, which could ensure progress and development. Further aspects such as a) the worldview of the Bantu, b) the distribution of resources in large national giant nations as Nigeria, and c) faith-based organization and (...) development with Obiora Ike, justify a closer reading of the concept. It shows that people-oriented development is better adapted to Africa than abstract concepts, which may not include strong reference to the African traditions and belief systems. Sustainable and integrative development should include all major faith groups, which are all part of development, understood as a social and economic investment with social responsibility and faith. (shrink)

In her article, around the vision of Obiora Ike, the author presents how multicultural education is made possible, in a world where, as university education functions as a fantastic bridge builder, it is a good catalyst for social reforms and equality. University is a place for dynamical leadership at all levels and for a peaceful engagement along the advancement of the digital revolution and reliance on information technology.

Obiora F. Ike’s impressive amount of research texts on ethics can be found on Globethics.net Library. In general, there is no need to search for a justification of a life work and commitment to values, when a person reaches beyond a certain level of experience in life, in any field of professional work, even more in spiritual and ethical development. In the following lines I shall focus on the value of the common good for a person who not only (...) had precise notions about a philosophical and theological concept, but taught by the example, believing integrity matters and integral development can be a life-long mission and altruistic commitment, even if life can be either simple or complicate. (shrink)

Following Professor Obiora Ike’s view and in particular Obiora 2012, 2013, 2017 (see reference below), the more students are exposed to ethics practice, the greater their propensity and capability to seek for ethical living. This important assumption is worth close statistical scrutiny as the author shows. Through empirical researches and the stratified sampling approach, 435 university students are randomly selected to illustrate this claim. The method used is the “Perceived Role of Ethics and Democracy Outcome Scale” (PREDOS) and (...) a survey questionnaire used to measure exposure to common good ethics among the respondents. Descriptive analysis – tables and analysis and covariance (ANCOVA), are aimed at facilitating the analysis of the data collected in the study. In tandem with the conclusions drawn from extant literature and works of Professor Obiora Ike, the findings, as the author see, show that exposure to common good ethics has a significant positive effect on students’ ethics practice and democracy outcomes. (shrink)

This paper attempts to respond to a call to find an ontological basis for establishing African legal theory. The African world of my choice is the Igbo world of South-east Nigeria. It is a world I want to examine to see how its material and theoretical structures help articulate a philosophy of law in terms of projecting a consistent understanding of law subjects and the foundations of their rights. The article builds on the contributions of F. U. Okafor and (...) his many African critics. (shrink)

This study uses secondary data to examine Obiora’s education ethics vis-à-vis the higher education system in Nigeria. The discourse centered on government educational agencies such as the National Universities Commission (NUC); National Board for Technical Education (NBTE); National Commis-sion for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and their roles in the management of the educational system in Nigeria. The study further highlights the ethical lapses in the tertiary education system in Nigeria. The researcher suggests that, (...) the government should encourage private ownership of tertiary institutions, while the government through its agencies supervises them. (shrink)

This study interrogates narrow-mindedness and laziness leading many of the Nigerian undergraduates to be tempted to cheat and fraud on Internet instead of working hard for their studies. The author proposes a contextual survey around a tendency also called “yahooism”, “yahoo-yahooism”, as most of the first attempted cybercrimes were realized by sending yahoo emails. This harmful tendency is contrasted with Prof Obiora Ike’s teaching on the value of hard work as the road to wealth. The study used the quantitative (...) survey method of 372 undergraduates from two purposively selected higher in-stitutions in Nigeria, namely: Edo State University Uzairue and Federal Polytechnic Auchi, both in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. A questionnaire with a set of nine semi-structured questions is used to obtain data from the students between 15th July and 15th August 2022. (shrink)

If we want to honour Obiora’s work and the inspiration he has offered and continues to provide we cannot get past his stories. He often uses stories to exemplify ethical behaviour and the impact of unethical behaviour. Reading and retelling stories are effective teaching tools for ethical behaviour. At the same time stories can foster intercultural communication as they promote dialogue and reflection on one’s own culture. They inspire understanding and embracing diversity. This article is an invitation to rediscover (...) the power of stories in teaching ethical behaviour. (shrink)

Poetry and Ethics: Inventing Possibilities in Which We Are Moved to Action and How We Live Together, Obiora Ike / Andrea Grieder / Ignace Haaz (Eds.), Global Series No. 16, Geneva: Globethics Publications, 2018, pp. 247-262.

This article tracks the development of the Globethics.net Foundation’s work on ethics in higher education, mainly as a focus on the University administration and good practices. Ethics in university management and organisation is a center of focus since the new strategic focus of the Foundation in 2016, paying tribute to the leadership of Globethics.net Executive Director Obiora F. Ike. Prof. Dr Ike pioneered the work and laid firm foundations for its continuation and global implementation. In addition to the Globethics.net (...) resources of library, publications and online education through its academy, Globethics.net launched processes and tools to inspire and equip higher education institutions to reach true ethics excellence in their organisation as institutions. (shrink)

This chapter as the whole book are a result of a Globethics conference in March 2018 at the Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA) in Kenya, focused on the integration of Ethics in Higher Education. The book captures the potential for sharing of knowledge, and triggering interdisciplinary collaboration and research across a wide variety of issues ranging from research practice, religion, entrepreneurship, leadership, fundraising and corruption. While some of the chapters focus on the understanding of ethics and its relationship with (...) the various other aspects of life, others concentrate on the methods and strategies of effectively teaching ethics. Our chapter is concerned by the ways research practices and the value of integrity might be at risk, in very limited situations. We have good hope that responsible answers and proportionate reason-based actions in confronting some of these risks - as with plagiarism - can protect the giving virtues necessary for dynamical and effective research processes, which are all ultimately built on the value of trust. (shrink)