This research examines the successes of ECOWAS in some West African countries after its adoption of the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance in countries where there has been unconstitutional change of government such as Guinea Bissau in 2012, Gambia in 2017, Mali in 2013 and Cote d’ Ivoire in 2003. Also, it explores countries such as Mali in 2020, Guinea in 2021, Burkina Faso 2022, and Niger in 2023 where ECOWAS has failed in upholding and restoring democratic ideals. The study adopts qualitative data with both primary materials such as official ECOWAS documents, reports, and communiqués and secondary sources such as academic literature, media reports, and scholarly assessments. The main argument of the study is that despite ECOWAS successes in upholding democratic norms in some Western African countries after its adoption of the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, internal dynamics, western influences, failure to introduce term-limits, ineffective and inconsistent sanctions account for its drawbacks. Read more

Cocoa is traded internationally and is highly significant to most economies. The majority of cocoa beans are sourced from West Africa; exporting over 70 % of cocoa globally. Despite this, West Africa makes minimal profits as compared to the consumer countries controlling the chocolate industry. A lot of sustainability interventions have been rolled out to ensure the continuous production of the crop. Europe and other international organizations have invested largely in cocoa sustainability. Some interventions have been in the form of certification standards, sensitization and awareness programs, training and empowering farmers, particularly in the West African region. Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have benefitted from a lot of sustainability programs as the world’s largest cocoa producers. This review delves into several sustainability initiatives implemented in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire through Voluntary Sustainability Standards, local government regulations, and international organizations. It also highlights the importance of sustainability in ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality cocoa beans for processors and highlights its associated health benefits. Read more

The resurgence of military coups in African politics poses a challenge for democracy and it highlights the fragility of democratization in Africa. Going by the recent coup waves, democracy appears to be in a very fragile state in Africa. Africa for a very long time has enjoyed relative stability in its democratization process. However, this long period of stability is being challenged again as there have already been five successful overthrows of democratically elected governments in Chad, Mali, Guinea, Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Niger between 2021 and 2023 in addition to the unsuccessful attacks. It is equally worth noting that the recent coup waves in Africa have been dominated by West African states: Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Guinea. Unlike in the past when citizens greeted attacks on democratically elected governments with discontent and disapproval, the recent coups have for so many reasons been met with support and acceptance by citizens through celebrations on the streets and supportive messages on social media. This paper therefore seeks to examine democracy’s discontent and the resurgence of coups in West Africa to identify its implications for Africa. The study relied essentially on qualitative data predicated on secondary data. The paper adopted populism as its framework of analysis. The paper revealed that the popular support for the recent coup waves stems from citizens' dissatisfaction with the performance of democracy and democratic leadership. The study recommended, amongst other things, that democratic institutions should be reformed and strengthened, good governance should be promoted by African leaders, and maximum attention should be paid to the welfare and concerns of the military to strengthen professionalism. Read more

The resurgence of military coups in West Africa has been alarming in the last decade. With over 20 failed and successful coups in recent times, the implication of this to the peace, security and stability of the region has raised serious concerns among scholars. This growing concern comes from the argument that democracy is dying as well as failing in the sub-region. More so, the sub-region is confronted with grave security, (banditry, terrorism, arms proliferation, drug trafficking, among other forms of crimes and criminality) economic (rising poverty, declining economic growth), citizens’ discontent and leadership crisis. As such, the spate of coups has been seen as the product of the aforementioned issues. ECOWAS as a sub-regional body with the task of promoting economic and political development through integration cannot fulfil this goal in the current state of coups. Therefore, this study seeks to interrogate the implications of these coups on the effectiveness of the sub-regional institution in promoting peace and maintaining democracy. Relying essentially on qualitative data, predicated on the regulative capability analytical framework, which is an integral part of Almond’s General Systems theory, the paper argues that the current approach of sanctions as a deterrent to coups is not effective enough as it affects the citizens than the military. Given this, the paper recommends that ECOWAS strengthens sub-regional democracy, promotes good governance and addresses the challenges of leadership in West Africa. Read more

Scholarship on food rituals in African drama has largely treated them as ethnographic markers of cultural identity rather than as structural elements of dramatic craft. This study examines how food rituals function as deliberate dramaturgical instruments in four selected West African plays: Yaw Asare's Ananse in the Land of Idiots, Ama Ata Aidoo's The Dilemma of a Ghost, Sam Ukala's The Placenta of Death, and Wole Soyinka's Kongi's Harvest. Drawing on Marvin Harris's Cultural Materialism and supplemented by Clifford Geertz's interpretive approach, the study employs qualitative textual analysis to identify and theorise four dramaturgical functions of food rituals across the selected texts. These are a catalytic function, in which ritual disruption or manipulation initiates the central dramatic conflict; a revelatory function, in which ritual behaviour exposes character psychology, social hierarchy, and moral disposition; a thematic-communicative function, in which food rituals carry and organise the plays' principal ideological concerns; and a preservatory-documentary function, in which the playwrights' faithful artistic interpretations constitute an act of cultural archiving. A cross-play typology is proposed to systematise these functions. The study concludes that food rituals in West African drama represent a distinctly African dramaturgical resource whose full analytical potential remains underexplored in theatre and performance scholarship, and recommends their integration into African drama pedagogy, criticism, and practice. Read more

Background: Kissi soldiers from Sierra Leone served as part of the Allied Forces in the Burma Campaign of 1943–1945, yet their experiences remain marginal in mainstream military histories. Existing archival records provide limited insight into how these men interpreted danger, displacement, and survival in a foreign war. Methodology: This article uses an ethnographically informed historical reconstruction grounded in oral histories from the families of two deceased veterans and supported by archival records and secondary literature. Six narrative vignettes—fictionalized but historically grounded—are used to illuminate the cultural, sensory, and moral frameworks through which Kissi soldiers understood their wartime experiences. Findings: Analysis reveals that Kissi soldiers navigated the Burma Campaign through culturally grounded logics of ritual protection, ancestral presence, and ethical obligation. Their interpretations of danger, death, and environmental dislocation were shaped by cosmological frameworks carried from Upper Guinea. Racialised labour expectations placed disproportionate physical burdens on African troops, while personal objects and ritual practices served as emotional anchors. Post war reintegration was marked by silence, spiritual imbalance, and reliance on community based cleansing rites in the absence of institutional psychological support. Conclusion: By centring Kissi epistemologies, this article expands the cultural and comparative dimensions of Second World War history. It demonstrates that African soldiers were active interpreters of global conflict whose embodied, moral, and cosmological experiences deepen our understanding of trauma, resilience, and the long term implications of wartime service for men’s health in contemporary Sierra Leone. Read more

Phytochemicals, derived from plants such as turmeric and West African black pepper (WABP), have drawn attention as natural feed additives in animal nutrition. These bioactive compounds possess anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. However, their concentration in these plants vary across geographical locations, hence the need for location-specific characterization which would produce more accurate applications in livestock feeding. This study was therefore aimed at determining the proximate and phytochemical compositions of turmeric rhizomes and WABP seeds cultivated in Southwestern Nigeria. These rhizomes and seeds were separately cleaned of debris, solar dried and pulverized, after which each sample was subjected to laboratory analysis for proximate and phytochemical compositions using the AOAC (2005) and phytochemical screening methods respectively. Results showed that turmeric rhizomes contained 14.63±0.27% moisture, 9.35±0.35%ash, 5.16±0.00% crude fat, 13.70±0.35% crude fibre, 5.95±0.25% crude protein and 51.22±0.02% carbohydrate. It also contained 30.48±0.08mg/g flavonoids, 68.76±0.49mg/g Alkaloids, 57.70±0.42mg/g phenols, 12.12±0.18mg/g tannins, 16.12±0.04 mg/g saponins and 4.08±0.03mg/g curcumin. West African Black pepper seeds also contained 11.82±0.25% moisture, 5.21±1.32% ash, 9.19±2.69% crude fat, 9.88±0.20% crude fibre, 9.88±0.62% crude protein and 54.03±1.54% carbohydrate. Its phytochemical contents were 57.70±0.42mg/g flavonoids, 12.12±0.18mg/g alkaloids, 6.53±0.42 mg/g phenols, 68.76±0.49mg/g tannins, 30.48±0.08mg/g saponins and 9.58±0.21mg/g piperine. The results of this study give background information on the constituents of Nigerian-grown turmeric and WABP, thus supporting quality control studies for establishment of effective and safe doses of Curcuma longa and piper guineense for inclusion in livestock diet. Read more

A study was conducted using twenty-one (21) West African Dwarf (WAD) goats with an average weight of 10.50± 0.36 kg to evaluate the blood profile of WAD goats fed microbial treated Bambara nutshell diets. The goats were allotted to seven dietary treatments with three replicated per treatment in a completely randomized design. The Bambara nutshells underwent sterilization for 15 minutes, were inoculated with 25, 50, and 75ml of Pleurotus pulmonaris and Aspergillus niger, incubated for 7 days, air-dried, and then integrated into the diets, diet A (control), diet B, C, D (25ml, 50ml 75ml Pleurotus pulmonaris) and E, F, G (25ml, 50ml, 75ml Aspergillus niger). Blood was collected from each animal via the jugular vein into bottles containing anticoagulant and without anti-coagulant for the measurement of heamatological and serum biochemical indices respectively. The study lasted for 63 days. Results showed that the proximate compositions were significantly influenced (p>0.05). Results showed that the blood parameters were significantly (p<0.05) influenced by the diet. Does fed diet C had the highest packed cell volume (35.00 %), haemoglobin (11.97 %) and lymphocytes (47.67%). The serum biochemical parameters also indicated that, total protein (20.09g/l) was highest in diet C. The albumin (4.27g/l) was higher in animals fed diet G, while the serum enzymes alanine amino transferase (5.40 iu/l) and aspartate aminotransferase (22.83 iu/l) were least in animals fed diet F and G respectively. Conclusively, microbial treatment of Bambara nutshell does not have adverse effect on the goat health status Read more

This study investigated the impact of substituting fresh Panicum maximum with fresh mulberry (Morus alba) leaves at different levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) on feed intake, and reproductive performance of intensively managed gravid West African Dwarf (WAD) does. Twenty-five gravid WAD does were divided into five groups, each consisting of five does, and were subjected to a 150-day experiment. Feed intake results indicated that does fed on a diet containing 50% Panicum maximum and 50% mulberry (P50M50) had the highest total dry matter intake (TDMI) across three trimesters (356.63, 488.69, and 539.63 g/day). Weight gain was notably higher (p<0.05) in does on a diet of 100% mulberry (P0M100). Offspring weaned from dams fed a diet with 75% mulberry substitution exhibited higher weaning weights and daily weight gains. The study concludes that substituting mulberry in the diet of traditionally managed WAD goats enhances pregnancy development without health concerns and contributes to improved udder development and potential milk yield enhancement. Read more