African nation in recession clings to singular belief (5)
I believe the answer is:
islam
'belief' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'african nation in recession clings to singular' is the wordplay.
'african nation' becomes 'Mali' (country in Africa).
'in recession' shows that the letters should be reversed in order (letters recede or go back).
'clings to' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'singular' becomes 's' (abbreviation in grammar).
'mali' written backwards gives 'ilam'.
'ilam' placed around 's' is 'ISLAM'.
(Other definitions for islam that I've seen before include "Religion based on Muhammad's teachings" , "Faith with five pillars" , "organised religion" , "Creed" , "Religion based on teachings of Muhammad" .)