Terver Titus Udu PhD
Department of Arts & Social Sciences,
Benue State University, Makurdi
Email: goldudu2013@gmail.com
Preamble
The theme of (his vein’s conference addresses a longstanding debate in the field of
social sciences. For long, both Nigerians and people of other nationalities have
raised concerns about voter apathy in general elections, the high incidences of
abuse of the rule of law, insecurity, and the rising ethnic divisions in the land. I
therefore, commend the organisers for choosing such a germane topic that
addresses the issues of the time. But the topic has as main as four variables. So, let
me warm you from the onset that a lengthy topic deserves a length) discussion. All
the four variables in the topic must be addressed satisfactorily for a meaningful
discourse. I accepted the invitation as a keynote speaker enthusiastically. Part of
my letter reads that I was selected based on “merit, adjudged pedigree, experience
and high-profile contributions in the field of social sciences.” Thank you indeed for
the compliments. But the task is also challenging in the sense that the topic is
sensational, volatile, pervasive and susceptible to varying intellectual viewpoints.
Another challenge is that I have been asked to lead a discussion in an area that I
command very moderate expertise. But I accepted the challenge. In the field of
academics, we learn every day. I also consider it as part of learning to attend this
conference to be listened to and to listen to other scholars and gain new knowledge
in the field of social sciences. As a keynote speech, my article bears the torchlight
of the Olympic Games. The games are not in the torchlight, but the torchlight is
part of the games. The article contains the most basic of the ideas on the topic only
to provide leadership for intense discussions to follow. It is organized in sections,
in accordance with the order of the variables of the topic.