A Keynote Address: Good Governance and Social Order

compliments.This is not unexpected since 'The Invention of Africa' and 'The Idea of Africa' (a la Mudimbe, 1988; 1993) have been dictated by those outside its shores and/or the internal apologists of those narratives.Through slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism, what Africa is has been defined by what it is 'expected' to be, never what it, really, is (Olutayo, 2009a).It is not surprising, therefore, that the narrative in some academic circles, it seems, places the 'problem' of order in Nigeria's governance on its internal social institutions without questioning the foundation on which such order is expected.Nigeria, like almost all of her African counterparts, relies on order as dictated outside its territories.We can, however, better understand their predicaments only when we locate their existence within the World Capitalist System which determines how they can/should function.Located within the 'periphery of the periphery' of the World Capitalist System, most of the African nations eke out their living by supplying the needs of the nations at the Centre (Wallerstein, 2004).Whether as 'food' or 'cash' crops, or other mineral resources, the nations of sub-Sahara Africa continue to supply the raw materials needed in the industries of the so called developed nations.The moment the requirements from the so called developed nations of the world change, the raw materials to be supplied from the periphery of the periphery also change in tandem.No wonder that we are now more interested in 'artificial', rather than 'original', intelligence.It is in the process of supplying these needs that the African social structure is defined.Who gets what, and how, determines the nature of the structures.And, who gets what, and how, among the Africans, is, in turn, determined by the nature of relationship the individuals/groups have with those from the Centre of the World Capitalist