text book on political parties and pressure groups full
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UDOCHUKWU OTRANSCRIPT
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DEDICATION
TO
CHINWEOKE, CHIDUM, OBIAJULU, OBIANUJU, IFEANYI,
IKECHUKWU, NONSO, MUNACHIMSO and KAMSIYOCHUKWU.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A book like this depends greatly on the research materials available
and I am particularly grateful to the World Bank Research Library of
the University of Port Harcourt and the Uniport Graduate School
Library, where I spent many pleasant days wandering through its
incomparable collections.
I highly appreciate my dear wife, Chinweoke, for her indulgences,
sleepless nights and sacrifices, just to see me through. She tolerates
my shortcomings basically because I have chosen against so much
odds to lock myself indoors and write…one could not have asked for
a better family.
While accepting blames for all defects and omissions as may,
possibly, be contained on this text, I most warmly acknowledge the
following persons: Dr. Mrs O.P Anwuluorah, Mr. C.C Chukwujekwu,
Mr. Ifeanyi Ojukwu, Barr. Fab Onyisi, Rev. Fr. Ejike, Mr. P.K.C.
Onyejekwe, Mr. Greg Ezenne, Mr. Ajie Obiozor, Mr. C.M Nwose and
Mr. Uche Ekwonu.
Most especially, I am grateful to Law Egbomuche-Okeke esq, who
constantly encouraged me to write. My thanks go to all renowned
scholars, whose works assisted me in this publication. To those who
gave me the necessary support and inspiration to write this book, I
say thank you. To Prof. Kimse Okoko, Dr. Omenihu Nworgu, Dr.
Henry Alapiki and Dr. P.G. Odondiri whose works and articles, ignited
the academic spark in me, I am not ungrateful.
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Finally, I acknowledge my parents for equipping me with the
instruments which kept me at this level, and most of all, to the glory of
Almighty God who maketh all things possible.
Ogbaji, Udochukwu A.O
February, 2009.
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PREFACE
Nigeria's political tranquility has been disturbed and destroyed.
Before a decade now, Nigeria has not seen stable governance
groomed within peace; a sustained peaceful environment needed to
root political vision and the building of democracy. The Niger Delta
Region, which long epitomized a peaceful country in the sub-region is
today one of the few ethnic regions where peaceful settlement than
armoury exchanges characterizes the focus of the true leaders of this
country.
A look into the history of the Niger Delta region, together tied a vision
to happily throw out the cloak of colonialism, have not been spared of
the particles-bond of true federalism. Rather, they are countries,
which over the years have struggled woefully to put our nationalism to
the test of global ridiculing.The Bello's, Azikiwe’s, Awolowo's and
Boro's were themselves heroes in their own rights. However, such
individuals again stand to be blamed may be for their failure to
adhere and build sustainable nationalism among their citizens but
rather manipulated the system to sustain their presidencies.
Considering that such leaders have had strong experiences of
democracy should have set the path for the bright future of this
country. What they failed to do (giving that time may not have
favoured some) left the indelible struggle of some of these states.
The nightmare, name-calling and the monster in oil-producing states,
to the good, have not appeared as religious or ethnic implied
struggles. The only exception but not deeply highlighted is that of the
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political scene of the region– the Muslims in the north and the
Christians in the South. What has bedeviled and created a platform of
power struggle and not democratic development is ‘personal’ and
sometimes mundane and myopic aspirations of few whose sole
desire is to become president or get access to huge sums of money
in the short time. With little money in hand, such unpatriotic power
hungry individuals gather few hungry citizens, seek foreign
assistance and commence their assault on democracy and peace but
not state. The noisy and monotonous rhyme of the dire bullets shows
no respire for the wailing of mothers and children, mercy on the sick
and the elderly. They become victims of greedy ambitions of ignorant
brats.
Nigeria appears to have been spared at least, from this kind of power
hungry souls over a period of time. After some period of military drills,
Nigerians are gradually building but fast, the fringes of what should
be good and sustainable democracy in the country. Since 1999, when
the country was ushered into democratic governance, Nigeria has
had the chance to change presidents through the ballot for the first
time. This is no mean achievement considering the fact that this has
never happened in the history of the country. Secondly, such a
wonderful period of democratic learning is taking place and
surrounded by neighbours in the West African Sub-region whose
countries are experiencing political struggles and turmoil and a
possible spill over. As witnessed in some other parts of Africa, cross
boarder fighting have the tendency to spill over neighbouring
countries. Thirdly, this democratic feat will certainly become a lesson
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for countries nearby to reassess their noble books of peace and seek
the path of dialogue using Nigeria as a measure of capability.
In making the exemplary efforts in seating democracy in Nigeria,
evidences of minor circumstances; views, different ideological
leanings, political language, perceptions, etc are germinating. By
democracy, certain ingredients which should have been cooked so
well to dress the path of Nigeria's effort are simply becoming the very
iota of differences delivered in explosive thoughts, unearthing the
atmosphere which is in them the hovering threats to the peace in
Nigeria.
These threats, which may be perceived as minor or insignificant in
proportion in causing an abrupt cessation to democratic efforts, need
a second thought. For scientific prove an atom is required even if
small, to set forward compound.
Political tension characterized the debate of issues rather than
‘peaceful dialogue’ among the most competitive political parties gives
the impression that things are discussed on affiliations and not
credibility. In the party bloc, PDP and minority parties do not seem to
click together. Differences in views pertained to programs are
discerned from extreme ends. The despairing arguments are positive
and encouragement from PDP members and media coordinators
while the other parties frown’s deeply about the kind of analysis and
abuses inherent in PDP.
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However, the growing level of poverty in this country is another great
threat to democracy. One may not be expected to go voting in
hunger. Neither shall we appreciate the fact that Nigerians will go
toiling all day only to get what is scarcely enough to feed oneself and
not the small size families in the country today. Poverty heightens
frustration and supplants disappointment, hatred and annoyance in
the minds of people who hope to see change. It drives children from
school into indulging in criminal activities, developing wickedness and
child’s interests in possessing armoury (among boys) to perpetuate
criminal activities and terrorize communities. Poverty pushes young
females into the hands social decay and childbearing. Poverty
develops the test of disapproving democratic governance and rather
approving military junta as saviour of the plights of the suffering
masses. Poverty blinds achievements and gains of some sort and
builds intuitive anger for community desperadoes willing to die in
creating chaos. Such people see no hope in life. Not until government
draws up an inclusive (emphasis on self-help/assisted and
economically viable income generating projects) plan for
development efforts on democracy make no meaning to hungry and
angry souls.
At the threshold of such an enviable and peaceful democratic
dispensation, we all owe much credit to ourselves for the effort made.
It does not matter which party is in power and what achievement they
made. What matters is Nigeria’s democracy. On the other hand, we
stand tall to embrace the blame of our failure to move forward and not
for one party or government. Nigerians have gone through
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tumultuous moments of governance. Yet again, we have the chance
to build democracy and set the path the future knowing and proving
that in whatever state Nigerians are, we can demonstrate what
Azikiwe said, “…the Blackman is capable of managing his own
affairs.’ To do this, we need to see ourselves as Nigerians and not by
tribes. We need to put Nigeria first but hold firmly to our cultural
identities.
We should share and strife to make our democracy work. At the
moment, we are only building the fences today; and to think that
democracy has taken root is just talk. Even in advanced countries
where they boast of democracy, they learn each day. Meaning that,
democracy is a living process, a cyclical adventure for the good of
nationhood. We cannot afford to let such little threats hovering around
us, be what Shakespeare describes in his book ‘Macbeth’, to be the
serpent under the innocent flowers.
This text in all dealt extensively on the origin of Nigerian Politics from
Independence to present, Issues in Nigerian Democratic Process,
Political Parties and Pressure Group Influences and their
contributions to Nigeria Democratic Process, Political Finance in
Nigeria, Public Opinion, Ethnicity in Nigerian Politics, and the
Concept of National Question and Resource Control in Nigeria. It will
of course serve as a valuable reading guide to students of Political
Parties and Pressure Groups in Nigeria and all other Nigerians
interested in Nigerian Government and Politics.
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CHAPTER ONE
POLITICS: DEFINITIONS AND MEANING
It should be noted that politics derives from the Greek word “polis” which
means city-state. To the Greeks, the polis was the most meaningful
community above the family level. The Great philosopher, Aristotle, began
his famous work, Politics, with the observation that “man is by nature a
political animal”. By this, he means that the essence of social existence is
politics and that two or more men interacting with one another are
invariably involved in a political relationship. Aristotle also means that very
few people prefer an isolated life to one that includes social
companionship. Men are engaged in politics as they try to define their
positions in society, as they struggle for scarce resources and as they try to
convince others to accept their point of view. Aristotle then concluded that
the only way to maximise one’s individual capabilities and to attain the
highest form of social life was through political interaction with others in an
institutionalised setting, a setting designed to resolve social conflicts and to
set collective goals-the state.
What therefore is politics? A search through the political science literature
confounds the student with numerous definitions, starting that politics is the
process of making and execution of governmental decisions or policies; the
authoritative allocation of values; or who gets what, when and how; the
quest for power, order and justice; the art of influencing, manipulating and
controlling others; a process of resolution of conflicts in society and a
struggle among actors pursuing conflicting desires on public issues. Karl
Deutsch argues that any community larger than the family contains an
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element of politics. While some writers are in support of a clear definition of
politics, others are opposed to it, claiming that the growth of the discipline
would be restricted if the scope were prematurely delineated.
Scattschneider is one of those who strongly support a clear definition of
politics. He reasons that:
“There is something strange about the feeling
of scholars that a definition is not necessary.
Inevitably, there is a lack of focus in the discipline
because it is difficult to see things that are undefined.
People who cannot define the object of their studies
do not know what they are looking for, and if they do
not know what they are looking for, how can they tell
when they have found it?”
To Abraham Kaplan, Easton, and Lasswell, politics is the authoritative
allocation of values as influence by the shaping, distribution and exercise of
power. Wesby (1970) says that:…..where there is politics, it is said, there is
controversy, where there are issues there is politics. Where no controversy
exists, where no issues are being debated, politics does not exist. It should
be noted that politics is not only about controversies and the mere
discussion of issues. Politics is more positive and concrete than this.
However, when politics is seen as a process, it becomes easier to
appreciate its importance since it is through such process that values;
material or symbolic, are aggregated, allocated and ultimately acquired.
Everyone, or every group therefore, strives to maximise the acquisition of
these values which as has been pointed out, are relatively fewer in
comparison with a great many competitors. What this triggers off is
competition in which every competitor attempts to exert as much power as
he possibly can muster.
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It is in this regard that the definition of politics as “struggle for power”,
Morgenthau (1985), seems to have some meaning, but this seeming
relevance and meaning should not be stretched too far. This caution
appears necessary at this point, in the light of a more broad definition of
politics. This conceptualizes politics not only in terms of the distribution of
existing values but also brings into focus the whole issue of planning and
creation of values in accordance with the desires of the decision makers.
For Laski (1961), “politics concerns itself with the life of men in relation to
organized state,” while Sidwick (1929) sees politics as……concerning
primarily with the constructing on the basis of certain psychological
premises the system of relations which ought to be established among the
persons governing and between them and the governed, in a society
composed of civilised men.
The highest point of the above definition is the relationship between the
government and the governed. Politics as already mentioned is a process
which has it, varied activities reflected in negotiation, arguments,
discussions, application of force, persuasion, by which means an issue is
agitated or settled. What is quite clear in this explanation is the fact that
politics is not basically conflicts all the time, there is consensus, leading to,
resolution. The political system may become heated with demands for the
allocation of certain values, or stressed by reason of non-performance by
the system, tending in some serious cases towards system breakdown and
legitimacy crisis. However, if some of the major demands, concerns or
areas of conflicts are attended to, the danger of regime collapse, can be
averted. This would not go to mean that all demands are to be totally met,
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only those that the system can accommodate at a particular time and in
relation to other competing demands, will be processed and thus,
authoritatively allocated. It is in this respect that politics is accepted as “the
art of the possible”.
The problematic of politics since ancient time has been its meaning. The
question, what is politics?, has continued to be a recurring decimal in
political enquiry and analysis. There exist no text any where, that has single
handedly supplied the answer to the question. Every such text has been a
contribution to the clearer and proper understanding of politics. The present
attempt here falls short of providing this one capsule answer to a notty
question as the one we are grappling with presently. Instead of defining
one word, “politics” one has to contend with the definition of such words as
“authoritative”, “allocation”, “values”, and “society”.
According to E, Nwabuzor and M. Mueller: politics consists of all social
intersections and dispositions which are directly/indirectly aimed at or
actually succeed in obtaining binding decisions about who have desired
resources (or who do not), and when and how these are obtained, in any
enduring social system. The authors further contend that politics is involved
whenever there is struggle over the distribution of scarce resources by
decision makers in any social group. The social group may be a family, a
club, public corporation, an army or the State apparatus of any given
country. The definition by Nwabuzor and Mueller is largely a synthesis of
those by Dahl, Easton and Lasswell. There is an acknowledgement of the
fact that those things which the citizens of a country value are scarce
relative to demand for them. Therefore, in order to guard against anarchy
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and perpetual deprivation of the powerless by the powerful, there must be a
way of authoritatively allocating the values for the entire society. This
implies that at any given point in time, some citizens may be indulged while
others are deprived. But the decisions must be regarded as binding by both
categories of citizens whose fortunes may be reversed in subsequent
allocations.
The authoritative allocation of values presupposes the fact that politics is
characterized by conflict. Hence politics takes place whenevr conflict exists
about goals and the method of achieving them. The process of solving
conflicts at home, in school or at a national level is a political process. This
forms the basis of our discussions in subsequent chapters. I took time to
analyse the concept of politics so that a student of political parties and
pressure group in Nigeria will understand the background of politics before
knowing what political parties and pressure groups are. This, I believe will
make for a proper understanding of both concepts as the title of this book
states.
Appadorai asserts that when a body of people is clearly organised as a unit
for purposes of government, it is said to be politically organised and may be
called a body politic or State. Therefore, politics is viewed as “the science
concerned with the State and of the conditions essential to its existence
and development”. In the words of Janet, it is “that part of social science
which treats the foundations of the State and the principles of government”.
It is worth mentioning that politics is the making of decisions by public
means in contrast to the making of personal decisions privately by
individuals. There are also some definitions which identifies politics with
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government, that is, the activities that take place around the legally based
institutions of a society which makes legally binding decisions. Politics is
also taken by some as a synonym for “legal government”. The problems
posed by these definitions are that much as we have to know the precise
meaning of government, “legal government” is tautological or superfluous
because it is legality that defines a government.
However, scholars like Marx Weber and Nnoli have contrary view.
According to them, social interaction is political to the extent that it occurs
within the framework of the state. Weber (1947) for example defines politics
in terms of all those human activities that are directed towards, and indeed
reflect in the process of acquiring, using and maintaining governmental
power. From this perspective, politics represents the sum totality of all
these activities that are directed towards determining public policies and
the means of implementing such policies. Similarly, Nnoli (1986) defines
politics as “all those activities which are directly or indirectly associated with
the seizure of state power, the consolidation of state power, and the use of
state power”. It goes to say that both Nnoli and Weber pitched their
definitions on the macro level. Politics makes sense only when it is
examined within the context of the state and the sum total of all those
activities which revolve around the acquisition, consolidation and
manipulation of the state apparatuses.
Furthermore, the definition that equates politics with government is
unrealistically restrictive. It does not take cognisance of binding decisions
that are tatken in societies where formal governmental institutions do exist.
There is also a definition which identifies politics with “power”, “authority”,
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or “conflict”. This definition posits that there is politics in conflict situations
or where power relationships are in existence. This lends credence to the
earlier assertion that the process of solving conflicts is a political process. It
is in the same vein that Max Weber, the German sociologist, defines
politics as “striving to share power or striving to influence the distribution of
power, either among States or among groups within a State”.
One of the criticisms often levelled against the definition that equates
politics with power is that it is overly broad because power is exercised in
different groups, institutions or organizations. However, our interest is in
political power which has to be distinguished from other forms of power.
Finally, it is pertinent to stress that the different definitions examined here
are not mutually exclusive. Rather, they are mutually reinforcing. But one
cannot but espouse Easton’s definition which equates politics with the
authoritative allocation of values for the society. Its utility transcends socio-
cultural boundaries.
The Greek concept of politics more accurately refers to a process by which
men debate matters concerning the ‘polis’ that is, the political community,
and take actions in an attempt to realize the public interest or the common
good. Thus, politics is seen as a controversy, a process of resolution of
conflict through discussion, bergaining and compromise.
The most important factor leading to the development of knowledge in any
field of study is agreement among its members about the content of that
field. In other words, the scholars in the field must agree on a fairly clear-
out definition of what they are studying. But, as noted by the English
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historian, Morse Stephens, after teaching in the United States for two years
reported that “he had not been able to find anyone who can tell him
precisely what political science was.
While there has been a wide range of definitions, most of them can be
classified as being one of two types- the Classicists/Institutionalists identify
politics with government, “legal government” or the “state”, while others, the
behaviouralists, revolve around the notion of “power” “authority”, and or
“conflict”. Alfred de Grazia says that “politics” or the political includes the
events that happen around the decision-making centres of government.
Charles Hyman claims that legal government is the subject matter of
politics.
William Bluhm, a political scientist explains: “Reduced to its universal
elements, then, politics is a social process characterised by activity
involving rivalry and cooperation in the exercise of power and culminating
in the making of decisions for a group. The appeal of the definition flows
out of its apparent flexibility or wide scope. Politics is found wherever power
relationships or conflict situations exists, which means that the political
scientist can legitimately study the politics of a labour union or corporation,
religious organisations, as well as what goes on in the legislature or
administrative agency. The emphasis of this kind of definition is a type of
activity or behaviour rather than a particular kind of institution. There is a
practical difference between a definitionbased on government, and one
based on politics.
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However, this goes to say that the Eastonian definition of politics as the
“authoritative allocation of values for a society”, is considered useful by
political scientists. It emphasizes political activity rather than institution. The
authoritative allocation of values, is, Easton argues, the kind of activity we
should be interested in. The first assumption is that in every society, values
are desired, that is, people have different interest or objectives, and these
must be allocated; or distributed by someone or something.
In a sense, this is a power and conflict situation. Every society has different
political systems allocating values authoritatively. Easton posits: “a policy is
authoritative when the people to whom it is intended to apply or who are
affected by it consider that they must or ought to obey it”. In other words, it
is considered binding. To most scholars, therefore, the behaviouralist
approach to the definition is more comprehensive. Politics is considered as
the activities and process that take place in the political realm.
Most contemporary political scientists question the usefulness of any
attempt to define politics on the grounds that there is no final solution to a
problem of definition, as reflected in many existing definition of politics. On
this issue, a known political scientist, Frank Goodnow, wrote that: “Such an
attempt to define politics is not only dangerous but even if successfully
made, it is not in my opinion sufficiently fruitful of practical results to justify
the expenditure of thought and time necessary to secure the desired end”.
While there is no best definition of politics, most political scientists agree
that politics has something to do with power, influence and authority, which
are the central organising concepts of the study of politics.
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WHY DO WE STUDY POLITICS?
At this point, it is very clear that politics, whether we refer to it as a dirty
game or a clean one, an evil act or a good one or even if we see it as a
necessity is an act we cannot avoid. It is all around us! Infact, our protests
could suggest a political form or behaviour that makes us participants in
politics. Instead of running away from it, one should study to properly grasp
the subject of politics and analyse the options the system presents him
with. No meaningful choice can emanate from total ignorance of other
alternatives. It therefore requires interest and proper knowledge of
available alternatives and their relative degree and or ability to satisfy the
needs for which values are required to be authoritatively allocated. The
following reasons make the study of politics necessary:
(i) The study of politics helps an individual irrespective of his place in
the society to be able to make the best possible choices among
several attractive alternatives.
(ii) It affords an individual also to come to better grips of politics and
several political issues of the day, and so may not be easily tricked
into doing what he would ordinarily not have done. It helps to
satisfy ones curiousity.
(iii) A proper knowledge and understanding of politics encourages the
cultivation of a critical mind which is necessary in dealing with the
many complexities of politics.
(iv) Since we cannot run away from politics, it becomes necessary, if
not imperative, to devote time to study and analyse it. This will
make one make sense out of the world around him.
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REFERENCES
Alan .C. Isaak (1975): Scope and Methods of Political Science,
(revised edition) Illinois: Dorsey Press, p.13
Alapiki, Henry (2000): Politics and Governance in Nigeria, corporate
impressions, Owerri.
Alapiki, Henry (ed): The Nigerian Political Process, Emhai Publishers,
P.H. (2001)
Appadorai. A (1975): The Substance of Politics, Ibadan: Oxford
University Press. Deutsch Karl: Politics and Government, 2nd edition.
New Jersey: Houghton Miffein Company, Boston. (1975)
Nnoli, Okwudiba (1986): Introduction to Politics, Lagos: Longman
Publishers.
Nwabuzor, E and Mueller, M (1985): An Introduction to Political
Science for African Students, London: Macmillan publishers.
Nwaorgu, O.C (2002): Dimensions of Political Analysis, Springfield
Publishers.
Weber Max (1947): The Theory of Social and Economic Organisation,
translated by A.M Henderson and Calcott Parsons. Glencoe, Ill, Free
Press.
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CHAPTER TWO
NIGERIAN POLITICS: A HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Formation of political associations in Nigeria has been almost as old
as Nigeria. Those who have come together to form such associations
since the political entity called Nigeria came into being, do so for
various reasons.
As a people, we have never lacked names for political parties that
have emerged from associations. The Nigerian political landscape
is therefore cluttered with the tombs of many a political party in the
past.
To a keen observer of political intrigue and practice in Nigeria, it is not
a difficult conclusion that politicians generally form political parties for
the dominant purpose of contesting and winning elections rather than
as vehicles for coordinating development efforts on the basis of some
deep political and economic conviction-ideology.
The Nigerian news media is quick to celebrate every emerging
political gathering of old and "experienced" politicians with all manner
of superlatives, without a clinical analysis as to whether such
gatherings have a foundation for altruistic endurance. Such a
foundation is necessary because a selfish and hateful motivation for
any human cause is hardly a strong foundation to build upon for the
general good.
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THE ORIGINS OF POLITICAL PARTIES AND ASSOCIATIONS.
The origins of political parties are closely associated with the
development of the modern state and representative democracy in
Western Europe and the United States. Parties evolved through the
struggle of contending groups to grasp control of the apparatus of
government. This struggle for power generally took place within
legislatures. Formed initially to advise monarchs, by the 17th and
18th centuries many legislative bodies had begun to claim
independent power bases and privileges of their own. An early model
of the modern party system developed in Britain in the 18th century,
shaped around the efforts of the Whig and Tory parties to control
government jobs and political influence. A party system also
developed in the United States in the decade following ratification of
the Constitution of the United States in 1788, putting members of the
Federalist Party against members of the Democratic-Republican
Party.
In both Britain and the United States, competition between political
parties undermined traditional conceptions of politics rooted in
classical and Christian notions of virtue and public service. According
to this tradition, political leaders should act according to a model of
virtue that involved placing the common good above the interests of a
fraction of the society. Leaders acting to benefit only themselves or a
narrow portion of the society were considered corrupt. However, party
competition required public figures to act upon a contrary set of
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assumptions: (1) that politics “naturally” involves conflict and division,
and (2) that its true goals are to secure the economic interests and
political influence of groups divided along lines of class, ethnicity,
race, and religion. From the vantage point of the 20th century, some
political scientists have concluded that party competition, far from
corrupting a society, measurably strengthens and integrates it by
providing a way to include and represent different groups and
interests.
During the 19th century, the broad extension of voting rights to adult
male citizens throughout Europe and the United States required
legislators to appeal to a much larger segment of national
populations. Political parties grew dramatically in size and began to
take the form of independent, popularly based organizations, no
longer serving merely the interests of a narrow elite. During the late
19th and early 20th centuries, arguably the period when political
parties in the United States reached the height of their influence,
party organizations played an important role in the lives of millions of
Americans. Political party “machines” organized new communities out
of the vast waves of immigrants settling in America's largest cities.
These political machines offered urban Americans an array of
services, ranging from housing, food, and jobs to legal assistance
and language instruction. In return, they asked for votes. They also
expected loyalty from their victorious candidates, who were to remain
ever mindful of the party organization's role in delivering the votes.
However, let us go down memory lane and chronicle political
formations and coalitions in Nigeria. Nigeria has had so many political
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associations and parties since becoming a nation that one would
naturally lose count. Some have died no sooner than they sprouted
up.
Before political independence in 1960, real political parties existed,
namely the Northern People's Congress (NPC)-North-dominated; the
Action Group (AG)-South-West-dominated; National Convention of
Nigerian Citizens -as it came to be called after 1960-(NCNC)-South-
East-dominated. Why do we see them as "real" political parties? It
was clear what each stood for and where clear differences existed
between them beyond mere ethnic preponderance.
The NPC, for instance was very conservative and not so inclined
towards a hurried exit of the British colonial masters. The AG was
more socialist in view with Marxist doctrinal beliefs that the state
should be paternalistic. The NCNC could be referred to as liberal,
with a moderate stance on issues, and may be this accounted for its
significant following in the South-West. Maybe strong fiscal
federalism with strong regions after independence strengthened the
political parties as each strove to produce results in the regions of
dominance. The regions had responsibilities like Health and
Education, leaving the center to take care of Finance, International
Relations, Customs, Immigration, and national security.
Although the NPC, NCNC, and AG could be referred to as strong
political parties with strong and discernible political beliefs in their
time, not long after political independence in 1960, splinter groups
started emerging within the ranks, not so much because of significant
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ideological differences as clashes in personal ambitions of political
gladiators. So, in the South-West, the clash between Awolowo and
Akintola resulted in the formation of the United People's Party (UPP),
later re-named the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP). In
the North, the Northern Element Progressive Union (NEPU) emerged
from the NPC.
Before the first legislative elections since political independence,
which took place in December 1964, two grand alliances were formed
between the now five political parties, namely, the Nigerian National
Alliance (NNA) consisting of the NPC and the NNDP; and the United
Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) consisting of the NCNC, AG, and
NEPU. The UPGA, which lost to the NNA.
After the military interregnums of 1966-1979 and 1984-1999 true
fiscal federalism became crippled, giving rise to the deformed copy
we have today. The political parties that have emerged (and died)
between 1979 and now have not stood up to the standard of true
political parties.
True political parties, like an individual person, must have a
recognizable personality and character (ideology). Looking at the
mushroom of political parties-so-called-we have in Nigeria today,
there should be no cause for celebration of another in the offing,
especially when the players are re-cycles from the existing parties
whose only reason for attempting to form new parties is to regain the
power and influence they have lost where they are coming from.
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The time has come for Nigerian elite to refuse to be deceived by
political prostitution which is rampant among our politicians, who go
into politics only for themselves and by themselves. Political parties
should be seen as vehicles for national development where
disciplined commitment to good governance is an addiction for the
national good.
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REFERENCES
CHAPTER THREE
POLITICAL PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEMS
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Political parties are organized groups of individuals seeking to seize
power of government in order to enjoy the benefits to be derived from
such control. They are also a regular and permanent organization of
a certain number of people concerned with either conquering power
or keeping it. They could be seen as any group, however loosely
organized seeking to elect governmental office holder under a given
label.
Political Parties could also be seen as organizations that mobilize
voters on behalf of a common set of interests, concerns, and goals. In
many nations, parties play a crucial role in the democratic process.
They formulate political and policy agendas, select candidates,
conduct election campaigns, and monitor the work of their elected
representatives. Political parties link citizens and the government,
providing a means by which people can have a voice in their
government.
CHARACTERISTIC OF POLITICAL PARTIES
The most important characteristics of political party are as
follows;
a. Membership: Any political party must have members. This
means they must have people that supports their ideologies
and party programmes in other words, they are referred to as
political party members.
b. Leadership: There must be leaders of that party. These
leaders see to the organization and administration of the party.
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c. Goals and Objectives: Any party must have goals, aims and
objectives for its formation.
d. Ideology: There is need for a party to have its ideology. Any
party without philosophy or ideology is otherwise not a political
party.
e. Resources: There is need for funds, talents, electoral spread
and charismatic candidates. These will make the party to stand
firmly.
f. Constitution: There is need for a party to have its fundamental
laws guiding it. This will make the party to have a guiding
principle.
g. Manifesto: There must be programme of activities for the
people. This gives the people an idea of what the party have in
mind in promoting both the socio-political and economic affairs
of the people.
TYPES OF POLITICAL PARTIES
There are various classifications of political parties but it is
difficult to classify party systems according to one single criteria. The
most useful factors to take into account are:
i. The number of parties
ii. The relative strength of the parties
iii. The ideological differences between the parties
iv. The structure of the parties
Using all these criteria with varying degrees of emphasis, we could
arrive at the following classification.
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a. Elite/Cadre party: This is a type of political party where the
membership is restricted to a particular group of people. It is not
thrown open to every interested person. For one to become a
member of the party, one must satisfy certain special
requirements or conditions. For instance, one must be
academically or economically notable. This means that, the
person must be very wealthy, highly educated or highly
influential in the society. The belief is that if one posses these
qualities, members will attract a lot of vote for the party during
election. Elite or cadre parties are less interested in the number
of members it has, but they are more interested in the quality of
their members. Their belief is that, a man with high repute,
integrity, influence and wealth attracts many votes than low
integrity, illiterate and poor people.
b. Mass Party: This type of party has open membership to any
person that wants to become a member. They do not have any
special qualification or condition necessary for ones
membership. They are less interested in the quality of their
members but on the quantity. They always look at winning as
many supporters as they could. Their belief is that if all their
members vote for them during election, they are surely going to
be the overall winner in that election.
c. Direct Party: A direct political party is that party where
members fill and sign membership forms themselves, pay their
monthly dues and attend meetings regularly. In this type of
political party, people are allowed to register as member of the
party as individuals. They do not need to go through any union
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or any other group or body. In the 2nd Republic 1979 – 1983, the
parties then were all best classified as direct political parties.
d. Indirect Party: A political party is indirect when membership is
through union, groups or component bodies. Parties may also
be made up of trade unions, groups or organizations. The
labour party in Britain, the socialist party in Soviet Union and
the Catholic Party in France are all examples of indirect political
parties.
e. Ideological or Missionary Party: This type of party has a very
strong ideology to pursue and defend. They are not much
interested in the quality of their members but their aim is to
make sure that the few who accepts to become their member
can keep to their party ideology. They sack any member who
does not keep their party ideology. The Communist Party of the
Soviet Union (CPSU) is a good example of the ideological
party.
f. Non Ideological or Broker Party: They do not have a strong
ideology to pursue or defend in that they are very much
interested in the quantity of their members. They are ready to
change their ideology if they feel that such will win more
membership for them. All the political parties since Nigerian
independence could best be described as Non-ideological or
Broker parties.
ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE OF POLITICAL PARTIES
Political parties mediate the relationship between citizens and their
government. In democracies with competitive party systems, political
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parties pressure governments to respond to the needs and interests
of broad segments of the population. In more authoritarian
governments, parties offer a structure for directing and conditioning
the behavior of individual citizens.
Most political parties espouse democratic principles and
commitments. In practice, however, a combination of factors has
placed limits on parties as instruments of democratic participation. In
the 19th and early 20th centuries, for example, most parties took their
message to the people through the work of committed activists. The
introduction of new communications technologies has since reduced
the incentive of parties to mobilize and actively engage its members.
Even during the so-called “golden age” of political parties, from the
middle of the 19th century until the outbreak of World War I in 1914,
most effective parties developed a rigid bureaucratic structure that
increasingly hampered participation of ordinary party supporters.
Power instead flowed to elites at the top of the party hierarchy.
Political parties employ different strategies for recruiting supporters.
“Externally mobilized” parties develop around leaders who lack power
within an existing government. These leaders compensate by
mobilizing and organizing a popular base of support from among
disaffected groups in society. External mobilization has typically
provided the origins of social-democratic, Socialist, Communist, and
Fascist parties in Europe.
“Internally mobilized” parties, by contrast, usually represent a
defensive strategy of counter-mobilization on the part of influential
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government insiders. This strategy also involves efforts to recruit a
broad base of party members and supporters. Internally mobilized
parties seek to neutralize the organizational efforts of another party or
to gain that party's cooperation in the pursuit of goals, such as wars,
that require a broad foundation of support and sacrifice. Conservative
parties and Liberal parties in Europe have more often used a strategy
of counter-mobilization. In the late 1930s, the Democratic Party
sponsored social reform to fend off challenges from the Socialist,
Communist, and Progressive parties, and from populist leaders such
as Father Charles Coughlin, Francis Townsend, and Louisiana
Senator Huey Long.
However, modern political parties cannot survive without
organization, although at the earlier development of parties, it started
without organization. All over the world, the structure of each political
party, no matter whether it is direct or mixed derive from certain
elements which give it coherence. All parties are structured on basic
definite components. It is these components that give the party its
character. The basic components are:
a. The Caucus
b. The Branch
c. The Cell
d. The Militia
THE CAUCUS
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This is an informal group in a party. They wield influence and
manipulate the happenings in the political party. In Nigeria, for
instance, there are some groups of people in a party that dictates
what happens in that party. Most times, they hold meetings after the
general meeting of all members and dictate or decide what policies or
principle to be adopted. These groups of people are best referred to
as “The Caucus members”.
However, the major characteristic of Caucus is its limited nature. It is
made up of small number and seeks no expansion. They do not really
admit members because they are a close group. One does not go
into it simply because he or she desire to do so. Membership is
achieved only by a kind of a tacit co-option or by formal nomination.
Their activities are at the peak during elections. They are responsible
for selecting or nominating candidates in times of election. The
caucus could also be regarded as an influence group or machine
group of a party.
However, we have the “Caucus of notables” and the “Caucus of
Experts”. The caucus of notables includes the people with influence
and influence features. Only very rich and influential people fall under
this category. They are the king makers, otherwise known as “the
political godfathers”. They make the leaders and kings but they do not
want to be one. The caucus of experts, on the other and wields or
manipulate power on the basis of their intelligence or talents. Most
times, they are good in speech or they are powerful strategist or
planners. The technocrats and intellectuals fall under this group.
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THE BRANCH
One major difference between the Branch and the Caucus is that the
branch is open while the caucus is not open. On the other hand, while
the caucus is not easily identifiable, the branch is easily identifiable
and called by names. The branch is also numerous while the caucus
is small. The branch is commonly found among the socialist parties
especially those whose membership is based on labour unions. They
see to the daily execution of the local activities of the party though
they are semi-autonomous unit of the party and they function within a
geographical unit.
THE CELL
According to Maurice Duverger, “Branches” were a socialist
invention, while “cells” are a communist invention. Both were
inventions of the Russians Communist Party and their adoption was
imposed on all communist party by the third international congress
after their resolution of 1924. In comparison, the cell is much smaller
group than either the branch or the caucus.
Unlike the Branch, the Cell has no geographical definition in terms of
membership. It is mostly a phenomenon of the work place i.e.
occupational organization. It is common in the Russia Communist
Party and has been difficult to reproduce cell in any other party
except in the communist party.
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The cell offers political education to the members of a party and
discusses the party’s activities from the secretariat or the directives
from the party. If one is not a member of the party or cell, one cannot
understand their discussions. You need to belong to their party in
other to understand them clearly. The cell is historically an
organization that featured during the early part of the Russian
revolution when the Tsarist Regime made it impossible for any
revolutionary activities to be carried out. The party heads used the
“CELL” to communicate to the people who are members about what
is happening in the country by then.
However, the “cell” is also used by the modern government in Russia
to spy against non-communist countries or to inform the government
in power about some secrets. This is the reason why the cell is made
up of very small number of people. If not, Secrets will not be well
protected.
THE MILITIA
The militia is peculiar to the fascist party of Italy and Spain. The
militia is a kind of private army used to coerce people into party
membership. They are also used in making people work towards a
given political action. The militia men are ranked like normal army
and they have similar terms with the army too.
Militia is peculiar to an economy that is generally depressed, like an
economy with the problem of inflations, unemployment and high
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political instability. They wear uniforms and organize match-pasts.
They are always ready and trained to fight like the soldiers whenever
they are been commanded to do so by their leader.
POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEMS
Party system defines the formation, organization and structure of
political parties. It also defines the number of political parties that
operate in a political system. A political party system consists of all
the parties in a particular nation and the laws and customs that
govern their behavior. There are three types of party systems:
a. One party or Single party system
b. Two party system or West minister model
c. Multi-party system.
ONE PARTY SYSTEM
A one-party or single party system of government is a type of party
system in which only one party is legally recognized and permitted to
control the affairs of the state; and in which all efforts to form rival or
opposition party is considered as an act of treason. It could also be
defined as any political system where you have either one party or
unquestionable predominance of one party, in which all rival parties
are officially regarded as treason, and where the party is the only
legal one. In summary, one-party or single party system allows the
existence of one party within a given state.
A single-party system is also one in which one party nominates all
candidates for office. Thus there is no competition for elected offices.
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The only choices left to voters are (1) to decide whether or not to vote
and (2) to vote “yes” or “no” for the designated candidate. Single-
party systems have characterized Communist Party governments and
other authoritarian regimes. They have become much less common
since Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) between 1989 and 1991. Surviving
Communist states, most notably China (Red China), North Korea,
The Fascist One-Party System of Spain, Portugal and Cuba, do
continue to enforce the rule of a single party. International financial
pressure has also reduced the number of single-party systems in
developing nations. Funding agencies such as the International Bank
for Reconstruction and Development (also known as the World Bank)
often insist upon a competitive party system as a precondition for
granting loans or aid to these countries. Defenders of single-party
systems point out that they provide a way for nations to mobilize and
direct the talents and energies of every citizen toward a unified
mission or purpose. This advantage appeals to leaders of some
nations that possess limited human and material resources.
Moreover, single-party systems limit the political freedoms and
choices of citizens.
However, other countries that practice one party system includes
Ghana (Kwame Nkrumah Regime), Ethiopia, Libya, Saudi Arabia,
Algeria, Niger, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast and Guinea.
ADVANTAGES OF ONE PARTY SYSTEM
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a. A one-party system allows for strong leadership either in one
person (as the Convention people’s party of Ghana headed
by Nkrumah) or a collectivity of leaders.
b. One-party system has a strong ideology and doctrine to
pursue. Just like what Stallin, a Russian Communist said to
his followers: “Every Political party represents a class. In
nations where several classes exist, several political parties
must also exist; but in soviet Russia only the working class
exists, and so only one party – the communist party – is
needed to represent it. Any other party could only oppose
the interests and welfare of the proletariat, and that of
course, would be counter-revolution and treason”.
c. One-party System Seems to be called a programme party
because it does things according to a predetermined
programme or course of action, and tries to pursue the
programme to a conclusive reality.
d. One party system represents the dominant segment of the
society and as such gives the majority of the people the
power of governmental control and leadership. For instance,
in Ghana, when the National Liberation Movement, as a
party rose in opposition to Dr, Nkrumah and his Convention
People’s Party, as the dominant party, in 1956, The National
Liberation Movement won only 27 Seats out of 104 seats.
This shows that one party system usually represents the
majority of the people in a given state.
e. One party system gives no room for disunity. It is integrative
and eschews tribalism.
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f. It provides the necessary platform for political socialization
for the masses and a forum for political apprenticeship for
would-be leaders
g. The single party system is in line with African system of
government while the multiparty is alien, divisive and
sectional.
h. It gives room for stability of government, in that is makes the
society to be unique; whereas the two-party system makes
the society to be divided.
DISADVANTAGES OF ONE-PARTY SYSTEM
a. One party system leads to the silence or the persecution of
the opposition. It becomes practically impossible for any
minority group to voice out their views for fear of being
persecuted.
b. It eventually degenerates into regimentation and
dictatorship. The government does what the leaders of the
party wants it to do.
c. It makes the political power to reside with one leader or a
group of leaders for long because the system does not allow
the emergence of alternative leader.
d. The government of one party system is most times
irresponsible and does not render proper and transparent
accountability of their stewardship to the people.
e. Legitimacy and sovereignty do not reside with the people.
TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
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To Austin Ranney, a Two-party system is one in which only two
parties regularly win substantial portion of the votes and public
offices, and in which the majority parties to some degree alternate in
having majority of both”. From the above, we can understand that at
every election, in a two-party system, one party can have a
substantial lead over the other party by having more candidates
elected than the other.
The two party system does not imply that there are no other political
parties existing within the country; there may be other minor parties
which do nominate candidates and contest elections, but rarely, if
ever, win more than a tiny fraction of the votes or elected any
candidates.
In a two-party system, control of government power shifts between
two dominant parties. Two-party systems most frequently develop
when electoral victory requires only a simple plurality vote, that is, the
winner gets the most votes, but not necessarily a majority of votes. In
such a system, it makes sense for smaller parties to combine into
larger ones or to drop out altogether. Parliamentary governments in
which the legislators are elected by plurality voting to represent
distinct districts may develop party systems in which only two parties
hold significant numbers of seats, as in Great Britain, Newzealand,
United States, Australia and Canada. Advocates of two-party systems
believe they limit the dangers of excessive fragmentation and
government stalemate. However, in the United States, which
separates the powers and functions of government between
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executive, legislative, and judicial branches, it is possible for one
party to control the legislature and the other to control the executive
branch. This frequently has led to political gridlock between the
Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Opponents of the two-
party system also believe that in time the two parties increasingly
tend to resemble each other and leave too many points of view out of
the political process. These factors may alienate voters and lead to
low turnout in elections.
However, in two party system, the party that forms the government is
that party that wins the largest number of seats of the legislature,
while the other party forms the opposition. In Britain, the two major
political parties are the conservative and the labour parties. Although
there is the existence of the liberal party as the third political party.
The liberal party represents a minor political party because it has
never won or become one of the two dominant political parties in the
parliamentary elections in Britain.
ADVANTAGES OF TWO-PARTY SYSTEM
1. The system makes for an efficient means for political education
since the electorate have the choice of alternative programme.
2. It is a system which fixes responsibility of government on a
continuing and recognizable group.
3. The system makes it certain that a particular party win the
majority in every elected body either singly or by coalition; and
therefore it increases the chances of stability and coherence in
government.
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4. The two-party system tends to be more democratic because the
majority of the people is not only given the chance to project
their ideology but is has equally given the minority party the
chance to show its interests and express its news without fear
of molestation. There is room for the expression of views both
the majority and the minority parties.
5. The fear that people, through the election, can remove the
power of government from one party and place it in another
makes the ruling party to be more conscious of its
responsibilities to the people.
6. The two party system readily opens the minds of the people to
public affairs and makes them conscious and interested in their
public administration.
DISADVANTAGES OF TWO PARTY SYSTEM
1. The system tends to divide the society into two factions, one
faction being the opposer of the other faction and thereby
tending towards disunity.
2. It may degenerate into multiparty system whereby three or
several parties regularly share substantial portions of the
seats; and in which a single party rarely, if ever, wins a
majority of seats. (The Nigeria Federal Election of 1959
which led to the formation of a coalition government by three
parties due to the fact that a party was not able to command
the majority of seats is an example).
3. It sometimes degenerates into the imprisonment and killing
of members of rival parties. The western Regions election of
Nigeria in 1965 is a case in point; whereby the election
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became a rivalry between the N.N.D.P and the A.G and
many innocent citizens were either killed or burnt alive as a
result.
4. It is more expensive to practice than a one party system.
5. The system slows down the rate of nation development.
MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM
A multi-party system can be defined as one in which three or several
parties regularly share. Substantial portions of the votes and public
offices, and in which a single party rarely, if ever, wins a majority of
either. The multi-party system is otherwise referred to as “group-
system”.
Multipartism is a characteristic of the democratic nations of Western
Europe and Scandinavia, Italy, France, Nigeria, Germany and India.
In each of these nations or states at least three and usually as many
as five or six parties regularly win a majority of the legislative seats to
be called ‘majority’ parties. Rarely does a single party win a majority
of the legislative seats to be called “majority’ parties. Rarely does a
single party win a majority of the legislative seats and so the nation’s
cabinet and ministers are composed of coalitions of several parties
rather than the representatives of any single party.
Multi-party systems are the most common type of party system.
Parliamentary governments based on proportional representation
often develop multi-party systems. In this type of electoral
arrangement, the number of legislative seats held by any party
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depends on the proportion of votes they received in the most recent
election. When no party gains a majority of the legislative seats in a
parliamentary multi-party system, several parties may join forces to
form a coalition government. Advocates of multi-party systems point
out that they permit more points of view to be represented in
government and often provide stable, enduring systems of
government, as in most of contemporary Western Europe (where
every system, including Great Britain, has at least three and usually
five or six significant parties). Critics note, however, that multi-party
systems have sometimes contributed to fragmentation and political
instability, as in the Weimar Republic in Germany (1919-1933), the
Fourth Republic in France (1946-1958), and Italy after World War II.
In Nigeria, for example, as from 1954 to 1966 there were three
dominant political parties: The NCNC, the N.P.C., and the A.G and
some minor parties such as the N.E.P.U, the U.N.D.P and the
U.M.B.C. In 1959 federal election to the House of Representatives
the three dominant parties as well as the N.E.P.U, as a minority Party
presented candidates for the election to the House. The House of
Representatives consisted of 312 members then. In the election the
N.P.C won 142 seats: The NCNC, 89 seats: and the A.G, 73 seats
and the N.E.P.U won 8 seats. Three of the four parties that won seats
in the election united to form a coalition government; the N.P.C., the
N.C.N.C and the N.E.P.U while the A.G became the opposition party
in the parliament. Thus, the three parties have 239 seats making
them have majority seats in the House of Representatives to form the
government; while the A.G remained as the opposition party.
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The above analysis shows that Nigeria has been operating a multi-
party system of government since her independence; and that in a
multi-party system of government, there may be more than three
major parties aiming at winning the elections; but the parties, after the
election, will ally with one another to allow the government to be
formed.
ADVANTAGES OF MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM
a. Multipartism permits more shades of opinion to be
represented in the legislature.
b. Unlike the two-party system, a multi-party system reflects
more accurately the way in which the popular mind is
actually divided.
c. The greatest advantage is that a multi-party system fragment
the country into smaller parties that no party is strong
enough to form the government unless by coalition.
d. When there are many political parties, there is likely to be
less of uncritical sentiment of loyalty to party, and less will be
the desire to regard all questions habitually and
systematically form a party point of view. People will allow
reason to guide their thinking and decisions rather than
being allowed to be carried away by party ideology as is the
case in a two-party system.
e. Multi-party system gives legitimacy and sovereignty to the
people.
f. Multi-party system creates room for responsible government.
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g. Multipartism promotes democracy.
h. Multipartism makes for an effective operation of the rule of
law and separation of powers.
DISADVANTAGES OF MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM
a. A multi-party system leads to instability of government
because not only does the frequent re-alignment of political
parties make the government unstable but it renders the
government weak as it is composed of parties of different
ideologies.
b. The Executive arm of government, the cabinet, is always
very weak. It is usually composed of members drawn from
many political parties and having different ideologies to
pursue. Infact it becomes practically impossible for
members of the cabinet to make quick decisions on
governmental policy, as members will like the policy of the
government to be positive to their party beliefs and thinking.
c. In a multi-party system, it becomes practically impossible for
the government to make long-term policy and planning.
Long-term planning of policy can be successfully attempted
only by a government which is certain of a reasonably long
period in office; and such certainty, if any, can be provided
for only under a two-party or dual party system.
d. The multi-party system does not only weakens the
executive, but gives a disproportionate power to self-
seeking minorities as the ministerial portfolios have to be
shared among the parties that form the coalition in
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accordance with an acceptable formula to all the component
parties.
e. Finally, Multi-party system tends to turn important branches
of the legislation into class, bribery and corruption and thus
lowers the tone of the public life.
THE FUTURE OF POLITICAL PARTIES
Though most pronounced in the United States, the decline of
traditional parties is an international phenomenon. Some analysts
believe political parties will one day cease to exist, and that the
function of democratic linkage between citizen and state will then
be performed by polls, by interactive television, and by other
media. Others argue, however, that none of these institutions
offers citizens the public arena in which reasoned debate can lead
to collective action on behalf of an organized membership.
Collective action, they suggest, is the only effective recourse of the
less privileged members of a society. A nation without multiple
strong, competitive political parties will inevitably be a nation in
which power rests in the hands of a narrow elite. Still other
analysts simply note that the first act of a new nation, or a nation
newly liberated from authoritarian control, is to create political
parties. These analysts believe that human political communities
have not outgrown their need for political parties.
REFERENCES
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation.
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Nwankwo, B.C (1992): Authority in Government. Almond Publishers.
Makurdi-Nigeria.
Ogbaji, U.A.O (2008): Principles, Practice and Techniques of Public
Administration. Petrosini Publishers, Lagos-Nigeria.
CHAPTER FOUR
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DEVELOPMENT OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN NIGERIA
THE NIGERIAN NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (NNDP)
With the establishment of a Legislative Council under the Clifford
Constitution of 1922, a new political party came into being. It arose
from an earlier political association known as the ILU (Town)
Committee. This new political party soon became the most
powerful political association of the period. It was called the
Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP); inaugurated on 24
June, 1923.
STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP OF THE NNDP
The first president of the party was Egerton-Shyngle, Gambian by
birth and a prominent barrister in Lagos. The party relied heavily on
the highly organized market women. The moving spirit or leader of
the party, from its inception until 1946, was Herbert Macaulay. T.H.
Jackson was the first honorary secretary.
Even though it was called the Nigerian National Democratic Party,
the party was in all respects a Lagos affair. It had no branches
outside Lagos and its membership was predominantly Yoruba.
One of the reasons for limiting its activities to Lagos was the fact
that except in Calabar, elections to the Legislative Council were
held only in Lagos. Secondly, politics was not as highly developed
in other parts of the country as in Lagos. Other prominent members
were J.C. Zizer (first solicitor of the party) and Dr. C.C. Adeniyi-
Jones.
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OB J ECTIVES AND SOURCES OF REVENUE FOR NNDP
The objectives of the NNDP were divided into two: those relating to
Lagos and those relating to Nigeria.
1. The Lagos-related objectives were:
(i) The nomination and election of the Lagos member for the
Legislative Council.
(ii) The achievement of municipal status and complete local
self-government for Lagos.
2. The objectives of nation-wide scope were:
(i) The establishment of branches of the party in all areas of
Nigeria.
(ii) The development of higher education and the introduction of
compulsory education throughout Nigeria.
(iii) Economic development of the natural resources of Nigeria
(iv) Free and fair trade in Nigeria and equal treatment of the
native traders and producers in Nigeria.
(v) The Africanisation of the civil service.
(vi) The recognition of the National Congress of British West
Africa and the pledge to work hand-in-hand with that body in
support of its entire programme.
The financing of the party came essentially from contributions by
Lagos market women and Eshugbayi, the Eleko of Lagos.
ELECTORAL PERFORMAN C E OF THE NNDP
The NNDP won the three seats in the Legislative Council in 1923,
and 1928 and 1933. It also won the three-yearly elections to the
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Lagos Town Council in 1923, 1926, 1929, 1932 and 1935.NNDP
achieved only part of its objective for Lagos, and very little was
achieved of its objectives or aims for Nigeria. It was, however, the
first and best organized political party in British West Africa from 1923
to 1933.
THE NIGERIA YOUTH MOVEMENT (NYM )
In 1934, the students and graduates of kings College, Lagos, formed
the Lagos Youth Movement, to make known their feelings about the
government’s educational policy. Their major quarrel was with the
type of training provided by the Yaba Higher College, which they felt
was below the standard expected from an institution which at that
time was the highest in Nigeria. They also demanded that
scholarships be given to deserving Nigerian students to study in the
United Kingdom. They were interested in the appointment of Africans
to higher posts in the civil service and oppose to the discrimination
against Africans. In 1936, the Movement changed its name to the
Nigerian Youth Movement.
STRUCTURE AND LEADERSHIP OF THE NYM
Within a short time after the NYM was organized, branches were
formed in several parts of Nigeria, including Ibadan, Abeokuta and
several other cities and towns, mainly in southern Nigeria. There
were branches of the organization in some towns in the Northern
Region, such as Kano and Kaduna, but their membership was made
up of people mostly from the south. Lagos was the centre of major
activities and the headquarters of the movement.
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Among the foundation members were Dr. J.C. Vaughan, H.O.Davies,
Ernest Ikoli and Samuel Akinsanya. Other leaders of the party were
Dr. Kofo Abayomi, Dr. Akinola Maja, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Mobolaji
Bank-Anthony, S.L Akintola, Jubril Martins, Obafemi Awolowo, S.O.
Sonibare, Duro Emmanuel and J.A. Tuyo. The average age of the
movement leaders in 1938 was 40. According to H.C. Davies in 1935,
the membership was over 20,000 in about forty branches, including
Enugu, Jos, Sapele, Ondo, Ijebu-Ode, Port Harcourt and so on.
OBJECTIVES OF THE NYM
1. The unification of tribes of Nigeria through the encouragement of
better understanding and cooperation.
2. The elevation of public opinion to a higher moral and intellectual
level
3. Complete autonomy within the British Empire and complete
independence in the local management of Nigeria affairs.
4. Compulsory and free mass education
5. Voting right for all adult citizens
6. Separation of the judiciary from the executive
7. Opposition to discrimination in the salary of those who work
especially in the civil service where Africans were paid less than
Europeans with the same qualification.
ELECTORAL PERFORMANCE AND ASSESSMENT OF AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES OF NYM
In 1938, the NYM won the election to the Lagos Town Council and all
the three elective seats in the Legislative Council. It thereby displaced
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Herbert Macaulay’s NNDP as the most important political party in
Lagos.
Although it fought hard to achieve its aims and objectives,
government did not cooperate with the organization. Through its
newspaper, the Daily Service, the NYM tried to educate the public on
many political issues. Many of the political leaders who ‘fought’ for
Nigeria until independence was won in 1960 were members of this
organization in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NIGERIA AND THE CAMEROONS
(NCNC)
In 1941, the resident or boarding students of King’s College, Lagos,
were asked to vacate their dormitories for soldiers and move to what
they considered inferior lodgings in town. They petitioned
government, but their petition was rejected. This led to a strike in
which 75 of the senior members of the school were expelled and 8 of
them conscripted or forced into military service. In June 1944, the
Nigerian Union of Students (NUS) called a ‘mass meeting’ at the
Glover Memorial Hall, Boadstreet, Lagos, to consider among other
things, the immediate formation of a representative national
committee.
Herbert Macaulay presided at this meeting and was elected president
of the patriotic association called the National Council of Nigeria
which the meeting decided to form. Nnamdi Azikiwe was elected
General Secretary. The NNDP of Macaulay joined the National
Council. By January, 1945, there were no less than 87 member
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unions of the National Council, including three from the Cameroon.
The inclusion of the Cameroon led to change of the name of the
organization to National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons.
Membership was through existing organizations and not on an
individual basis.
STRUCTURE OF THE NCNC
In 1951, the NCNC adopted individual membership. Despite this in
many areas, particularly in some areas in the Western Region and
the Midwest, the party’s position was based on its alliance with other
local parties, such as Adelabu’s Mabolaje Grand Alliance and the Otu
Edo in Benin-City.
By 1959, Azikiwe claimed that the party had 142 branches in the
Eastern Region, thirty-seven in the North, one in Lagos and 126 in
the West. Each region had divisional or zonal headquarters, as well
as a regional working committee. The national headquarters was
situated in Lagos. The NCNC was not known for effective
organization, either at the national headquarters, the regional or zonal
divisional offices, or indeed the local offices. Its membership did not
include persons who could b e regarded as professional party
organizers.
LEADERSHIP, MEMBERSHIP AND SUPPORT OF THE NCNC
The first leader of the party was Herbert Macaulay, from whom
Nnamdi Azikiwe took over after the former’s death in 1948. Dr.
Michael Okpara took over from Azikiwe when the latter became
Governor-General in 1962. Other prominent members of the party
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were Odeleye Fadahunsi, Alfred Nwapa, Eni Njoku, Okoi Arikpo,
Adegoke Adelabu, Dennis Osadebay, Festus Okotie-Eboh and
Adeniran Ogunsanya.
The strongest backing for the party came from the Eastern Region,
both in terms of membership and support at various elections
between 1951 and 1965. After the Eastern Region came the Mid-
West Region and then the Western Region. The support of the party
in the Northern Region was through its alliance with the Northern
Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), led by Aminu Kano.
SOURCE OF FINANCE FOR THE NCNC
Apart from overdraft from the African Continental Bank, the party
relied upon membership subscriptions, affiliation fees and dues, sale
of party constitution booklet and other item, levies on the salaries of
members of parliament and board members, as well as donations,
etc. as its sources of revenue.
SUCCESSES AND FAILURE OF THE NCNC
It was the NCNC that first introduced modern representative local
government system into Nigeria. During the leadership and
premiership of Michael Okpara, the party introduced even
development throughout the Eastern Region, especially into areas
now known as Abia, Enugu, Imo and Anambra states. The first
regional university-the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, was established
in the Eastern Region when Nnamdi Azikiwe was premier of the
region and leader of the party.
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Proper organization was a problem for the party. Except in the
Eastern Region, not much was achieved in terms of co-ordinated
organization, even at the Federal or national level. As the oldest of
the three major political parties, it failed in its attempts to establish a
national outlook. With age, the party gradually withdrew into the
Eastern Region.
THE ACTION GROUP (AG)
The Egbe Omo Oduduwa, a cultural organization which brought the
Yoruba elite together, had been in existence for about two years
when the basic outlines of the MacPherson Constitution were drawn
up. Obafemi Awolowo was the General Secretary of the organization.
He was also the secretary of the organization’s committee on
constitutional reform. In March, 1950, he called a meeting of the
Yoruba elite at his residence in Ibadan. Only seven people, beside
himself, attended the meeting. These were Abiodun Akerele, S.O
Sonibare, Ade Akinsanya, J.Ola Adigun, Olatunji Dosumu and S.T.
Oredein. It was not until after the nineth private meeting of the group,
in March 1951, that the Action Group felt strong enough to announce
its existence. At its first public meeting, held at Owo in April, 1951,
Obafemi Awolowo was elected President and Bode Thomas General-
Secretary.
STRUCTURE OF THE ACTION GROUP
From the very beginning, membership was on an individual basis.
Any Nigerian, or any person resident in Nigeria and not less than
sixteen years old, could join. The lowest branch was at the local
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government electoral ward level in each region. Next was the
divisional conference, which was made up of one or more local
government units. At the regional level were the regional
parliamentary council and the regional executive committee. The
regional parliamentary council was made up of the chairmen and
representatives of divisional conferences. At the federal level were
the federal executive council and the federal congress, which met
annually. There were federal officers, as well as regional and local
government offices of the party.
LEADERSHIP, MEMBERSHIP AND SUPPORT OF THE AG
The founder and leader of the party was Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He
was, in all respects, the “moving spirit” of the party. Other very
prominent members of the party were Bode Thomas, who was the
first general secretary and later deputy leader of the party; Samuel
Ladoke Akintola, Arthur Prest, Athomy Enahoro, Dauda Adegbenro,
Samuel Ikoku and many more. Ladoke Akintola succeeded Bode
Thomas (after the latter’s death) as deputy leader of the party and
later took over from Obafemi Awolowo as leader of the party and
premier of the Western Region.
At its inception the Action Group announced itself as a Western
Regional political organization. Even though it tried hard to be more
national, it remained essentially as it started-a Yoruba-dominated and
supported organization. Its influence outside the Yoruba area was
through alliances with smaller political parties, such as Joseph
Tarka’s United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), Josiah Olawoyin’s
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Ilorin Talaka Parapo, and the Bornu Youth Movement (BYM), whose
interest it catered for.
SOURCES OF FINANCE FOR THE AG
There were five main source of finance. These were enrolment fees
and monthly subscriptions sale of flags, almanacs, handkerchiefs and
party publications, levies on the salaries of legislators and board
members, donations, as well as overdrafts and loans from the
National Bank of Nigeria Limited.
IDEOLOGY AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE AG
The motto of the party was ‘Life More Abundant.’ Until about 1961,
the party, like most others in the country, was a party led and
financed by successful lawyers and businessmen. Although the
interests of the common man were of concern to the party, the
interest of the business men were also fully championed. From 1961,
however, the party attempted to give greater emphasis to the
interests of the common man than to those of the big businessmen.
This was one of the causes of the crisis in the party from 1962- 66.
It was the Action Group that first introduced free primary education in
Nigeria in 1955. It also introduced free health services for children
under eighteen years. The party was at the helm when the Western
Region was granted self government in 1957. It was reputed to be the
best organized, best financed and most efficiently run political party in
Nigeria between 1951 and 1962.
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THE NORTHERN PEOPLES CONGRESS (NPC)
Like the Action Group, the NPC originated from a cultural
organization. The cultural organization from which the NPC rose was
called the Jamiyyar Jama’ar Arewa-Meaning the Northern Nigerian
Congress. This cultural association was started by R.A. B. Dikko, first
medical officer of Northern origin and D.A. Rafih in 1948. When the
cultural association became a political party in 1951, all civil servants,
including Dr. Dikko, were advised to resign their membership, Alhaji
Sanda, a Lagos merchant, was made Acting President of the new
political party. The motto of the party was ‘One North One People,
irrespective of religion, rank or tribe.
STRUCTURE OF THE NORTHERN PEOPLES CONGRESS
The party was open only to ‘people of Northern Nigerian descent.’
Outside of the Northern region, the party existed only in the Sabo
area, where most dwellers of Northern Nigerian descent lived. There
was no organizational structure in the real sense of the term. The
constitution of the party provided only a rough guide to its structure.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) was the policy-making
organ of the party until 1957, when it was replaced by the Central
Working Committee (CWC). Members of the federal legislature were
virtually excluded from the governing organ of the party, which was
dominated by members in the northern legislature. The NEC or CWC
met only occasionally. It met once between 1959 and 1965)
LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT OF THE NPC
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Sir, Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, who became the leader
of the party in 1952 and Premier of the Northern Region in 1954, was
the chief decision-maker of the party until his death in January, 1966.
Nothing could be carried out in the name of the party particularly in
Northern Nigeria, of which the Sardauna did not approve. He
however consulted with a chosen few, such as Alhaji Tafawa Balewa,
the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria, Muhammadu Ribadu, Isa
Kaita, Aliyu Makaman Bida, Kashim Ibrahim, Alhaji Usman Nagogo,
the Emir of Katsina and Alhaji Abubakar Bello, the Sultan of Sokoto.
This group constituted the top leadership of the party. The party’s
ideology was based on its motto ‘One North, One People’.
As its motto indicated, the party’s support came entirely from the
North and was over-whelming throughout the party’s existence. The
party did not try to seek support in other parts of the country.
SOURCE OF FINANCE FOR THE NPC
The NPC was secretive about its sources of finance. It would appear,
however, that some of the sources were dues from regional, federal
and board members, donations, as well as proceeds from the sale of
publications, lectures and social events.
ACIEVEMENTS AND FAILURES OF THE NPC
The party led the people of Northern Nigeria into active and sustained
collaboration with their Southern Nigerian compatriots for the
achievement of independence for Nigeria. It was conscious of the
need for a gradual introduction of modern systems of government into
Northern Nigeria.
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The party was, in a way, rather narrow in the scope of its objectives.
Even when the opportunity was available, it refused to change its
name to the Nigerian Peoples Congress. Much more could have
been achieved for the common people of the party had the leadership
been more open-minded and appreciative of the need for change.
The party was slow in introducing mass formal education when the
other major political parties were doing so in other parts of the
country.
THE NEPU, UMBCM, NNDP, NDC, AND UNIP
Each of the three big political parties discussed so far dominated one
of the three regions of Nigeria. In each region, smaller parties existed
and were encouraged, and sometimes financed, by the bigger ones
from outside the state. These smaller parties were essentially political
parties formed by people in the minority areas of each region. Both
the NEPU and UMBC were prominent smaller parties in the Northern
Region. The NEPU was led by Mallam Aminu Kano and was
supported mainly by the poor people from what is now Kano State.
The UMBC was started and led by Joseph Tarka among the Tiv of
Benue-Plateau States. Other smaller parties in the Region were the
Bornu Youth Movement (BYM), which had its support among the
Kanuris and the Ilorin Talaka Parapo (ITP) led by Josiah Olawoyin,
with support from the Yoruba speaking people in Ilorin and Kabba
provinces.
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In Eastern Region were the Democratic Party of Nigeria and the
Cameroon (DPNC), which was mainly a breakaway faction of the
NCNC, led by Kingsley Mbadiwe, and the United National
Independent Party (UNIP), which came into existence as a result of
the expulsion of some ministers and other legislators in the 1952-53
crisis in the NCNC. The party fought for a separate Calabar-Ogoja-
River State.
In western Region were the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) led by
Deppa Biriye and Melford Okilo. The NDC came into existence during
the 1964 Federal elections with the single purpose of creating a
Rivers State, and the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP),
led by Ladoke Akintola. The (NNDP). The NNDP was a coalition of
Akintola’s breakaway group from the Action Group and Remi Fani-
Kayode’s breakaway group from the NCNC. Others were the Mid-
West Front and Adunni Oluwale’s Liberal Party.
ALLIANCES WITH THE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES
The Action Group was the champion of minority parties outside its
own region of influence. In the Northern Region, the UMBC, BYM and
ITP remained allied with the Action Group virtually throughout their
existence. The NEPU, on the other hand, remained in alliance with
the NCNC. In the Earthen Region, the UNIP was in alliance with the
Action Group. In the Western Region, the NDC and the NNDP,
particularly during the 1964 federal elections, allied with the NPC to
form the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA). This alliance competed
with the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) which was made
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up of NCNC, Action Group, and the Northern Progressive Front (NPF
comprising the NEPU and UMBC).
PERFORMANCE OF THE NEPU, UMBC, AND NNDP AT FEDERAL
ELECTION, 1959 AND 1964
The NEPU and UMBC performed well in their areas of influence
during the two elections. In Zaria, Katsina and Kano provinces, the
NEPU performed very well against the NPC. In the Tiv area, the
UMBC was able to hold most of the seats allocated, during the two
elections.
In the Western Region, the NNDP formed the western Regional
Government from 1963-66. The election of 1965 in the region was
one of the worst elections ever conducted in Nigeria. Although the
party retained power in the region, the election was neither fair nor
free.
All the other small political parties did not perform well at the two
elections which they contested. Whatever limited electoral success
they scored had little effect on the major party which supported them.
REFERENCES
Lecture Handbook of Dr. Henry Alapiki on “Political Parties and
Pressure Groups in Nigeria” for Year three students of Political and
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Administrative Studies Students of the University of Portharcourt.
1999.
Lecture Notebook of Dr. P.G.O Odondiri on “The Nigeria Constitution”
for Year Two students of Political and Administrative Studies
Students of the University of Portharcourt. 1998.
CHAPTER FIVE
THE NIGERIAN SECOND REPUBLIC
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The Second Republic was the republican government of Nigeria
between 1979 and 1983 governed by the second republican
constitution.
THE FOUNDING OF THE SECOND REPUBLIC (1979)
Following the assassination of Nigerian military Head of State,
General Murtala Mohammed in 1976, his successor General
Olusegun Obasanjo initiated the transition process to terminate
military rule in 1979. A new constitution was drafted, which saw the
Westminster system of government (previously used in the First
Republic) jettisoned for an American Presidential system. The 1979
constitution mandated that political parties and cabinet positions
reflect the "federal character" of the nation — Political parties were
required to be registered in at least two-thirds of the states, and each
state was required to produce at least one cabinet member.
The widely monitored 1979 election saw the election of Alhaji Shehu
Shagari on the NPN platform. On October 1, 1979, Shehu Shagari
was sworn in as the first President and Commander-in-Chief of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
THE SECOND REPUBLIC POLITICAL PARTIES
Greater Nigerian People's Party (GNPP)
National Party of Nigeria (NPN)
Nigeria Advance Party (NAP)
Nigerian People's Party (NPP)
People's Redemption Party (PRP)
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Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN)
THE SECOND REPUBLIC: AN OVERVIEW.
In the program of transition to the Second Republic, the military
leaders' primary concern was to prevent the recurrence of the
mistakes of the First Republic. They believed that if the structures
and processes of government and politics that had proved
inappropriate in the First Republic could be changed, a stable and
effective civilian government would emerge. The transition was
therefore designed to address those fundamental issues, which were
historically divisive, and to establish new political institutions,
processes, and orientations. Except for the census, which remained
problematic, most issues that threatened the stability and survival of
the federation were addressed. The revenue allocation process was
altered based on the recommendation of a technical committee,
despite the politicians' rejection of its recommendation. Local
governments were also streamlined and made more powerful by the
1976 reforms.
The second aspect of the transition involved the making of a new
constitution and appropriate institutions. A Constitution Drafting
Committee (CDC) was appointed in 1975 under the chairmanship of
a leading lawyer, Rotimi Williams, and, in 1977, a Constituent
Assembly (CA) composed of both elected and appointed officials
examined and ratified the draft constitution. After final ratification by
the SMC, the Constitution was promulgated in 1979. Political Parties
were formed, and new corrective national bodies, such as the Code
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of Conduct Bureau, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, and
Public Complaints Commission, were established. The most far-
reaching changes of the transition were made in the area of
institutionalizing a new constitutional and political system.
At the inauguration of the CDC, Murtala Muhammad outlined the
objectives of transition as the continuation of a federal system of
government with constitutional law guaranteeing fundamental human
rights, maximum participation, and orderly succession to political
power. To avoid the pitfalls of the First Republic, the new constitution
was designed to eliminate political competition based on a system of
winner-takes-all, broaden consensus politics to a national base,
eliminate over-centralization of power, and ensure free and fair
elections. The SMC suggested that these objectives could be met by
recognition of national rather than sectional parties, controls on the
proliferation of parties and on the creation of more states, and an
executive presidential system similar to that in the United States. In
addition, the federal character of the country was to be reflected in
the cabinet; an independent judiciary was to be established as well as
corrective institutions.
The draft constitution incorporated these elements. When the CA met
to ratify the constitution, a few issues were highly volatile. The most
notable was the matter of sharia law, which Muslims argued should
be given appellate jurisdiction at the federal level. Most Christian
members of the assembly vehemently opposed this. Only the
intervention of the head of state resolved the situation. Although the
sharia clause was deleted from the constitution, the cleavage
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between Christian and Muslim groups persisted. Other controversial
issues included the creation of more states, the determination of an
age limit for participation in politics (intended to eliminate most
discredited politicians who had actively participated in politics in the
First Republic), and the scope of the executive president's powers.
After the CA completed its work, the SMC added a few amendments,
including use of Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba as additional official
languages in the National Assembly and applying the federal-
character principle to the composition of the armed forces' officer
corps.
By Decree No. 25 of 1978, the 1979 constitution was enacted. The
constitution differed from that of the First Republic in 1963 in that it
introduced a United States-type presidential system in place of the
parliamentary system. Previously, the executive branch of
government derived its powers from the legislature. Under the 1979
constitution, the president and vice president, as well as state
governors and their deputies, were elected in separate elections. The
elections had the federation and the state, respectively, as
constituencies. Furthermore, while the Senate was largely a
ceremonial body in the First Republic, the new constitution gave the
Senate and House of Representatives coequal powers.
There were other provisions in the 1979 constitution that aimed at
eliminating past loopholes. The first was the federal- character
principle, which sought to prevent the domination of power by one or
a few states, ethnic groups, or sections at the federal center, and by
one or more groups in the states and local government areas. The
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principle required that the composition of the cabinet, boards, and
other executive bodies, as well as appointments to top government
positions, should reflect the federal character or diversity of the
country at the particular level of government. This principle also
applied to the composition of the armed forces. The principle was
extended to the distribution of national resources, such as the siting
of schools and industries.
The question of party politics became a constitutional matter. In view
of the need for a limited number of national political parties, the
constitution specified certain criteria that parties had to meet in order
to be registered: the name, emblem, or motto of the party could not
contain any ethnic or religious connotation or give the party the image
of a sectional party; membership in the party should be open to all
Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or religious affiliation; the party
headquarters must be in the federal capital; and the executive
committee of the party should reflect the federal character of the
country. The task of registering political parties and conducting
elections was given to the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO).
The necessity for national parties resulted from the conviction that the
disunity of the First Republic was engendered by the regional parties
then operating. When the ban placed on political activities in 1966
was lifted in September 1978, at least fifty-three political associations
were formed. Seventeen of them applied for registration, but only five
were registered: the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the Nigerian
People's Party (NPP), the United Party of Nigeria (UPN), the Great
Nigeria People's Party (GNPP), and the People's Redemption Party
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(PRP). In 1981 a sixth party, the Nigeria Advance Party (NAP), was
registered.
Contrary to the expectations of the drafters of the constitution and the
military rulers, most of these parties resembled the ethno-regional
ones of the pre-1966 period although, legally, parties were required to
transcend ethno-regional bases. The only exceptions were the NAP,
which proclaimed itself a "new breed" party, and the NPN, which
despite its regional antecedents, was probably the only national party
in Nigeria. The UPN was a resurrection of the AG with its Yoruba
core; the NPP was a rejuvenation of the NCNC with its Igbo core and
strands of middle-belt support; the PRP recalled Kano's NEPU; and
the GNPP, which appeared initially to be a new minority’s formation,
had its strength within the Kanuri section of the north. Apart from the
PRP, which flickered as a radical party, and the populist NAP, the
other parties appeared to be parties of the wealthy class or those who
aspired to join it, for whom politics was a means of enriching
themselves and consolidating their material base. Given this
character of the registered parties, it can be argued that the
perceived need to balance the power groups in the country rather
than the constitutional requirements decided which parties were
registered.
In the 1979 presidential election, NPN candidate Shehu Shagari was
declared the winner, even though many people thought he did not
meet the full requirements. He obtained a simple majority of the total
votes cast in the federation but failed to get 25 percent of the total
votes cast in thirteen states of the federation. The latter was the
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generally accepted interpretation of the constitutional requirement
that the winner of the presidential election should obtain 25 percent of
the total votes cast in two-thirds of the nineteen states of the
federation. Shagari obtained 25 percent of the votes in twelve states
but got only 19 percent in the thirteenth state. When FEDECO
declared Shagari the winner "in the absence of any legal explanation
or guidance in the electoral decree," Awolowo, the presidential
candidate and leader of the UPN, led other defeated candidates and
their parties to challenge the declaration in the electoral tribunal and
later in the Supreme Court. But the challenge was to no avail. The
controversy led to strong anti-NPN, anti-Shagari sentiments in
several states controlled by the other parties. Once the NPN
succeeded in consolidating power at the center, the attraction it held
was strong enough to tear the other parties asunder. Consequently,
the history of the Second Republic is replete with interparty and
intraparty schisms and federal-state conflicts.
At the domestic level, the NPN-controlled federal government
embarked on politically expedient but uneconomic projects, such as
establishing a federal university in every state, commissioning iron
and steel plants that remain unfinished in 1990, and indiscriminately
awarding contracts to build the new Federal Capital at Abuja. To
finance these projects, the government relied heavily on foreign loans
and aid. While the external debt of the country increased, the lot of
the common citizen worsened. The global economic recession in the
early 1980s and the collapse of crude oil prices in the world market
accelerated the economic decline of the Second Republic. By the
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time Shagari decided to initiate IMF-inspired austerity measures
under the Economic Stabilization Act (1982), the problems of the
economy required more drastic measures. This act, however,
provided the blueprint for the austerity measures subsequently
introduced by Buhari and by Babangida.
The demise of the Second Republic was accelerated by the tension
generated by the 1983 general elections, which were similar to those
of 1964-65. As in the earlier elections, two major political camps were
involved in the contest: the NPN and the Progressive Parties Alliance,
comprising the UPN, the NPP, and factions of the PRP and the
GNPP. The NPN won landslide victories even in states considered
traditional strongholds of the other parties. In several places, violence
erupted, and every election was contested in court. A number of the
electoral verdicts were rescinded in view of evidence that results
were falsified. Under these circumstances the military intervened in
December 1983.
THE NATIONAL PARTY OF NIGERIA (NPN)
The NPN as a political party first came into being when sir Abubakar,
the Sultan of Sokoto celebrated his fortieth anniversary as dignitaries
assembled in Sokoto. The most important of these were former
members of the NPC. The meeting of the constituent Assembly on
the 1979 constitution gave the early members of the NPN an
opportunity not only to meet together more regularly, but also to invite
southern political leaders to join them in what was initially called the
National Movement. The National Movement was a grouping of
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states, rather than individual. This was to ensure that what emerged
as the NPN was made up of people from all the 19 states.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE NPN
There were four levels of organization level; one was made up of the
town, clan, district and ward. The local government area was
classified under level two. The third level was the state, while the
national level constituted the fourth level. Each of these levels had a
secretariat. The national convention was the supreme authority of the
party. Its meetings were held once in a year, but a special convention
could be held at any time, at the request of the national executive
committee, or two-thirds of all the state executive committees. Apart
from the national executive committee, which was a very large group,
there was also a national working committee, which was responsible
for the day-to-day administration of the party. This body was made up
of the national chairman, the president and vice-president of the
country (following the success of the party at the 1979 federal
elections), two Deputy National Chairmen, nineteen National Vice-
Chairmen, the National Secretary and Deputy Secretary, the National
Treasurer, the National Legal Adviser, the Leader in the Senate and
the House of Representatives and three other persons elected by the
National Executive Committee.
LEADERSHIP AND FOLLOWERSHIPS OF THE NPN
Although the major offices of the party were shared according to the
four-zones to which the country was divided, (i.e. northern, western,
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eastern, and minorities), the leadership of the party rested with the
northern group. The most critical positions-the presidency or
presidential candidacy and the national secretary-were held by the
northern group of states. Other important positions in the party-the
national chairman (western group of states) vice Presidential
candidate (eastern group of states) presidency of the Senate
(Minorities) – were meant to show the national character of the party.
During the 1979 elections, the minority states (Bendel, Benue, Cross
River, Plateau and Rivers) gave the NPN 56.99 percent of the total
votes cast during the presidential election. In the ten northern states,
however, the party had only 32.84 percent of the total votes cast. The
party won the presidency and seven governorship posts in 1979. In
1983, it was declared winner of the presidency and twelve
governorship positions, as well as a majority in the National
Assembly.
SOURCES OF FINANCE FOR THE NPN
The major sources of funding the party were: donations,allocation
from FEDECO, membership subscriptions, sale of party constitution
booklet and other items.
PARTY’S MANIFESTO AND ACHIEVEMENTS
The NPN was identified with two slogans and images. The slogan of
‘One Nigeria’ linked with the raised single fore-finger and the slogan
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of ‘Green Revolution’. The main emphasis of the party was on food
and agriculture, housing, rural development, education, health,
defence and foreign policy.
Unfortunately, although the party was in control of the federal
government and seven of the nineteen states for four years, not much
could be said to have been achieved. A lot of money voted for
agriculture and housing, the two most important promises of the
party, was not spent to develop these areas of national need. The
NPN is generally adjudged as having been a total failure.
THE UNITY PARTY OF NIGERIA (UPN)
The UPN was the Action Group with a new name. Between 1966 and
1978 when party political activities were not allowed in Nigeria, the
major leaders of the banned Action Group in Western Nigeria
continued to meet under the umbrella of the committee of friends.
This made it possible and easy, as from 21 September, 1978, when
the ban on party politics was lifted, for this group to be transformed
into a political party, the UPN. The provision of the constitution on
party formation compelled the group to look for supporters and
members in other states in Nigeria. When the first convention, of the
party started on 2 September, 1978, three delegates represented
each of the 449 federal constituencies in the country.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE UPN
The party had the following organs:
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1. The national congress, which met once a year at such place
and time as prescribed by the national president
2. The national executive committee, which met as often and in
such places as prescribed by the national president, who also
presided over such meetings
3. State conferences held in each of the 19 states, at least once
every year, at such place and time as prescribed by the
Chairman of the state conference-who was the state Governor
or governorship candidate of the party.
4. State executive council
5. State constituency meeting and
6. Local or ward meeting
The UPN, unlike all other political parties of significance, gave its
national president unusual powers which made him the most
important man in the party.
UPN LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
As with the Action Group of the first republic, Chief Obafemi Awolowo
was the leader of the Unity Party of Nigeria in every respect. He was
the base upon which the party was built and the pivot around which it
revolved. Due to the requirements of the constitution and the fact that
a presidential candidate had no hope of success without support from
at least two-thirds of the nineteen states of the country, important
party positions were distributed to members outside the Yoruba
States. Clement Gomwalk from Plateau State was the National
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Secretary, while the National Treasurer was Chia Surma from Benue
State. The Vice-Presidential candidate of the party in 1978 was from
Anambra State and in 1983 from Bauchi State.
Although support for the party was restricted to the Yoruba-speaking
states, it was not because the party did not try to penetrate other
states in the country. However, all attempts, including, for instance,
the choice of a presidential running-mate from Bauchi in 1983, proved
unsuccessful. The party in 1979 won 29.18 percent of the total votes
in the presidential election. The strongest support came from the
Yoruba States where the party won all the Legislative Seats in the
State assemblies in Ogun and Lagos States, 65 of the 66 in Ondo
State and 117 of the 126 seats in Oyo State. The party won the
governorship race in 1979 in these four States, as well as Bendel.
SOURCE OF FINANCE FOR THE UPN
Like the NPN, the sources of financing the party were:donations,
allocation from the Federal Electoral Commission, membership
subscription, sale of party constitution booklets and other items. The
most important were donations and contribution from the Federal
Electoral Commission.
UPN MANIFESTO AND ACHIEVEMENT
The party had four cardinal principles which were:
1. Immediate free education at all levels
2. Integrated rural development
3. Free medical care
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4. Full employment of all labour.
The party hoped to re-organise and modernize the economy, with
priority attention given to agriculture, industry, commerce,
transportation, telecommunication, postal services, electricity and
water.
The failure of the party to win the presidency was handicap in the
achievement of its objectives. In the states in which the party was in
control however, not much could be said to have been achieved. The
possible exception was Lagos State, where the governor, Chief
Lateef Jakande, is often acknowledged as having contributed, whilst
in office, towards improving the quality of life of the people of the
State.
THE NIGERIA PEOPLE’S PARTY (NPP)
The NPP was a product of the merger of three distinct political
associations which came into being between late 1977 and early
1978. These were club 19 (originally club 14), The progressive front
of the Eastern States and Lagos and the National Council of
Understanding and Solidarity (NCUS). The men who led club 19 from
Benue and Plateau States were Solomon Lar, Paul Unongo and Paul
Belabo, Ayuba Kadzi and Mvenda Jibo. The Eastern progressives
were led by Nnanna Ukaegbu, Basil Okafor, Matthew Mbu, Christian
Onoh, and Obi Wali. Adeniran Ogunsanya led the Lagos
Progressives.
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In October 1978, club 19, the Progressives of Lagos and the Eastern
States and Waziri Ibrahim’s National Council of Understanding and
Solidarity agreed to come together as one political party. At the
National Convention of the party in Lagos on 18 November 1978, the
party split into two over whether or not the presidential candidate of
the party should also be its chairman. As a result, two political parties
emerged. One of these, the NPP, was later led by Dr. Nnamdi
Azikiwe and the other, the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP), by
Waziri Ibrahim.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE NPP
There were four levels of organization at the national level:
1. The National Convention, which met once a year was the supreme
organ and authority of the party.
2. The National Executive Committee (NEC), which was composed of
the national officers of the party, past national chairmen and all state
chairman as well as men holding important positions in the legislative
houses at the federal level. It met at least once in four months. It was
responsible for organizing and conducting the National Convention.
3. The national working committee, which served as a committee of
the NEC. It was made up of national officers mainly. It met more
frequent to perform many of the functions of the NEC.
4. The national parliamentary council, which was a Senate and
House of Representatives caucus, responsible for co-ordinating the
activities of the party’s members in the National Assembly.
5. At the State and Local government levels were:
i. The state convention,
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ii. The state executive committee,
iii. The state working committee
iv. The state parliamentary council
v. The state consultative committee,
vi. The senatorial zonal meeting,
vii. The local government area general meeting
viii. The local government area executive committee
ix The state constituencies consultative meeting,
x The clan/ward/town/district general meeting and
xi The clan/ward/town/district executive committee.
NPP LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
As we saw above, the party was led by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe. Other
leaders included Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya, R.B. Okafor, Obi Wali,
Jim Nwobodo, Sam Mbakwe, Solomon Lar, Paul Unongo and Alex
Fom.
At the 1979 elections, the party won three of the nineteen state
governorship elections. These were in Anambra, Imo, and Plateau
States. The strongest support for the party came from Imo and
Anambra States. Here, the party dominated in all the five elections. It
won all the senatorial seats in both States, and an overwhelming
number of seats in the House of Representatives and the State
Assemblies. The party had little followership in the Yoruba-speaking
States of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Ondo. The same was true in the
Northern States, except Plateau and Benue. Internal rift, as well as
other factors, reduces the party’s support in the Igbo-speaking States
in 1983.
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SOURCES OF FINANCE FOR NPP
The sources of finance were: party registration and membership fees,
levies, subscriptions of members and branches, donations, proceeds
from entertainments, sale of badges, books and pamphlets, flags and
other items, allocation from the Federal Electoral Commission
(FEDECO).
THE NPP MANIFESTO AND ACHIEVEMENT
The party hoped to promote and sustain national unity, defend
Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and equal opportunity for
all, as well as protect the fundamental human rights, freedom and
opportunity for all persons. To this end, it emphasized the need to
reorder national economic priorities, transform the rural area,
modernize agricultural production, expand and improve public
utilities, provides free education in accordance with the provision of
the constitution, i.e. when feasible, and evolved a defence policy that
would make Nigeria a strong nation.
From all available evidence, especially from revelations at the military
tribunals set up in 1984 and 1985, the Nigerian People’s Party
achieved very little in terms of its objectives. Much financial resources
available to the party in the state it controlled were misused.
THE GREAT NIGERIA PEOPLE’S PARTY (GNPP)
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As we saw above, the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP) came
into being as a result of the crisis in the Nigeria People’s Party (NPP)
in November, 1978.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE GNPP
The party at the national level had the following organs:
1. The Congress
2. The Convention
3. The Executive Committee
4. The working committee and the strategic committee.
Of all these, only the congress was not supplicated at the state level
where, in place of the convention there was a conference.
At the local level were:
1. The general meeting
2. The executive committee and
3. The working committee
At the ward or district levels were:
1. The general meeting and
2. The executive committee.
The National Congress was the supreme authority of the party. It was
charged with the power of laying down the broad principles and
guidelines on which the party was run. It also had authority to raise
funds for the support of the party, to elect officers of the party and to
receive, debate and examine reports from the national executive
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committee. Membership of the National Congress included all
national and state officers, all party members of the National
Assembly, all party members who were State Governors, or Federal
Ministers, their Deputies, as well as representatives of State and local
party organs. The congress met at least once in two years.
Membership of the National Executive Committee included all
national officers of party, all Federal Ministers, all Governors
belonging to the party, and leaders of the party at the National
Assembly. Like all Executive Committees, the NEC carried out the
decisions and directives of the party congress and convention.
Among its other functions were the formulation of broad party
proposals to congress for deliberation and approval. It met at least
twice in a year.
Acting as a committee of the NEC was the national working
committee, which also meet at least twice a year and was composed
of the national party officers. These were the Executive President,
five Deputy Presidents, nineteen Vice Presidents (who were
chairmen of state branches) a National Secretary, two Deputy
National Secretaries, four Assistant National Secretaries, a National
Financial Secretary, four Deputy National Financial Secretaries, a
National Treasurer, four Deputy National Treasurers, six Legal
Advisers, a National Publicity Secretary, two National Auditors and a
National Public Relations Secretary. The national working committee
was charged with the responsibility of carrying out the directives of
the NEC when it was not in session. One other body was charged
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with acting on behalf of the NEC. This was the National Strategic
Committee which had a different composition but was, like the NEC
and other national organs of the party, presided over by the Executive
President.
GNPP LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
The GNPP was formed, financed and led by Alhaji Waziri Ibrahim. He
was the party’s Executive President and Presidential candidate at
both the 1979 and 1983 elections. Other leaders of the party were
Mohammed Goni and Abubukar Barde, who were the Governors of
Borno and Gongola States respectively. Before 1983, however, both
had problems with the party and decided to join other political parties.
Goni joined the UPN and Barde the NPP, each of them becoming the
Governorship candidate in his State for the 1983 elections.
At the 1979 elections the party performed fairly well. Even though it
won only 10.01 percent of the total votes cast at the Presidential
election, the party’s support was not concentrated in Borno and
Gongola. It was supported by at least fifteen percent of the electorate
in Bauchi, Borno, Cross River, Gongola, Niger and Sokoto States.
The party won one seat to the House of Representatives in Bauchi,
four seats to the Senate and twenty-two to the House of
Representatives in Borno, two seats to the Senate and four to House
of Representatives in Cross River State, one seat to the House of
Representative in Kaduna, one in Kwara and six in Sokoto. In
Gongola State, the party won two seats to the Senate and eight to the
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House of Representatives. The GNPP also controlled the House of
Assembly in Borno State.
By 1983, due to various crises in the party, much of its 1979 support
had withered away. Consequently it performed poorly at the general
elections that year, winning neither Governorship nor House of
Representatives seat and only one Senate seat from Kwara State.
SOURCES OF FINANCE FOR GNPP
As with the other political parties, the sources of financing the GNPP
were levies, membership subscriptions, donations and Federal
Government allocation through the Federal Electoral Commission
(FEDECO).
THE GNPP MANIFESTO AND ACHIEVEMENT
Among the objectives of the GNPP were the promotion and
sustenance of the Unity of Nigeria, the integration and equality of the
people of Nigeria, without regard to ethnic affiliation, religion or sex
and the just and the equitable distribution of the fruits of economic
development among all states and citizens of Nigeria. The campaigns
of the party, both for the 1979 and 1983 elections, were based on the
slogan ‘Politics without Bitterness’. It promised a dynamic foreign
policy and better living standard for all Nigerians.
It was not possible for the party to carry out its objectives or fulfil its
promises, because it lost the presidential election. However, even in
the States in which the party won, the condition of Nigerians was
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none the better for it. Education virtually came to a halt, medical
services were very poor and many workers who were still employed
were not sure of their pay at the end of each month.
THE PEOPLE’S REDEMPTION PARTY (PRP)
With the formation of the National Movement, which eventually
became the NPN, a group of racial socialists emerged in the Northern
States strongly opposed to the conservative National Movement. This
group included public servants like Abubakar Rimi and Balaraba
Musa as well as University Lecturers, such as A.D. Yahaya, Bala
Usman and Lekan Balogun at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
The group lacked a recognizable national leadership. When Aminu
Kano quarrelled with the National Movement he was warmly
welcomed as the leader of the People’s Redemption Party. Samuel
Ikoku, who came with him from the National Movement became the
National Secretary of the party.
ORGANISATONAL STRUCTURE OF THE PRP
The party had several organs. The National Directorate was
composed of national officers, chairmen of state directorates, the
party parliamentary leader in each State Assembly, the Senate and
House of Representatives selected to represent each State in the
Federation, among which there had to be female members. Other
organs of the party were the national working committee, which was
made up of the national officers and met frequently to exercise the
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powers of the National Directorate; state directorates, which reach
local branch of the party was represented by two delegates. Local
branches, which had their own directorates and chapters based on
wards, towns, villages, hamlets and clans. Each registered branch
elected its local officers annually.
After Malam Aminu Kano left the NPN, he took over the national
leadership of the PRP. At each State level, particularly in Kano,
Kaduna and to a lesser degree Bauchi, the governorship candidates
of the party provided leadership. In Kano and Kaduna, Alhaji
Abubakar Rimi and Alhaji Barabe Musa, who were governors of the
two States respectively, led the party, even when it was in crisis.
Other leaders of the party included Samuel Ikoku who, before his
return to the NPN in 1982, was the National Secretary of the party.
Alhaji Bakin Zuwo, was a Senator from 1979-1983 and the Governor
of Kano State after the 1983 elections, and Michael Imoudu, who was
the deputy National President of the party at its inception and later
the leader of the faction named after him during the crisis. Other
leaders of the party included Alhaji A.M. Rimi who took over the
governorship of Kaduna State when Balarabe Musa was removed,
A.Y. Eke, chairman of the Bendel State directorate of the party, and
Lekan Balogun from Oyo state. Alhaji Hassan Yusuf, who was the
party’s Governorship candidate for Borno State became the
presidential candidate after the death of Malam Aminu Kano.
At the 1979 elections, the party won two Senate seats in Kaduna and
the five seats allocated to Kano State. In all, the party was supported
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by only 7.26 percent of the electorate at this senatorial election.
There was a slight improvement in the support given to the party
during the election to the House of Representatives. About 10.91
percent of the total electorate voted for the party, giving the party
forty-nine seats in the 449- seat assembly. Although the party won
the governorship election in Kaduna State, it was able to capture only
sixteen seats in the State assembly out of the ninety-nine seats
available. At the presidential election, the party retained its electoral
support of 10.28 percent, beating the GNPP to the fourth place.
As with the GNPP, the party’s internal crisis during the 1983
elections, coupled with the death of Aminu Kano, weakened the
support of the party during those elections. The PRP won only the
Kano governorship election and, even so, with a considerably
reduced majority of just five Senate seats and forty-one seats in the
House of Representatives.
SOURCE OF FINANCE FOR THE PRP
Financially, the PRP was the weakest of the political parties. There
were very few in the party who could be said to be wealthy and willing
to donate huge sums of money to the party. However, like the other
political parties, it depended on membership fees, levies, donations
and Federal Government Allocation through the Federal Electoral
Commission (FEDECO).
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THE PRP MANIFESTO AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Unlike the other political parties, the PRP distinguished between its
programme and its manifesto. It viewed manifestos as statements of
practical solutions to national, political, social, economic and
diplomatic problems. Programmes, to the party, meant objectives,
hopes or what it called ‘keys to a radical transformation of society’.
The party was of the view that it is necessary to bring about a radical,
comprehensive social transformation of Nigeria in order to bring
about full national liberation, national cohesion and true democracy
which would lead to the formation of a people’s democratic state
under which the people would create an independent, balanced and
self-sustained national economy, regain their self respect and re-
assert their cultural identity. The party, through its own organization,
hoped to achieved collective leadership, centralized direction and
discipline.
It felt that Nigeria needed to eliminate foreign domination of her
economy, reduce inequalities in the distribution of wealth, maintain
guaranteed income levels for every citizen, de-colonize Nigerian
mentality and develop a political ideology based on African social
values.
The PRP manifesto was the most radical of all the party manifestoes.
However, the party had very little chance of implementing its plans.
The opportunities in Kano and, to a less extent, in Kaduna, where it
was voted into power, were effectively utilized. For four years, despite
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the leadership crisis which erupted soon after the 1979 elections in
the party and the opposition of the emirs, Abubakar Rimi’s
government tried hard to bring about a new society in Kano.
Education received great attention and support. While the concept of
leadership based solely on traditional heritage and privileges was
seriously challenged. New opportunities were opened up for the
under-privileged. In Kaduna State, the state legislature controlled by
the NPN undercut, in every possible way, the various attempts of
Balarabe Musa’s Government to transform the State socially and
politically. During his short time in office, however, he abolished the
payment of poll tax, cattle-tax and income rates’ for poorly paid
workers. Land was made available to the poor who tilled it and made
a reasonable living from its yields.
THE NIGERIA ADVANCE PARTY (NAP)
The Nigeria Advance Party (NAP) was one of the nineteen political
association that applied for registration as political parties in 1978,
when the Federal Electoral Commission, under Chief Michael Ani,
invited applications. The party was not given official recognition
because it was said to have failed the tests applied by the electoral
commission. However, the party was given official recognition on 25
May, 1982, by the new commission under Justice Victor Ovie-
Whiskey. The NAP thus qualified to be one of the six political parties
that contested the 1983 elections. It was founded by Tunji
Braithwaite, a lawyer from Lagos, who called the party a
‘Revolutionary Vanguard Party of the Peasants, Youths, Intelligentsia
and the masses of the country.’ The party had as its watch ward
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‘Change, Radical Change’. In other words, the Nigerian Advance
Party was of the view that revolution was the only solution to Nigeria’s
problems. The leader of the party was the youngest among the
leaders of all the political parties recognized in 1982.
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE NAP
Like all the other parties earlier discussed, the NAP had its National
and State Executive Committees. The highest body was the congress
of the party which, because of the newness of the party, could not
meet frequently. It was this national congress which, at its meeting on
20 December, 1982; nominated Tunji Braithwaite as the presidential
candidate of the party. Membership of the congress was made up of
delegates from the State braches of the party.
The National Executive Committee included all national officers of the
party and the State chairman of the party. When the congress was
not in session, the national executive committee carried out the
decision and directives of the congress. It was this body that
formulated the broad policy positions of the party. Below the State
level were Local branches of the party at the Local Government level.
The structure of NAP had not matured before the military returned to
power in December, 1983. In other words, the NAP had a legal
existence of about one year only.
NAP LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT
Apart from Tunji Braithwaite, who was the presidential candidate of
the party and his running mate, Alhaji Usman Girei from Gongola
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State, other leaders of the party were Emeka Onyemelukwe,
(Anambra), Malam Uba Mohammed (Bauchi), Joseph Udi (Bendel),
Emmanuel Ugba (Benue) Arabi Bello (Borno), Eddie Utik (Cross
River), Chahari Elkanah (Gongola), Mannaseh Nwosu (Imo), Ubala
Tijani (Kano). Musa Salami (Kwara), Bola Ayandele (Lagos), Dapo
Ilori (Ogun), Dare Omoboye (Ondo), Oladele Ojo (Oyo), Reuben
Kutok (Plateau),Joseph Sodinenye (Rivers). These men were the
governorship candidates for the party in 1983.
Even though it would appear that the party was widely represented all
over the country, since it contested sixteen out of a possible nineteen
governorship seats, it actually enjoyed little national support going by
the number of votes cast for it.
THE NAP’S SOURCES OF REVENUE
Membership fees, levies, donations and Federal Government
allocations were the official sources of revenue for the party. The
NAP was, financially, one of the weakest political parties in 1983. It
would appear that most of its revenue came from the leadership of
the party, and in particular from Tunji Braithwaite himself, as its
presidential candidate and founder.
OBJECTIVES OF THE NAP
The main objectives of NAP were stated as sign-posts to change.
These, it believed, would enable Nigeria to become a highly
advanced, industrial, agrarian nation. The signposts were:
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1. No more NEPA (ie National Electric Power Authority) but YES,
that is, Universal Electrification System.
2. Socialism is freedom from exploitation, freedom from
harassment.
3. There must be free-flow of water for every Nigerian
4. Revolution in agriculture will lead to surplus food, surplus
money from food export and industrialization.
5. Pupils and students will be regarded as workers and so will be
given monthly allowance from the time they are in secondary
school until they complete university education.
6. Mosquitoes and rats must be eradicated
7. Modern roads, residential sidewalk and compulsory
accommodation will be provided for all workers and the
peasants
8. All Nigerians will have a health insurance policy for a small free.
As already stated, the major objective of NAP was to change the
Nigerian society, by revolution, so as to introduce a new way of life
for all.
NAP’S ELECTORAL PERFORMANCE AND ACHIEVEMENT
The party did not win any electoral seat in any legislative house in
the nineteen states of the federation. It also did not win any seat in
the National Assembly. As a matter of fact, a very large number of
its candidates lost their deposits at the elections for which they
were candidates.Tunji Braithwaite, the presidential candidate of
the party and his running mate Usman Girei, had the least number
of votes at the presidential election of 1983.
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The NAP was, in its own way, able to get young, radical men and
women across the country to take part in the election, not only by
voting but also by running for office. Many of its candidates, either
for governorship legislative positions, were formerly members of
other political parties who joined the NAP mainly in order to
become electoral candidates.
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REFERENCES
Lecture Handbook of Dr. Henry Alapiki on “Political Parties and
Pressure Groups in Nigeria” for Year three students of Political and
Administrative Studies Students of the University of Portharcourt.
1999.
Lecture Notebook of Dr. P.G.O Odondiri on “The Nigeria Constitution”
for Year Two students of Political and Administrative Studies
Students of the University of Portharcourt. 1998.
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CHAPTER SIX
THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION (NRC)
AND THE SOC IA L DEMOCRATIC PARTY (SDP)
Military government headed by General Ibrahim Babangida came
to power in 1985. By 1986, the government set up a transition
programme which was the agenda of the process of handing
power over to civilian politicians by 1989. The government set up
two political parties namely, the National Republican Convention
(NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Prior to the setting
up of the above two parties, the government had asked Nigerians
to form political parties. Of the thirteen associations that applied for
registration, none was approved by the government. Consequently
upon the disqualification of the association, the government set up
the NRC and SDP.
In setting up the two political parties, the government argued that
the aim was to provide a ‘grassroots’ basis for the emergence of
political parties that would serve as organs of socio-economic
mobilization, and which would establish a platform for new
leadership and give equal rights and opportunities to all Nigerians
to participate in the political process.
The government also argued that in setting up the parties, they
were guided by past events in the country which made money so
important in the participation in politics, and subsequently
engendered violence due to intra-party conflicts and alliances.
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STRUCTURE OF THE NRC AND SDP
Membership of the two parties is open to every citizen of Nigeria
irrespective of the person’s religion, ethnic group, place of birth,
sex, social or economic status. The person must not be below the
age of 18 years and can only belong to one party at a time.
Application for membership is made on an individual basis. It is
also mandatory that a person wishing to be a member of either
party must be registered as a member of the party of his choice at
the ward in which he or she resides. The organization of the
parties which are of four levels are as follows;
1. The ward
2. Local government area
3. The state; and
4. The national level.
The constitutions of the parties also provided for a functioning party
secretariat at the above levels of the party organization. In addition,
the organisational structures of the parties are as;
1. The ward executive committee
2. The ward congress
3. The local government area executive committee
4. The local government area congress
5. The state executive be committee
6. The state congress
7. The national executive committee
8. The national convention
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PARTY LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT OF NRC AND SDP
Because the two parties were established by government there were
no people who could be regarded as founding fathers or as leaders
and founders of the parties. Thus, at their first national convention in
July 1990 the parties elected the following as their principal officers;
PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF THE NRC
Chairman Tom Ikimi
Deputy Chairman S.O. Lawani
National secretary Usman Alhaji
Publicity secretary Doyin Okupe
Treasurer Chris Adighije
Financial secretary Abubakar Buba
Legal Adviser Rafiu Ariso
Auditor Aliyu Yelwa
PRINCIPAL OFFICERS OF THE SDP
Chairman Baba Gana Kingigbe
Vice Chairman Augustine Ademola Babalola
National Secretary Ebene Osieke
Publicity Secretary David Lornen
Treasurer Hammani Bazza
Financial Secretary Frank Kokori One
Legal Adviser Ogana Lukpata
Auditor Sambo Mohammed Koko
As at the middle of 1991, the support enjoyed by the parties could
only be measured by their performance at the first nationwide local
government elections held on 8 December, 1990, when candidates
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stood for elections for the offices of local government chairmanships
and councillorships. At the local government election, the NRC won
206 seats while the SDP won 232 of the chairmanship in country. In
the councillorship election the NRC had 2,558 candidates elected as
councillors while SDP had 2,934 candidates elected as councillors.
Going by the December 1990 local government elections, it appears
that the two parties enjoyed relatively equal support nationwide.
SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR NRC AND SDP
It will be noted that the two parties were established by the
government, consequently, their major source of finance was
government subvention; although the constitutions of the parties
mandated each party member to pay the prescribed annual
membership fee as may be levied by the party.
Again, the decree that set up the parties made provision for
contributions by party sympathizers. Although contributions are
acceptable, no individual nor organizations must donate or contribute
more than N100, 000 in a given year to a party, or N50,000 to a party
candidate.
MANIFESTOES OF THE NRC AND SDP
The manifesto of the NRC is rooted in the free enterprise economy in
which individuals will be allowed to participate by owning businesses
of their choice and on any scale. Thus the party hopes to build for the
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country a system of political economy created substantially on
individual initiative, open choices and a free, competitive market.
On the other hand, the manifesto of the SDP states that a
government of the SDP will strive to build a self-reliant economy that
will develop on the strength of the nation’s resources and by the effort
of the people. The party plans to pursue this objective by making the
state play a leading role in the economy in order to achieve a self-
reliant and just society. It also plans to bridge the gaps between the
rich and the poor through an equitable income distribution policy and
by providing full and gainful employment for all citizens.
THE 1998-1999 DEMOCRATIZATION PROCESS IN NIGERIA
General Abudulsami Abubakar planned the transition, which brought
into power the civilian regime. The Abubakar political transition
programme (June 1998 - May 1999) is the shortest in Nigeria’s
political history, lasting barely one year. In order to understand and
explain the present situation, there is need to reflect on the past. It is
on this premise that this section will x-ray the democratisation
programme of the Abubakar Military regime and set in context the
nature of the civilian regime that was established through the
transition process, the Fourth Republic.
However, the 1998-1999 transition programme was against the
background of two successive military authored political transition
programmes, which were dubious to start and ended up in fiasco.
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The first was the lengthy political transition programme of the
Babangida regime (1985-1993) and the second by the Abacha
regime (1995-1998). The Abacha transition programme, like the
Babangida episode, was a political fraud designed to entrench
General Abacha in power and was inconclusive due to his death in
June 1998. The demise of General Sanni Abacha, on June 8, 1998,
ushered in the regime of General Abubakar Abdulsalam. Thus, he
became Nigeria’s Head of state, the second day after Abacha’s
death, in circumstances still shrewd in secrecy. Immediately on
assumption of the reins of power, Abdulsalam began a new
democratization course for the country.
On assumption of office, General Abdulsalam Abubakar set a new
agenda for the political and economic rejuvenation of the country. His
first focus was how to launch the country back into the comity of
nations. This he found necessary due to the fact that his
predecessor’s audacious rule had won some sanctions for Nigeria
from the international community. Also, due to the sanctions imposed
on Nigeria because of human rights violations and protracted military
rule, the economy of the country was seriously affected. Therefore,
General Abubakar’s administration was faced with the task of
rebuilding the economy. This he did by travelling to western nations
to solicit support for his regime and the economy.
The greatest and most important task for the regime was how to
return the country to civil rule after several futile attempts by his
predecessors. In doing this, General Abubakar embarked on
reconciliation and consultations with different people and groups in
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the country. He admitted the failure of past attempts at
democratisation in the country. In his national broadcast of Monday
July 20, 1998, he said: While recrimination and buck-passing would
be unhealthy, we must admit that mistakes have been made,
particularly as our most recent attempt at democratisation was
marred by manoeuvring and manipulations of structures and actions.
At the end, we have only succeeded in creating a defective
foundation on which a solid democratic structure can neither be
constructed nor sustained. This is an overwhelming verdict from our
consultations (Guardian, July 21, 1998:15).
In the light of this, he dissolved the five political parties registered by
the Abacha regime and their assets were taken over by
administrators appointed by the government. Similarly, all previous
elections conducted under these parties were cancelled, for lack of
credibility. Immediately, senior civil servants were posted to take
charge of local government councils, for the management of their
affairs. In a bid to convince the world that the country has finally
turned to the path of democracy, Abubakar pledged not to interfere
with party formation.
Consequently, Abacha’s electoral commission, the National Electoral
Commission (NECON), was dissolved and a new electoral body was
established. This he called the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), which was headed by Justice Ephraim Akpata, a
retired Supreme Court judge. This body was charged with the
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responsibility of registering political parties, registration of voters and
the conduct of elections.
Furthermore, in an attempt to march towards a genuine and fully-
fledged democratic civilian rule, many transition implementation
agencies established by the Abacha regime were dissolved. These
include the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC), National
Reconciliation Committee (NARECOM) and Power Devolution
Committee (PDC). The decrees establishing those agencies were
also repealed. With all these reformations, political activities resumed
in all parts of the country. The electoral commission opened the
floodgate for party registration, with some specific guidelines. Thus,
about fifty political associations emerged within a month. However,
only thirty of them collected registration forms from INEC
headquarters and, by the end of the close of submission of
registration forms, only twenty-four of these associations had
returned their forms. Out of these twenty-four associations, only nine
of them met the conditions for registration of political parties, in
accordance with INEC guidelines. Consequently, nine political
associations were registered provisionally as political parties. These
include the Alliance for Democracy (AD), All Peoples Party (APP),
Democratic Alliance Movement (DAM), Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), United Democratic Party
(UDP), the United Peoples Party (UPP) and the Movement for
Democracy and Justice (MDJ). On December 5, 1998, the election
for local government councils was held. This election was used as a
yardstick for the final registration of political parties. The electoral
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guidelines stated, among other things, that any party that would
eventually be registered must score at least a minimum of five
percent of the total number of votes in at least 24 states. Fulfilling this
and other conditions, the Alliance for Democracy (AD), All Peoples
Party (APP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were granted full
and final registration by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) as the three parties that qualified to participate in
the remaining elections of the transition programme.
The result of the chairmanship and councillorship elections into the
local government councils showed the AD having 100 chairman and
1,071 councilors, APP, 459 chairmen and 4,650 councilors while MDJ
got three chairpersons and 61 councilors. NSM and PRP won two
chairmanship seats each, with 8 and 21 councillorship seats
respectively. The UPP won one chairmanship and 26 councillorship
seats, while DAM and UDP won no chairmanship seat but managed
to get 4 and 26 councillorship seats, respectively. (Tribune,
December 15, 1998:2).
This result shows that the Peoples Democratic Party won the majority
of the chairmanship and councillorship seats and also has a wider
geographical spread than the remaining parties. This result also
shows that the All Peoples Party (APP) came second with votes
drawn from the north. The Alliance for Democracy (AD) came third
with the concentration of their support from the south-western part of
the country.
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On January 9, 1999, Governorship and Houses of Assembly
elections were held nationwide. The results were not all that different
from the pattern the local government elections took. The Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) maintained its lead by winning twenty-one
Governorship seats, the All Peoples Party (APP), won nine
Governorship seats and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) maintained
its domination of the south-western states by winning in six south-
western states. Elections into the state Houses of Assembly also
showed the same pattern of victory by the political parties. That
election was followed by the National Assembly election, which was
held on February 20, 1999. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
also maintained its lead, by winning sixty-nine Senatorial seats and
majority seats in the House of Representatives election; it was
followed by the All Peoples Party (APP), which won twenty-one
Senatorial seats and had a considerable number of seats in the
House of Representatives. The Alliance for Democracy (AD)
maintained its third position by winning nineteen Senatorial seats and
the least number of seats in the House of Representatives. The major
upset of that election was the AD victory of two Senatorial and two
House of Representatives seats in Enugu State, which was one of
the strong bases of the Peoples Democratic Party in the Eastern part
of the country.
Due to the dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in all
previous elections, the scene was set for an easy win for any
presidential candidate presented by that party. As the February 27,
1999 presidential election drew nearer, the AD and APP fashioned
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out an alliance to checkmate the unchallenged popularity of PDP. On
realising that General Olusegun Obasanjo (Rtd), was selected as the
presidential flag bearer of PDP, in the party’s presidential primaries
held in Jos, Plateau State, the AD and APP sealed their alliance talk.
Chief Olu Falae of the Alliance for Democracy was therefore chosen
as the joint presidential candidate of both the All Peoples Party (APP)
and the Alliance for Democracy (AD). The most interesting thing here
was that both presidential candidates were from the south-western
states of Ogun and Ondo, respectively. This was the first time in the
political history of the country when the presidential candidates came
from a particular zone of the country. This development may not be
unconnected with the fact that Chief M.K.O. Abiola, the acclaimed
winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election (who eventually
died in detention, after the annulment of that election) was from that
zone. This gesture was ostensibly used to appease the Yoruba of the
south-western part of the country.
THE NIGERIAN THIRD AND FOURTH REPUBLIC
THE 1999 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The march toward civilian rule in Nigeria moved to the crucial stage in
the last days of February 1999, with the presidential election. On
February 27, 1999, the presidential election was held. There was low
voter turnout in most parts of the country. The day after the election,
international observers or, more precisely, members of the
International Election Monitoring Group (IEMG), invited by the
government to allay fears of bias or “hidden agendas” in the
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elections, in unison estimated voter turnout at about 20%. However,
the actual election results put the turnout at between 30% and 40%.
There was a widespread disparity between the number of voters
observed at the polling stations and the final results that were
reported from several states. Mr. Jimmy Carter, former President of
the United States of America, who was head of the Carter Centre,
one of the Election Monitoring Groups, subscribed to this view. Other
election monitoring groups, such as the National Democratic Institute
for International affairs, the Commonwealth Observer Group, the
European Union and the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a
coalition of Nigerian human rights and civil liberty groups, shared
Carter’s view on the irregularities during the election. Most of them,
however, said that they did not think the irregularities were massive
enough to question the result. This was partly informed by their
findings that both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All
Peoples Party (APP) were involved in box stuffing and inflation of
election results, the commonest of the irregularities (Conscience
International, May 1999:19).
This notwithstanding, the result of the presidential election confirmed
the trend that emerged since the inception of elections in Abubakar’s
transition programme. The PDP maintained its lead in most states
and zones of the Federation. The hopes raised by the AD/APP
alliance proved misplaced, as the alliance lost many states to the
rampaging PDP. This, however, was attributed to the handling of the
alliance and the exit of many of the APP presidential aspirants from
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the party on the eve of the election. In all, the PDP candidate,
General Obasanjo, won 18,738,15 votes representing 62.78% of the
votes, against the 11,110,287 votes representing 37.22% won by
Chief Olu Falae of the AD/APP presidential alliance.
The analysis of this result shows that PDP won in five of the nation’s
six geopolitical zones, conceding only the south-west to the rival
APP/AD alliance. This is a confirmation of the Yoruba’s grudge
against General Obasanjo. In his base he did not win a simple
majority in any of the six states, not even in his native Ogun State.
Worse still, he won the mandatory one-quarter of the votes only in
two of the states: Ogun and Ekiti States. The result was not surprising
because in all the six elections previously held in the transition
programme, Obasanjo’s PDP had consistently lost by wide margins
to the AD in that zone.
Using some irregularities observed by the international observers as
a basis, Chief Olu Falae rejected the outcome of the election, which
he eventually challenged at the law court. But, after some legal tussle
and pleadings from different quarters, the presidential election results
were upheld and on May 29, 1999, General Olusegun Obasanjo
(Rtd), who was a military head of state from 1979 to 1983, was sworn
in as the new President of Nigeria, amidst fanfare, by General
Abdulsalam Abubakar, in a manner akin to what General Obasanjo
did to Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1979. Also, the State Governors were
sworn in on the same day, in their respective states throughout the
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federation. The National Assembly was also inaugurated some days
later.
It is noteworthy that Abubakar’s transition programme is seen by
many onlookers as a transfer of power from the military in uniform to
a military in mufti. Obasanjo, as a person was a military president
from 1976-1979. It is never a misnomer to say that his military
antecedents will seriously affect his leadership style. This reason
accounts for why the man got serious opposition from certain
quarters. People saw Obasanjo as an old wine in a new bottle. Also,
the three political parties that participated in the elections were
parties that were hurriedly put together in an effort to ease out the
military. All the three political parties lack an ideology and are made
up of strange bed fellows. This situation signals serious problems for
these parties and the nascent civilian experiment. Indeed, these
parties have been riddled with conflicts, crises, and serious divisions.
It can be said there are no parties in Nigeria presently, in the proper
sense of party functioning.
POLICY CONCERNS
There are three key areas in which there should be policy concern in
relation to the democratisation exercise. The first has to do with the
electoral body (INEC). How can Nigerians truly select an objective,
representative and public-inspired INEC? At present, it is said that
many members of INEC are card-carrying members of some political
party, which shows outright partisanship. Second is the issue of party
registration. The limit placed on the number of political associations to
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be registered greatly limits the ability of people to freely express
themselves through party formation. The role of INEC should be
restricted to party identification rather than registration. Third is the
issue of inter-governmental relations. The Nigerian constitution is
unclear, inconsistent and even contradictory in many respects and
this has created loopholes for either the executive or the legislative
branches to manipulate, creating problems for the other party. There
is the vexing issue of corruption that has now rocked the National
Assembly. The institutional safeguard for corruption control, outside
of the framework of the enacted Anti-corruption Act, is quite weak.
There is, for instance, no protection for those who expose corruption.
Fourth, is the issue of oversight function that the National Assembly
should play. Here, there is need for a well-articulated policy
framework that will address the role of the Assembly in that regard.
The Executive sees it as contravening the principle of separation of
powers. This should not be the attitude.
Tied to that, there should be civil society initiative to monitor and
ensure accountability in public delivery capability. This will make civil
society and politicians alike to be vigilant and alive to their respective
responsibilities. Finally, there is need for a planned programme of
reform, re-orientation and revitalization for the military (Jega,
2001:14).
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FOURTH REPUBLIC.
We have fifty (50) political parties today, but only twenty-two (22)
were registered in the list of Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) for the April 14 and 21, 2007general election that
held in all the 36 states of Nigeria with the office of the President, and
the National Assembly. Below are the political parties.
1. Action Congress (AC)
2. Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACN)
3. African Democratic Congress (ADC)
4. Alliance for Democracy (AD)
5. All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP)
6. All People’s Party (APP)
7. All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA)
8. Democratic Alternative (DA)
9. National Democratic Party (NDP)
10. New Democratic (ND)
11. People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
12. People’s Redemption Party (PRP)
13. People’s Salvation Party (PSP)
14. United Nigeria People’s Party (UNPP)
15. Fresh Democratic Party (FDP)
16. Communist Party of Nigeria (CPN)
17. Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA)
18. People Progressive Party (PPP)
19. Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN)
20. National Conscience Party (NCP)
21. Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM)
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22. African Renaissance Party (ARP).
THE STATES AND THE POLITICAL PARTIES
Abia State PPA
Adamawa State PDP
Akwa-Ibom State PDP
Anambra State APGA
Bauchi State ANPP
Bayelsa State PDP
Benue State PDP
Borno State ANPP
Cross-River State PDP
Delta State PDP
Ebonyi State PDP
Edo State PDP
Ekiti State PDP
Enugu State PDP
Gombe State PDP
Imo State PPA
Jigawa State PDP
Kaduna State PDP
Kano State ANPP
Katsina State PDP
Kebbi State PDP
Kogi State PDP
Kwara State PDP
Lagos State AC
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Nassarawa State PDP
Niger State PDP
Ogun State PDP
Ondo State PDP
Osun State PDP
Oyo State PDP
Plateau State PDP
Rivers State PDP
Sokoto State PDP
Taraba State PDP
Yobe State ANPP
Zamfara State ANPP
FCT PDP
Note: The above is based on the 14 and 21 April 2007 general
election.
PDP 27 states
ANPP 5 states
PPA 2 states
APGA 1 state
AC 1 state.
THE ACTION CONGRESS (AC)
This is a classical liberal Nigerian political party formed via the
merger of the Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, the Advance
Congress of Democrats, and several other minor political parties in
September 2006.
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The party was formed in 2006 in order to form a larger political
opposition to the federally-dominant centrist People's Democratic
Party and the Northern-based All Nigeria Peoples Party. On May 12,
2006, the provisional officers of the party (most of whom carried their
seats from the Alliance for Democracy) were replaced at the Kaduna
convention by ballot; Bisi Akande succeeded Hassan M. Zurmi as
National Chairman, and Bashir Dalhatu replaced Bumi
Omoseyindemi as National Secretary.
However, the party ran Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who defected
from the People's Democratic Party, as its presidential candidate in
the 2007 presidential election. Abubakar was disqualified from the
election by the Independent National Electoral Commission, but the
disqualification was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
Currently, the party's most prominent elected official is governor
Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State.
The party was torn apart by in-house fighting that led prominent party
Chieftain and Lagos State Gubernatorial Candidate, Femi Pedro, to
decamp to the Nigeria Labour Party. Pedro cited gross manipulation
within the party structure favouring Tinubu's candidates in South-
Western Nigeria as his reason for dumping the newly-formed Party.
Additionally, there have been rumours of cracks in the Party's initial
alliance with the prominent national opposition party, the All Nigeria
Peoples Party.
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In the 21 April 2007 Nigerian National Assembly election, the party
won 32 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 6 out of
109 seats in the Senate.
Following the victory of PDP candidate Umaru Yar'Adua in the 2007
presidential election, the AC has been pursuing a legal challenge to
the results. On July 6, 2007, the party announced its rejection of an
offer to join Yar'Adua's government (an offer that was accepted by
the ANPP and the Progressive Peoples Alliance), with a spokesman
saying that "there is no compelling moral, legal or political reason for
us to join a government that we have told the whole world stole its
mandate" and that participating in the government would mean
"partaking in stolen goods".
However, on August 7, 2007, the National Secretary, Bashir Dalhatu,
resigned (along with two other officials) over the refusal of the Action
Congress to take up Yar'adua's offer. He was replaced by the current
Secretary, Usman Bugaje.
THE ADVANCED CONGRESS OF DEMOCRATS(ACD)
The Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD) was an opposition
political party in Nigeria, created and first registered in March 2006. In
September 2006, in merged into the newly (2005) formed Action
Congress. The ACD was primarily composed of former People's
Democratic Party members, and was one of a series of anti-Obasanjo
coalitions, beginning with the Movement for the Defence of
Democracy in 2005, and followed by the AC in 2006/2007. It
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maintained a small independent organization after the 2007 elections,
while its leaders have merged into the AC.
The party was formed by opponents of a proposed constitutional
amendment that would allow incumbent President Olusegun
Obasanjo to seek a third term in office, and had its base of support in
the south west of Nigeria.
The then Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, a northerner who opposed a
third term for Obasanjo, was believed to back the new party from its
inception.
The ACD was largely made up of disgruntled PDP members who felt
they had lost power and patronage to the President's supporters.
Attempts by the President's supporters to amend the constitutional
two term limit, allowing President Obasanjo to continue in office for a
further four years, led to a rupture of the underlying tension within the
party.
Three of the founders of the ACD, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Alhaji Bashir
Dalhatu and Audu Ogbeh, are former PDP politicians, and have
complained of harassment and detention by the government since
the ACD's founding. In March, ACD chair Alhaji Lawal Kaita, the
former PDP governor of Kaduna state was detained shortly after a
party rally was shut down by police in Dutse, Jigawa State.
The Vice President, who had previously shown no interest in running
for president, was in 2006 the main focus of these former PDP
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politicians. He was widely expected to be a future Presidential
candidate of the ACD.
In September 2006, the ACD led the creation of a coalition with the
Alliance for Democracy, the Justice Party, and several other minor
political parties, and forming the Action Congress. Atiku Abubakar
was its presidential candidate in the 2007 General Election.
THE ALLIANCE FOR DEMOCRACY (AD)
This was a progressive opposition political party in Nigeria. It was
formed on September 9th 1998. At the 2003 legislative elections, 12
April 2003, the party won 8.8 % of the popular vote and 34 out of 360
seats in the Nigerian House of Representatives and six out of 109
seats in the Nigerian Senate. In September 2006 it merged with other
opposition parties to form the Action Congress party. The chairman
was Cief Mojisoluwa Akinfewa while the secretary was Dominique
Manzo Abubakar.
THE ALL NIGERIA PEOPLES PARTY (ANPP)
This is a conservative political party in Nigeria. The chairman of
ANPP is Hon. Rtd Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke while Nya .E. Asuquo is
the Secretary. At the last legislative elections (21 April 2007), the
party won 27.0% of the popular vote and 92 out of 360 seats in the
House of Representatives and 27 out of 109 seats in the Senate. Its
candidate in the presidential elections of 19 April 2003, former military
ruler Muhammadu Buhari, won 32.2% of the vote. Buhari was again
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the ANPP candidate in the 2007 presidential election, taking second
place and about 18% of the vote according to official results.
The ANPP is the household party in the extreme north of Nigeria,
primarily due to its mass appeal. It is the strongest opposition party,
controlling seven of the nation's thirty-six states. The party's biggest
achievement in the 2003 election was its gubernatorial victory in
Kano State where it defeated the ruling People's Democratic Party to
take control of one of the country's most populous state.
In the 21 April 2007 Nigerian National Assembly election, the party
won 62 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 16 out
of 109 seats in the Senate.
Following the 2007 election, the ANPP challenged the victory of
Umaru Yar'Adua and his People's Democratic Party, although it was
announced on June 27, 2007, following talks, that the ANPP had
agreed to join Yar'Adua's government. There was reportedly
disagreement within the ANPP about the talks. Buhari subsequently
denounced the idea in a BBC interview and suggested that the
decision was only made by part of the party, alleging that they were
"just looking for jobs for themselves".
POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
The ANPP is a right-wing conservative party with mass appeal. The
party draws its strength from the predominantly radical region of
Northern Nigeria, and strives to maintain the status quo of radical
politics in the Nigerian polity.
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EARLIER INCARNATION
There was a party of the same name during the Second Republic,
which was banned following the Military Coup of 1984 led by General
Buhari.
The current party is a party with the same name but with little or no
resemblance or affinity or affiliation to the original ANPP and was
created in the National Election of 1999.
THE ALL PEOPLE'S PARTY (APP)
This was a former Nigerian political party. It was formed in late 1998
during a transition from military to civilian rule by a coalition of
associations that received considerable support under the regime of
Sani Abacha.
Most of the party's support came from the middle belt region and
parts of the north.
Following gubernatorial elections in January 1999, the People's
Democratic Party (PDP) emerged as the dominant political party. As
a result, the APP and another party - the Alliance for Democracy
(AD), formed a coalition to contest the upcoming presidential election.
Olu Falae of the AD was chosen as the coalition's presidential
candidate, while Umaru Shinkafi of the APP was chosen as his
running mate.
In the 20 February 1999 legislative elections, the APP won 20 out of
109 Senate seats and 68 out of 360 seats in the House of
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Representatives. The presidential election, held on 29 February
1999, was won by PDP candidate Olusegun Obasanjo. He received
62.78% of the vote compared to 37.22% for the Falae/Shinkafi ticket.
Thereafter, the APP suffered a factional split and contested the next
round of elections in 2003 as the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).
THE ALL PROGRESSIVES GRAND ALLIANCE (APGA)
The All Progressives Grand Alliance is a political party in Nigeria
with Chief Victor Umeh as the Chairman and Dr. Sani Shinkafi as the
secretary. At the last legislative elections, 12 April 2003, the party
won 1.4 % of popular votes and 2 of 360 seats in the House of
Representatives of Nigeria and no seats in the Senate. Its candidate
at the presidential elections of 19 April 2003, Chukwuemeka
Odumegwu Ojukwu won 3.3 % of the vote. Mr. Peter Obi was the
gubernatorial candidate of Anambra State who contested with Dr.
Chris Ngige of AC. With the problem of god-fatherism and political
problems in the State, after declaring Ngige as the winner, Obi went
to court and later was sworn in as the governor of the State.
THE DEMOCRATIC ALTERNATIVE (DA)
This is a Nigerian opposition political party. On June 3 and 4, 1994,
about 200 Nigerians critical of the military politicians and
collaborators met in Benin City to examine the political impasse and
decide on a political plan for the country and the peoples. The
conference concluded with the adoption of the Constitution and
Manifesto, The Liberation Charter to inaugurate the Democratic
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Alternative (DA). The organization thereby emerged as a political
party at the time Sani Abacha was implementing a policy that made it
illegal for Nigerians to associate in political parties. The participants in
the conference defied the dictatorship and launched what has
become the oldest existing political party in Nigeria.
A National Executive Council with Alao Aka-Bashorun and Chima
Ubani as President and Secretary-General, respectively, were
elected to run the affairs of the party. As demanded by the political
situation, the activities of the party from its inception until the demise
of direct military dictatorship in the country were focussed on building
the party at the national, state and local government levels; engaging
in anti-dictatorship protest activities either alone or in association with
other anti-dictatorship organisations to enforce the end of anti-
democratic and military rule in Nigeria; and operating political
education programmes for workers and the peasants in towns,
villages and cities across the country.
The party school, Nigerian Peoples’ Institute for Democracy (NIPID)
was established in 2003 to carry out formal programmes of political
education among members and in the general population. The
military dictatorship collapsed to constitutional rule on May 29, 1999.
The party was denied free participation in the elections of 1999, but
continued with its educational programmes, territorial expansion and
popular activities against the right wing parties.
At its Convention in Ilorin on January 11, 2003, the party decided to
show its programme to the peoples of Nigeria by participating in the
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2003 elections following legal victory along with other parties that led
to the formal registration of the DA. By fielding candidates at the
presidential, some governorship and legislative elections, the party
was successful in showcasing its Manifesto and programme in
government to the Nigerian people.
THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY(NDP).
This is a progressive political party in Nigeria which was founded on
23 July 2001. At the last legislative elections, 12 April 2003, the party
won 1.9 % of popular votes and 1 out of 360 seats in the House of
Representatives and no seats in the Senate.
THE PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP)
The People's Democratic Party led then by Prince Vincent
Ogbulafor is a centrist political party in Nigeria. It won the Presidential
elections of 1999, 2003, and 2007, and is the dominant party in the
Fourth Republic.
In the legislative election held on 12 April 2003, the party won 54.5%
of the popular vote and 223 out of 360 seats in the House of
Representatives, and 76 out of 109 seats in the Senate. Its candidate
in the presidential election of 19 April 2003, Olusegun Obasanjo, was
re-elected with 61.9% of the vote.
In December 2006 Umaru Yar'Adua was chosen as the presidential
candidate of the ruling PDP for the April 2007 general election,
receiving 3,024 votes from party delegates; his closest rival, Rochas
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Okorocha, received only 372 votes. Yar'Adua was eventually
declared the winner of the 2007 general elections, held on April 21,
and was sworn in on May 29, 2007, amid widespread allegations of
electoral fraud. In the Nigerian National Assembly election, the party
won 260 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 85 out
of 109 seats in the Senate.
At the PDP's 2008 National Convention, it chose Prince Vincent
Ogbulafor as its National Chairman on March 8, 2008. Ogbulafor,
who was the PDP's National Secretary from 2001 to 2005, was the
party's consensus choice for the position of National Chairman,
selected as an alternative to the rival leading candidates Sam Egwu
(who was backed by Obasanjo) and Anyim Pius Anyim. All 26 other
candidates, including Egwu and Anyim, withdrew in favor of
Ogbulafor. Meanwhile, Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje was elected as
National Secretary.
HISTORY
PRESIDENTIAL AND VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEES
PRESIDENT VICE-PRESIDENT
ELECTION OUTCOME
OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
ATIKU ABUBAKAR
1999 WON
OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
ATIKU ABUBAKAR
2003 WON
UMARU MUSA YAR’ADUA
GOODLUCK JONATHAN
2007 WON
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POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
The party has a neoliberal stance in its economic policies and
maintains a conservative stance on certain social issues, such as
same sex relations.
ECONOMIC ISSUES
The PDP favors free-market policies which support economic
liberalism, and limited government regulation. In 2003, President
Olusegun Obasanjo and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
embarked on a radical economic reform program, which reduced
government spending through conservative fiscal policies, and saw
the deregulation and privatization of numerous industries in Nigerian
services sector — notably the Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL)
industry.
The PDP strives to maintain the status quo on oil revenue
distribution. Though the PDP government setup the Niger Delta
Development Commission (NDDC) to address the needs of the oil-
producing Niger Delta states, it has rebuffed repeated efforts to revert
back to the 50% to 50% federal-to-state government revenue
allocation agreement established in 1966 during the First Republic.[5]
SOCIAL ISSUES
The PDP is against same sex relations, and favors social
conservatism on moral and religious grounds. In 2007, the PDP-
dominated National Assembly sponsored a bill to outlaw homosexual
relations, making it punishable by law for up to five years in prison.
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On the other hand, the PDP adopts a more leftist stance towards
poverty and welfare. In 2005, President Obasanjo launched Nigeria's
first National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to ensure that every
Nigerian has access to basic health care services.
The party is a moderate advocate of state-autonomy and religious
freedom for the Nigerian provinces. In the year 2000 the introduction
of Islamic law in some states in Northern Nigeria triggered sectarian
violence in Kaduna and Abia states. The PDP-led federal government
refused to bow to pressure from the southern, predominantly
Christian states to repeal the law, and instead opted for a
compromise where Islamic law would only apply to Muslims.
THE PEOPLE'S REDEMPTION PARTY(PRP)
This was a political party in Nigeria. Often considered the Second
Republic incarnation of the Northern Elements Progressive Union, the
party was created by the late Mallam Aminu Kano. The PRP was
highly regarded as a progressive left of center political party. Some
well known members of the party included Governors Abubakar Rimi,
Balarabe Musa, Dr. Edward Ikem Okeke, and Chinua Achebe — who
served briefly as Deputy National President in the early 1980s.
The original party was banned following the Military Coup of 1984 led
by General Buhari.
A new party with the same name but with little or no resemblance or
affinity or affiliation to the original PRP was created in the National
Election of 1999. In the legislative elections, April 12, 2003, the party
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won 0.8 % of popular votes and 1 out of 360 seats in the House of
Representatives of Nigeria and no seats in the Senate.
THE UNITED NIGERIA PEOPLE'S PARTY (UNPP)
This is a political party in Nigeria. At the 12 April 2003 legislative
elections the party won 2.8 % of popular votes, 2 out of 360 seats in
the House of Representatives of Nigeria, and no seats in the Senate.
THE FRESH DEMOCRATIC PARTY (FDP)
This is a liberal political party in Nigeria. FRESH is an acronym,
Faith, Responsibility, Equality, Security and Hope. The founder and
presidential aspirant (2007) is Reverend Chris Okotie. The party
believes in the unity and diversity of the Nigerian nation; the sanctity
and collective will of the Nigerian people; the right of the Nigerian to
good, accountable and compassionate leadership; and that
federalism is the most effective form of co-existence in Nigeria.
A recent 50-page voters' guide, Who Deserves Your Vote has been
criticised as being a medium to campaign for Okotie because it
supports "a God fearing man of God as the true president that will
take Nigeria to its next level". The author, Afo O Temienor, has stated
that he has no personal relationship with Okotie, disputing claims that
he is silently campaigning for him, "I am not campaigning for any
single individual via my book, I am only trying to sharpen the
discernment of the average voter to vote wisely. That does not mean
I don't have a candidate of choice which dramatically turns out to be
reverend Chris Okotie. In fact I intend to work with FRESH Party
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because I believe in his vision, but once again I didn't write my book
because of him". The guide, being published in February 2007, has
been predicted to become the most controversial book ever written in
Nigeria.
THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF NIGERIA (CPN)
This was a communist party in Nigeria. It was founded in November
1960 in Kano, largely by cadres of the Nigerian Youth Congress.
Initially the party drew political inspiration from the Communist Party
of Great Britain. However, the constitution adopted by the party was
based on the 1945 constitution of the Communist Party of China.
However, the party remained relatively isolated from international
relations, not having close links with neither the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union nor the Chinese party. When the Socialist Workers
and Farmers Party of Nigeria was formed in 1963, the CPN
denounced it as "the latest effort in a long series of opportunist and
egoistic acts which have contributed much towards disrupting the
Socialist movement in Nigeria."
CPN was banned by the Decree 34 of the regime of General Johnson
Aguiyi-Ironsi in 1966.
THE PROGRESSIVE PEOPLES ALLIANCE (PPA)
The Progressive Peoples Alliance is a political party in Nigeria.
Notable members of the party include Orji Uzor Kalu.
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The party won gubernatorial elections in 2003 and 2007 in Abia
State. The party also won the governorship election in 2007 in Imo
State. The Governor of Abia State is Chief Theodore Ahamefula Orji
while the Governor of Imo State is Chief Ikedi Okakim.
In the 21 April 2007 Nigerian National Assembly election, the party
won 3 out of 360 seats in the House of Representatives and 1 out of
109 seats in the Senate.
Following the April 2007 presidential election, the PPA agreed to join
the government of president Umaru Yar'Adua.
OFFICERS OF THE PARTY
National Chairman-Chief Clement Ebri, National Secretary-Chief
Sam Nkire, National Treasurer-Chief Emeka Duro, National Financial
Secretary-Mustapha Habib, and the National Legal Adviser-Alh.
Lamido Abubakar.
REPRESENTATION
The party won some seats at the National Assembly in the 2007
Elections. In the Senate, Senator Uche Chukeumerije representing
Abia North Senatorial Zone is the only Senator from the party.
In the House of Representatives, the Party has three members and
these are Hon. Nnanna Uzor Kalu,a two time member and he
represents Aba North/South Federal Constituency. He is the Abia
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Caucus leader at the House of Representatives.He is presently the
House Chairman,Sub Committee on Anti-Corruption.(Independent
Corrupt Practices and other Related matters Commission,ICPC).
The other two members are first term members and they are
Hon.Emeka Stanley(Ukwa East/West) and Hon.Stanley Ohajiruka a
former Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly and he represents
Umuahia North/South/Ikwuano Federal Constituency.
Equally, following the Election Tribunal Ruling as regards to the
Ohafia/Arochukwu Federal Constituency and Isiukwuato/Umunneochi
Federal Constituency, PPA may get additional two seats at the House
of Representatives.
DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST MOVEMENT (DSM)
The Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) is the Nigerian section of
the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI). It publishes a bi-
monthly newspaper, Socialist Democracy.
FOUNDATION
The section was first founded in 1986 at a conference of labour and
student socialist activists, although due to the military dictatorship at
the time, the DSM as an open organisation was only launched in July
1998. Prior to this the section was identified mainly by the name of its
newspaper, Labour Militant (1987-1994) and Militant (1994-1998).
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STRUCTURE
The basic unit of DSM is the local branch. The highest policy making
body is the National Congress which meets annually. The next in
rank is a National Committee comprising representatives of branches
and which meets at least three times a year. A National Executive
Committee, elected by the National Congress, directs the day-to-day
work of the organisation.
CAMPAIGNS
During the first 13 years of the section's existence they were heavily
involved in fighting against the dictatorship in Nigeria at that time.
Since then they have continued to fight for full democratic rights, but
also for the rights of workers. This campaigning has led to the arrest
several times of leading DSM activists. More recently, the DSM
played a leading role in the general strike of June 2007 against high
fuel prices.
NCP, ELECTIONS AND A MASS WORKING PEOPLE'S PARTY
Although currently part of the National Conscience Party (NCP), the
DSM has argued since the 1980s for the formation of a Mass
Working People's Party. They argue that such a party should be
wholly opposed to neo-liberalism and privatisation. The DSM
participated in the briefly lived Nigerian Labour Party in 1989, and
participated in the founding by Gani Fawemhinmi of the National
Conscience Party in 1994. In the 2003 elections, the DSM stood as
candidates for the NCP and achieved some of the party's highest
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votes. However, in 2007 DSM members democratically elected at a
State wide NCP conference were bureaucratically replaced as NCP
candidates in Lagos State by the current NCP leadership, leading
local NCP members withdrew their candidates from the elections.
Since then, Lagos State NCP has quit the National Conscience Party
and set up the Campaign for the Formation of a Genuine Mass
Working Peoples' Party.
INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATION
The Democratic Socialist Movement is affiliated to the Committee for
a Workers' International, and is the second largest of its forty
members.
PUBLICATIONS
As well as regularly producing a paper, the DSM has produced
several pamphlets.
Nigeria's Crisis: Time For System Change (2004)
Nigeria: Civil rule in danger (August 2002)
A Season of Struggles (September 2000)
Legacy of Leon Trotsky (2000)
Nigeria's Crisis: Breaking The Vicious Circle (1996)
The Abacha Junta (1995)
Programme and Perspectives for the Nigerian Revolution (1987)
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REFERENCES
Ashafa, A.M. "Multi-Party Democracy and National Stability: The
Dynamics of Inter-Party Relations in Nigeria’s 4th Republic." Paper
presented at the Conference on Democracy and Democratization in
Nigeria, 1999-2001, organized by CRD&T, BUK, Kano, May 28-30,
2001.
Conscience International, April/May 1999.
Jega, A.M. "The Impact of Military Rule on Governance and its
Implications in Nigeria." Paper presented at the Conference on
Democracy and Democratization in Nigeria, 1999-2001, organized by
CDR&T, BUK, Kano, May 28-30, 2001.
Nigeria Tribune, December 15, 1998.
Ola Awoniyi: ‘Nigeria sets date for election’, Mail & Guardian. 29
August 2006.
‘Nigeria Senate Blocks for 3rd Presidential Term’, Washington Post.
16 May 2006.
‘Nigeria Party picks its Candidate’, BBC News 17 December 2006.
‘The Candidates to be Nigeria’s Leader’, BBC News. 22 December
2006.
Daily Sun. Obasanjo’s undoing was that he played God – Lai Muhammed, AC publicity secretary: June 15, 2007.
Daily Sun. I don’t relate to Obasanjo at all. I don’t even want to see him. He has destroyed the PDP we formed and is mismanaging the country – Rimi: August 21, 2006.
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Daily Sun, Action Congress: A tale of parallel secretariats: October 14, 2006.
ACD Party Website
"Nigerian VP 'able to stand in poll'", Al Jazeera, April 16, 2007.
Tom Ashby, "Nigerian opposition agrees to join government", Reuters (IOL), June 27, 2007.
"Nigeria opposition move condemned", BBC News, June 28, 2007.
ANPP USA (cached site from archive.org)
CIA Factbook - Nigeria
Ferreira, Dr Abayomi (2006). Savagery in Politics: The Hindrance to National Development: Faulty Political Practice as the Primary Cause of Failed Economic Development in Nigeria, Author house.
Debo Abdulai, "PDP Convention: Intrigues, horse-trading as Ogbulafor emerges chairman", Nigerian Tribune, March 9, 2008.
"Nigeria: As Ogbulafor Emerges PDP Chairman Obasanjo Loses Grip", Daily Trust, Abuja (allAfrica.com), March 9, 2008.
http://www.nigeriafirst.org/article_4146.shtml
http//news.bbc.co/1/hi/world/Africa/6183845.stm
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CHAPTER SEVEN
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CONSTITUTION MAKING IN NIGERIA
Constitutional development in Nigeria could be said to have started
with nationalist agitation. The first constitution in Nigeria was that
made in 1914. The changes which the 1914 constitution was
expected to usher in were denied by the British Government. Instead,
the British pursued a vigorous policy of divide and rule. The North
was ruled by proclamation while the South was ruled by a colonial
constitution. Sklar (1963:18) noted that, "for a period of twenty two
years after amalgamation, the Northern and Southern provinces were
linked tenuously in law and through the person of the Governor; their
destructive political identities were preserved by the maintenance of
separate administrative establishment.
However, Okibe H. B. (2000:86) observed that most of the colonial
constitutional reforms de-emphasized the essence of corporate
existence of Nigerians as that would cripple their mission of economic
exploitation of the people. Between 1914-1946, the philosophy of
British colonial government was based on protecting its interest
economically while Nigeria bled to death. Nigeria participation was
only nominal. The constitutional conference at Ibadan in 1947
provided the British a better opportunity to vitiate the destiny of the
country. It was at this time that the cracks in the political class
manifested more vividly with the political leaders disagreeing sharply
on what form of constitution suited the country. The conference
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produced about four minority reports submitted by Mbonu Ojike, Eyo
Ita and the Action Group.
The colonial constitutions were imposed on Nigerians by the British in
the sense that they were neither allowed to determine the nature of
the documents nor did they participate in the process of bringing
them into being. In this category fell the Lugard Constitution of 1914
the 1922 Clifford Constitution and the Richards Constitution of 1946.
The electoral principle introduced in 1922 was dubious since it
presented greater obstacles in qualification and universal adult
suffrage. Of the three seats allotted to Lagos only one was won by a
pure Nigerian. The other two were secured by nationals of Gambia
and Sierra Leone resident in Nigeria and who satisfied the one-
hundred-pound annual income qualification. The seat allotted to
Calabar was won by Ata Amonu, Ghanaian. The 1946 constitution
was promulgated without consultations. It introduced regionalism and
in the process gave official seal to separatist tendencies.
The problem of the 1951 Constitution, according to Aguda (1985:304)
was not primarily with whether there should be a sort of federal union
but with how many units should comprise the federal union that was
agreed and what amount of power should devolve on the units to be
created. However, Aguda (1985:411) dismisses the 1951 constitution
as being basically unitary with extensive authority of the central
government and its powers of control over the regions. For these
reasons, the 1957 constitution could not function well in a big country
like Nigeria with diverse communities of different cultural
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backgrounds and more so in a setting of inter-religious friction, as
there were burning desires for regional autonomy with each of the
regions being dominated by an over-bearing ethnic group and
political party.
The point one is making is that all the constitutions so far used in
Nigeria have been one imposition or the other including the
independence constitution. When the military struck in 1966, the
constitution was suspended and party politics was put in chains. The
1979, 1995 and 1999 federal constitutions were all imposed by the
military on Nigeria. Everybody knows that the military is incapable of
formulating a people-oriented constitution basically because of its
praetorian nature. It is therefore not surprising that all these
constitutions have been very subjective in one form or the other.
What the military has always done is to create the impression that
Nigerians are involved in the formulation of their constitution and this
explains why each of these constitutions has always started with a
nebulous statement, "We the people of Nigeria…" Of all the militarily-
imposed constitutions, the worst remains the 1999 constitution. The
1999 constitution was fashioned simply for perpetuation of Abacha in
office. It is a Hitlerite constitution meant to foist and maintain
despotism in Nigeria and animalize the Nigerian people. It never
originated from the people and was never intended for any form of
amendment.
Curiously, all these constitutions were made in the absence of any
organised party system. Therefore, as democratic institutions
concerned with interest–aggregation and articulation, no political
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party in Nigeria has ever partaken in the process of constitution
making. Because of the historicity in terms of constitutional evolution,
these constitutions have tended to generate more friction in the
system than it envisaged to solve. Such critical matters as self
determination, principles of derivation and revenue-sharing formula
have continued to cause tensions in the land ostensibly because the
real stake-holders in the Nigerian enterprise have been denied the
opportunity of making inputs in the constitution that is supposed to
guide them.
Anyone looking at the nation of Nigeria from outside its geographical
shores will agree that by size and political importance, Nigeria is
indeed the giant of Africa. Since many decades, Nigeria has carried
itself and its foreign policies to project the image of a “big brother” for
the rest of the continent. Agreeably, Nigeria is huge enough and
powerful enough to continue to protect its image; however, the
continent needs not a “big brother”, but a role model, both economic
and political role model. So far, the political role modeling is present;
Nigeria currently has the largest political party (People’s Democratic
Party- PDP) and approves the existence of a truly multi-party system
in the whole Africa. The economic role modeling is also highly
present, what with so many billions of dollars Nigeria makes on crude
oil and its petroleum products revenue daily, the trillion of Naira banks
and financial institutions declared as profits, the constant
development in the Agro-allied, the small scale industries and many
other highly productive sectors of the Nigerian economy. The
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activities in the Nigerian Stock Exchange Market indicate that,
indeed, Nigeria is currently a good economic example for the rest of
the continent even South Africa. But there is a huge need to sustain
such example. There is need for sustained growth in both the political
and economy not just viewed from the present but also in a far future.
This sustenance will not depend on someone’s wishful thinking or
expectations (which dies with him when he leaves), but it should
depend largely on a structural ideological orientation, which suggests
and commits the country to consistent policy directions, which
invariably will be the yardstick of measuring long-term achievements
or development of that country aside from using GDP. Ideology is a
distinctive thinking of a critical class of people, who deliberate and
conceive answers to social, economic and political directions a nation
or group should pursue in order to be prosperous.
THE NIGERIAN POLITICAL SCENE AND POLITICS OF
RESISTANCE
Politics is about power and influence. It is a struggle of contending
ideological viewpoints on the allocation and distribution of resources.
It determines who gets what, when and how. Resistance to politics is
constructed in response to the distributive mechanism adopted by the
governing political party in the polity. The disadvantaged groups feel
oppressed and/or marginalized. Thus, resistance to oppression
manifests itself in any of the following categories: class, ethnic, race,
regional, religious, or gender. Elements in these categories argue for
systemic changes that will eliminate the causes of their oppression.
They demand for equity and fairness. On the other hand, resistance
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to change is championed by elements of the ruling class, which
includes representatives of the military-industrial complex, and some
academics who provide intellectual leadership that sustains military
and civilian oppression in politics. Resistance to change is a major
obstacle to social progress. This sub-section will focus primarily on
the impact of class, ethnicity, region, religion, the military and
intellectuals in government.
As a fundamental dynamic of social progress, change is a constant
phenomenon which must be embraced and nurtured as a political
imperative. When protagonists of resistance to oppression
and resistance to change fail to engage in a meaningful dialogue,
their conversation could easily degenerate from a dialogue of the
deaf to a dialogue of the deaf and blind, which invariably leads to a
systemic breakdown. Thus, it is the responsibility of the proponents
of resistance to change to engage their opposing parties in a
transparent and constructive dialogue leading to a peaceful resolution
of their conflicts.
Oppression is a reality of a political struggle. Its continued
manifestations compel a people to revel in their historical past as they
compare the way they were with the present. This historical
retrospection influences their politics. For them, History becomes an
intoxicant for social and political activism, perhaps in the same way
that Karl Marx referred to religion as the opium of the masses.
Depending on where we stand on the spectrum of oppression,
History can provoke us to adopt positions inimical to peaceful
resolutions of conflicts. The vigour of ethnicism or nationalism in
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Nigeria, especially in the Niger Delta is explainable in History. The
conflict of interests is perceived as a challenge to the legitimacy of
ethnic or nationalistic claims to power and authority. Representatives
of the given categories of the countervailing interests employ different
survival tools to advance their course. Depending on our particular
attachment to any of these categories, we recognize the losers as
heros. For example, while the regime regulators and their agents
gloat over the assassination of Ken Saro-Wiwa and his associates,
their life and death are celebrated by their people and admirers
worldwide. The defeated celebrate their heroes, sometimes with
greater passion and intensity than the victors celebrate theirs.
The international system is replete with cases of oppression. No
country is immuned from this affliction. There are groups within each
country that experience different forms of oppression: class, ethnic,
racial, religious, or gender. While these phenomena have led to grave
consequences for several countries, others have "succeeded" in
managing the conflicts within more democratic settings. If the
dissolution of Czechoslovakia was peaceful and democratic, that of
Yugoslavia is an ongoing exercise of discord, war and destruction.
Though Rwanda still "survives" as a country, the bilateral killings of
the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups have left irreparable scars in the
consciousness of the country that question the rationale of Rwanda's
survival. The failure of politics is also witnessed in Liberia and Sierra
Leone where ethnic conflicts have caused severe damages to the
respective polities. Even in a mono-ethnic state like Northern Ireland,
religious conflict continues to tear that country apart.
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The situation in the Americas is rather complex. The indigenous
populations have either been extinct or reduced to nothingness by
agents of European colonialism. These settler regimes that have
acquired global legitimacy as sovereign states have perfected the act
of oppression that systematically eliminated the indigenous
populations from access to political and economic activities.
Resistance is expressed differently across countries of the Americas.
The progression from violence to managed coexistence is predicated
on the correlation of forces in the respective polities. The United
States exemplifies this progression. In early 2001, the Mexican state
was compelled to lend partial recognition to the rise of the Zapatistas
in Mexico in order to construct a basis for rapprochement with that
country's indigenous populations that have been oppressed for over
500 years. Named in memory of Emiliano Zapata, the great Mexican
indigene who led the struggle against Mexican dictatorship, the
Zapatista National Liberation Army (ZNLA) has emerged as a symbol
of the struggle against oppression. The Zapatistas' demand of tierra y
libertad - land and freedom - is fundamental to the position of the
proponents of resistance to oppression in all societies. It calls for a
change of the status quo which has failed to engineer any viable
policy of national reconstruction and reconciliation.
How do we situate Nigeria in all these? Like Mexico, Nigeria is a
colonial creation. But unlike Mexico, Nigeria is not governed by
colonial settlers, rather it is governed by indigenous populations of
disparate lands that the British "amalgamated" into one country in
1914. Since 1914, these disparate peoples now known as Nigerians
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have not been able to establish an agreeable framework on the type
of country they want. This failure has led to a series of crises,
including the civil war of 1967-70, as well as the current turmoil in the
country. It must be stressed that the 30 years of military dictatorship,
out of the 49 years of independence since October 1, 1960, has
distorted the values of politics and the landscape of the country's
institutions.
While it is true that the military has facilitated the exponential growth
of this phenomenon, it is equally true that many civilians, especially
some academics have provided the intellectual justifications for the
various military and civilian regimes to destroy the fabric of Nigerian
political development. I recall an article by Obaro Ikime in which he
depicted the deplorable situation of some Nigerian academics in
government, who have permitted themselves to be kicked around like
a football. This was in the fourth year of Ibrahim Babangida's military
dictatorship. In that article, we saw two categories of Nigerian
academics: the cooperative and uncooperative. As a rule, the
uncooperative intellectuals are never invited to advise Nigerian
governments (military or civilian). But when they are invited, they are
always prepared to stand by their cherished principles. They readily
resign rather than compromise their principles. Eme Awa exemplifies
this breed of Nigerian intellectuals. On the other hand, the
cooperative Nigerian intellectuals, driven by greed and power, are
always ready to prostitute themselves to the regime regulators. They
are the ones that readily abandon their lectures and classrooms and
become frequent visitors to Aso Rock, in quests of political
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appointments as advisors and speech writers to the leading
governments. They justify their role in government as an avenue to
convert military (and civilian) dictators to democracy. The dictators,
on the other hand, perceive such academics as mere tools to
legitimize their dictatorial rule. Notwithstanding the series of
oppressive measures of the dictatorship, these academics, as
emissaries of the regime, continue to propagate the dictators as
humane, democratic, peace-loving and visionary leaders. They enjoy
their intellectual leadership power behind the throne of military and
civilian dictatorship. This breed of Nigerian intellectuals poses greater
dangers to Nigeria and Nigerians than military and civilian dictatorial
regimes.
ON POLITICS
The contest for political power in Nigeria is driven by the contrasting
imperatives of ethnicity and regionalism, which, by implications, is
devoid of any sustaining unifying theme or ideology. Corruption and
political opportunism have emerged as the critical elements of
Nigerian political behavior. The history of Nigerian politics is replete
with individuals who have consistently violated the peoples' trust and
have lost any credibility in the system. But because of the poverty of
thought and the abysmal level of political consciousness of the
population, Nigerians have hailed these individuals as folk heroes.
Musicians have composed songs praising these individuals. While
they are criticized for betraying the people, Nigerians do not hesitate
to elect them to represent their collective interests. Thus, in spite of
their credibility gaps, Nigerians have bequeathed their thinking
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faculties to these individuals and give them a blank cheque to
continue abusing their trust. Politics has acquired a bad name in
Nigeria. Given the recent political history of the country, Nigerians
have come to equate a politician with a highway robber. This breed of
politicians dominates contemporary Nigerian society.
None of the current political parties in Nigeria can be said to
represent the interests of Nigerians. The process of party formation is
monopolized by the wealthy few who control access to power. The
interests of the working class and the poor are excluded by
implications. Even the middle class in Nigeria has been rendered
obsolete and moribund. This dislocation of the middle class and the
growing impoverishment of the vast majority of Nigerians have
intensified the exploitative grip on power by the wealthy
few. Even in the areas of articulating capitalist ideological policies, the
ruling parties have demonstrated gross ineptitude. The primary focus
of Nigerian political leaders has been the promoting of their
respective ethnic interests. The emphasis is not on developing
economic infrastructures that will benefit the entire country, but rather
it is on which ethnic group will produce the next president. Defined in
this context, therefore, the construct of political alliance and alignment
in Nigeria is driven by inter-ethnic coalition, and not by any reasoned
ideological framework that cuts across ethnic divide. As a rule, when
people of diverse ethnic groups establish their respective political
parties, the motivation has been on how to embezzle public funds
and further the underdevelopment of the country. Addressing his
party's - the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) - 3rd National
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Convention in Abuja on March 31, 2001, President Olusegun
Obasanjo seemed to lament the lack of an ideology in the PDP.
According to him, the PDP is "no more than a dynamic amalgam of
interest groups." He continued:
And what has held us together, if anything at all, is that our party is in
power and there is a strong expectation of patronage, our party lacks
cohesion. Itemizing the properties of a political party as
"cohesiveness, organization propelled by strict discipline, ideology-
based human ideas and solidarity and socially motivated unity of
purpose," he asked his PDP members: "Can we in all honesty say
that we are such a party?”.
The "dynamic amalgam of interest groups" that Obasanjo referred to
is the group of Nigerians whose main raison d'être in politics has
been to "make money" and deplete the national treasury in the
process. Not much thought has been devoted to nation building. This
phenomenon is not restricted to the PDP; it forms the basis of the
other political parties - All Peoples Party (APP), and the Alliance for
Democracy (AD). The fact that some prominent leaders and
members of these parties, including their former presidential
aspirants in the 1999 elections decamped and joined the PDP can
only be explained by their desire to belong to the "party in power,"
because "there is a strong expectation of patronage" to be gained in
the PDP. It is doubtful if such leaders play any significant role in
advancing the democratic agenda in Nigerian politics.
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Deprived of a national party to articulate their interests, the working
class, the poor and Nigeria's middle class find solace in their
respective unions, for example, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC),
the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Colleges of
Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) etc. It is only within
these unions that serious socio-economic and political questions of
relevance to the country are discussed. They also articulate the
frustrations of the oppressed nationalities, especially in the Niger
Delta, who experience the brutality of exploitation by domestic and
foreign capital. For these peoples, particularly in the Niger Delta, the
current Nigerian state is a prison of nationalities.
Niger Delta is representative of the exploitative nature of domestic
and foreign capital in Nigeria. Over the years, Nigerians, irrespective
of their ethnicity, have aligned with foreign capital (MNCs) to exploit
the natural resources of the Niger Delta with complete disregard to
the development of the region. The ecosystem of the region has been
ruined. Thousands of families have lost their agricultural lands and
fisheries, as a result of the environmental degradation of the region
by oil (domestic and foreign) companies. None of the political parties,
including the federal government has developed any concrete
policies on how to deal with the degradation in the region. The unions
and NGOs, especially the Environmental Action Rights (EAR) and the
Civil Liberties Organization of Nigeria (CLON) have remained the
main voice of the oppressed and deprived peoples of Nigeria. Those
politicians that have spoken in support of the oppressed and deprived
peoples of Nigeria have done so, not as representatives of their
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respective political parties, but as representatives of their
constituencies. The absence of a well articulated national
development plan in any of the parties has increased the polarity
between the proponents of the resistance to oppression and those of
the resistance to change.
Access to power is the chief cause of social strife in any society.
Those in power determine the distribution of resources and who gets
what, when and how. Driven by the desire to preserve the status quo,
those in power have neglected their responsibility to create a
conducive environment for the articulation of contending policies that
would benefit the entire country. However, a reluctance to accept
change may lead to a breakdown of the polity. With respect to
Nigeria, the challenge to the status quo has been argued primarily in
ethnic, state and religious terms. A brief discussion of these will help
to situate the status of the current crisis in Nigeria.
ETHNICITY
From time immemorial, ethnic identity has defined the scope of
political intercourse in pluralistic societies. Nigeria exemplifies such a
society. In each of these societies, including Nigeria, a critical
element of the conflict is the treatment of minority groups by the
majority groups. Thus, the majority-minority relationship lends itself
as one of the conceptual frameworks for analyzing the problems of
plural societies, including Nigeria. The others are ideology, religious
affiliation, etc. Each level of analysis addresses specific problems of
the relationship.
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Ideologically, as argued by Marxists, the ruling class determines the
form and content of the means of production as well as the
distribution and consumption of national wealth. Marxists argue that it
is the ruling class that controls state power. In Nigeria, however, the
debate over this phenomenon has regrettably acquired an ethnic
flavour because of the concentration of state power in the hands of a
specific group, the Hausa-Fulani. Territorial disputes, access to
power and wealth, to employment and education, and to social
services and resource control are some of the causes of ethnic
conflicts in Nigeria. In the absence of a national, ideologically oriented
party representing concrete class interests of Nigerians across the
ethnic divide, ethnic based political movements have filled the void to
challenge the present distribution of power and wealth, demanding a
restructuring of the political system in such a way that will grant them
equitable access to these properties. For example, Afenifere and the
Odua Peoples' Congress represent the Yoruba ethnic group, while
the Igbos are represented by Ohanaze Ndigbo, and the Union of
Niger Delta speaks for the South-South. An Arewa Consultative
Forum has been established to defend the core interests of the
Hausa-Fulani who feel threatened by these challenges to their power.
On both sides of the Niger and the Benue, competing ethnic political
movements and military units have been established to advance the
courses of their respective ethnic groups. This development poses
serious potential dangers to the Nigerian state, if the causes of ethnic
conflicts are not meaningfully resolved.
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Over the past twenty years a series of violent inter-ethnic clashes has
caused severe damages to the polity. Witness the Ezon-Itsekiri-
Urhobo schism in Delta State, the Ezon- Yoruba confrontation in
Lagos, the Igbo-Hausa clash in Aba, the Hausa- Yoruba conflict in
Lagos and Sagamu, and the Hausa-Igbo crisis in parts of the North.
All these incidents resulted in the death of scores of Nigerians. Buried
in this push-and-pull is the perennial problem of minority ethnic rights
in the polity. The increasing failure of Nigerian political leaders to
construct a viable and sustainable strategy for national integration
and equitable distribution of national wealth has significantly
facilitated the rise of ethnic (and religious) conflicts in the polity.
Arguing from opposing ideological perspectives, both Liberal and
Marxist theories predicted the withering away of ethnicity as a political
force in the polity. For the Liberals, the imperatives of modernization
with its emphasis on individual success and economic activity will
compel the formation of inter-ethnic national associations that will
render ethnicity obsolete. On the other hand, Marxists referred to
ethnicity as a false consciousness of the masses and a stratagem of
the bourgeois ruling class to subjugate the working class. However,
historical experiences over the past two centuries have contradicted
both assumptions. Across the globe, ethnic conflicts have remained
as, arguably the most potent destabilizing factor in respective multi-
ethnic polities, including Nigeria. Over 90% of states in the
international political system are multi-ethnic, with two or more ethnic
groups. Competing ethnic nationalisms challenge the sovereignty of
states in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Middle East and Europe. Thus, it
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is vital for Nigerian political leaders to respond to the dynamics of
ethnic conflicts in Nigeria. It is not enough to condemn ethnocentrism
in Nigerian politics, they must take appropriate measures to address
its causes.
With an estimated population of 123,337,822, Nigeria is composed of
more than 250 ethnic groups. In any polity with such diverse ethnic
affiliations, it is perhaps inescapable that inter ethnic conflicts will play
a vital role in the country's politics. Each ethnic group regards itself as
a distinct nationality with defined customs and territories. The
contending desires to assert this distinctiveness collides with the
federal government's strategy to create a Nigerian. It is perhaps futile
and counterproductive to attempt to create a Nigerian and destroy
his or her historical being in the process. That historical being is the
source of the individual contemporary Nigerian traceable to his or her
ethno-regional base. Thus, he or she is first and foremost a Bini, an
Efik, an Esan, an Ezon, a Hausa, an Ibibio, an Igbo, an Itsekiri, a
Nupe, a Tiv, an Urhobo or a Yoruba, etc. This fact must be
recognized and accepted as the only viable base upon which
contemporary Nigerians are molded.
It compels Nigerians to also recognize and respect their diversities
just as much as they emphasize and celebrate their shared
historical similarities. Thus, they cannot celebrate Nigerian multi-
culturalism on the debris of their respective historical being.
Every ethnic group in Nigeria is marginalized, deprived and
oppressed. Irrespective of the fact that the North has produced most
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of the leaders (civilian and military) and has controlled the apparatus
of state power in Nigeria since 1960, the average Fulani,Hausa,
Kanuri, or Nupe is not materially better than the average Efik, Ezon,
Itsekiri, or Yoruba of the South. Thus, all Nigerian ethnic groups have
been victimized by a coalition of North-South political leaders who
have neglected the basic needs of the Nigerian populace. Who
speaks for these victimized Nigerian ethnic groups? While it is true
that the federal government has failed in this regard, it must be
stressed that the various state governments have also failed to
respond to the basic needs of their respective constituencies. The
same politicians who facilitate deficient governance are also
engineering the populace to blame the other level of government for
their ineptitude and gross mismanagement of the economy.
STATE
The crisis of inter-ethnic relations, made possible by the collapse of
good governance, informs the deteriorating state of Federal-State
relations in Nigeria. As citizens of a federation, it is expected that
Nigerians will pay allegiance to their respective States, for without the
federating States there will not be a Federal Republic of Nigeria. The
inability of a federal government to equitably relate to the interests of
the federating units gives rise to centrifugal forces that could
destabilize the federal polity. Thus, the levels of citizenship - State
and Federal - become entangled in perpetual conflicts as the federal
government and the federating units fail to agree on vital issues of
interests to the later. Under this scenario, citizens' loyalty gravitates
toward their respective States and the legitimacy of the Federal
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government becomes questionable. The current crises in Nigeria are
explicable in these terms. A number of States has challenged the
constitutional base of Nigeria's federal structure. While the country is
supposedly a federation, the 1999 Constitution is fundamentally a
unitary document. It makes the federal government highly centralized,
a phenomenon which is injurious to the federal polity as it establishes
a quasi federal or unitary system.
Given the above, any protestation by a State is perceived as an
"ethnic" position against the federal government and the coalition of
interests protecting the status quo. This is so because of the ethnic
composition of the states. For example, when Ondo State adopts a
constitutional position opposed to that of Sokoto State, it is
immediately construed as “Yoruba versus Fulani," thus lending ethnic
colourations to a genuine concern on constitutional renewal. This
strong linkage of contending ethnic and state interests tends to
obfuscate the imperative of a national consensus on the constitution,
for example. Thus, every legitimate constitutional question has ethnic
ramifications.
Several states have demanded a constitutional conference where the
issues of federal-state jurisdictions will be resolved, taking into
consideration the exclusive jurisdictional powers of the states over,
for example, state police, state/local government elections, natural
resources, education, culture, local government, etc.
The Niger Delta has emerged as the epicenter of the agitation for
constitutional renewal. The demand for resource control by states of
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the Niger Delta, and the unwillingness of the federal government to
address it, has led to violence and wanton destruction in the region.
The federal government and the northern states seemed unwilling to
endorse any idea to construct a genuine federal system that would
recognize the independence of the federating units. President
Obasanjo responded to the legitimate demands of the Niger Delta in
November 1999 by sending Nigerian military to invade and destroy
the town of Odi in Bayelsa State. Energized by the symbolism of Odi,
governments of the 17 states of southern Nigeria have repeatedly
called for a federal restructuring of the polity. While ethnic
organizations of the southern states endorse this position, those
representing the core political interests of the north are opposed.
RELIGION
Competing religious values further complicate the conduct of politics
in a multi ethnic polity. While Islam predominates in the northern
states, Christianity predominates in the south. While the majority of
the ethnic groups in the south are Christians, the greater population
of the North is Muslim. These demographics underline the north-
south polarization of Nigeria along ethnic and religious boundaries.
The clash of religious values is a potent force of de-stabilization of
any polity. Given the history of Islam, its conquest of parts of Africa
and the militancy of its conversion strategies, it is highly unlikely that
it can co-exist peacefully with any other religion under the bowel of
the same State. Unlike Christianity, Islam has a political manifesto
which makes it difficult for most Muslims to accept the governance of
"non believers." This contempt for "non believers" is evident in the
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Muslim stratagem to islamize Nigeria from the Sahara to the Atlantic.
According to Muhammed Adamu, the Hausa-Fulani, meaning the
Muslims, have the "tacit approval of God to rule Nigeria." The series
of religious conflicts in multi ethnic states of Africa, Asia and the
Middle East lends credence to this viewpoint.
It is within the above parameters that the perennial religious conflicts
in Nigeria should be approached. The recent introduction of sharia in
several northern states is regarded by Christians as a Muslim
scheme to force Islamic legal system on non Muslim Nigerians. The
controversy over this issue has led to inter-religious clashes in
northern Nigeria. Even though sharia contravenes the 1999
Constitution, its introduction may facilitate the stage for asymmetrical
federalism in Nigeria. Viewed from this perspective, therefore, sharia
is a valuable jurisdictional precedence for the proponents of
constitutional renewal in Nigeria. Based on this, other States in the
federation may be able to appropriate certain powers of the
Constitution as falling under their respective exclusive jurisdictions,
including state police, state/local government elections, natural
resources, state police, local government, etc.
CAN WE MOVE FORWARD?
There are three dimensions to this question: ethnic, religion, and
state. Should the contending parties reach a rapprochement on the
architectural design of a renewed federal polity, they will be
responding to the ethnic and state dimensions of the current crises. A
reconstruction of the architecture will recognize the independence of
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the federating units as a solid base on which Nigeria could be built.
The religious dimension will be difficult to resolve, for the reasons we
discussed above. Let us briefly consider the contending views on the
question of renewed federalism.
Those arguing for a re-construction of Nigerian federalism base their
arguments on the premise that the current federal constitution is
faulty. For instance, the constitution grants the federal government
exclusive powers on almost every vital aspect of jurisdictions. The
federal government controls the only police service in the country. It
determines the creation of local government councils. It has exclusive
jurisdiction over natural resources (oil, gas, mining, etc.) Natural
resources companies have to register with the federal government to
whom they pay royalties. None of the states has its own constitution
or flag. These are some of the anomalies which the proponents for
constitutional renewal are proposing should be addressed, in line with
the best practices of federalism in the world. They demand the
convocation of a National Constitutional Conference, where
delegates from the federating states will decide on how much power
they each want to concede to the federal government. At such a
conference, the independence of the federating states will be
recognized. Thus, States that wish to concede their jurisdictions over
police and natural resources to the federal government will be free to
do so at the conference, while those that do not wish to concede
these powers would be free to exercise their jurisdictions in those
areas. This asymmetrical federal structure will be following the
precedence of sharia. Under asymmetrical federalism, the polity will
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be energized by competitive federalism, a phenomenon which will
enhance productivity and sustain the federating states.
The counter argument is anchored on two premises. First, the
exponents reject the convocation of any national conference to
discuss changes to the constitution. They argue that the apostles of
change should follow the established procedures for amending the
constitution. They challenge their counterparts to refer their demands
to the National Assembly, as is required by the constitution. Second,
they contend that the natural resources in Nigeria belong to the
federal government, irrespective of the location of those natural
resources. It is obvious which premise is primary in the
considerations of those opposed to a constitutional renewal. While
the first premise seems rationale on constitutional grounds, the
second premise has pre-determined the outcome of the debate.
The primacy of the second premise in the calculations of the
opposition to constitutional changes would seem to suggest a
continuation of the crises. But it is in the overall interest of Nigeria
that the crises are resolved, in such a way that will reflect the
essence of federalism as evident in leading federal systems. A
resolution of the crises will enhance inter-state cooperation as well as
foster inter-ethnic harmony. It will strengthen Nigeria's voice in the
international political system, especially in intra African politics.
If, on the other hand, the crises are protracted, we could be
witnessing the gradual withering away of Nigeria. Even if Nigerian
political leaders succeed in crafting a compromise, it is highly unlikely
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that there will be a decline in inter-religious conflicts. Continued
Muslim-Christian confrontation could lead to catastrophic results for
Nigeria. At any rate, it is difficult to see how Nigerians could resolve
the constitutional crisis and the religious conflict at the same time.
Both the 1960 Constitution and the 1963 Republican Constitution
adhered to the concept of true federalism. Both constitutions
recognized the independence of the constituent units and
their exclusive jurisdictions over natural resources. The 1969
Petroleum Act promulgated by the military regime of General Yakubu
Gowon that transferred this jurisdiction to the national government,
was perceived as an emergency measure to aid the government in its
conduct of the civil war against the secessionist Biafran regime of Lt.
Col Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu. This emergency measure eventually
acquired a permanent status as successive military administrations
used it as a precedence to justify the national government's exclusive
jurisdiction over natural resources. General Olusegun Obasanjo's
military regime of 1976-1979 promulgated its 1978 Land Use Decree
as a follow-up to Gowon's 1969 Petroleum Act. These military
injunctions were subsequently injected into the 1979 Constitution by
General Obasanjo and into the current 1999 Constitution by the
previous military regime that handed over power to the civilian
administration of President Obasanjo on May 29, 1999.
The real issue at stake in Nigeria is rather a simple one: Is Nigeria a
federal state or not? While there is a universal consensus among
Nigerians that the country is a federal polity, it is however disturbing
that Nigerian political leaders seem to prefer monolithic political
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structures as a vehicle to govern a federal political system. This gross
incongruity, a caricature of Sovietism, exposes a major conceptual
flaw in the articulation of federalism in Nigeria. If Nigerians want a
federal system, it is essential that they disengage from such a
debilitating monolithic construct.
Thus, the fundamental challenge facing Nigerian political leaders is
how to disengage from the fabric of militaristic federalism that defines
the current constitution of the country. Decades of military
dictatorship have distorted the concept of federalism. But it is doubtful
if military dictatorship should be held solely responsible for the current
political crises in Nigeria, or the arrant drive for power by some of its
constituent units that constructed the current constitution as a
stratagem to maintain their grip on power. The status quo is not a
viable option. To deny the federating units their independence is to
invite them to reconsider their membership in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. The coalition of forces that are opposed to a restoration of
true federalism will only facilitate the dismemberment of the country.
When this will occur, cannot be determined. Should this occur, the
core interests which the exponents of resistance to change intend to
protect, with regards to the control of oil and gas resources in the
Niger Delta, and access to the sea, will be lost. Since the centre of
this resistance to change is located in the northern parts of
contemporary Nigeria, the post-Nigeria politics of these exponents
will be compelled to severe their ties to those resources.
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REFERENCES
David Held, Anthony McGrew, David Goldblatt, and Jonathan
Perraton, Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture,
Stanford, CA., 1999. For other perspectives, see Hans Binnendijk,
ed., Strategic Assessment 1999: Priorities for a Turbulent World,
Washington, D.C., 1999; and W. W. Cornelius, P. L. Martin, and J. F.
Holifield, eds., Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective,
Stanford, CA., 1994.
Gordon Smith & Moisés Naím, ALTERED STATES: Globalization,
Sovereignty, and Governance, Ottawa, Canada, 2000. For a debate
on the pros and cons of globalization, see Thomas L. Friedman and
Ramonet Ignacio, "Dueling Globalization," Foreign Policy, Fall 1999,
pp. 110-127.
Maude Barlow, "Globalization and the Dismantling of Canadian
Democracy, Values and Society," The People-Centered Development
Forum, Number 17, March 10, 1996, Ottawa, Canada.
James N. Rosenau, Along the Domestic-Foreign Frontier,
Cambridge, 1997.
Obaro Ikime, "Football of the Year," The Guardian, Lagos, August 13,
1989, p.7
Tunji Olagunju, Adele Jinadu, and S. Egite Oyovbaire, Transition to
Democracy in Nigeria, 1985-1993, Ibadan, 1993.
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The Guardian, Lagos, April 1, 2001.
Billy J. Dudley, Instability and Political Order: Politics and Crisis in
Nigeria, Ibadan, 1973.
Okwudiba Nnoli, Ethnic Politics in Nigeria, Enugu, 1978; Donald
Rothschild, ed., State and Ethnic Claims: African Policy Dilemmas,
Boulder, CO., 1983; and Donald L. Horowitz, Ethnic Groups in
Conflict, Berkeley, CA., 1985.
"Federal Government of Nigeria's Policies and the Niger Delta's
Problems,"
http://www.waado.org/Environment/FedGovt_NigerDelta/
FedGovt_NigerDeltaPage.html
"Nigeria: Hausa-Fulani Must Always Rule: Rotational Presidency is
Bullshit," Sunday Concord, Lagos, April 13, 1997.
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CHAPTER EIGHT
PRESSURE GROUPS
Pressure groups are collections of individuals who hold a similar set
of values and beliefs based on ethnicity, religion, political philosophy,
or a common goal. Based on these beliefs, they take action to
promote change and further their goals. They could also be seen as
an organized group that tries to influence the government to adopt
certain policies or measures. One can still describe them as an
organized group that does not put up candidates for election, but
seeks to influence government policy or legislation. They can also be
described as ‘interest groups’, ‘lobby groups’ or ‘protest groups’.
Some people avoid using the term ‘pressure group’ as it can
inadvertently be interpreted as meaning the groups that use actual
pressure to achieve their aims, which does not necessarily happen. In
Britain, the number of political parties is very small, whereas the
number of pressure groups runs into thousands; as the membership
of political parties has fallen, that of pressure groups has increased.
The term pressure group is a very wide definition that does not clearly
distinguish between the groups that fall under the term. For example,
a pressure group can be a huge organisation like the CBI
(Confederation of British Industry), which represents 150,000
businesses, and it can also be a single-issue locally based
organisation like CLARA (Central Area Leamington Resident’s
Association), which represents less than 300 households
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campaigning to preserve and improve the town of Leamington Spa.
The definition also does not distinguish between the more extreme
pressure groups such as the Animal Liberation Front, whose
campaigns include the illegal activities such as planting bombs, and
the pressure groups such as the Institute for Public Policy Research
(IPPR), which has links to the Labour government and regular contact
with cabinet ministers.
The aim of all pressure groups is to influence the people who actually
have the power to make decisions. Pressure groups do not look for
the power of political office for themselves, but do seek to influence
the decisions made by those who do hold this political power. Often
pressure groups find themselves competing with rival pressure
groups with the aim of gaining an advantage over them, but
sometimes groups work together to achieve a common aim.
Pressure groups provide a means of popular participation in national
politics between elections. They are sometimes able to gather
sufficient support to force government to amend or even scrap
legislation. For example, in March 1998 around 300,000 people went
to London to protest about the Labour government’s rural policies -
the ‘Countryside March’ - the government reacted by announcing
plans for a Ministry of Rural Affairs and by publishing a white paper
investigating all aspects of rural life.
Pressure groups also provide a means of participation in local politics
between elections. For example, in 1994 the A452 Coordination
Group campaigned to block plans by Warwickshire County Council to
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make the A452 a dual carriageway. After the group’s intense
lobbying, the council dropped the plans. Pressure groups also act as
a sense of specialist knowledge, and often have access to
information that is highly valued by decision makers. For example,
MENCAP and MIND – groups campaigning on behalf of people with
mental disabilities – are often invited to give government briefings. In
return, these groups have an input into the making of decisions, and
they can also receive financial contributions direct from the
government.
Pressure groups can use a variety of different methods to influence
law. Firstly, it can merely inform legislators of its member’s
preferences. Second it may well give money or time to help with an
election campaign. Third, its members may threaten, as a group, to
vote as a bloc. By doing this they promise to help a cooperative
legislator, and threaten to harm a non-cooperative legislator. Fourth,
a pressure group may speed up legislation by writing bills and helping
legislators make progressive agreements. Finally, a pressure group
may attempt to influence members of the executive, who have some
law making input and who can partly decide the strength and
effectiveness of law enforcement.
Pressure groups often represent viewpoints of people who are
dissatisfied with the current conditions in society, and they often
represent alternative viewpoints that are not well represented in the
mainstream population. By forming a pressure group, people seek to
express their shared beliefs and values and influence change within
communities and sociopolitical structures, such as governments and
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corporations. Some pressure groups, such as the tobacco-control
movement, have been successful at influencing change across a
number of sociopolitical structures.
MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN POLITICAL PARTIES AND
PRESSURE GROUPS.
Pressure groups are different from political parties. Political parties
seek to create change by being elected to public office, while
pressure groups attempt to influence political parties. Pressure
groups may be better able to focus on specialized issues, whereas
political parties tend to address a wide range of issues.
Pressure groups are widely recognized as an important part of the
democratic process. Some groups offer opportunities and a political
voice to people who would traditionally be thought of as
disadvantaged or marginalized from the mainstream population. In
this way, pressure groups strengthen the democratic process by
giving a voice to a variety of people. Pressure groups also offer
alternatives to the political process by providing opportunities for
expressing opinions and a desire for change.
While pressure groups are acknowledged as potentially beneficial to
a democratic society, problems can arise when the democratic
process becomes dominated by a few specific groups. In this
situation, the voice of a small group of people with a particular
interest can become overly influential and negatively affect the rights
of other individuals. In the democratic process, there is a need for
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compromise in order to reach consensus regarding the common
good. If pressure groups remain rigid and refuse to compromise on
specific issues, they can potentially monopolize the democratic
process by focusing public debate on a few specific issues.
Pressure groups may adopt a variety of strategies to achieve their
goals, including lobbying elected officials, media advocacy, and direct
political action (e.g., organized protests). Clearly, some pressure
groups exert more influence than others. The degree to which such
groups are able to achieve their goals may depend on their ability to
be recognized as legitimate by the population, media, and by those in
power. For example, civil rights groups, trade unions, and
professional associations are more widely recognized and accepted
than a newly formed, single-issue pressure group.
Significant gains in public health have been achieved because of
efforts by pressure groups, including important changes and
advances in public health issues such as tobacco control,
occupational health and safety, air pollution, and HIV/AIDS.
As pointed out earlier, political parties are also targets for pressure
groups. However, because influencing public policy rather than
electing a certain candidate is the aim of an interest group, most
groups avoid heavy involvement with one party and generally remain
at least formally nonpartisan. Some large pressure groups make a
considerable effort to mold public opinion by means of mailing
campaigns, advertising, and use of the communications media. On
the other hand, there are other groups, especially the more powerful
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organizations representing narrow interests, which prefer to have
their activities and influence go unnoticed by the public at large.
Because any particular pressure group reflects the interests of only a
part of the population, it is argued that such organizations are
contrary to the interests of the general public. However, it is pointed
out that some interest groups supply legislators with much needed
information, while others, such as the labor unions, perform a broad
representative function. The power of an interest group is usually
dependent on the size of its membership, the socioeconomic status
of its members, and its financial resources. There are a great many
categories of interest groups, including economic, patriotic, racial,
women's, occupational, and professional groups.
In Nigeria, we have pressure groups like: The Nigeria Bar
Association, The Nigeria Medical Association, National Association of
Nigerian Students, The Nigeria Union of Teachers, The Nigeria
Labour Congress and a lot them. In Britain, they have: Charter 88 –
campaigning for a written constitution and entrenched Bill of Rights;
British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection – campaigning to halt the
breeding and use of animals in experiments; British Roads
Federation – aiming to focus attention for a higher standard of service
from the UK road network; Earth First – campaigning against the
destruction of the environment; Liberty – campaigning to defend and
extend human rights and civil liberties; Unison – trade union for
public sector workers; National Union of Students (NUS); National
Union of Teachers (NUT); National Farmer’s Union (NFU); British
Medical Association (BMA); Institute for Public Policy Research
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(IPPR); Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(RSPCA); National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
(NSPCC). In America, they have the American Civil Liberation Union,
Conference on American Federation Union, The AARP (formerly the
American Association of Retired Persons), the American Farm
Bureau Federation, the American Legion, the National Association of
Manufacturers, and the National Organization for the Reform of
Marijuana Laws are all examples of well-known American pressure
groups.
TYPES OF PRESSURE GROUPS
There are numerous types of pressure groups of interests in modern
political societies. They are summarized under the following sub-
headings:
(i) CAUSE GROUPS: This group generally champions the
interests and the rights of the under privileged. They are
groups like: American Civil Liberation Union, Oxford
Association for Farming Relief which supplies food stuffs,
clothes and other valuables to the under privileged. In
Nigeria, we have such Cause groups like: Nigerian
Association Against Apartheid, Nigerian Association for
Preservation of Animals, Nigerian Cancer Society etc.
(ii) LABOUR GROUPS: This includes all types of trade unions
like: The Nigeria Labour Congress, The British Trade Union
Congress and Conference on American Federation Union
etc. Labour groups has become in modern industrial age
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perhaps one of the most powerful interest groups. This is
because virtually everyone belongs to the union.
(iii) PROFESSIONAL GROUPS: This includes all the members
of a professional body. In Nigerian for instance, we have the
Nigeria Bar Association, Nigeria Medical Association, Nigeria
Union of Teachers, Colleges of Education Academic Staff
Union, and Academic Staff Union of Universities etc.
(iv) ETHNIC/RACIAL GROUPS: In Nigeria for instance, we
have the Oha na Eze Ndi Igbo-an Igbo ethnic pressure
group, the Ibibio Union, the Egbeomo Oduduwa of the
Yoruba Ethnic groups etc. in U.S.A, they have the National
Association for the Advancement of coloured people, the
Urban League etc.
(v) RELIGIOUS/EVANGELICAL GROUPS: This comprises of
the various religious organizations like: the Roman Catholic
Mission, the Church Missionary Society, the Scripture Union,
and the Moslem Association etc.
(vi) BUSINESS GROUPS: In Nigeria, we have the Nigeria
Chamber of Commerce, the Standard Organization of
Nigeria, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria etc.
(vii) AGRICULTURAL GROUPS: The whole association of
farmers all over the globe belongs to this group. In Nigeria,
we have various Farming and Agricultural Co-operative
societies, Farmers clubs etc.
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REFERENCES
Abiodun ,A. A. (1997): The Role of Labour in the Political/Democratic
Process in Nigeria. In: Trade Unionism in Nigeria: Challenges for the
21st Century, F. Adewunmi (Ed.), pp. 113-136. Lagos: Friedrich Ebert
Foundation.
Akinyanju, A. (1997): Trade Union and Democratic Struggle. In:
Nigeria, Non-Governmental Organizations and Democracy, T.
Olorode, W. Raji, J. Ogunye & S. Jegede (Eds.), pp. 65-73. Lagos:
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).
Banwo, A. (1997): Democracy and Human Rights in Nigeria: An
Overview. In: Nigerian Non-Governmental Organisation and
Democracy, T. Olorode, W. Raji, J. Ogunye & S. Jegede (Eds.), pp.
40-50. Lagos: Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR).
Libby, R. T. (1998): Eco-Wars: Political Campaigns and Social
Movements. New York: Columbia University Press.
Mahood, H. R. (2000): Interest Groups in American National Politics:
An Overview. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Nwankwo, B.C (1992): Authority in Government. Almond Publishers.
Makurdi-Nigeria.
Ogbaji, U.A.O (2008): Principles, Practice and Techniques of Public
Administration. Petrosini Publishers, Lagos-Nigeria.
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CHAPTER NINE
PRESSURE GROUPS AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA.
In Chapter Eight, we defined Pressure Groups, its relationship and
differences with Political Parties, and the various types of Pressure
Groups. This Chapter examines the contributions made by Pressure
Groups to the democratic process in Nigeria. The Chapter attempts a
conceptualization of Pressure Groups and Democracy. It also
examines the relevance of Pressure Groups generally, as well as
their attitude to and participation in the democratic process in
particular. The specific contributions of these groups to the
democratic process as well as obstacles to their effectiveness are
discussed.
The term pressure group is used interchangeably with such terms as
interest groups or organized interests. Henry Ehrman (1972:468-488)
defines pressure groups as voluntary associations of individuals who
band together for the defence of a particular interest. Interest in this
sense is a conscious desire to have a public policy or the
authoritative allocation of values, and to move in a particular, general
or specific direction.
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The term pressure group is however loosely used here to include
trade or industrial unions, professional associations and any other
associations whose focus extends beyond the realization of the
parochial interests of their members. Barber (1975:198-199)
categorized pressure groups generally into two, namely defensive
pressure groups and promotional pressure groups. While defensive
pressure groups are basically concerned with the protection of their
members’ interests and have a defined membership, promotional
pressure groups are concerned with promoting some general public
interest as opposed to their own self-interest. Trade or industrial
unions, professional associations and human rights associations
therefore fall into the category of promotional pressure groups,
otherwise referred to here as functional pressure groups.
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According to John and Erna Perry (1976:584-585), interest groups or
pressure groups are many and varied. Some are formally organized,
others are not. However, the more formally organized tend to be the
more durable whereas those informally organized usually dissolve
after the crisis that originated them is resolved. The longevity or
durability or these groups, their consistency as well as their high
sense of commitment to the realization of set goals all contribute to
making them functional.
Functional pressure groups can therefore be defined as those
pressure or interest groups whose activities are not limited or
restricted to the promotion and protection of parochial interests but
who are vocal and determined in pursuing policies and goals that
have relevance to citizens in their own society. Viewed within the
context of political participation, such groups often criticize unpopular
or unfavourable government policies, organized conferences,
seminars, rallies, and even demonstrations or protest marches to
express their displeasure and, in some cases, to suggest alternatives
to programmes or policies which they consider unfavourable.
Functional groups work towards sensitizing and mobilizing the
populace against unpopular acts of government. In this respect,
mention could be made of such groups as the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Nigerian
Labour Congress (NLC), human rights organisations such as the
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), as well as pro-
democracy groups such as the Campaign for Democracy (CD),
Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), National Association
of Nigerian Students, and the Press.
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Democracy as a concept has been defined in various ways and given
various interpretations. The generalized or loose nature of the
concept would account for this. However, according to Adeyinka
Banwo (1997:40-50), the basic features of democracy which serve as
a consensus among the contending perspectives on what democratic
system ought to entail or manifest include the right to elections, a
representative form of governance and freedom of choice, respect for
the rule of law and equality before the law, accountability, the
guarantee of the rights of individuals, an independent judiciary, as
well as a decentralization or delegation of power and authority
between all tiers of government.
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Obviously, functional pressure groups have contributed to the
democratic process in Nigeria just as some may have contributed to
the problem of democratization in Nigeria, either overtly or covertly. In
the view of Obasanjo and Mabogunje (1992:23), pressure groups are
to a very large extent necessary and healthy for a thriving democratic
culture to evolve. Obasanjo and Mabogunje are, however, also of the
opinion that such groups must not be seen to be operating under the
influence of foreign bodies. Moreover, the leadership under which
these groups operate some of the time, the prevailing situation in the
country, the organizational structure of these groups as well as the
general mood of the society determine, to a very large extent, the
effectiveness of these groups and profoundly influence their
contributions to the democratic process.
RELEVANCE OF PRESSURE GROUPS.
Pressure groups are undoubtedly relevant in terms of the functions
which they perform. These functions, according to Henry Ehrman
(1972:488-490), include managing the flow of influence between
government and the governed by participating in the political
competition of a given system. Through this process, a government is
able to ascertain reactions to its policies. Even so, pressure groups
do not seek responsibility for the direct management of government,
but reflect the concerns of the society in which they operate. They
sometimes destroy an existing consensus as well as prepare for a
new one. Their part in providing a balance between stability and
change within a governmental system remains important. Pressure
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groups not only articulate the demands of their potential or actual
membership, they also serve as outlets for the social energies of their
members. Furthermore, through concrete and continuous group
campaigns, the socialization of the citizen by pressure groups often
proves more effective and lasting. In some cases, they supplement
the functions of political parties while they also seek to meet
conflicting claims and provoke favourable government decisions
(Ehrman 1972:490).
The techniques frequently commonly employed by pressure groups
to achieve their aims include campaigns, demonstrations or marches,
and strikes. Specifically in Nigeria, pressure groups like the Nigerian
Labour Congress (NLC), Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), as well
as National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), have made
themselves relevant not only in terms of what they have been able to
achieve for their members but also for the larger society. The NLC,
for instance, successfully negotiated a new minimum wage with the
Shagari administration in 1981 after an effective general strike.
Similarly NMA has consistently been in the forefront of negotiating an
exclusive and improved salary package for its members. In the same
vein, the opposition to the implementation of Structural Adjustment
Programme, spearheaded by NANS in 1989 led to the introduction of
SAP relief packages for Nigerians, particularly the working class.
However, political developments in the country in the 1980s and
early 1990s have not only toughened some pressure groups but have
also resulted in the emergence and growth of new ones. This
development has led to the increased involvement of more assertive
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pressure groups in efforts to attain and sustain a stable democratic
order in the country.
ATTITUDES TO AND PARTICIPATION IN THE NATIONAL
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.
The attitude of pressure groups to the democratic process and their
participation in it depend to a large extent on developments over a
particular period and the resultant conditions. Even before the
attainment of political independence, organized labour has had cause
to participate in partisan politics, particularly with its affiliation with the
National Council of Nigeria and the Camerouns (NCNC) in 1944. The
outcome of this affiliation was the success of the general strike of
1945. A similar situation came about in 1964 when workers not only
demended improved wages but also made a number of political
demands. The climax of this development was the formation of the
Nigerian Labour Party by Michael Imodu and Eskor in 1964. Even
though the party did not have much following, owing to the regional
nature of political parties formed during the period, it nonetheless
participated in the controversial elections of 1964(Olujoku 1997: 337-
350). Despite the decision of the Nigeria Labour Congress that its
leaders should be non-partisan in the emerging political process in
1979, individual members and officers who were interested in politics
were allowed to participate freely in the political process, even though
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they did not receive overt corporate backing from the congress. The
decision to be non-partisan must have arisen out of the need to
protect the new-found freedom of the congress, particularly in the
face of the towering military presence in the Obasanjo administration.
Consequently, many labour leaders contested and won election to
various offices under the auspices of different political parties. This
development notwithstanding, moves were made to pursue anti-
labour policies and to introduce anti-labour legislation, though without
any success.
As a result of the failure to get the Nigerian Labour Party registered in
1989, the NLC was involved in an unprincipled and incoherent
affiliation and romance with the Social Democratic Party. This
affiliation, which probably arose from a desire to realize the selfish
ambition of Pascal Bafyau, the one-time President of the NLC and
several labour leaders, did not benefit organized labour in any way
and even contributed to a reversal of the political gains made by
organized labour in the recent past. In contrast, however, articulate
and determined labour leaders like Frank Ovie Kokori and Milton
Dabibi emerged during this period, not only to restore credibility to
trade unions but also to prove that “the economic power of labour
could be used as a bargaining weapon in the political arena”.
(Olukoju 1997:348) Specifically, Kokori and Dabibi strongly believe
that the NUPENG was able to use the strike option to pressure the
military to reverse its unjust annulment of the presidential election of
June 12, 1993. Generally speaking, therefore, organized labour,
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whether in the form of the unions or as individuals within the unions,
has a tendency to participate in the democratic process by contesting
elections, supporting candidates for election or identifying with a party
or parties with a similar ideology and orientation (Olukoju 1997:337-
350).
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The genesis of explicit human rights activities can be traced to 1987,
when the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) was formed. From 1987
onwards, a staggering number of human rights organisations had
been formed as Non-Governmental Organizations. These included
the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), formed in
1989, the Constitutional Right Project (CRP), the Universal Defenders
of Democracy (UDD), the National Association of Democratic
Lawyers (NADL), and the Human Right Africa, all formed after the
abortive coup d’etat of April 1990. Traditionally, these human rights
organisations have been mainly involved in the campaign to protect
human rights, highlighting the incidence of human rights abuses, and
seeking redress or restitution for victims of such abuses, mainly
through the due process of law. However the manipulation of the
democratic process led to a radical transformation of these HROs
and the manifestation of a greater interest in political matters per se.
The climax of this development was the emergence in November
1991 of the Campaign for Democracy as an umbrella organization for
all HROs and pro-democracy groups. The CD sought to pursue
strictly political questions left unattended to by most of its constituent
member-groups and other democratic agencies. Its struggle centred
around two main issues, namely: (1) increasing pressure on the
Babangida junta to keep to its hand-over date of January 2, 1993,
which was eventually shifted to August 27, 1993; (2) the campaign to
convene a Sovereign National Conference, SNO, where the national
question could be discussed and the foundations of a new Nigeria
laid. Beyond these issues, the CD was the mobilizing force in the
protest against the annulment of the June 12 election results. The
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political commitment of the CD was further clarified by its declaration
that: although it is not a political platform the CD has a political
interest that rests on the restoration of democracy and the
transformation of Nigerian society, hence the CD shall set up a
political commission to draw up a minimum politico-economic
programme (Mimiko 1995:155).
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The major preoccupation of the Academic Staff Union of Universities,
ASUU, has been with pressurizing the government into ensuring the
adequate funding of research and accommodation for students, the
maintenance or safeguarding of university autonomy, and
improvement in salaries. The ASUU has nevertheless had cause to
become involved in covert political activities. The progressive nature
of the ASUU has probably accounted for this. The glorious era of the
ASUU was witnessed during the tenure of Dr. Attahiru Jega, and later
that of Dr. Asisi Asobie. It could be inferred that the strike action
embarked on by the ASUU between May and November 1993, even
though it was primarily due to the unwillingness of the government to
honour its 1992 agreement with the union, smacked of political
involvement on the part of the ASUU. This was clearly manifested in
the demand made by the union for the revalidation of the annulled
elections of June 12, 1993 by the Babangida regime (Akinyanju
1997:65-73). In the same vein, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)
and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) had actively associated
themselves with the maintenance of democratic principles in Nigeria.
The NBA has not only consistently advocated the independence of
the judiciary but has also advocated respect for the rule of law and
equality before the law, all of which constitute the bedrock of
democracy. The growing radical inclination of the NBA particularly
under Alao Aka-Bashorun and Mrs. Priscilla Kuye eventually made
the Bar Association a target of attack on the part of the adventurous
military regime of Ibrahim Babangida. The outcome was the
comatose state of the NBA from 1992 to 1995. (Mimiko 1995:150-
166).
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Under the auspices of the National Union of Nigerian Students
(NUNS) and later the National Association of Nigerian Students
(NANS), Nigerian students have not only displayed a positive attitude
to the democratic struggle but have been fully involved in it since the
1960s. The repudiation of the Anglo-Nigerian defence pact of 1962
owed a lot to the struggle waged by students. The philosophical basis
of the students’ democratic struggle is contained in the Charter of
Demands of the National Association of Nigerian Students, which
focuses on the revolutionary perspective that democracy is not
possible unless the exploiter class is overthrown. The body has also
constantly kicked against the violation of the constitutional rights of
the people while advocating the restoration of popular democracy
(Idika 1997:77-86).
Moreover, the emergence of a radical, progressive and activist press
has undoubtedly given further impetus to the democratic process in
the country. Mention could be made of such newspapers and
magazines as The News, Tempo and Tell. Their biting criticisms of
the inherent contradictions in the Babangida transition programme
eventually led to their proscription, seizure and even the arrest and
detention of the journalists involved at various points in time. Their
strong desire to give a fillip to the democratic process led to the
emergence of what has been described as “guerilla journalism”
(Mimiko 1995:150-166).
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CONTRIBUTIONS OF FUNCTIONAL PRESSURE GROUPS TO
THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.
There is no doubt that, in one form or another, progressive groups
have contributed to the democratic process in Nigeria, just as a few of
them have also constituted an obstacle in the path of the democratic
process. The dismal performance of organized labour between 1984
and 1988 notwithstanding, the unions still succeeded in recording
some achievements. For instance, the Chiroma-led NLC identified
with the Nigerian students in their struggle for a better educational
environment. More importantly, the trade unions participated
effectively in the political debate of 1986. In the same vein, Abiodun
A. A. has observed with reference to organized labour that:
Its articulated position for a political arrangement of “socialist
organization” that could bring Nigeria to the path of social progress
remained the hallmark of the trade union movement’s involvement
with other constituencies of democratic struggles… (Abiodun
1997:115).
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However, the poor leadership provided by Pascal Bafyau from 1988
to 1993, in sharp contrast to the exemplary leadership of Hassan
Sunmonu, weakened the organized labour. In consequence,
organized labour could not mobilize Nigerians against the glaring
injustices of the period, as a social movement would have done. The
Campaign for Democracy (CD) eventually filled this gap.
Human rights organizations have undoubtedly contributed
meaningfully to the maintenance of democratic zeal in the country.
Apart from organizing conferences, seminars, symposia and lectures
on the maintenance of democracy in the country with a view to
sensitizing and mobilizing Nigerians, in extreme and serious cases it
has also challenged government attempts to abort democracy or stifle
the democratic process. This they have done by organizing mass
protests and civil disobedience campaigns. For instance, between
July 5 and 7 1993 the CD commenced direct political action by calling
for mass protests against the annulment of the presidential election of
June 12 1993. The violent manner in which the protests were put
down led to a change of tactics with the adoption of a campaign of
civil disobedience. Sola Iji (1997:74-88) has rightly observed that the
pro-democracy agitation anchored by the CD and other human rights
organizations contributed in part to the unceremonious exit of
General Ibrahim Babangida from power in August 1993. Mobilization
is thus a potential tool for the achievement of desired objectives by
the human rights organizations.
For its part, the National Association of Nigerian Students has at
different times exercised their constitutionally granted freedom of
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expression by mobilising in 1986 against a 25 kobo increase in the
price of petroleum. Similarly, in 1989 the student body was at the
forefront of a popular uprising against the dehumanizing effect of the
Structural Adjustment Programme pursued by the Babangida regime
(Idika 1997:79-88). The SAP relief packages that came afterward
were visible evidence of the success of the protests.
Even in the second republic which lasted from 1979 to 1983 the
undemocratic actions and political intolerance of the political actors of
the period did not go unchallenged. A good example of such
undemocratic acts was the illegal deportation of an opposition leader,
Alhaji Shugaba Abdulrahaman Darman, in 1980. Adeyinka Banwo
(1997:44) has posited that Opposition to these undemocratic
practices was spear-headed by the students, members of the
intelligentsia and workers through their main bodies like the NANS,
ASUU and the NLC in a new-found alliance. This was complemented
by support from progressive politicians, lawyers, journalists and other
professionals.
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Other functional professional groups like the NMA and NBA have
consistently commented on national issues with a view to influencing
the direction of policy. The NBA, for instance, has constantly criticized
the inclusion of ouster clauses in decrees which have effectively
thrown out judgments made by courts, thus constituting a breach of
the rule of law. In addition, the setting-up of tribunals to try cases that
could be tried by normal courts has also been criticized by the NBA.
OBSTACLES TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRESSURE GROUPS
IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS.
The functional pressure groups faced a number of problems as a
result of their belief in democratic ideals and their active pursuit. One
of such obstacles was the interference of the government in the
affairs of these groups. This has contributed to a marked weakening
of the groups. In addition, the perceived meddlesomeness in the
groups’ activities has created specific problems for the different
groups themselves. For instance, it has led to the emergence of
Pascal Bafyau, a military apologist, as the leader of the NLC. It has
also resulted in the inability of the NBA to constitute its central
leadership between 1992 and 1995, while the NMA was almost
polarized into groups or camps on various occasions. Furthermore, at
one point in the history of NANS two national presidents with different
executive committee members co-existed. Consequently, it has been
difficult for most of the groups to focus wholly on the pursuit of
democratic principles, bogged down as they were in internal
problems.
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In some extreme cases, the government has wielded a big stick by
outright proscription of some of these groups, the purpose being to
keep them out of circulation for as long as possible so that they would
not pose any threat to the undemocratic government. Part of the
effectiveness of this policy was achieved by the NLC, ASUU and
NANS being proscribed separately at different times.
Similarly, unfavourable legislation was imposed on these groups to
incapacitate them and in the process render them useless or at best
ineffective. Such unfavourable legislation includes the National
Economic Emergency Power Decree 22 of 1985, the Trade Union
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Decree 17 of 1986, Decree 12 and 16 of
1986, and Decree 47 of 1987. In the course of this process the ASUU
became disaffiliated from the NLC (through the provision of Decree
17 of 1986) as a result of what the government considered the
“radical influence” of the NLC.
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Moreover, unwarranted arrests and detentions of members of these
groups, often without trial, was a common development. Many
examples abound of human rights, labour and pro-democracy
activists who were detained without trial, including Olisa Agbakoba,
Baba Omojola, Gani Fawehinmi and Femi Falana. In the same vein,
progressive news media have had their premises sealed up several
times, while printed copies of their papers and magazine have been
confiscated on the slightest excuse. Moreover, many journalists have
arrested and detained without just cause. For instance, on May 5
1991 the Editor-in-Chief of the now defunct Newbreed Magazine,
Chief Chris Okolie, was detained, apparently because of criticism of
the Babangida administration. Similarly, in 1993 alone, several copies
of Tell magazine were confiscated on at separate occasions and the
editor went underground in order to escape arrest (CHDR Annual
Reports 1991-1993).
CONCLUSION
Functional pressure groups have contributed immensely and are still
contributing to the promotion and protection of democratic ideals in
the country. However, for the groups to be more effective in the
democratic process there is a need for them to have a wider influence
so that their impact will be felt nation-wide. As presently constituted,
these groups are restricted to the south-western part of the country.
The expansion of their base would provide them with a more broad
based and national outlook. Moreover, it is very difficult to define the
sources of funding of some of these groups. There is therefore a
need for them to disclose their sources in order to clear up all doubts.
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Furthermore, these groups should not simply criticize the government
for the sake of criticism alone, with a view largely to drawing attention
to themselves and thus attracting popularity; rather, they should be
principled and constructive in their criticism. There is also a need for
pressure groups to be more democratic in their operation as well as
in the running of their organizations.
Finally, these groups should consider moving beyond the status of
facilitators to actual participants in the democratic process in order to
be more relevant. In doing so, however, they must be prepared to
pursue political activities and the attendant developments with the
courage and vigour with which they pursue pressure group activities,
without hiding anything from the people.
REFERENCES
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Annual Reports on the Human Rights Situation in Nigeria, Lagos
CDHR. Committee for the Defence of Human Rights. 1992.
Annual Reports on the Human Rights Situation in Nigeria, Lagos
CDHR. Committee for the Defence of Rights. 1993.
Annual Reports on the Human Rights Situation in Nigeria, Lagos
CDHR. Committee for the Defence of Human Rights. June 1996.
Freedom Watch “Why ASUU is on Strike” CDHR. P.3. Committee for
the Defence of Human Rights. 1992.
Victims CDHR Newsletter Volume 3, No.3, Nov. 1992 “NGOS To
Sustain Democracy”, Lagos CDHR P.8.
Trade Unions and the Political Process. In: Trade Unionism in
Nigeria: Challenges for the 21st Century, F. Adewunmi (Ed.), pp.74-
88. Lagos: Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
Mimiko, N. O. 1995. From Agitation for Human Rights to the Pursuit
of Power: The Impact of Human Rights Organizations on Nigeria’s
Aborted Democratisation Programme, 1986-1993. In: Crises and
Contradictions in Nigeria’s Democratisation Programme 1986-
1993,N. O. Mimiko (Ed.), pp. 150-166. Akure Stebak.
Obasanjo O. & Mabogunje A. (Eds.). (1992): Elements of Democracy.
Abeokuta: ALF Publications.
Olukoju . A. (1997): Organised Labour, Governance and the Electoral
Process: Insights from the American and Nigeria Experiences. In:
Governance and the Electoral Process: Nigeria and the United States
of America, A. Ogunba (Ed.), pp. 337-350. Lagos: American Studies
Association of Nigeria (ASAN).
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Perry J. E. (1976): The Social Web: An Introduction to Sociology.
Second Edition. NewYork: Harper & Row Publishers.
Nordic Journal of African Studies. (2002) Pressure Groups and the
Democratic Processing Nigeria (1979-1993) By Adesoji Abimbola of
Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria.
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CHAPTER TEN
POLITICAL FINANCE
The term ‘political finance' can be defined as the use of money or the
use of other material resources for political activities. It embodies the
sources or means through which political activities are sponsored in a
given country. The acquisition and disposition of party funds is one of
the least explored and therefore most critically vulnerable areas of
party activity. Lack of information is due in part to lack of legislation
requiring the disclosure of sources and in part to the avoidance or
evasion of appropriate regulations. For example in Nigeria during the
aborted third republic, the then military government took it upon itself
to finance political parties. This led to colossal waste of the nation’s
revenue. Some of the party structures put up by the government such
as the construction of party headquarters in every local government
throughout the country are now standing as monuments all over the
country.
However, the concept of political finance has two broad connotation:
money used for electioneering (campaign funds) and money used for
political party expenses (party funds). [PintoDuschinsky:2001]. It is
believed that in the democracies with free electoral processes, the
principal sources of party funds are business, labour, and agricultural
groups; wealthy individuals and families; statutory government
subsidies; small donations from a large number of party members;
and contributions from candidates. Not only is supporting a political
party system costly, but it also raises a host of ethical and legal
problems. What expenses are legitimate? Should the funds come
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from public or private sources? How should they be accounted for? If
politics is indeed struggle for power, will the party with the greatest
financial resources win? If so, what happens to the vital inter-party
competition that is a corner of democracy? Is giving money to a party
the ultimate symbol of political participation by the individual citizen?
Most students of party finance believe that other resources and
circumstances being equal, money alone will not necessarily win
elections. The sky-rocketing costs of electioneering, the increasing
sophistication of the public and the growing tendency towards
government regulation coupled with more stringent penaltie all
conspire to minimize the probabilities of “buying an election”. Moreso,
the dynamics of collecting and spending political money are
undergoing significant changes especially in developed countries like
the U.S.A. and Britain that are affecting public policy.
Nigeria's political history since independence from Britain in 1960 has
been a cycle of authoritarian military regimes with episodic interregna
of civilian governments. Rentier politics in Nigeria has been
characterized over the years by the dominance of 'electoral
machines' controlled by political entrepreneurs comprising largely of
wealthy former military officers and their civilian business cronies.
The major political parties in Nigerian politics today are little more
than grand agglomerations of the respective electoral 'machines' of
the leading political financiers. Most Nigerian politicians are
'sponsored' by local and regional power brokers cum political
entrepreneurs who finance their campaigns for public office. The
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'sponsorship' is effectively a business transaction in which the patron
recovers the 'investment' in the form of public works and procurement
contracts, prebendal appointments of cronies to public offices and
other forms of prebendal activity by the 'client, politician on assuming
public office. In some cases where the patron and client failed to
define with sufficient precision, the dimensions of the return on
investment or the client balks at delivering per the agreed terms, the
fall-out has led to mass violence and political destabilization.
During the 1998 transition following the sudden death of General Sani
Abacha in June 1998, ‘political entrepreneurs' comprising ex-military
officers and their civilian business cronies effectively seized control of
the Nigerian political scene. Although retired military officers have
participated in Nigerian politics since the Second Republic in the
1980s, the 15 years of military dictatorship from 1984 -1999 were the
most corrupt and despotic in Nigeria's history. Nigeria under these
generals was routinely described by scholars of African political
economy as a prebendal or patrimonial state. Public office and
government patronage became 'the only game in town'. Retiring
military officers deployed the massive wealth generated from the
proceeds of grand corruption to creating and financing the political
networks that formed the nuclei of several of the political associations
that sought registration as political parties. The 1999 electoral
campaign which brought the current civilian government in Nigeria to
power in May 1999 was largely financed by ex-military political
entrepreneurs as a form of political 'insurance'. Deploying their
massive financial resources, they were able to install ex-military
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officers and their civilian business cronies in control of the two largest
political parties and in high federal and state public offices.
Political movements representing the interests of the poor and the
disadvantaged that could have served to moderate the influence of
the dominant political parties have been systematically excluded from
participation in the political arena by a combination of legal
instruments and their relative paucity of resources as compared with
the vast financial resources available to the dominant parties. A net
result is the disempowerment of the generality of the Nigerian people.
The dominance of unrepresentative 'machine' parties alienates the
electorate and prevents the evolution of accountable governance in
Nigeria.
Some of the factors which exacerbate the exclusion of alternative
parties and which reinforce the popular disempowerment include
electoral regulations that impose onerous financial burdens on
political movements seeking to participate in electoral politics and the
absence of an effective system to regulate political finance. These
factors enhance the disproportionate influence of political
entrepreneurs
Nigeria's history of political violence and instability' exacerbated by
political mobilization on ethnic and sectarian lines, has led successive
governments to impose legal guidelines for political party formation,
registration and operation. These guidelines ostensibly seek to avoid
the establishment of parties on sectarian, ethnic or geographical
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bases but rather to encourage the creation of cross cutting political
alliances bridging regional, ethnic and sectarian divides. The electoral
guidelines currently in force in Nigeria impose onerous obligations on
citizens wishing to form and register political parties, purportedly in
order to ensure nonsectarian and cross-sectional politics. The 1999
constitution and electoral legislation in force stipulate that only
political parties registered by the Independent National Electoral
Commission [INEC] may present candidates to stand for any elected
office in Nigeria and there are no provisions for independent
candidates. The guidelines require political movements to pay various
large sums of money as registration and sundry administrative fees to
the INEC and submit extensive documentation establishing:-
1. That their membership cuts across the entire country by providing
membership rolls to INEC.
2. That they have and maintain administrative offices in 24 out of
Nigeria's 36 states as well as a national secretariat in Abuja, the
nation's capital.
3. That the national, regional and local party executive bodies are
broadly representative of all interests or sections of the Nigerian
population. These onerous legal and administrative requirements
create major logistical and financial burdens for political movements
seeking registration as political parties in order to participate in
electoral office. The high costs associated with compliance with INEC
guidelines serve to effectively bar the vast majority of Nigerians from
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participating in politics. The result is that political parties are formed
and operated mostly by those Nigerians who possesses or can raise
the enormous funds required to comply with INEC strictures. This in
turn leads to the creation of political parties based mostly on alliances
of convenience between wealthy “political entrepreneurs", rather than
political parties based on 'ideological' lines or political platforms.
The cumulative result is that the political playing field in Nigeria is
polluted by the proceeds of corruption that in turn leads to distortions
in Nigeria's democratic development. Parties and candidates finance
their activities and campaigns from funds provided by party bosses
and political entrepreneurs in absolute secrecy. The Nigerian public
has no information as to which entrepreneur has provided funds to
any political party or candidate.
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REFERENCES
THIS DAY of December 21, 2003.
http://www.boellnigeria.org/documents/political%20Finance%20and
%20Democracy%20in%20Nigeria.pdf
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
PUBLIC OPINION
According to V.O Key (1961), “Public Opinion consists of those
opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to
heed”. A political attitude is a relatively general “set” or predisposition,
towards a politically relevant class of objects, events, or behavior. For
instance, Mr. West belief that the Yorubas are greedy or Mr. Don’s
view that they have never been given a chance to rule to show what
they can do. Public Opinion also consists of attitudes, perspectives,
and preferences of a population toward events, circumstances, and
issues of mutual interest. It is characteristically measured by the
sample survey or public opinion poll.
OPINION FORMATION AND MEASUREMENT
Public opinion is shaped both by relatively permanent circumstances
and by temporary influences. Among the former are the ideas that
characterize the popular culture of a given place at a given time. In
the U.S., for example, the youth-oriented culture of the late 20th
century affects the attitudes of many people toward aging and the
elderly. Other fairly permanent circumstances such as race, religion,
geographical location, economic status, and educational level can
strongly influence the opinions of an individual or a particular group
about many subjects. Certain temporary factors also affect the
public's attitudes. Among these are the impact of current events; the
opinions of influential or authoritative persons; the effect of the mass
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communications media; and the concerted campaigns of public
relations professionals.
However, public opinions are expressed and measured through the
following means:
i- Writing letters to the representatives, or to the president.
ii- Making publications in newspapers or paid advertisements.
iii- Mass demonstrations or protests.
iv- In extreme cases, members of a group may express their
opinion through civil disobedience.
v- Through opinion polls as may be directed by the government
e.g in a referendum or plebiscite.
HISTORY
The systematic measurement of public attitudes is a 20th-century
development. Although occasionally opinion polls were conducted
before the 1930s, they were generally neither systematic nor
scientific. They dealt with unrepresentative samples or used methods
that made certain people far more likely to be included in the poll than
others. For example, in “straw polls” the only people counted were
those who volunteered to take part.
Public opinion polling improved vastly in the 1930s when business
and educational organizations began to develop methods that
allowed the relatively unbiased selection of respondents and the
systematic gathering of data from a wide cross section of the public.
By present-day standards these polls were crude, but their results
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were in some ways useful. Among the pioneers were George H.
Gallup, Elmo Roper, and Archibald M. Crossley.
Two events encouraged polling agencies to further refine their
methods. In 1936 a poll conducted by the Literary Digest incorrectly
determined that the Republican candidate, Alf Landon, would win the
U.S. presidential election. The error arose largely because of biases
that caused wealthy people to be overrepresented in the poll. In the
1948 election, most polls mistakenly predicted a victory for the
Republican candidate, Thomas E. Dewey, over President Harry S.
Truman, again because poor people were underrepresented and also
because the polling agencies missed last-minute changes of attitude
among the voting public. Since 1948 techniques of public opinion
research and polling have improved considerably. Efforts are now
made to select respondents without bias, to improve the quality of
questionnaires, and to train able and reliable interviewers.
PUBLIC OPINION POLLS AND ITS RELEVANCE
What is Public Opinion Poll? In the simplest sense of the term, a
public opinion poll is any effort to ascertain public opinion on a
question by directly asking some members of the public what they
think and taking the views of this “sample” to represent what the
whole public thinks. Opinion polls are generally accepted as useful
tools by business, political organizations, the mass media, and
government as well as in academic research. Hundreds of public
opinion polling firms operates around the world. Best known in the
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U.S. are the organizations, such as the Gallup Poll and Harris Poll,
the findings of which regularly appear in major newspapers.
In business, polls are used to test consumers' preferences and to
discover what it is about a product that gives it appeal. Response to
commercial polls aid in planning marketing and advertising strategies
and in making changes in a product to increase its sales.
In politics, polls are used to obtain information about voters' attitudes
toward issues and candidates, to put forward candidates with winning
potential, and to plan campaigns. Polling organizations have also
been successful in predicting the outcome of elections. In addition, by
polling voters on election day, it is often possible to determine the
probable winner even before the voting booths close.
Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television are heavy users of
public opinion polling information, especially political information that
helps to predict elections or gauge the popularity of government
officials and candidates. The public's attitude toward various social,
economic, and international issues is also considered newsworthy.
Governments use opinion polls to tap public sentiment about issues
of interest. In addition, government agencies use polling methodology
to determine unemployment rates, crime rates, and other social and
economic indicators. It equally guides the government in the
formation of policies. This goes to say that a public opinion freely
expressed can help the government to ascertain the wishes of the
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electorate and consequently to formulate policies in accordance with
the expressed wishes and desires of the people.
Public opinion is a means of ensuring some kind of participation of
the electorate in policy formulation by encouraging the public to send
their views on a given issue, and this helps to provide a change
where it is desirable. A government can be compelled to change its
policies in response to public opinion. It also acts as a means of
calling for accountability. When the government respects public
opinion in this sense, the citizens will freely give their loyalty and
support to the government and this ensures stability, economic
growth and development.
Polls have been employed extensively in academic research,
particularly in the social sciences, where they have proven valuable in
studying delinquency, socialization, political attitudes, and economic
behavior. Among the prominent organizations that primarily serve
academic research purposes are the various Research Centres in our
various institutions, the National Research Institutes, Survey
Research Center at the University of Michigan and the National
Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago etc.
METHODS AND TECHNIQUES
Public opinion polling involves procedures to draw a representative
sample of the population under study. If, for example, one is studying
the attitudes of all adults in the Nigeria, the survey organization would
seek to draw up a list of the entire adult population of the country and
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then select at random a sample to be surveyed. When proper
techniques are used and the sample is large enough—1000 to 1500
people—the results obtained are likely to be very close to the results
one would get if the entire population were surveyed. Thus, if 60
percent of the sample says it approves of the president's policies,
statistical theory shows that if the entire population were surveyed,
the probability is 95 percent that between 58 to 62 percent of the
people would express the same approval as the sample. The criterion
of excellence in a sample is representativeness, not size.
Sampling is vital to the validity of an opinion poll. In practice,
however, sampling can be a complicated procedure involving a great
deal of estimation and guesswork. The population to be surveyed
usually cannot be precisely enumerated. Efforts must be made to
break down the population into sampling units of approximately equal
size. A certain amount of interviewer discretion is necessary, and
complications arise when a proposed respondent is not at home, has
moved, or is unwilling to be interviewed. Often only about two-thirds
of the intended respondents are actually interviewed and give valid
responses. When mail questionnaires are used, problems of non-
response are higher.
Great care must be used when fashioning the questionnaire or
interview schedule, and testing the questions before using them in
the field is always advisable. Ideally, questions should be short, clear,
direct, and easily comprehended. Apart from such an obvious
necessity as trying to avoid bias, many subtle problems arise in
framing a question. A word or phrase, for example, may mean
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different things to different people. In making a question simple
enough to be understood by everyone, the issue may be so
oversimplified that it has no meaning to the more sophisticated
respondent. Sometimes the order in which questions are asked can
affect the response. In addition, the tone or wording of the question
may alter the measured response: A study once found that the
percentage of the public in favor of “forbidding” speeches against
democracy was 16 points lower than the percentage in favor of “not
allowing” such speeches.
Other problems can be traced to interviewer effects. Age, sex, class,
or racial differences between the respondent and the interviewer can
sometimes affect the respondent's answer.
Once the opinion data have been gathered, the analyst must seek to
find meaning in the results, keeping in mind the problems of sampling
variability, question-wording biases, and interviewer effects. The
results are tabulated and analyzed using various statistical
techniques to determine patterns. Much successful analysis involves
comparison: comparing subgroups of the population as they react to
the same question; comparing the results of surveys conducted at
different times to discover opinion trends; and comparing the
responses to different questions. Because of comparison-based
analysis, the survey often is divided into small subgroups for
comparison—for instance, educated, politically active women with
educated, politically active men.
LIMITATIONS TO THE EXPRESSION OF PUBLIC OPINION
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There are a lot of factors that tend to limit expression of public opinion
in some countries. Some of these factors are summarized as follows:
i- Government intolerance to opposition or criticisms.
ii- When the press does not have freedom, public opinion is
limited.
iii- In a country where the law forbids freedom of speech or
expression, public opinion is therefore limited. For instance,
during the Buhari’s regime in Nigeria(decree two) and in
Uganda, during the regime of Idi Amin.
iv- In military, fascist, socialist, authoritarian and undemocratic
government, public opinion is limited.
v- Illiteracy is one of the limitations to public opinion. In most
third world countries where the rate of illiteracy is high, the
citizens find it difficult to express their views.
CRITICISMS OF THE RESEARCH
Criticisms of public opinion research come from a variety of sources.
Many people simply are not convinced that the opinions of a small
sample of the population are a viable representation of the opinions
of the whole. On this matter, however, the polling agencies can point
to the science of statistics and also to decades of experience from
which it can be shown, for example, that the same question asked on
two different sample surveys at the same time will almost always
generate similar results. Other criticisms deal with sample procedures
that, for reasons of economy or expediency, sometimes use outdated
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population data or make compromises with rigorous statistical
requirements.
Even assuming that the basic poll data are valid, analyses of the data
may be casual and superficial. In some cases, the raw data are
simply presented as the public's “opinion” on an issue without deep
and careful analysis to probe nuance and possible bias. The subtle
influence of variations in question wording on the measured response
is often ignored.
In the political area, criticism sometimes focuses on the
appropriateness of opinion polling, rather than on its validity. It is
argued that elected officials may be too willing to act on what a poll
says their constituents think rather than deciding the issues on their
merits. Some experts believe that polls may influence voters to favor
certain political candidates who seem to be enjoying a notable
popularity at the moment. The information that a certain candidate is
far ahead in the polls may discourage people from voting at all or
encourage them to vote for that candidate and thus may affect the
results of the election.
REFERENCES
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Key Jr. V.O (1961): Public Opinion and American Democracy. New
York, Alfred A. Knopt.
Lane, R.E and David, O. Sears (1964): Public Opinion, Eaglewood
Cliff, N.J Prentice –Hall Inc.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Democracy and Democratization in Nigeria
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Translated into English, the originally Greek word “Democracy”
means “rule of the people”. Democracy is a system which gives
periodic opportunities for the masses to choose their leaders.
Democracy from a layman’s view is government of the people, by the
people and for the people. Another definition of democracy is that it is
a system of government in which the will of the majority of qualified
citizens’ prevails. The selection of political leaders by the people is
the very basis of democratic governance. In most democracies today,
popular political participation is confined to this selection of leaders
on election-day every few years. Elections and democracy are like
two wheels of a cart. If you remove one wheel the vehicle cannot
move forward.
On the other hand, Democratization may be defined as the process
that leads to democracy. This is a complex political, social and also
cultural procedure or development that has taken different shapes in
different parts of the world. The term “democratization” defines a
political process; likewise democracy – once attained – is never
static, but continues to evolve. The evolution of democratic societies
is never a one-way-road.
Democratic rule is inconceivable without elections. A ruler who does
away with elections is rightfully called a dictator. The very essence of
democratic rule lies in the limitation of political power. In democratic
orders, various methods are applied to curb power.
In a democracy, the power of the government is always limited by
time. All democratic constitutions include provisions that limit the
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terms of political leaders; in some democratic countries, political
leaders are even explicitly excluded from running for office after a
stated period.
Democracy consists of four basic elements: We can think of
democracy as a system of government with four key elements:
1. A political system for choosing and replacing the government
through free and fair elections.
2. The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and
civic life.
3. Protection of the human rights of all citizens.
4. A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to
all citizens.
Democracy is a means for the people to choose their leaders and to
hold their leaders accountable for their policies and their conduct in
office. The people decide who will represent them in parliament, and
who will head the government at the national and local levels. They
do so by choosing between competing parties in regular, free and fair
elections.
However, in a democracy, the people are sovereign—they are the
highest form of political authority. Power flows from the people to the
leaders of government, who hold power only temporarily. Laws and
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policies require majority support in parliament, but the rights of
minorities are protected in various ways. The people are free to
criticize their elected leaders and representatives, and to observe
how they conduct the business of government. Elected
representatives at the national and local levels should listen to the
people and respond to their needs and suggestions.
Elections have to occur at regular intervals, as prescribed by law.
Those in power cannot extend their terms in office without asking for
the consent of the people again in an election. For elections to be
free and fair, they have to be administered by a neutral, fair, and
professional body that treats all political parties and candidates
equally. All parties and candidates must have the right to campaign
freely, to present their proposals to the voters both directly and
through the mass media. Voters must be able to vote in secret, free
of intimidation and violence.
Independent observers must be able to observe the voting and the
vote counting to ensure that the process is free of corruption,
intimidation, and fraud. There needs to be some impartial and
independent tribunal to resolve any disputes about the election
results. This is why it takes a lot of time to organize a good,
democratic election. Any country can hold an election, but for an
election to be free and fair requires a lot of organization, preparation,
and training of political parties, electoral officials, and civil society
organizations who monitor the process.
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THE ROLE OF THE CITIZEN IN A DEMOCRACY
The key role of citizens in a democracy is to participate in public life.
Citizens have an obligation to become informed about public issues,
to watch carefully how their political leaders and representatives use
their powers, and to express their own opinions and interests. Voting
in elections is another important civic duty of all citizens. But to vote
wisely, each citizen should listen to the views of the different parties
and candidates, and then make his or her own decision on whom to
support.
Participation can also involve campaigning for a political party or
candidate, standing as a candidate for political office, debating public
issues, attending community meetings, petitioning the government,
and even protesting. A vital form of participation comes through
active membership in independent, non-governmental organizations,
what we call “civil society.” These organizations represent a variety
of interests and beliefs: farmers, workers, doctors, teachers, business
owners, religious believers, women, students, human rights activists.
It is important that women participate fully both in politics and in civil
society. This requires efforts by civil society organizations to educate
women about their democratic rights and responsibilities, improve
their political skills, represent their common interests, and involve
them in political life.
In a democracy, participation in civic groups should be voluntary. No
one should be forced to join an organization against their will. Political
parties are vital organizations in a democracy, and democracy is
stronger when citizens become active members of political parties.
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However, no one should support a political party because he is
pressured or threatened by others. In a democracy, citizens are free
to choose which party to support. Democracy depends on citizen
participation in all these ways. But participation must be peaceful,
respectful of the law, and tolerant of the different views of other
groups and individuals.
THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS IN A DEMOCRACY
In a democracy, every citizen has certain basic rights that the state
cannot take away from them. These rights are guaranteed under
international law. You have the right to have your own beliefs, and to
say and write what you think. No one can tell you what you must
think, believe, and say or not say. There is freedom of religion.
Everyone is free to choose their own religion and to worship and
practice their religion as they see fit. Every individual has the right to
enjoy their own culture, along with other members of their group,
even if their group is a minority. There is freedom and pluralism in the
mass media. You can choose between different sources of news and
opinion to read in the newspapers, to hear on the radio, and to watch
on television.
You have the right to associate with other people, and to form and
join organizations of your own choice, including trade unions. You are
free to move about the country, and if you wish, to leave the country.
You have the right to assemble freely, and to protest government
actions. Everyone has an obligation to exercise these rights
peacefully, with respect for the law and for the rights of others.
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THE RULE OF LAW
Democracy is a system of rule by laws, not by individuals. In a
democracy, the rule of law protects the rights of citizens, maintains
order, and limits the power of government. All citizens are equal
under the law. No one may be discriminated against on the basis of
their race, religion, ethnic group, or gender. No one may be arrested,
imprisoned, or exiled arbitrarily. If you are detained, you have the
right to know the charges against you, and to be presumed innocent
until proven guilty according to the law.
Anyone charged with a crime has the right to a fair, speedy, and
public trial by an impartial court. No one may be taxed or prosecuted
except by a law established in advance. No one is above the law, not
even a king or an elected president. The law is fairly, impartially, and
consistently enforced, by courts that are independent of the other
branches of government. Torture and cruel and inhumane treatment
are absolutely forbidden. The rule of law places limits on the power of
government. No government official may violate these limits.
No ruler, minister, or political party can tell a judge how to decide a
case. Office holders cannot use their power to enrich themselves.
Independent courts and commissions punish corruption, no matter
who is guilty.
THE LIMITS AND REQUIREMENTS FOR DEMOCRACY
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If democracy is to work, citizens must not only participate and
exercise their rights. They must also observe certain principles and
rules of democratic conduct. People must respect the law and reject
violence. Nothing ever justifies using violence against your political
opponents, just because you disagree with them. Every citizen must
respect the rights of his or her fellow citizens, and their dignity as
human beings. No one should denounce a political opponent as evil
and illegitimate, just because they have different views. People
should question the decisions of the government, but not reject the
government’s authority.
Every group has the right to practice its culture and to have some
control over its own affairs, but each group should accept that it is a
part of a democratic state. When you express your opinions, you
should also listen to the views of other people, even people you
disagree with. Everyone has a right to be heard. Don’t be so
convinced of the rightness of your views that you refuse to see any
merit in another position. Consider different interests and points of
view. When you make demands, you should understand that in a
democracy, it is impossible for everyone to achieve everything they
want.
Democracy requires compromise. Groups with different interests and
opinions must be willing to sit down with one another and negotiate.
In a democracy, one group does not always win everything it wants.
Different combinations of groups win on different issues. Over time,
everyone wins something. If one group is always excluded and fails
to be heard, it may turn against democracy in anger and frustration.
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Everyone who is willing to participate peacefully and respect the
rights of others should have some say in the way the country is
governed.
THE PILLARS OF DEMOCRACY
Sovereignty of the people.
Government based upon consent of the governed.
Majority rule.
Minority rights.
Guarantee of basic human rights.
Free and fair elections.
Equality before the law.
Due process of law.
Constitutional limits on government.
Social, economic, and political pluralism.
Values of tolerance, pragmatism, cooperation, and
compromise.
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AS A CHALLENGE TO
DEMOCRATIC SUSTENANCE IN NIGERIA
Certain pre-conditions that can broadly be classified as economic,
social and political have been regarded as essential for sustaining
democracy. Among these, the political factor in terms of institutional
development may be regarded as vital, for these institutions serve as
viable channels for ventilating people's expectations and their
dissatisfaction through non-violent means. Besides, they also serve
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as effective means to establish political accountability. However, more
than the mere presence of the political institutions that help
democratic sustenance, what matters is the fact that they must be
nursed and developed to a level that other narrow, exclusivist ties like
ethnic loyalties become less important. In other words, within the
process of institutional development, there should be a balanced
development of these institutions so that no one particular institution
becomes powerful at the expense of other institutions. The
experience of Nigeria highlights the troubled times the political
parties, judiciary, media and other institutions have gone through as a
consequence of military takeovers during much of the country's
Independence. Faced with eroded institutions, Nigeria could not
unfortunately grapple with the emergent challenges in the social or
economic spheres.
CHALLENGES OF DEMOCRATIC SUSTENANCE IN NIGERIA
The sustenance of democracy requires the existence of certain
conditions, which may be social, economic or political in nature. Of
these, the focus is on the political factors in terms of institutional
development as essential for the continuance of democracy. In the
case of developed countries though the economic and social
conditions helped in the sustenance of democracy but it was primarily
the political institutions, which had evolved over a period of time that
democracy was a success. Seeing its successful operation in the
West, that a number of developing countries that attained liberation in
the mid 20th century opted for it. The primary reason for imitating this
model of government was, first, that it was linked to development and
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second, it was regarded as a form where values like freedom; liberty
and equality could be realized. The model was therefore adopted
without taking into consideration the contextual differences. The
result was that in the case of some, where favourable social,
economic or political conditions existed that the experiment was a
success while in the case of others it collapsed. Of the two
experiences, we are to study the issue of failure by taking the classic
example of a country i.e.; Nigeria where democratic experiment has
faced numerous hurdles and in the process has not succeeded in
consolidating itself. But before getting into the case study of Nigeria, it
becomes important to have a conceptual understanding of the term
and also identify factors, the presence of which creates viable
conditions for the continuance of democracy.
FACTORS ESSENTIAL TO EXPLAIN DEMOCRATIZATION.
Some scholars have argued that movement toward democracy
depends on the existence within society of certain preconditions that
may be economic, social or political in nature. There are scholars
who in their approach have regarded economic factors as essential
for democratization. The development paradigm proposed by Daniel
Lerner (1968) and S.M. Lipset (1959 and1960), which connect
democratization to economic growth, and modernization seems to
have been the most influential approach in the field. Their studies
have confirmed the association between stable democracy and
indicators of national wealth, communication, industrialization,
education and urbanization. S.M. Lipset explains this association by a
hypothesis according to which ‘the level of a country’s economic
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development independently affects the orientations conducive to
democracy of its citizens.’ (Vanhanen, 1997, p.15). Though he lays
stress on economic development, he nevertheless does not
undermine the significance of political culture, legitimacy and suitable
institutions as conditions of democracy. However, he still regards
economic development as the dominant explanatory factor.
The classic thesis of S.M. Lipset was supported by the
comprehensive statistical analysis of Adam Przeworski. In his
findings, he pointed out that the expected life of democracy increases
with per capita income up to the highest income level of over 6000
dollars and democracies are more likely to persist when they
experience real economic growth (especially rapid growth in excess
of 5% annually). Prezeworski points out that democracy is much
more likely to endure in countries where income inequalities decline
overtime than where it increases (Prezeworski, et al, 2000)
The strong relationship between economic development and
democracy was also supported by Larry Diamond and Garry Marks.
They assert that the level of economic development continues to be
the single most powerful predictor of the likelihood of democracy.
Diamond re-evaluated Lipset’s thesis and tested it by new empirical
evidences and came to the conclusion that "the more well to do the
people of a country, on a average, the more likely they will favour,
achieve and maintain a democratic system for their country"
(Vanhanen, 1997, p.12).
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The existence of a direct relationship between democracy and
development was not accepted by the supporters of the dependency
theory like A.G. Frank. He claimed that global capitalism was the
cause of underdevelopment in the Third World countries and implicitly
of the lack of democracy in the Third World. Guillermo O’Donnell
(1973) bureaucratic authorization model challenged the development
theory by claiming that modernization coincided in Latin America with
the emergence of a new type of authoritarian regime. Raymond Gastil
(1985) argues strongly that democratization may depend on the
diffusion of democratic ideas more than on any socio-economic
factors (Vanhanen, 1997, p11). The correlation was weakened
somewhat by the democratization of a number of very poor Third
World countries like Peru and the Philippines and by the rapid
economic growth of a number of authoritarian countries like
Singapore and Thailand. There are also certain states in the Middle
East, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates that have
per capita incomes on a par with Europe or North America, but are
not democratic. Moreover many countries that have experienced
democratic revolutions in the past generation, including Spain,
Portugal, Greece, Brazil, South Korea, and Taiwan, all made the
transition from being predominantly agricultural countries at mid
century to being industrialized, urbanized ones at the time of
democratization (Diamond, Chu and Tien, 1997, p.99). It can thereby
be said that by merely focusing on the economic factor, one cannot
understand the democratization process.
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The theorists supporting the social factors regard homogeneity
prevailing in society as essential for maintaining stable democracy.
According to Aristotle, "a state aims at being as far as it can be a
society composed of equals and peers"(Lijphart, 1977, p. 1). J.S. Mill
maintained that for democracy to endure there must be some shared
values, a "consensus". The heterogeneity prevailing in terms of
religion or ethnicity were regarded by him as factors that make
regimes less stable (Prezeworski et al, 2000, p.125)
The viewpoint of scholars maintaining a direct link between social
homogeneity and democracy is also not free from criticisms. For
there are societies, which have diversity but are still able to maintain
democracy like in the case of India, where diversity prevails on the
basis of religion, region and language but still democracy has been
able to sustain itself. Therefore one cannot regard diversity as a sole
factor responsible for the collapse of democracy.
Apart from the emphasis on economic and social factors, there are
other theorists who regard the prevalence of political institutions as
essential for sustaining democracy. Increasing scholarly attention has
been paid in recent years to the strength and character of political
institutions as a key factor affecting the viability and stability of
democracy. Scholars like T.R. Gurr (1980) and S. P. Huntington
(1968) have supported this view. The political institutions prevailing in
the society provide viable channels through which people can
express their dissatisfaction mainly through resorting to non-violent
means. The political system is protected from any direct attack by the
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political institutions. These institutions therefore serve as shock
absorbers and hence protect the system from crumbling down.
The study maintains that for the success of democracy, the
prevalence of the three factors is essential but nevertheless
considers the existence of strong political institutions as the most
important factor for sustaining democracy. If democracies are to
weather the storms of history and limit the self-aggrandizing impulses
of human actors, then what is needed is strong and well designed
political institutions. However, it may be emphasized that it is not
mere the presence of institutions that lead to stability. What is also
essential is that they must be developed to a level that other ties of
associations become less important as was seen in the West, where
democratization took place after the nation state has been formed.
Secondly, within the process of institutional development, no one
particular institution should become so powerful that it overshadows
the other institutions. In other words, there should be a balanced
development of institutions, with each institution performing the role
specifically assigned to it.
By taking into account the above-mentioned 3 factors, let us now
examine the case of Nigeria.
THE NIGERIAN EXPERIENCE.
The democratic experience of Nigeria can be understood by utilizing
the economic, social and political factors. If we take the economic
factor i.e.; the issue of development, then one finds there were some
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phases like during the First Republic, when the nation experienced an
increase in Gross Domestic Product by 5.3%(Oyediran and Asbaji,
1999, p.167) but the benefits of this increase did not percolate down
to the masses and a focus on the masses is very essential mainly
because when we understand development along with economic
connotation, it has a social dimension too. The development should
enable the masses to fulfill their basic needs. So if one views
development by focusing on the social dimension then one finds that
development did not take place in Nigeria. This idea becomes clear if
one focuses on sectors like agriculture, which occupies a very
important position mainly because nearly 70% of the population
depends on this sector for its source of livelihood. Their economic
activities are basically limited to the production of food crops.
To improve their economic conditions, certain steps were undertaken
like the setting up of the marketing boards. But the study of their
operation shows that they underpaid the peasants and sold at high
prices at the world market before passing on the surplus to capital
and other classes that controlled state power. Other measures that
were undertaken were modernizing agriculture to increase
productivity. But it was the rich farmers, which were in a position to go
for modern techniques of production owing to the access they had to
the resources. This helped them increasing their profits, which
contributed to their upward mobility. The small farmers did not
experience similar improvements in their economic position. Another
development that was seen was that land acquired unprecedented
commercial importance, which resulted in the passing of the Land
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Use Decree of 1978. This again had a negative impact on the small
farmers for they were deprived of land, which was put in the hands of
wealthy farmer (often absentee) and companies that had wealth and
connection to influence the Land Allocation Committees established
under the decree (Nnoli, 2000, p.566-569).
The condition of the peasantry further worsened with Structural
Adjustment Programme (SAP). The devaluation of the Naira meant
increased hardships for the majority of Nigerian peasantry. Their
earnings had not changed while the prices of the goods and services
they did not produce could not be purchased by them (Egwu,
1998,p.79). The SAP was perceived as an attack on the workers
basic interests and aspirations, relating to wages, health education of
their children and general struggle for survival.
Besides, the agricultural sector, the problem of economic disparities
prevailed even in the industrial sector. Economic differences existed
at two levels, first, between the capitalist class as a whole and the
working class and second, between comprador bourgeoisie and the
Indigenous bourgeoisie.
So, as a result of neo-colonialism it was mainly the comprador
bourgeoisie, which aligned itself with foreign capital that was in a
position to benefit the maximum. The worst effected was the working
class. The devaluation and removal of subsidies resulted in spiraling
inflation and reduced purchasing power of the subordinate classes,
gave wageworkers one of the lowest levels of purchasing power in
Africa (Diamond, Green and Oyediran, 1996, p.556)
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Therefore, it can be said that the attainment of liberation did not
provide any solution to the economic problems of the masses. The
economic deprivation in the post liberation period worsened with the
operation of neo-colonialism. This has generated a sense of
discontentment amongst the masses, which has found its outlet not
just in the form of challenges to the political system, which created a
negative condition for democracy but has also played an important
role in giving form to ideas like ethnicity, which has created a sense
of hostility amongst the various groups prevailing in the society.
Besides the economic factors, the social factor can also be utilized to
understand the democratization process in Nigeria. Socially one finds
heterogeneity prevailing for there are more than 250 ethnic groups
that exist in Nigeria. Of these the predominant ones are the Hausa-
Fulani, Ibos and the Yoruba’s. Each one of these predominate a
specific region of the country. The Hausa-Fulani dominates the
northern part, the Ibos dominate the eastern part and the Yorubas
inhabit the Western part. Of these three predominant groups, the
hostility is very sharp between the Hausa-Fulani and the Ibos. The
roots of this hostility can be traced back to the colonial period when
the British pursued the policy of divide and rule. As a result of the
differential policy pursued, it was the southern region owing to its
direct contact with the colonizers that it was able to benefit in arenas
like education and development whereas in these arenas the
northern region owing to its being indirectly ruled lagged behind. Thus
when it came to opportunities, it was the Ibos who fared well. This
was seen even in the post –liberation period. The better capabilities
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of the Ibos was not viewed positively by the Hausas and in situations
where the Ibos in spite of their capabilities were deprived of
opportunities, then it generated a feeling of frustration amongst them,
which found its outlet in various forms of conflicts. These conflicts
between the groups, which can be seen from the time of First
Republic, have created instability. It can therefore be said that
diversity prevailing in the nation has made the task of democratic
consolidation a difficult one.
In addition to the economic and social factors, the political factors
also can be utilized to understand the issue of democracy in Nigeria.
Politically the country did not have strong institutions that could
enable the political system to face challenges in a systematic way
without breaking. This can well be seen in the details provided later.
From the above explanation, it can be said that all the three factors –
economic, social and political did create negative condition for
democracy to sustain itself. But the present study without
undermining the role of economic and social factors, nevertheless
gives more importance to the political factors. The main reason for
giving importance to the political factors in terms of political
institutions is primarily because if these institutions were strong then
the challenges posed by the economic and social factors would have
been easily tackled in a systematic way, without leading to the
breakdown of the political system. This is well seen in the case of
countries like India, which in spite of numerous problems like poverty
and social diversity has not collapsed primarily because of the strong
institutions it had in terms of political party, civil service and the
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judiciary. Besides the existence of these institutions, there is a
balanced development of these institutions, where each institution
played its respective role without interfering in the working of other
institutions. These things however were not seen in the case of
Nigeria. This can well be understood from the details of some of the
institutions like the political party, armed forces, and the judiciary,
which follows:
POLITICAL PARTY
In a democracy the existence of political party is very essential owing
to the important roles played by them. They are essential instruments
for representing political constituencies and interests, aggregating
demands and preferences, recruiting and socializing new candidates
for office, organize the electoral competition for power; crafting policy
alternatives, setting the policy making agenda, forming effective
governments and integrating groups and individuals into the
democratic process. To play these roles effectively what is needed is
a strong mass base, which by extending its support helps the party to
legitimize its existence. This is made possible, when the party’s
evolution has taken place in a slow and systematic way and when it
has the presence of leaders. This was what seen in the case of India
where democracy has continued, in spite of numerous ups and
downs. The success of the democratic experiment in India can be
attributed to two main factors. First, the nation had the advantage of a
party, which had a strong mass support. This it was able to build over
a period of time for if one studies the party evolution, then one finds
that it had a long history for it started as a movement in 1885 but with
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widening mass support, it was able to take the shape of a party.
Secondly, the nation had leaders like Mahatma Gandhi who played
an important role in bringing together the people belonging to
different religions, regions, languages and walks of life. The national
movement, one can say though led to loss of numerous human and
material resources, it nevertheless helped in building strong political
institutions like the party.
This was not the scenario in Nigeria. For first, it did not have a
national struggle. The national movement that was spearheaded by
the rejuvenated Nigerian Youth Movement was torn apart by mutual
jealousies, suspicions and petty squabbles over party office. The
golden opportunity that was offered during 1938 to 1952 to initiate
and carry out the task of building the nation was just allowed to slip
off. The split in the rank and file of the movement doomed not only
the chances of a unified force against imperialism but also created
ground for the emergence of issues of ethnicity. Secondly, though the
nation had the best-known leaders like Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief
Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello, these leaders failed to provide national
leadership owing to their inability to rise above narrow ties of
ethnicity. Chief Awolowo in his autobiography wrote of Dr. Azikiwe:
"By the end of August 1939 it seemed clear to me that his (Azikiwe)
policy was to corrode the self- respect of the Yoruba people as a
group, to build up the Ibos as a master race…"(Olugemi,
1987,p.254). The national leadership crisis was therefore not solved
with a creation of National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon in 1944,
with an objective of providing a united national front against
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imperialism by Azikiwe. Probably because of his explosive nature and
political leadership Dr. Azikiwe alienated most Yoruba middle class
and Hausa-Fulani aristocrats, who resented him because they felt he
threatened their positions and challenged their own aspirations for
leadership. One can therefore say that Nigeria produced "Awoists"
and "Zikists" unlike the leadership in India, which produced Indians.
The result was that when the nation was born, their existed different
regions dominated by ethnic groups following a different a religion of
a particular type. In the absence of unity in diversity, the state was not
a nation but "… a mere geographical expression"(Ekeh, Dele-Cole,
Olusanya, 1989, p.92). The situation was exploited by the political
leaders of various parties in their competition for the limited political
offices and associated. Rather than focusing on issues of national
concern, it was ethnicity/ regionalism that were used by the political
leaders to win elections. This was well seen in 1964 and 1979
elections as we have already discussed in the chapters above.
Thus, in the initial years when democracy needed a suitable
environment, in terms of stability, to consolidate itself, the political
parties, in keeping in mind their selfish interests of obtaining power,
used ethnicity to divide the masses, which generated instability and
thereby eventually contributed to the distortion of the democratic
process.
It was only in later years that military leaders like Babangida, who
tried to reduce the role of ethnicity in politics by evolving two party
systems. To Babangida, the system had the distinct advantage of
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simplifying the choices available to the electorate and encouraging
"cohesion in a land of pluralistic interests."(Bello Imam, 1997, p.148).
Intellectuals criticized this attempt as an undemocratic imposition.
Fears also were expressed by a significant cross- section of the
citizenry that two party system even if it prevented ethnic based party
politics of the first Republic, could polarize political cleavages on
regional (North/South) or religious (Muslim/ Christian) bases, which
could be potentially as dangerous if not more dangerous than
polarization along ethnic lines. However, such a development did not
take place. The 1993 elections were considered successful
adjustments ever made to party politics with tremendous potentials
for national integration. The M.K.O.Abiola victory therefore was not a
victory for himself, the Yoruba or the south but a victory for
democracy and national integration and which was possible because
of the two party system which put an end to the possibility of ethnic
groups, particularly the three major ones having their own parties
mobilizing the electorate along ethnic and eventually distorting the
democratic process. With the two-party system, all ethnic interests
were compelled to accommodate themselves in the two political
parties each of which became reasonably representative of all ethnic
groups. The masses could fully express their wishes, voting for the
candidate they considered better of the two rather than for the
candidate of their own ethnic party. But this positive development in
the Nigerian politics was not allowed to make its headway because of
the annulment of the elections. The country therefore did not get a
chance to experiment a new development in the political arena rather
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a ground was generated for ethnic tensions. The southerners viewed
it as an intentional action to prevent a southerner to assume power.
The other feature that the party politics exhibited and which effected
the smooth functioning on democracy was the increasing use of
violence. The parties employed violent tactics, which sometimes
involved the physical elimination of opposition candidates. This was
well seen during the 1964 elections when opposition candidates were
harassed, prevented from campaigning and even the filing of
nomination papers was made impossible. These incidents took place
more in the northern and western regions, which were the focus of
competition to control (Osaghae, 1998, p.45).
Apart from using violence, there is also an absence of existence of
free and fair electoral process. This is mainly due to the absence of
an independent and non- partisan electoral body, an independent
judiciary to interpret electoral law, a free press and a well-organized
police to maintain peace and order. During the First Republic, it was
brought out that the members of the Electoral Commission regarded
themselves as representatives of their regions, whose duties were
primarily to defend and protect regional interests (Ekeh, Dele-Cole
and Olasanya, 1989,p.116) The partial nature of the Election
Commission was reflected even during the 1983 elections.
The Babalakin Commission of Inquiry that was set up in August 1985
investigated the activities of the electoral body, the FEDECO, which
handled elections in the Second Republic (1979-83). In the report,
which it submitted on Nov. 14, 1986, it was brought out that FEDECO
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and some of its officials had joined with the politicians to subvert the
electoral process. The electoral malpractices seen included
compilation of fictitious names, absence of voters revision exercise,
stuffing of ballot boxes with ballot papers and falsification of election
results (Nzongola-Ntalaja and Lee, 1997,p.128)
The electoral process in Nigeria therefore did not serve as a peaceful
means to bring about change and neither did it offer to the people to
exercise their choices in a free manner. It rather reflected a
Hobbesian state of affairs where each party was in war with the other
party and was ready to employ any means to achieve political power.
Such a state of affairs therefore created obstacles in the smooth
functioning of the democratic process.
In addition to the above-mentioned characteristics, the parties
prevailing in Nigeria reflected another feature, i.e.; they lack strong
ideological commitment. Scholars like Billy Dudley have also
observed the absence of ideological disputes as a prominent feature
of Nigerian politics. According to him – ‘generally, political beliefs are
characterized more by their fluidity than by any consistency with
which they are adhered to and certainly for the political leadership,
political beliefs are more a matter of convenience than one of
commitment.’(Ekeh, Dele-Cole, Olusanya, 1989, p.166) Martin Dent
emphasized this same observation, when he said, ‘The Nigerian party
system has usually sought for an ideological orientation but has so far
failed to achieve it’ (Ibid, p.166). This was well seen during the
Babangida era, there existed two parties, as discussed earlier –
National Republican Convention (NRC), which was "little to the right",
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and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was "little to the left".
The former emphasized market economy and corporate capitalism
and the latter emphasized a mixed economy and social welfarism.
But a study of their manifestos showed that essentially both were
capitalist parties and committed to the continuous of economic reform
programme of Structural Adjustment Programme (Momoh and
Adejumobi, 1999.p.135).
Instead of ideology, it was observed that they revolved around
individuals. It is because of this moving from one party to another,
which is essentially done to be closer to the goal of achieving power,
is a common phenomenon in Nigerian politics. This development
therefore reflects not only the fragile nature of country’s politics but
also the selfish attitude of the leaders. They view the entry into
politics as an easy way to enrich themselves rather than providing
solutions to the socio-economic problems of the masses. The masses
therefore with the passage of time, loose their faith in their political
leaders and look forward for any means that would enable them to
put an end to their deteriorating state of affairs.
Therefore it can be said that political parties by sidelining the national
interest and the interest of the people have not served as true
representative of people. They therefore have swayed the masses
away from them and have created obstacles in their legitimization
process. This has generated numerous challenges before the political
system, which ultimately has led to the collapse of the democratic
process and has facilitated the entry of repressive institutions like the
military into the political sphere of the country.
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ARMED FORCES
The understanding of Nigerian politics is incomplete without a focus
on the armed forces. This is mainly because of the 49 years of
country’s independence; the nation has been under military rule for
29 years. Their entry into the political affairs was made possible by
the operation of certain factors the most important being that of the
inability of the political leaders to live up to the expectation of the
masses. The people had great hopes that the leaders will help them
to resolve numerous problems experienced by them. But such a thing
did not happen; the leaders on the other hand utilized their power to
perpetuate their own selfish interests. Not only this they even pursued
policies that sidelined the national interest. The result of all these
developments was that a sense of frustration emerged amongst the
masses, which found its outlet in various forms of conflicts that
ultimately led to the breakdown of the political system. It is then the
military got an opportunity to intervene in the country’s politics. The
intervention was therefore justified by perpetuating ideas like - "…But
what we do promise every law –abiding citizen is freedom from fear
and all forms of oppression, freedom from general inefficiency and
freedom to live and strive in every field of human endeavour both
nationally and internationally…" "The federal military government will
preserve Nigeria as one strong nation. We shall give firm, honest and
discipline leadership. The federal military government will stamp out
corruption and dishonesty in our public life with ruthless efficiency
and restore integrity and self respect in our public affairs" (Banjo,
1996, p. 3).
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Opinions however differ on the role of the military in political and
economic change. The question normally asked is –are the military
midwives to progress or do they simply act to spill the lava of people’s
revolutionary fervour. Scholars like Huntington doubt the ability of the
military to spearhead political and economic progress. According to
him, military is incapable of making real efforts towards building
political institutions, not least because among other considerations,
their skills make them least suitable for such tasks (Caron, Gboyega
and Osaghae, 1992, p. 239). Other scholars like Lieuwen and Bienen
support this viewpoint of Huntington. These scholars agree that
military regime is not capable of fundamental changes. The military’s
ability to bring about political stability and stimulate economic
development is therefore doubted.
The neo-Marxists too perceive the role of the military in the creation
of meaningful, political, economic order as essentially negative, for
the military aligns always with forces of reaction and the middle
classes to defend the status quo and is often used in the conspiracy
to abort efforts at engineering real change in their countries. (Caron,
Gboyega and Osaghae, p.240)
However, some scholars while studying the role of military in the
context of Nigeria have come up with different conclusions. Akin
Iwayemi credits the military with rapid economic growth the country
witnessed since 1970(Caron, Gboyega and Osaghae, p. 240-41)
If one studies the role of military in the context of Nigeria, then one
finds that some of the military leaders did pursue some positive
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policies. The Ironsi government in search of national cohesion
banned over 80 political associations and parties and dissolved the
Federal Structure replacing it with a unitary structure through the
Unification Decree 34. The government therefore made its effort to
save the country from drifting away into destruction.
The Gowon military government did release political prisoners,
abrogated the Unification Decree thereby returning Nigeria to a
Federal set up, created 12 states in May27, 1967 thereby gave
recognition and sense of belonging to the minority groups, pursued
national unity like National Youth Service Corps established in 1973
and the establishment of Unity Schools in states. A good deal of
infrastructure Nigeria has today were planned or executed under the
Gowon government. Indigenization Decree 1972 gave Nigeria and
Nigerian greater participation in selected business, while the import
substitution strategy boosted industrial development especially in the
arenas of automobile assembly plant, machine tool factories and food
processing factories.
But if one studies the overall role of the military, then one finds that it
too was not different from the elected regimes. Their policies did not
cater to the socio- economic needs of the masses. Some of the
policies like the SAP, acted as catalyst in worsening the economic
conditions of the weaker section like the peasants and the workers.
The problem of corruption which the military promised to wipe out, not
only continued to persist but rose to unprecedented heights. Their
operation created a negative environment for return of democracy for
while in power they put curbs on institutions like the political parties.
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To the military leaders, good politics is essentially non-party politics.
Keeping this idea in mind, number of military leaders like Gowon
during their period of rule, banned their operation. Restrictions were
also imposed on the independent functioning of the mass media as
was seen during the Buhari regime. Under Decree4 of 1984, two
Guardian journalists were jailed and the newspaper fined 50,000
Naira. The officials of the State Security Service killed Editor in Chief
of Newswatch Magazine. The circulation of Newswatch was
prohibited for six months in Nigeria. In the subsequent four years,
Nigeria witnessed the closure of more newspaper houses than in all
of the years put together since independence (Diamond, Green and
Oyediran, 1996, p. 398-399). They established their authority even on
the judiciary and therefore effected its independent functioning.
These repressive measures were accompanied with a promise to
bring back democracy. Like General Ironsi promised to effect certain
constitutional changes after which he would consult the Nigerian
people and ‘with the consensus of various representatives of public
opinion’ he would re-establish a system of democracy for the country.
The military leaders that succeeded Ironsi also gave similar
assurances to the people of the interimness of military rule and
therefore of hopes for a return to democratic politics. But these
promises essentially were false for they were merely given to gain
time to strengthen their own positions.
We can therefore say that role of the armed forces in Nigeria is not
just limited to defence and security of the country but over a period of
time it has widened its sphere of action by interfering in the political
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sphere. Once after resuming the political role it has intentionally
operated in a way that has destroyed the independent functioning of
representative institutions. By doing so it has not only assumed an
important position but has created hurdles in the process of
democratic return.
JUDICIARY
In a democracy, judiciary has to play an important role for it is not just
the custodian of people’s fundamental rights, guardian of the
constitution but also helps in maintaining a balance between the
various wings of the government. These functions can well be
performed if the judiciary is independent and free of any control.
However, such was not the position of judiciary in the Nigerian
context. The independent functioning was curbed under the military
regime. The overthrow of the Second Republic on 31st December
1983 brought about the suspension of various provisions of the 1979
Constitution. The passing of decrees limited the authority of the
courts to interpret the law and adjudicate disputes (as reflected in
Section 5 of Decree1). It declared: “No question as to the validity of
this or any other Decree or Edict shall be entailed by any court of law
in Nigeria."(Diamond, Greene and Oyediran, 1996, p.393). To further
affirm the supremacy and unquestionable status of military decrees in
Nigeria, the government promulgated the Federal Military
Government (Supremacy and Enforcement of Powers) Decree 13 of
1984, which provided:
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"No civil proceedings shall be or be instituted in any court or on
account of or in respect of any act, matter or thing done or purported
to be done under or pursuant to any Decree or Edict, and if any such
proceedings are instituted before, or after the commencement of this
decree, the proceedings shall abate, be discharged and made void
(Diamond, Greene and Oyediran, 1996, p.393)
The above provisions effectively ousted the competence and
jurisdiction of the courts from enquiring into the validity of decrees
made by the military government. These provisions are found in all
decrees affecting human rights made by the military since 1984. A
further provision that features in all military decrees affecting human
rights is the suspension of fundamental rights.
In violation of the cardinal principle of the rule of law, the power of the
military to make laws was expanded to include the promulgation of
retroactive decrees Thus Decree1, the State Security Decree 2, the
recovery of Public Property Decree 3 and the Banking Decree6,
which were all promulgated in the first quarter of 1984, were made
retroactive to commence on 31 December.
The Special Tribunal (Miscellaneous Offence) Decree 20,
promulgated in July 1984, turned out to be the most draconian and
unjust piece in Nigeria’s legal history. It provided the death penalty for
a wide range of offences including arson, tampering with oil pipelines
or electric and telephone cables, importing or exporting mineral oil or
ore etc.
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The military also annihilated the principles and practices of due
process recognized by the nation’s legal and judicial systems. First,
Decree 1 of 1984 suspended the provisions in Section 32(3)-7of the
1979 Constitution of Nigeria entitling an accused person to remain
silent on arrest until he consults his lawyer to be informed in writing
within 24 hours of the reason for his arrest, to be charged to court
within reasonable time and to be compensated for unlawful arrest.
Second, military tribunals were set up to co-exist with the ordinary
civil courts in the administration of criminal justice. The first of such
tribunals was the Recovery of Public Property Tribunal set up under
Decree 3 of 1984"to ascertain whether any public officer has been
engaged in corrupt practices or has corruptly enriched himself or any
other person or has by virtue of abuse of his office contributed to the
economic adversity of Nigeria. "The Public Officers (Protection
Against False Accusation) Tribunal was set up under Decree 4 of
1984 "to try persons who publish in any form whether written or
otherwise, any message, rumour, report or statement which is false in
any material particular or which brings or is calculated to bring the
federal military government or the government of a state or a public
officer to ridicule or disrepute"(Diamond Greene and Oyediran,
1996,p.395)
The military also set up the Miscellaneous Offences Tribunal and the
Robbery and Firearms Tribunal to try persons accused of various
other criminal offences including drug trafficking and armed robbery.
The decrees setting up the tribunals forbid judicial appeal against
their decisions. Appeals could be made only to a special appeal
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tribunal, whose decisions were subject to confirmation by the ruling
Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC).
A look at the tribunals set up the military since 1984 reveals that the
tribunals cannot either legally or in practice be considered
independent or impartial. For most of their duration, the tribunals had
military personnel in their membership. Most of the military officers
lacked knowledge of legal issues and proper orientation towards the
administration of justice. The military officers saw their mission on the
tribunal as enforcement of the decrees promulgated by their
colleagues in the AFRC and times saw the conviction of an accused
person as a victory for the military government.
Thus, the Guardian editorialized on 20 July 1991 that "the continued
existence of the special tribunal, demilitarized or not, represents the
perpetuation of the parallel judicial system which impedes confidence
in the regular courts. It is ultimately detrimental to our hope for an
improved and uniformed system of laws"(Diamond, Green and
Oyediran, 1996, p.397)
The deteriorating position of the judiciary can be explained by the
amendments that were brought out in the appointment of judges. The
AFRC was virtually vested with powers to appoint judges to the State
and Federal Courts. According to the Decree 1 of 1984, the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria was appointed by the AFRC
entirely on its own discretion, while justices of the Supreme Court
were appointed at the of the AFRC, but acting on the advice of the
Court of Appeal sitting jointly. The President and Justices of the Court
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of Appeal, the Chief Judge and Judge of the Federal and State High
Courts were appointed by the AFRC acting on the advice of the
Advisory Judicial Committee. In essence, the nation’s judicial officers
were appointed at the pleasure of the military government. While
making appointment, the military, the military government appointed
into judicial offices only those who were unlikely to engage in undue
radical decisions.
It can therefore be concluded that judiciary in Nigeria, is a weak
institution for neither did it safeguard people’s fundamental rights nor
it has succeeded in maintaining a balance between the various
organs of the government. In fact, it has succumbed to the increasing
pressures of the military and in the process lost its autonomy.
Therefore it can be said that the democratic process in Nigeria has to
face challenges from the socio-economic and political arena but it is
mainly due to the existence of weak political institutions that the
sustenance is been made a difficult task. The weakness of the
institutions can be attributed to the certain features that they exhibit
which thereby has hampered the development of institutions to a
level, where they cannot manage social or economic crisis smoothly
without breaking down. Even in situations where the political
institutions responded by initiating some measures, such measures
were undertaken to promote not the general interests of the masses
but only for a section of the society. The large section was therefore
alienated and did not share the benefits of such positive measures;
the result was that a sense of disillusionment emerged, which found
its reflection in various kinds of political conflicts that brought down
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the democratic process. Another political reason that can be utilized
to understand the failure of democracy is that in Nigeria there has not
taken place a balanced development of the institutions. Some
institutions which do not reflect people’s aspirations and which are
repressive in nature like the army, is so overdeveloped, a ‘leviathan
monarch’ that it has effected the proper functioning of the
representative institutions. Thus the institutions like the judiciary have
not been able to deliver the best owing to its subordination to the
army. Thus, if the political institutions were strong and developed in a
balanced way, they could have succeeded in meeting any crisis
emerging from the social or economic sphere but in the absence of
such a situation democracy in Nigeria has not been able to
consolidate itself. In its 49 years of independence, it has had
democracy for 20 years. The memory of the past should not however
lead to a state of despair. The country has tremendous potential both
human and material for building a state on solid foundation. The
reshaping of the country’s future needs some efforts and some of
these include:
First, there is a need to solve the leadership crisis, without which the
country’s future is bleak. The idea that virtually anyone without any
form of adequate training and exposure can become a head of state
in Nigeria must be seriously called to question. To survive and
progress, the most competent individuals in the country, irrespective
of ethnic or religious inclination need to be selected, to lead the
country. Scholars like Diamond, Linz and Lipset have also pointed out
the significance of leadership. According to them "even structures
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and institutions, especially political ones, are shaped by the actions
and options of political leaders. The more constraining and
unfavourable the structural circumstances, the more skilful,
innovative, courageous, and democratic committed political
leadership must be for democracy to survive." They further argued,
"even when the obstacles are formidable, democratic breakdowns
are not inevitable but are accelerated by poor leadership and bad
choice."(Bello-Imam, 1997, p.140)
Second, political democracy can be strengthened if its important
counterpart that it is economic democracy accompanies it. The
political system needs to undertake steps that would provide solution
to economic problems like that of poverty with which a large section
of the society is struggling. Since this struggle against poverty is a
multi- faceted and long term one, what is needed is evidence of a
concerted effort to wage this struggle as the highest priority project.
This step would also help in bringing under control other problems
like that of ethnicity for ethnicity is essentially a reflection of feeling of
economic deprivation.
Third, the linkage between the political parties and ethnicity or religion
is not to the best interests of the Nigerian people. This is an arena
where de-linking is necessary and appropriate. This can be made
possible if people have political education. The people should
understand their rights, responsibilities and the role of the state. They
should be educated to demand accountability on the part of those
elected office. They should be in a position to recall those who have
failed to deliver. A proper understanding of the various political issues
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will therefore prevent them from being used as pawns by the leaders
in name of ethnicity.
Fourth, the way the parties are constituted and legitimized has
bearing on both the scope and content of democracy in the country
as well as on the capacity of government to be responsible and
accountable to the electorates. The parties need to be internally
democratic and should be interested in deepening the content of
democracy in the country.
Fifth, the survival of democracy is dependent to a large extent
depend on the ability of the electoral body to conduct free and fair
elections through a transparent process. For this to take place what is
needed is the existence of an electoral body which is independent in
its functioning.
Sixth, the judiciary is another organ of democratization. It can play an
important role in promoting good governance. It should therefore be
an independent institution.
Seventh, there is a need for accountability and transparency in
governance. This will help fighting the problem of corruption for apart
from destroying the moral fabric of the society; it also leads to the
drain of national resources, which are needed for development.
Finally, the role of the army should be limited to the defence and
security of the nation. It should not look for opportunities to jump into
politics as it has done in the past years for this development leads to
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the curbing of people’s freedom and also leads to the destruction of
the institutions which can democratize the nation.
REFERENCES
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Adamolekun, Ladipo (1985): The Fall of the Second Republic,
Spectrum Books Limited, Ibadan.
Ake, Claude (1996): Democracy and Development in Africa,
Spectrum Books Limited, Abuja.
Harris R" Nigeria: Crises and Compromises," African Report, March
1965.
Huntington, S.P (1968) : Political Order in Changing Societies, Yale
University Press, New Haven.
Ibrahim, J., (eds) (1997): Expanding Democratic Space in Nigeria,
CODESRIA, National Studies Series, Oxford.
Inamete, U. B.: "Federalism in Nigeria: The Crucial Dynamics", The
Round Table, Vol.318, 1991.
Jegede Segun, Ale Ayodele and Akinsola Eni, (eds): State
Reconstruction in West Africa, Committee for the Defence of Human
Rights, Lagos.
Sarabjit Kaur: Institutional Development as a Challenge to
Democratic Sustenance in Nigeria. Lecturer, University Institute of
Legal Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh. An article delivered at
the Centre for Democracy and Development, Lagos as a Visiting
Scholar under the South-South Exchange Programme in 2002.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
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ETHNICITY IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
INTRODUCTION
The vilification of ethnicity as the scapegoat of all vices associated
with the Nigerian body polity has made the subject a dominant theme
in the study of Nigerian political economy. No work is deemed
‘scholarly’ that does not consider the salience or irrelevance of
ethnicity in its analysis and conclusions. Thus, analysts interested in
such diverse issues as nationalism, decolonisation, national
integration, political parties, military intervention, corruption, economic
development, structural adjustment, democratisation and violent
conflict have all considered the ‘ethnicity’ variable. This was the case
even in the 1960s and 1970s when the major intellectual traditions
felt ethnicity was of secondary importance as an explanatory variable;
at best an epiphenomenon and at worst a mask for class privilege
(Sklar 1967).
The result of such interest in ethnicity, which is proportional to the
high level of ‘ethnic consciousness’ in the Nigerian society (Lewis et
al 2002), is a legion of literature on ethnicity, making a critique a
Herculean task.
As Jinadu (1994: 166) rightly puts it, ‘the study of ethnic relations in
Nigeria has passed through a number of phases reflecting changes in
the country’s political status as well as changes in fashions and
trends in the social science research agenda’. This introductory
section is followed by conceptual clarifications and a critical analysis
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of the different explanations scholars have advanced for
understanding the phenomenon of ethnicity in Nigeria. Following this,
the themes that have dominated the study of ethnicity in Nigeria are
examined, outlining some of the neglected issues.
CONCEPTUAL ISSUES
Ethnicity may be defined as “the employment or mobilization of ethnic
identity and difference to gain advantage in situations of competition,
conflict or co-operation” (Osaghae 1995:11). This definition is
preferred because it identifies two issues that are central to
discussions on ethnicity. The first is that ethnicity is neither natural
nor accidental, but is the product of a conscious effort by social
actors. The second is that ethnicity is not only manifest in conflictive
or competitive relations but also in the contexts of cooperation. A
corollary to the second point is that ethnic conflict manifests itself in
various forms, including voting, community service and violence.
Thus, it need not always have negative consequences. Ethnicity also
encompasses the behaviour of ethnic groups. Ethnic groups are
groups with ascribed membership, usually but not always based on
claims or myths of common history, ancestry, language, race,
religion, culture and territory. While all these variables need not be
present before a group is so defined, the important thing is that the
term ethnicity is consistently used in this chapter for what some
analysts have called tribalism or communalism. Such a group is
classified or categorised as having a common identity that
distinguishes it from others. It is this classification by powerful
agencies such as the state, religious institutions and the intelligentsia
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such as local ethnic historians that objectifies the ethnic group, often
setting in motion processes of self-identification or affirmation and
recognition by others. Thus, ethnicity is not so much a matter of
‘shared traits or cultural commonalities’, but the result of the interplay
between external categorization and self-identification (Brubaker,
Loveman and Stamatov 2004:31-32).
Most analysts agree on the basic constitutive elements of ethnic
groups but disagree on how and why they were formed, why ethnicity
occurs, why it occasionally results in violent conflicts and what should
be done to prevent its perverse manifestations. Depending on what
answers they provide to these elementary questions, analysts have
been divided into several schools of thought. While earlier
commentary classified the approaches as primordialism and
constructivism, this chapter is attracted to the recent schema used
by Varshney (2002), which distinguishes four schools: essentialism,
instrumentalism, constructivism and institutionalism. This is because
it enables us to identify different tendencies that have been lumped
under constructivism. Briefly, essentialism restates the thesis of
primordialism (that ethnic identities are static and given) by noting
that ethnic identities date back to the distant past and are rooted in
cultural differences among kinship-based groups.
Instrumentalism posits that ambitious classes manipulate dormant
ethnic identities to pursue their interests, thereby politicising ethnicity
and ethnicising the polity. Constructivists interrogate the origins of
ethnic groups, tracing identity ‘construction’ or ‘invention’ to the
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activities of colonial authorities, missionaries and emergent
nationalists and emphasizing the historicity and fluidity of ethnic
identities. Institutionalists emphasize the critical role of political
institutions and pragmatic policies in the framing of ethnic relations.
As Ake (2000) and Mustapha (2000) have correctly argued these
distinctions have been overemphasized as use of one does not
necessarily preclude the other. Most scholars combine more than one
perspective in their analyses. Essentialism, the earliest of the four
approaches, arose from cultural cartographies and greatly influenced
modernization theorists whose positions became the points of
departure of the other three approaches. The following sub-title
examines the interplay between the ethnicity literature and theories
from other disciplines.
MODERNIZATION THEORY AND ETHNICITY
Modernization theory assumed that conflicts in developing societies
were borne out of the fact that the peoples who constituted these
societies originated from varied cultures that engaged themselves in
bloody duels before the advent of the ‘civilisers’. Embedded in
essentialist or primordial explanations is the assumption of
irrationality in ethnicity. W. Arthur Lewis’ (Cited in Sklar 1967:1- 2)
prognosis of the problems of independent states of West Africa
succinctly states this position: “Most of them include people who differ
from each other in language or tribe or religion or race; some of these
groups live side by side in a long tradition of mutual hostility,
restrained only in the past by an imperial power. French writers use
the word ‘cleavage’ to describe a situation where people are mutually
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antipathetic, not because they disagree on matters of principle, like
liberals and socialists, or because they have different interests like
capitalists and workers, but simply because they are historic
enemies. Cleavage cannot be overcome merely by argument and
economic concessions, as in the traditional British manner, because it
is not based on disputes about principles or interests. Hence it is the
most difficult problem of all”.
Such characterization, which was based on the earlier work of
several of the colonial anthropologists, was credited for inspiring early
policies of ethnic and race relations in several African societies such
as Nigeria. These include the promotion of separate settlement
schemes for ‘natives’ and ‘settlers’ in emergent urban communities;
indirect rule; and, regionalisation aimed at ensuring that there was a
minimum social distance between the groups. While modernization
theory was based on the premises of essentialism, modernization
theorists were not convinced that separate development was the best
solution to the problem of ethnicity. Rather it advanced charismatic
national leadership, national parties, national youth movements,
national political institutions, western education, advances in
communication and transportation, and urbanization - indeed
modernization - as catalysts for integration.
The expectation of integration derived from antecedents of the
‘American melting pot’ as well as the apotheosis of nationalism in
Western Europe. However, this ‘prophecy’ turned out to be false.
Ethnicity rather than receding into the darker pages of history
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repositioned itself. It moved from the backseat it had occupied to take
up the driver’s seat. Analysts were quick to point to the persistence of
ethnicity despite decades of unrestrained modernization in all
spheres. In a major critique of modernization theory, Robert Melson
and Howard Wolpe (1971:3) asserted that, “inter-group conflict is
seldom a product of simple cultural diversity and, in the Nigerian
case, there is little that is ‘traditional’ about the contemporary pattern
of political divisions. On the contrary, Nigeria’s political crisis is
traceable directly to the widening of social horizons and to the
process of modernization at work within the national boundaries”.
James Coleman (1971) shows how the desire of the Igbo speaking
people for education was seen as threatening the status quo, where
the Yoruba speaking people, who had earlier contacts with western
civilization, dominated the colonial service. He also highlights how the
rising profile of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (an Igbo) in the nationalist
movement aroused rivalry among the Yoruba elite, leading to the
formation of alternative political platforms. Thus, both education and
charismatic leadership, which modernization theory expected to
reduce or eliminate ethnicity, exacerbated it. Abner Cohen’s (1971)
research focussed on the commercial enterprises of migrant Hausa
communities in Ibadan, a Yoruba town, showing how ethnic identity
developed as the migrants devised measures to take control of the
cattle and kola nut markets. The study demonstrates that migrant
communities often developed political institutions and systems
distinct from cultural practices dominant in their places of
provenance. Their relations with their ‘host’ communities were at
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different points cooperative, competitive and conflictive. The Yoruba
started to mobilize against the Hausa traders not because they were
Hausa, but because they had dominated the market and were
regarded as exploitative merchants. Hausa migrants often felt their
interests were not only distinct from their kinsmen at ‘home’, but
sometimes threatened by them. Thus, they were ready to enter into
alliances they deemed necessary for their survival. Their forms of
organization were meant to checkmate not just competitors from
other ethnic groups but those from their own groups. Hence, when
some Hausa traders decided to create another market and attendant
political organizations outside sabo, it was the Hausa traders at sabo
that protested and fought against the idea, not the Yoruba. John
Paden (1971) examined Igbo migrants in Kano and concluded that it
was not differences in values but similarity of values that resulted in
the competition over scarce resources, in order to actualise such
social values which pitched the Igbo against their Hausa-Fulani hosts.
Wolpe’s (1971) study of politics in Port Harcourt arrived at a similar
conclusion. Other articles in the volume highlighted how the military
and educational institutions, which were expected to foster
integration, became sites of - and catalysts for - ethnic competition. In
contrast, ethnic unions, which were deemed reflections of primordial
loyalties embarked on community development initiatives and also
played useful roles in political mobilization by political parties. Thus,
Smock (1971), and Magid (1971) who studied ethnic unions among
the Igbo and Idoma respectively, support Coleman’s (1958) position
that ethnicity, symbolised by the presence of ethnic unions, was not
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opposed to nationalism. Nationalists used ethnic unions to penetrate
the rural areas and mobilise the people, which was to the chagrin of
the colonialists who preferred to confine nationalist activities to the
urban elites. Furthermore, Richard Sklar’s (1971) contribution, using
material from Western Nigeria, outlined ‘the contributions of tribalism
to nationalism’ by distinguishing ‘pan-tribalism (which) is a vigorous
offspring of modern urbanization and distinctive expression of ethnic
group activity for the most politically conscious members of a new
and rising class’ from ‘communal partisanship that is endemic to rural
areas and old towns where traditional values are paramount and the
socially cohesive ties of traditional authority are binding upon the
people’ (Sklar 1971:263-264).
Clearly, the Melson and Wolpe volume has helped clarify the
phenomenon of ethnicity. However, the criticism of modernization
theory is sometimes taken too far as to suggest that modernization
inherently generates conflict. Such a conclusion is unfounded as it
suggests that modernization leads to conflict everywhere. There is
no empirical support for such position in Nigeria where most cities
have not witnessed violent ethnic conflicts. Still, this absence of
violent conflicts in several Nigerian cities has not attracted serious
attention given the orthodox presupposition that ethnic diversity
begets violent conflicts. As Horowitz (1998) observes if this were the
case, the most modernised nations not the least modernized, would
be the sites of intense ethnic conflicts. Studies that link modernization
to ethnic conflicts need to underscore the specific contexts within
which advances in modernization can contribute to the breakdown of
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harmonious ethnic relations. There is also a need to problematise the
stage at which modernization would most likely generate conflict, by
disaggregating aspects of modernization that tend to generate
conflicts. Other issues that should be considered are demographic
factors such as size of ethnic groups and patterns of migration, as
well as the nature of socio-economic specialization, cooperation and
competition among ethnic groups.
ETHNICITY, MILITARY INTERVENTION AND CIVIL WAR
Publications on the civil war have also contributed to the study of
ethnicity in Nigeria either by privileging the ethnic factor or assigning
it a marginal role in the hostilities. Melson and Wolpe’s position that
modernization promoted uneven development in different spheres
among the different ethnic groups, and that the initiatives adopted by
disadvantaged groups to bridge such disparities culminated in
conflicts, is shared by several studies (Nafziger 1983). These and
other studies, however, go beyond inter-ethnic competition to identify
the role of class and international capital in precipitating the crisis.
The bourgeois class bungled the First Republic because it did not
play by the rules of the game (Dudley 1973) and manipulated ethnic
sentiments in its competition for wealth and power (Diamond 1988,
Post and Vickers 1973).
This is similar to Lonsdale’s (1994) formulation of moral ethnicity and
political tribalism in Kenya. Increasingly, following the First Republic
and the end of the civil war scholars began to adopt an
instrumentalist view of ethnicity arguing that ethnicity was a weapon
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adopted and perfected by regionally based elites in their struggle to
acquire state power and the wealth it guarantees. Ordinary Nigerians
had nothing against each other. It was the elites that mobilised them
against one another. The case of Bornu where the political and
traditional elite spoke out against hostilities towards the Ibo, and
therefore prevented anti-Ibo sentiments spreading to the Bornu area,
is often cited as signifying the agency of the elite.
STATE, CLASS AND ETHNICITY
Okwudiba Nnoli’s Ethnic Politics in Nigeria (1978) represents the first
comprehensive effort to investigate ethnicity in Nigeria. Unlike
previous critics of modernization who identified social change as the
cause of ethnicity, Nnoli, inspired by the Marxian class perspective of
the dependency movement, asserts that ethnicity developed from
colonialism. The provenance of ethnicity according to Nnoli was the
colonial urban setting where: ‘The exploited Africans soon
experienced the colonizers’ racial prejudice and discrimination in the
fields of jobs, remunerations, housing, sports, and even churches and
burial grounds. Having been uprooted from the pre-colonial setting
which had valid meaning for him, in which history had effectively and
organically related him to his local environment and culture had
produced salutary patterns of interactions with others, the African
migrant found the door to the coloniser’s glorified world securely
barred to him. The resultant anomie and alienation affected his socio-
economic and political activities. Even in interactions with his fellow
Africans, he experienced tension, anxiety, and insecurity. Disoriented,
subjugated and humiliated by the colonizer he directed his aggressive
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impulses against other colonised ‘natives’ with whom he competed on
the basis of equality.
Ethnic group membership was useful for this competition’ (Nnoli
1978:22). The exploitative tendency of the coloniser and the scarcity
of socio-economic and political opportunities in the colonial period
generated intense elite competition. Nnoli argues that the colonial
administration deliberately promoted ethnicity through policies of
indirect rule, categorization of Africans by ‘tribe’, and promotion of
separate settlements between natives and settlers of urban centres.
The outcomes of the divide and rule oriented policies that led to the
rise, spread and consolidation of ethnicity include: socio-economic
competition, regional inequalities, lack of economic unity, rivalry in
provision of amenities, low class consciousness, intemperate
utterances and factional politics, among others. Although, Nnoli
acknowledges that some pre-colonial differences were relevant in
inter-ethnic competition, he states that cultural diversity was a myth
because the colonised had been uprooted from the pre-colonial
setting. By emphasizing the colonial experience, Nnoli draws
attention to role of the socio-economic system in the politicization of
ethnicity.
Ultimately therefore, he argues dependent capitalism pursued by
colonial and post-colonial Nigeria, which promoted and exacerbated
inequalities and placed emphasis on distribution instead of
production, is the cause of ethnicity. It goes without saying according
to Nnoli, that all projects such as the creation of the states within the
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Nigerian Federation administered by the bourgeois elites, will fail.
Only a socialist revolution that rescues the country from dependent
capitalism will promote the type of development that does not
encourage ethnicity.
Nnoli’s seminal study is illuminating in several respects. It identifies
the materialist underpinnings of ethnicity. It shows that inter-ethnic
contact does not necessarily provoke violent conflicts especially
where there is socio-economic division of labour and exchange.
Worthy of mention also is its inter-disciplinary perspective, which
derives from Nnoli’s political economy approach, enabling him to
combine evidence from historical, anthropological, psycho-
sociological, economic and political studies to buttress his arguments
on the origins, crystallization and persistence of ethnicity.
However, there is the tendency to exonerate the subordinate classes
in privileging the role of the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois classes
leading to what Hodgkin (cited in Jinadu 2004:7) aptly called the
‘clever elite/dumb mass thesis’. Moreover, history contests the view
that ethnicity is a logical consequence of dependent capitalist
development. Several dependent capitalist countries have avoided
violent ethnic conflicts. Obviously, this position was influenced by the
attraction of the dependency movement in social science faculties
across Africa in the 1970s. It is instructive that Nnoli (1995) has
changed his views and later propounded the argument that
democracy and the substantial withdrawal of state from economic
activities would help to check ethnicity. Finally, while it is true that
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colonialism was crucial, the approach can be questioned for
underestimating pre-colonial antecedents. The assertion that
migrants were uprooted from the pre-colonial setting presupposes an
end of history, a clean break between the two epochs. There is no
doubt however, that the transition was marked by both continuity and
change. This is implicit in Peter Ekeh’s (1972, 1975) theory of two
publics, which he has applied to explain citizenship, ethnicity and
corruption in Africa.
CIVIL SOCIETY AND ETHNICITY
Ekeh (1972, 1975) posits that one of the fundamental consequences
of colonialism was the creation of two publics, which contested for the
loyalty of Africans. These are: (1) the primordial public which is made
up of ethnic unions, community associations and other primordial
groups, established in the colonial period to meet the welfare needs
that were denied by the colonial state; and (2) the civic public whose
genealogy begins with the colonial state apparatus and encompasses
the symbols and institutions of the post-colonial state. While the
primordial public enjoyed the affection of the people who always
thought of what they could do for it without asking for anything in
return, the civic public is inundated by avaricious citizens with a
notion of citizenship that begins and ends at the realm of rights. It is
Ekeh’s argument that ethnicity has flourished because the Nigerian
elite who inherited the colonial state have conceptualised
development as transferring resources from the civic public to the
primordial public. The civic public is thus a contested terrain where
representatives of the primordial public struggle for their share of the
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national cake. In this struggle, politics is amoral and the end justifies
the means. The state is so treated because it is seen as alien,
exploitative and oppressive. Ekeh cites as evidence of the dichotomy
between the two publics, the Ekeh’s thesis is similar to the views of
French writers like Balandier and Bayart who argue that ethnicity is a
form of resistance to colonial fact that the same bourgeois elements
that evaded taxes and pilfered public funds contributed generously to
community projects and, when called upon, exhibited the highest
level of probity in management of community finance. An example of
this is found in the popular Igbo lexicon where the public service is
referred to as olu oyibo (white man’s job) and is different from olu
obodo (community service).
Despite the light which Ekeh’s theory sheds, especially on the
centrality of the struggle for access to and control of the state, some
of its assumptions remain suspect. It is still an instrumentalist
explanation that privileges the role of the elite; it wrongly assumes
that the motivation for corruption emanates from the desire to serve
the primordial public; and it overlooks the possibility of overlap
between the two publics given its fixation with the tradition-modernity
dichotomy popularised by functionalist theory (See, Osaghae 2003,
Joseph 1987). Moreover, Ekeh’s theory overemphasizes the ‘love’ for
the primordial public. Yet, studies on ethnic and hometown
associations show clearly that payment of dues by members has
remained a problem. Some communities were engulfed in violent
conflicts on account of embezzlement of community funds indicating
that corruption is not restricted to the civic public (Ahanotu 1982).
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The major problem with these pioneering studies on ethnicity is that
they are state-centred, elite based and proceed on the assumption
that the history of the Nigerian peoples started with the arrival of the
British. The preoccupation with the nation-building project, which is
assumed to have began at the onset of colonization and is
conceptualised as the transfer of loyalties of cultural units to the
nation-state, has stymied any consideration of the “the possibilities
and constraints offered by the actual historical dynamics of the sub-
nation groups and formations” in pre-colonial Nigeria (Mustapha
1999:27). Indeed, Obaro Ikime (1985) has drawn attention to various
forms of inter-ethnic relations that prevailed in the pre-colonial period
but have since been supplanted by the colonialists and the post-
colonial political elite. Mustapha (1989, 1999) suggests that one
possible approach to the national question is to take a cue from pre-
colonial state formations which did not promote the indigene-settler
distinction in identity formation, but granted full citizenship rights to
non-natives that had settled and become important actors in their
political economy. Pre-colonial histories and cultural differences also
matter because they sometimes provide a useful background for
understanding current conflicts, such as the Zango-Kataf and Ife-
Modakeke conflicts, amongst others (Mustapha 2000, Albert 1999,
Ekeh 1996). The localization of some of these violent conflicts in rural
areas where “a particular ethnic group invokes historical and
ancestral claims to the land area which is the subject of conflict, with
the aim of restoring ownership” suggest the emergence of rural
ethnicity which was neglected in earlier studies on ethnicity (Egwu
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1998:55). In addition, recent studies have shifted focus from the so-
called major ethnic groups which exclusively preoccupied studies in
the period between 1950 and the mid-1970s to minority ethnic
groups. While minority politics from the late colonial period to the
onset of the civil war were subordinated to the conflicts of the major
ethnic groups, the state creation exercises that started in 1967
reconfigured the terrain for contestation.
The term was coined to capture the new fortunes of ethnic groups
who were hitherto regarded as minorities under the three-region
structure but became dominant in the newly created states even
though they are still regarded as minorities in the politics of the
federation. They include Edo, Ijaw, Tiv and Ibibio. Minority minorities
on the other hand are those groups that remained minorities in the
new states such as Idoma, Itsekiri, etc. Accused of oppressing the
‘minority minorities’ with occasional outbreaks of hostilities,
vindicating the position of the Willinks Commission that states
creation was not the solution to the minority problem. The problem is,
however, compounded by the fact that major ethnic groups also
acquired more states in successive state creation exercises. These
groups continue to dominate the federation which witnessed greater
fiscal centralization since the advent of the military in 1966. This
provoked dissent from ethnic minorities in the oil producing Niger
Delta region who bemoan the continuous reduction of the share of
revenue based on the derivation principle since the discovery of oil
(Naanen 1995, Mustapha 2000).
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The Niger Delta thus became a site of conflicts manifested in various
forms, ranging from conflicts between communities and the state to
conflicts among communities and oil companies, and conflicts
between communities (Ojo 2002). While some have argued that
these are environmental conflicts others have implicated the
discrepancy between state and community understanding of security
as contributing factors. According to Ibeanu (2000), who assimilates
both views, conflicts in the Niger Delta arise from the fact that while
the state defines security as the condition where transnational
corporations have unrestricted access to the oil rigs in order to
explore and exploit oil, community conceptions of security focus on
guarantee of livelihoods. The efforts of both parties to each enforce
their own security result in violent conflicts. Furthermore, it has been
suggested that some of the communal conflicts in the region are
proxy wars engineered and executed by state agents to divide and
rule the people of the area (Ake 1996). While these explanations may
hold in some cases, it is still risky to generalise. It has become
evident to some scholars that while there is a national template for
conflict, each conflict scenario has its own peculiarities and deserves
to be studied in its own context. This realization has resulted in
several studies that target specific conflicts in order to offer deeper
insights into their origins and transformations (Otite and Albert 1999,
IPCR 2003).
One effort in this direction which focussed on the restive Niger Delta
arrived at the interesting conclusion that: ‘In virtually all the conflicts,
the role of ethnic entrepreneurs who mobilize ethnic grievances in
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pursuit of their material interest has been decisive. Politicians,
businessmen and youth leaders have been implicated in virtually all
the conflicts. And usually the aim has been to mobilize ethnic
grievances to achieve personal in individual objects, which are
oftentimes even subversive of collective communal interests’
(Isumonah and Gaskia 2001:74).
However, beyond the refrain of ‘low’ and ‘false’ class consciousness
that attends instrumentalist theories, one is left to wonder how few
‘greedy’ characters are able to instigate and sustain conflicts that are
against the common interest unless a concerted effort is made to
understand the genuine ‘grievances’ of the apparently voiceless
majority. We need to understand what specific political processes
endear ethnic leaders to their followers. Explanations of ethnicity
would be richer if they combined the historical and structural
approaches. As Mustapha (2000:105-106) has aptly argued there has
recently been a tendency for western scholars to focus on the
historical aspects in a bid to deconstruct the notion of primordial
ethnic groups without relating such historical analysis to current
manifestations of the problem which has been the preoccupation of
scholars in Africa. The tendency for social constructionists to describe
the agency of the colonial state, Christian missionaries, and fledging
African elite in the construction of ethnic identities (as Law (1996) has
reiterated for Yoruba identity) would be tantamount to a fairy tale if it
is not related to contemporary developments. Conversely, studies
that focus on what has been described as the rise of sub-ethnicities
since the onset of economic crises without relating it to the social
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history of pan-ethnic identities will end up with a short story that lacks
depth. To this end, it is necessary that academic research on
ethnicity in Nigeria, as elsewhere, take a closer look than ever, at
local histories authored by ‘amateur’ historians to understand the
social basis of ethnic identity formation and mobilization (Harneit-
Sievers 2002).
DOMINANT THEMES IN THE STUDY OF ETHNICITY
Apart from the abovementioned theoretical explorations, several
themes have attracted the attention of scholars interested in ethnicity.
These themes are: ethnic unions and ethno-political associations;
economic crisis, Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP) and ethnicity;
management of ethnicity; and ethnicity and democratization.
ETHNIC UNIONS AND ETHNO-POLITICAL ASSOCIATIONS
Earlier insights on the phenomenon of ethnicity emerged from the
study of the formation and roles of ethnic unions and homeland
development associations (Coleman 1958, Sklar 1963, Smock 1972,
Nnoli 1978, Ahanotu 1982). These studies trace the origins of the
unions to migrants who conglomerated in the colonial urban
environment that was unfamiliar, unfriendly and insecure. Their roles
in the mobilization of resources order to award scholarship to
promising youths, provide credit to businessmen, and to embark on
amenities provisioning of the homeland have been highlighted. It has
also been shown that although they emerged as a result of lack of
interest of the colonial state in community development, they became
more popular in the 1950s when some regional governments began
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to provide counterpart funding for such development. Their
politicization and involvement in ethnic politicking have also received
scholarly attention. But scholars began to shift attention from the
unions after the new military banned them for their alleged
involvement in partisan politics during the First Republic. There was
renewed interest in these bodies in the wake of the economic crises
of the 1980s, which saw the resurgence of civil society perspectives,
as it became apparent that some of these groups had filled the
vacuum created by the retreating state (Albert 1993, Osaghae 1994,
1995). One of the interesting revelations of these studies is that
ethnic unions did not vanish entirely after the ban. They merely
transformed their identities through changes in name, and concerned
themselves with immediate communal issues. While pan-ethnic
unions vanished, homeland associations continued to flourish. Pan-
ethnic unions only became useful in the Diaspora where homeland
associations could hardly be effective as a result of their insignificant
membership. It was such dormant unions that were revitalised in the
context of the ethno-religious conflicts from the mid 1980s.
The impetus for this resurgence was the desperation of military
administrators to impose peace by seeking representatives of
different ethnic groups in their domains. One consequence of this
legitimization or state recognition was the traditionalization of the
bodies as their leadership appropriated traditional chieftaincy titles
and symbols. This development has generated intra-group conflicts,
as chieftaincy tussles have emerged in the Diaspora that hitherto
crippled development in the homelands. The export of tradition to the
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areas of settlement has also generated inter-group tensions, as the
‘sons of the soil’ fear this might be a prelude to making claims to their
land. Recent attempts have also been made to analyse the rise of
ethno-political associations within the framework of civil society
against the predatory rule of an ethno-military class (Joseph 1999,
Mustapha 2000, Akinyele 2001, Ikelegbe 2001). These studies need
to be enriched by examining the possibilities of historical affinities
between present and past groups, analysing their structures and
modes of resource mobilization, and the extent to which they
represent those they claim to represent as well as their constraints.
ECONOMIC CRISES, STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT AND
ETHNICITY
There is an underlying assumption in studies of ethnicity that ethnic
identities and conflicts flourish in the milieu of economic crisis and
poverty (Nnoli 1978, 1995). The common feature of such argument is
the centrality of the state and the agency of conspiratorial bourgeois
elements. This is evident in Jega (2000:25): ‘Under conditions of
economic crisis, and subsequently structural adjustment, there has
been a swift decline in the ability of the state to provide for the basic
socio-economic needs of the people. Similarly, there has been
increased exclusion of a segment of the elite and the bourgeoisie in
the distribution of the spoils of office, and an acute marginalization of
the majority of the population from the benefits of development
projects and social provisioning…And as the state …disengages from
critical, basic social provisioning, only the constituencies and clients
of those who control state power actually continue to have access to
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the state resources through patronage. Thus, under these conditions,
groups have tended to rely on identity-based politics to struggle for
access to the state and the resources that it controls, in order to
protest exclusion and oppression, as well as to demand basic rights
and socio-economic provisioning.’ Apart from showing a coincidence
between the onset of economic crisis and resurgence of conflicts,
analysts have provided empirical evidence for different dimensions of
the crisis. Egwu (1998) has shown how the ‘agrarian crisis’ has
relocated conflicts to rural Nigeria. Osaghae (1995) argues that
structural adjustment has heightened mobilization of ethnic identity
with evidence from the privatization programme and the Ogoni crisis.
However, most analysts are also in agreement that although, ethnic
mobilization has been instrumental to the development of social
capital, its net impact on development has been largely negative
(Egwu 1993, Nnoli 1995). Despite the great insights these studies
offer in understanding contemporary ethnic conflicts, they have
tended to generalise excessively. The attempt to link ethnicity to
economic crisis and SAP needs to be framed in such a way that it
explains why conflicts have arisen in some areas and are absent
elsewhere even though there has been uniform implementation of the
programme across the country. This would entail highlighting the
important intervening variables such as ethnic inequality. Osaghae
(1995:21) has rightly suggested that, “It is the perception of inequality
held by actors rather than actual inequality that leads to action. In
some cases, inequalities are exaggerated to justify action or mobilize
group solidarity…It is not so much deprivation or disadvantage that
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engenders ethnic action, it is rather the prospects of advancement
from them”.
Still despite the centrality of horizontal inequality to the understanding
of ethnic relations (Stewart 2002), studies on ethnicity in Nigeria have
merely glossed over it assuming it is evident for all to see. Few
studies that have touched on inequalities have highlighted
educational, economic and political inequalities at the federal level
(Mustapha 1987, 2004, Ekeh and Osaghae eds. 1989, Osemwota
1994). However, although inequalities at the federal level have
shaped the national template of inter-ethnic animosity, most of the
conflicts have arisen out of perceptions of inequalities at the local and
state levels. Even in the anti-Igbo riots in Northern Nigeria in 1966-67,
which degenerated into a national conflict, it was significant that
members of the Igbo ethnic group held prominent positions in both
the public and private sectors of Northern Nigeria, and were ipso
facto implicated in inequalities at the region and local levels in
northern Nigeria.
MANAGING ETHNIC DIVERSITY AND CONFLICTS
Years before the attainment of independence, Nigeria’s constitutional
development experiences were concerned with the principal goal of
managing ethnicity, which had shown clear signs of subverting the
nation-building project. Federalism, the creation of regions and states
and local governments, the shift from parliamentarism to
presidentialism, the institutionalization of quota systems, the
prohibition of ethnic political parties, consociational politicking, and
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the adoption of the federal character principle are some of the
approaches that Nigeria has taken to manage ethnic diversity. These
mechanisms have enjoyed the intellectual backing of institutionalists
who posit that there is a connection between ethnic conflict or peace
and the nature of political institutions (Young 1976, Horowitz 1985).
Several works on ethnicity in Nigeria have been committed to
examining the impact of these approaches to the management of
ethnicity (eg. Ekeh and Osaghae ed. 1989, Adamolekun ed. 1991,
Ekekwe 1986 Horowitz 1985, Mustapha 1986, Nnoli 1995, Osaghae
1998, Suberu 2001).
The verdict of such scholars who have examined the issues from
different theoretical standpoints is that while these initiatives have
solved some old problems they have generated many unintended
consequences that have exacerbated ethnicity. What is more, they
have been destabilizing for the Nigerian state system. As Suberu has
noted with respect to revenue allocation and states creation: ‘The
establishment of nine separate commissions on revenue allocation
since 1946 has led to neither the development of an acceptable or
stable sharing formula nor the elaboration of an appropriate
framework of values and rules within which a formula can be devised
and incrementally adjusted to cope with changing circumstances’
(2001:11) ‘Given the sheer multiplicity and fluidity of the territorial and
cultural cleavages that can be used to justify the demands for new
states and the federal resources they bring with them, there is no
certainty that the states-creation process will ever be concluded in
Nigeria’ (2001:15) Analysts have attributed the limitations of the
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ethnic management policies to improper implementation, distortion of
visions and lack of political will. Some however doubt the possibility of
a state that generates fissiparous tendencies (Ibrahim 2000) and a
predatory class that is endlessly looking for formulas to divide the
Nigerian peoples (Mustapha 1985) implementing policies that
promote ethnic peace and harmony.
ETHNICITY AND DEMOCRATISATION
Those who profess their love for democracy have always been afraid
of plurality. This is one of reasons why the ancient Greek ‘inventors’
of democracy excluded the ‘weaker’ sex and the ‘barbarian’ race from
political participation. This antipathy for plurality was carried over into
the ‘age of liberty’ as evidenced by the belated extension of suffrage
in liberal democracies. J. S. Mills voiced this concern when he argued
that democracy would not survive in a plural society (See, Horowitz
1985). These fears trailed most of the plural African countries at the
eve of independence as some countries adopted one-party systems
in order to preserve democracy and build the nation. Nigeria is one of
the few African countries that retained a multi-party structure even
though de facto one party rule persisted in the regions and states. In
the wake of ‘the resurgence of democracy’ from the mid-1980s,
several analysts warned that democratization would ignite ethnic
conflicts. This warning came at a period when scholars and renascent
civil society were advertising democracy as a liberator from
dictatorship and violent conflict (Nnoli 1995, Osaghae 1995, Olukoshi
and Laasko eds. 1998).
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Some analysts referred specifically to the fact that liberal democracy,
which privileged individual rights and disregarded group rights was
not suitable for the African context where group rights are
emphasized (Ake 2000, Jinadu 2004). Thus, some efforts were made
to assuage the fears of impeding doom. Ake (2000:114) was one of
the boldest optimists: ‘Far from being prone to generating ethnic
conflict, democratization is actually an antidote to those things, which
promote ethnic identity and what passes for ethnic conflicts in Africa.
What are these causes? The most important is the character of the
post-colonial state in Africa…its power over economy and society is
enormous, arbitrary and it is largely privatised. For all but a few of its
citizens, it is alien and remote, uncaring and oppressive…many of
them have turned away from the state and given their loyalty to sub-
national formations’. As Ake argued most of the conflicts that erupted
in post-military period in Nigeria have been linked to the state in one
form or the other (Mustapha 2002, Ukiwo 2003).
ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA: A REVIEW
Despite being home to somewhere between 250 and 400 ethnic
groups, Nigeria is primarily made up of three main ethnic groups –
Hausa-Fulani, Igbo and Yoruba -- that comprise about 60 percent of
the population. A fifth group, the Ijaw, has been growing in population
and influence and currently makes up another 10 percent.
THE HAUSA-FULANI
Muslim Hausa-Fulani are the predominant ethnic groups in Nigeria's
northern region. Though the groups originated in different parts of
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West Africa, religion, intermarriage and adoption of the Hausa
language by the Fulani have unified the groups over time. In
contemporary Nigerian society, they are often referred to collectively
as Hausa-Fulani.
The largest of the major ethnic groups, Hausa and Fulani have been
politically dominant since Nigeria's independence from Britain in
1960. Islam is a key component of their ethnic identity and continues
to inform their role in modern Nigerian society and politics. Their
culture is deeply patriarchal and patrilineal.
In recent years, Hausa and Fulani were instrumental in adopting and
upholding Sharia, a system of Islamic law, in 11 of the country's
northern states.
THE IGBO
The Igbo, the main ethnic group in southeastern Nigeria, has
represented some of the staunchest opponents of Sharia law. In
many northern Hausa-Fulani-dominated states, minority populations
of Igbo claim to have been unfairly targeted by laws that do not
pertain to their faith.
Unlike neighboring Hausa and Yoruba cultures, Igbo society was
traditionally decentralized and non-hierarchical. This made its
members easier converts for European missionaries and today most
Igbos are Christian.
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Under British colonial rule, many Igbo served in government and
military roles and were later key players in Nigerian independence.
But over the last few decades the group has become less politically
dominant.
Discovery of large oil reserves near Igboland in the early 1960s and
proposed redistricting led many in the group to fear that they would
be cut out of revenues from the country's natural resources.
In 1967, an Igbo secessionist movement in Biafra state led to a 30-
month war with the Nigerian government, in which hundreds of
thousands of Igbo starved to death.
After the war, Igbo were reintegrated into Nigerian society, but in a
more marginalized role. Despite lingering ethnic tension, they now
play an important part in southeastern Nigeria's oil trade. In recent
elections, however, they have struggled to coalesce around a single
candidate for the presidency.
THE YORUBA
The Yoruba are one of Nigeria's most urban ethnic groups.
Historically, their culture centered on densely populated city-states
each controlled by an oba, or king. Yoruba now form the majority in
Lagos, the second most populous city in Africa.
In modern day Nigeria, Yoruba speakers do not always identify with
their larger ethnic group, but rather the many smaller Yoruba-
speaking communities.
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This pluralism extends to Yoruba views of religion. As Islam and
Christianity spread to Yorubaland over the past few centuries, the
group embraced both faiths alongside its many traditional and animist
beliefs. This blend and acceptance of religion survives in modern
times and has mitigated some religious conflict in places where
Yoruba form the majority.
Like the Igbo, Yoruba held important roles in the British colonial
government, participating significantly in both political and economic
life. Since independence, the group has been overshadowed by the
more numerous and dominant Hausa-Fulani.
However, in 1999 a Christian Yoruba Olusegun Obasanjo became
Nigeria's president and first elected head of state. He was re-elected
for a second term in 2003.
THE IJAWS
In recent years, the Ijaw have agitated for more political franchise in
Nigeria. Although they are the fifth largest ethnic group in the country,
their traditional lands in the Niger River Delta are some of the
country's most oil-rich.
Oil exploration has had devastating consequences on Ijaw territory
and subjected the group to numerous ecological hazards.
Mismanagement of oil revenues has kept much of the wealth from
returning to Ijaw communities.
In January 2006, the Ijaw militia Movement for the Emancipation of
the Niger Delta kidnapped four Royal Dutch Shell employees in the
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Niger Delta region, demanding the release of an Ijaw militia leader
who was arrested by Nigerian authorities. His continued detention
has caused members of MEND to swear continued attacks and
disruptions to the oil industry.
Despite these ongoing tensions, 2007 could saw an Ijaw take a major
political office for the first time. Goodluck Jonathan, an Ijaw, is now
the vice presidential of Nigeria.
ETHNIC TENSIONS
The Nigerian government has worked out tentative power-sharing
arrangements to help ensure that its many ethnic groups have some
say in how the country's natural resource wealth is spent. But major
questions about ethnicity and how to balance the many competing
interests still dog the society.
Cities remain largely segregated along ethno-religious lines, and
confrontation between ethnic groups is common. Often, ethnic
clashes in one part of the country can set off a chain of reprisal riots
and attacks in other parts of the country.
All major ethnic groups have formed militias to protect their own
interests and perpetrate violence on other groups. While illegal, these
vigilante groups continue to act with impunity for lack of stringent law
enforcement.
CONCLUSION
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It is argued that changing socio-political realities in Nigeria and the
dominant intellectual traditions of the social sciences have greatly
influenced the study of ethnicity in Nigeria. The quest for imperial
hegemony inspired cartographic demarcation of ethnic boundaries
and anthropological observation of bio-cultural characteristics of
ethnic groups. Ethnic studies also proliferated as efforts have been
made to test the universal validity of the melting pot thesis. The
aficionados of class analysis did their best to confine ethnicity to the
realm of false consciousness. But these competing perspectives,
which have been presented as essentialism (primordial),
instrumentalist, constructivist, and institutionalist are not mutually
exclusive. Scholars have applied them eclectically in explaining the
linkages of such events as military intervention, civil war, economic
crisis and adjustment and democratisation, to ethnicity. These studies
have enriched our understanding of the nature of politics, the state,
resource competition, identity formation and transformation, and
ethnic conflicts in Nigeria.
One false start in ethnic studies which was the assumption that the
ethnic groups were always at each others’ throats for no just cause
tailored studies towards examining instances of ethnic conflicts and
competition to the neglect of numerous instances of harmonious
inter-ethnic cooperation. Related to this is that because ethnicity is
seen as the fault-line, few scholars have been interested in the
incidence of intra-ethnic conflicts which sometimes pose more threats
to human security than inter-ethnic discord (Nnoli 1995, Osaghae
1994). By neglecting intra-ethnic conflicts studies have missed out on
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fissures and tensions within groups and limited possibilities of
investigating how ethnic groups come to agree to declare or
acknowledge a common identity and identify a common interest to
pursue. Part of this lack of interest in the study of the internal
dynamics of ethnic mobilization arises from the assumption that
violent ethnic conflicts are instigated by elites to serve their personal
interests. Studies of ethnicity have privileged the agency of the
colonial and post colonial state as well as that of the ethnic elites
while denying popular agency.
This instrumentalist assumption, which pervades the literature, needs
to demonstrate that there is no congruence between the interests of
the ethnic leaders and those of their followers. This would require an
investigation of the nature of horizontal inequalities among ethnic
groups and the response of groups to such inequalities.
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REFERENCES
Adamolekun, L. ed. (1991) “Federalism in Nigeria: Toward Federal
Democracy”,: The Journal of Federalism, Vol. 21, No. 4
Ahanotu, A. (1982) “The Role of Ethnic Unions in the Development of
Southern Nigeria 1916-1966” in B. I. Obichere ed. Studies in
Southern Nigerian History, London: Frank Cass
Ake, C. (1996) “The political question”, in: O. Oyediran (Ed.)
Governance and Development in Nigeria: Essays in Honour Billy
Dudley, Ibadan: Agbo Areo.
Ake, C. (2000) The Feasibility of Democracy in Africa, Dakar:
CODESRIA Books.
Akinyele, R.T. (2001) “Ethnic Militancy and National stability in
Nigeria: A Case Study of the Oodua People’s Congress”, African
Affairs, Vol.100: 623-640.
Albert, I. O. (1993) Inter-Ethnic Relations in a Nigerian City: a
Historical Perspective of the Hausa-Igbo Conflicts in Kano 1953-
1991, Ibadan: IFRA
Albert, I.O. (1999) “Ife-Modakeke Crisis” in O. Otite and I. O. Albert
(eds.) Community Conflicts in Nigeria: management, Resolution and
Transformation, Ibadan: Spectrum Books.
Anber, P. (1967) “Modernization and Political Disintegration: Nigeria
and the Ibos”, The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 5 (5): 163-
179.
Brubaker, R., M. Loveman and P. Stamatov (2004) “Ethnicity as
Cognition”, Theory and Society, Vol. 33: 31-64.
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Cohen, A. (1971), “Politics of the Kola Nut Trade” in R. Melson & H.
Wolpe (eds) Nigeria: Modernization and the Politics of Communalism,
East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
Coleman, J. (1971) The Ibo and Yoruba strands in Nigerian
nationalism, in R. Melson & H. Wolpe (eds) Nigeria: Modernization
and the Politics of Communalism East Lansing: Michigan State
University Press.
Dent, M. T. (1971) “The military and politics: a study of the relation
between the army and the political process in Nigeria”, in: R. Melson
& H. Wolpe (eds) Nigeria: Modernization and the Politics of
Communalism, East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
NATIONAL QUESTION AND RESOURCE CONTROL.
The most salient issue among a broad spectrum of the Nigerian
society - the political elite, working class, civil society actors, artisans,
market women, students, lumpen elements and the unemployed - is
the "national question." This "question" is believed to be at the root of
the crisis of the Nigerian state and the problem of peaceful co-
existence in Nigeria. What then is the national question? The
national question as noted elsewhere differs in time and space, and
may be viewed from two angles. The first angle is inter-group
relations, i.e., the tensions and contradictions that arise from inter-
group relations dwelling on the issues of marginalization, domination,
inequality, fairness, and justice among ethnic groups. This may be
real or imagined. The second angle to the national question is the
class dimension, i.e., is the exacerbation of class inequalities and
antagonisms in society between the rich and the poor, the affluent
and the underclass, or to use the Marxist parlance, the bourgeoisie
and the proletariat. The latter sometimes reinforce the former,
increasing ethnic conflicts and antagonism in society (Adejumobi,
2002:156). While both perspectives of the national question are quite
relevant to the Nigerian situation, the former, i.e., the relationship
among ethnic groups, gains currency in the contemporary discourse
of the national question in Nigeria. The main issue of the national
question in Nigeria is how to structure the Nigerian federation in order
to accommodate groups and guarantee access to power and
equitable distribution of resources (Osaghae, 1998: 315). The
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background to it is the perceived domination of some ethnic groups
by the others engendered by the structural nature of the Nigerian
federation, the heavy lopsidedness in center-state relations, which
according to Wole Soyinka is highly "unbalanced, exploitative, and
acquisitive" and the growing impoverishment, frustrations and
disillusionment of the people, which is viewed as a direct
consequence of power structure and ruling class politics in Nigeria
(Adejumobi, 2000:126). In the final analysis, as Abubakar Momoh
rightly noted, the national question is fundamentally related to the
question of rights of nations and peoples particularly in the context of
oppression (Momoh, 2002: 2).
The issues involved in the national question revolve around the
following:
What should be the component units and tiers of
government in the Nigerian federation?
How should they be constituted, based on ethnic
contiguity or administrative expediency?
How should political power and administrative
responsibilities be shared among the levels and tiers of
government?
How should the ownership of economic resources be
structured in the Nigerian federation?
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What should be the acceptable formulae for sharing
federally collected revenue?
What should be the nature of inter-governmental relations
in Nigeria? (Adejumobi, 2000: 126)
The fears and demands of the ethnic militia groups have basically
revolved around the issues of the national question: marginalization
and domination of one group by another. For instance, the concern of
MASSOB is the marginalization of the East in the power equation in
Nigeria; that of OPC is about "power shift," and restructuring of the
Nigerian federation and the quest for self-determination by groups in
the Niger Delta region is based on the social injustice, neglect and
marginalization that the area suffers in the Nigerian nation. In an
important sense, these ethnic militia groups are offshoots of the
national question in Nigeria.
INDEPENDENT REPUBLICS
Therefore, socialists have to always pose the national question in
both cultural and social dimensions. Take the clamor for the Oodua
Republic as an example. On its own, this is a very legitimate and
democratic objective. But situated within the realm of concrete
historical features of today's Nigeria, it becomes obvious that only
with a democratic socialist agenda can ensure that such a republic
brings meaningful changes to the well-being and political rights of the
Yoruba masses, as well as safeguarding the rights of non-Yoruba
minorities living within the region. The same condition is applicable to
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agitation for Biafra in the South East and demands for autonomy or
separation in South-South and other geo-political zones in Nigeria.
In the past six years at, least Lagos has been the centre of OPC's
agitations and activities. Although historically a predominantly Yoruba
city, Lagos is easily the most cosmopolitan of Nigerian cities. Any
nationalist trend or agitation that fails to take this factor into
consideration is therefore doomed to create more problems for the
working masses of even the Yoruba extraction than the envisaged
benefits of separation.
The OPC rallying call is that all Yoruba sons and daughters should
come back home to establish an Oodua Republic. Implicit in this
slogan is a demand that all non-Yoruba origin people should go back
to their own "homes". Needless to stress this bourgeois way of posing
the question will always encounter lukewarm if not outright hostilities
of non- Yoruba people of the envisaged Oduduwa Republic. Even
elements of Yoruba extraction who live and work in other parts of
Nigeria and as such have no other practical homes and means of
livelihood cannot be expected to sincerely and enthusiastically
support this kind of political agenda.
As shown by the experience of the past six years, the vast majority of
the Yoruba masses living and working in the envisaged geographical
entity of the Oodua Republic themselves at best have been very
lukewarm to the OPC's campaigns and activities. This, in no small
measure, is largely due to the bourgeois and undemocratic manner
with which the OPC's objectives are being pursued.
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Without any attempt at convoking a democratic conference or
organizing referendum of the people of the Yoruba race, different
Yoruba nationalist groups have sprung up, many with intolerable,
anti-democratic constitutions. Instead of an approach which seeks to
systematically mobilize the different strata of the Yoruba working
masses, you have one that places emphasis on supernatural forces.
Myths are spread about ancient "powers" possessed by the Yoruba
race which can make people invulnerable to gun shots and machete
attacks. Like every reductionist bourgeois trend, the OPC and many
other Yoruba nationalist trends present the mass poverty of the
Yoruba masses as something peculiar to the race, and not a
phenomenon prevalent amongst the working masses of the diverse
nationalities that make up Nigeria. The same unscientific approach is
used by MASSOB and many other nationalist groups.
But in their day-to-day existence, the working masses are able to see
that their class enemies cut across tribes, nations and countries. This
is partly the reason behind the huge successes achieved by the two
general strikes called by the NLC in the past years. Therefore, to the
extent that the various nationalist groups fail to emphasize collective
struggles for democracy and social emancipation of the entire and
divergent working class masses of Nigeria, to the same extent are
they denied the crucial support of their respective working masses.
And if it should be stressed, it is this organic weakness that is
responsible for the palpable triumph of government perspective of
suppression of nationalist agitations.
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But if the working class movement is defeated, or shows no way out
of the crisis, then the nationalist organizations can win working class
support. This is the danger facing the labor movement. Labor has to
fight this danger by both seriously fighting capitalism and putting
forward demands that meet the national aspirations of the different
nationalities. But for socialists, even if we come to the conclusion that
the time had come for us to call for the break-up of Nigeria, we would
do so on class lines. For example, as the socialists in Britain,
members of the CWI, advocate for a socialist independent Scotland
and a socialist federation of the British Isles. Even if calling for a
break-up, we would still call for common workers' struggles and
explain the internationalist approach essential for the victory of
socialism.
RESOURCE CONTROL
The 1999 constitution has a provision that not less than 13% of
revenues generated from natural resources of any given area must
be paid to the area concerned by the central government. This very
minimal provision has now even been sidetracked by the Obasanjo
capitalist government. This has been done via the artificial
demarcation between revenues generated from onshore and offshore
oil exploration. Regrettably, though not unexpectedly, the Supreme
Court has given a ridiculous judgment to sabotage this modest
constitutional provision. According to this ruling, the oil found within
the territory of a state, including its neighboring shallow water, is
onshore and the respective state is entitled to be paid 13% derivation
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revenues, whereas oil sourced from deep water belongs to no states
but Nigeria as a whole.
Hence for the selfish capitalist/nationalist interests of the elites of the
major Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo nationalities that dominate the
economy and polity of Nigeria, logic must be overturned. We are now
being told that if Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta States, etc. do not form part
of the geographical entity called Nigeria, somebody from Sokoto,
Kano, Ibadan, Ilorin, Minna etc can come to the deep sea of the
states bordering on the Atlantic in southern Nigeria to claim
ownership of oil or any other material thing for that matter.
The attitudes of the working masses to the agitation for resource
control differ from one part of the country to the other. The masses in
the non-oil producing states are either apathetic towards it or
opposed to it. To this layer, the whole demand is seen as something
which would reduce the revenue being earned by Nigeria with the
attendant negative effects this is likely to have on their own living
standards. On the other hand, the masses in the oil producing states
support or have sympathy for the agitation for resource control. To
them, this is the only way out of the prevailing endemic mass poverty
in the oil-producing areas.
Socialists supports the democratic aspiration of the masses in the oil-
producing areas to have control over the resources which are being
presently exploited and looted by the multinational corporations and
the Nigerian capitalist elite. However, in its present conception and
articulation, the "resource control" agitation is largely a bourgeois
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phenomenon. Under the present arrangement, increase in revenues
to the oil producing states will bring little or no material benefit to the
lives of the masses. Instead, more millionaires will be created from
amongst the friends and families of the capitalist elites in power in the
oil producing areas.
In essence, it is only if the agitation for resource control is posed in
the context of making the working masses to fully and democratically
control the natural resources of nature and the commanding heights
of the economy with a view to satisfy and guarantee the basic needs
of everybody as opposed to the prevailing capitalist system whose
central goal is the generation of profits to a few insatiable capitalist
sharks that it can have a meaningful impact in the lives of the
masses.
But as it is written above, the re-emergence of nationalist agitations
on a greater scale is a very likely development in the coming period.
However, unless these agitations are given working class orientation
and the activities of the nationalist movements are thoroughly
democratized, they will merely serve to deepen the suffering and
agonies of the working masses vis-à-vis their quest for social and
political emancipation.
As socialists, we call for the democratization of all struggles and we
oppose undemocratic organizations. We also advocate the need for
an orientation towards the working class and struggle for socialism by
oppressed nationalities, students, etc. But a vital necessity is
rebuilding a fighting workers movement that can take up these
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national issues, but not showing any signs of nationalism. Our
attitude to nationalist organizations depends on whether they are
splitting the workers' movement or representing the first steps of a
new movement. For example, we would oppose an attempt to split
NANS along nationalist lines or the creation of an Oodua Students
Association. But if an OSA did emerge as the major student body in
the south-west then we may be forced to work with it in at least a
united front fashion.
The experience of the past three years has shown that nationalist
groups can be as deadly against the working masses of their own
nationality in the same way they behave towards those from other
nationalities. For instance factional crisis within the OPC alone has
resulted in the premature deaths of hundreds of persons in the past
three years. This sectarian approach has only succeeded in
alienating the mass of the Yoruba working masses from the OPC
phenomenon and this makes them easier targets of physical attack
by the state.
Instead of the agenda which seek to exclusively resolve the economic
and political plights of the working masses of a given nation or
country, socialists must develop one which seeks to combine the
struggle for the cultural and democratic rights of the working masses
of a given nation or country with that of the masses of the other
nationalities and the world working masses as a whole. Only this kind
of approach can successfully defeat the exploitative and oppressive
rule of imperialism and finance capital world-wide.
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If this approach is not followed, nationalist agitations will always
succumb to the divide and rule antics of the capitalist state. While it
will always be easier for the capitalist state to out shoot isolated
armed nationalist groups, same cannot be successfully contemplated
against a well-mobilized, democratically-controlled movement of the
working masses, especially one which will not hesitate to use arms to
defend its interest, against the selfish and undemocratic interests of
the capitalist class, whenever such situation arises.
However, unless the working class stamps its outlook and authority
on the polity, more determined nationalist groups will develop or re-
emerge in the not too distant future, whose motto will be violence
unlimited. Similarly, the current retreat on the stoning of Safiyat for
adultery must not be interpreted to mean that Sharia no longer
constitutes a serious obstacle to the building of a virile, pan-Nigeria
working class movement.
As socialists, we have always advocated the complete separation of
the state from religion. We have always advocated against state
religion. We regard religion as a personal question and defend the
rights of believers to carry out their religions. For years DSM has
been demanding immediate stoppage of the practice where
government uses public money to build churches and mosques, and
sends or subsidies pilgrimages to Mecca, Rome or Jerusalem. Our
reasons are based on two broad, related premises. One, religion
generally gives the impression that riches and wretchedness are the
way God, the creator, orders things. However, this scientifically, is a
fallacious theory. The earth and the universe as a whole are endowed
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with inexhaustible resources and potentials. As things are today, the
human race has the resources and technical capacity to rid the world
of hunger, homelessness, curable diseases, illiteracy, isolation
(occasioned by restricted transportation and communication
services), national narrowness, etc, which presently constitute the
essence of capitalist civilization. The main reason why this is not the
case and not likely to become the case is that there are out there a
few capitalist elements and corporations who feel that the world
resources must be used not to satisfy the needs of the people of the
world but be left for the capricious and selfish goals of the capitalists.
Socialists must make it abundantly clear that this is not the making of
any God or Creator. We must stress the fact that on the basis of the
existing resources and techniques, our earth can conveniently
support ten times the present population of the world.
Of course, a layer of the masses within and outside the Sharia states
innocently believes that the Islamic penal code is the solution to
crimes and corruption. But Sharia, as it is, is not only a political
adventure; it constitutes a serious breach of the democratic rights of
Muslim and non-Muslim Nigerians. As a rule, whoever pays the piper,
dictates the tune. Thus, Sharia, as it is a government creation, will
only be interpreted on the basis of the fancies of whichever faction or
creed of Islam that is at anytime in control of state power. Under the
Sharia criminal code, two women are required to give evidence to be
equivalent of one given by an adult male Muslim. If a Muslim and a
Christian are jointly accused of committing an offence, an adult, male
Muslim co-accused may be left off the hook and acquitted if he is
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prepared to swear his innocence on Koran. Similar option is however
not given to a Christian or somebody who holds a different belief.
Under Sharia someone who steals a cow gets his or her hand
chopped off but members of the capitalist ruling class who steal
millions and billions of naira of public money are never punished
because, according to the present authors of political Sharia, the first
is a crime while the second category represents a breach of trust.
At a stage sooner than anticipated by political Sharia advocates, the
working masses across national, religious and class divides will wake
up and fight these blatant discriminations embodied in the Sharia
criminal code. But unless socialists and the working masses in
general are able to come up with viable political alternative and
platform, which is capable and prepared to mobilise the entire energy
and resources of the masses along the struggle for genuine social
and political emancipation a new, more virulent Sharia movement is
inevitable in Nigeria.
If, as is most likely, the prevailing global capitalist crisis goes deeper
and or its negative effects lasted longer, and if the labor movement is
not able to positively use the generalized, transnational mass poverty,
which this is having on the living standard of the working masses, of
the diverse nations that make up Nigeria, then the emergence of a
more vicious, right-wing political Sharia is an inevitability. That is the
kind of time you would encounter Islamic clerics who are going to
argue that a more ruthless implement action of Sharia criminal code
is the way forward for mankind. However, if it must be stressed, this
will be nothing but the continuation of mass poverty and political
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repression for the working masses. As opposed to a religious struggle
which tends to divide the working masses along sectarian lines, what
is needed is a pan-Nigerian internationalist working class movement
whose central objectives will be the struggle to replace the current
man-eats-man, individualist capitalist system with a humane,
democratic socialist ideals where the satisfaction of all the economic
and political needs of every person on earth will be the sole and
primary yardstick of economic management and governance.
SNC or NC
In contrast to this approach, there are those who simply hold the view
that the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) or
National Conference (NC) will automatically straighten out any socio-
political problems faced by the working masses. A truly
democratically elected Sovereign National Conference may address
some of the critical questions ravaging the country today. But if the
country or its new fashion or units remain within the framework of
global capitalist network, it will mean that little or nothing can be
positively done to better the material well-being and democratic rights
of the masses by such an SNC.
Therefore, the SNC must not be about sovereignty where the masses
are only allowed to choose between one set of exploiters and tyrants
or the other. For an SNC to be meaningful to the masses, it must be
capable of raising and taking measures which are capable of
enforcing the democratic, working class control and management of
all resources and technical manpower of the society in the interest of
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all as opposed to that of a few as it is under capitalism. This is why all
the various sections of the capitalist ruling class including its Afenifere
AD extraction have not been able to consistently champion the
convocation of an SNC, or an NC. Not even the south-south
bourgeois, who is supposed to be more radical, given the fact that
most revenues come from his area while little development ever
occurs, is prepared to risk his prevailing privileges for an uncertain
and very difficult ideal. Their reasons are not far fetched. Their
present luxury and privileges are reality while the outcome of an SNC
or even NC is a gamble.
For one, they are not prepared to propose to the conference that
privatization must stop and that the commanding heights of the
economy be placed under democratic and public ownership of the
working people where production will be planned for the use of all
and not profits for a few as it is the case under capitalist dispensation.
Yes, each faction of the ruling class is ready to support an SNC/NC if
it is certain that its class interest will eventually be better protected.
The south-south bourgeois for instance will want to have exclusive
control of the oil wealth of the Delta region, to the exclusion of his
counterparts across the country. But if making an immediate move in
this direction will risk provoking a situation where he stands to lose
his personal material wealth, a southern bourgeois or any bourgeois
from other nationalities will rather band together with other fellow,
capitalist partners-in-crime, to sabotage the genuine national and
economic aspirations of the Deltan masses.
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For this reason, neither Afenifere nor its south-south bourgeois
counterparts can consistently fight for "true federalism" or "resource
control." This is because to do this will of necessity demand the
involvement of the working masses in the aims and implementation of
such an SNC agendum. But if the truth must be told, this (i.e.
involving the masses in aims and implementation of any crusade by
members of the capitalist class) will be the last, voluntary option that
any bourgeois movement will ever take. Only the working masses
who are the victims of mass poverty and destitution can be
consistently interested in any genuine, democratic agenda which
seeks to truly democratize the economy and politics of society.
This is why labor and youth activists and socialists should canvass for
a truly democratically-elected Sovereign National Conference (SNC).
This type of conference should be dominated by elected
representatives of the working people as its composition should be
according to the numerical strength of the various social groups in the
country. It will among other things, decide on the way forward for the
country and agree on a new constitution. Even then, while such an
SNC may represent a step forward from the present military-imposed
arrangement, the working masses and labor activists need to struggle
for a workers' and poor farmers' government that will implement a
socialist and anti-capitalist program. It is only this type of government
that can guarantee lasting improvements in the political rights and
economic and social conditions of the masses.
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REFERENCES
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"Federal Government of Nigeria's Policies and the Niger Delta's
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POLITICAL PARTIES
AND
PRESSURE GROUPS
IN NIGERIA.
OGBAJI, UDOCHUKWU A.O