Political parties and democratic governance; a case study of party formation in the fourth republic (1999-2002)

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p>The project of party formation in Nigeria started in the colonial days. This was when there was strident agitation by the nationalists in the country for decolonisation, and greater participant of Nigeria in the political system.</p><p>This quest was satisfied when Clifford constitution of 1922 introduce the elective principle, which was armed at widening the political space, albeit-little, to accommodate for Nigerians in the legislative council while the executive council still remained a British dominated sphere.</p><p>This view was shared by Adejumobi (1998:46) when he noted that political decolonisation process in Nigeria was marked “ by the extension of the franchise and scope of representative institution”. To Olayiwola (1998:10) it was towards the end of British Colonial rule in Nigeria, on the platform of the early political parties that emerged in the 1950s that the struggle for the country’s independence was expressly articulated and achieved Abdulhammid ujo classified the development of parties into four generations.</p><p>The first generation political parties were glorified interest group concerned with how to influence the colonial government.</p><p>The second-generation parties “were instrument of nationalist struggle. Their objective was to take control of political power from the colonial powers”. However, they were weak in their efforts at nation building. The third generation parties were modifies by the military and this introduces a phenomenon where parties were controlled in their formation and operations. This reduced them to what he called “quasi-formal institutions of government”. The political parties of fourth generation, still situated within a military context, completed the control measure exercised by the government over these organizations. At this time, the objectives, modes of production, finding and programmes of those parties were designed and decided by government. The Babangida and Abacha regimes fall into this fourth generation classification of political parties in Nigeria.</p><p>Nigeria cannot forget how the Babangida regime wasted over forty billion naira and eight years of fruitless rule in executing a boggy transition programme which ended in the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election, presumably won by the late chief M.K.O Abiola. IBB manipulate the third republic when he asked politicians to form parties on their own, but subsequently imposed the defunct National Republican convention (NRC) and Social Democratic party (SDP) on the party. This was after politicians had spent huge sums of money to lift these parties off the ground.</p><p>Abacha, on the other hand, obviously like his predecessor, never introduced a level playing field for the five political parties registered in his time. Only those sycophants and praise singers of his Machiavellian rule got the green light to participate Abacha created a suffocating environment in which the parties of era operated. It was a regime that was blinkered, repressive and coercive in its approach, ruthless in execution and people- averse, turning the Nigerian state into a personal estate.</p><p>Analyst argues that while “ the two political parties under the Babangida transition were mere extension of government, the five political parties under the Abacha transition were largely five fingers of the same leprous hand.</p><p>The project of transiting Nigeria to a democratic political was embarked upon in the fourth Republic, by General Abubakar after the demise of Abacha on June 8,1998. The leitmotif and critically the obvious and devious intention of the Abubakar administration concerning the formation and registration of parties under it, and how he ran the transition to completion.</p><p>In a highlyvoltile global system, the dominance of the liberal democratic ideology though not without its flaws, raises an imperatives for all countries in the world to democratize. This view is acknowledged by Adejumobi, add that in the context of declining economic fortunes and several material poverty of the people, authoritarian and one party rule appeared to have squandered their social capital and political legitimacy. Thus, raising the need for an alternative political choice in competitive multi-party elections and democratic politics.</p><p>As Powell has argued, “a strong system of political parties is essential for democracy. The military has frustrated effort as democratization in Nigeria. The nature of the transition to civil rule in Nigeria his been one where the government creates parties for the people, designs and plans their manifestoes for them, funds them, foist certain candidates on these organization and invites the people to join them so as to Crystallize their democratic quest. Thus, a climate of political exclusion, alienation and robbery of the fundamental right of the Nigeria peoples are evidenced.</p><p>This research project will therefore examine at the parties created and registered in the fourth Republic with the view to analyzing the process of party formation and how this could give vent to the pursuit of genuine democracy in Nigeria.</p><p>STATEMENT OF PROBLEM</p><p>This essay raised certain problematic, which it intends resolving in the course of this research work.</p><p>These problems are to:</p><p>(!) Examine the nature and conditions stated for the formation of parties in the Nigeria fourth Republic.</p><p>(2) Look at the role played by the military (both –serving and retired) and civilian collaborators in the shaping of Nigeria party system in the fourth Republic.</p><p>(3) Analyze the role played by the ruling elite and the power brokers in employing elections as a tool of planting friends, front surrogates in the political parties formed in the fourth Republic to attain, retain and maintain political power and its consequent economic advantages.</p><p>(4) Lastly, look at the politics of party formation in the fourth Republic.</p><p>OBJECTIVES OF STUDY</p><p>The objectives of the project report are to :</p><p>(1) Consider the nature of parties that emerged in the fourth Republic and the condition and regulation state for their emergence.</p><p>(2) Pursue the class configuration of the nature of the Nigeria. Power class brokers and its impact on the parties that emerged.</p><p>(3) Look at the politics that coloured the party formation in the fourth Republic.</p><p>(4) To examine the three party structures presently in place and this predicts for a multi-ethnic and diverse society like Nigeria.</p><p>HYPOTHESES</p><p>The hypotheses that would be used for analysis in his research are thus:</p><p>I. Party politics is an instrument of class denomination in a context of a poor majority and rich minority.</p><p>II. Party registration limits the participation of credible individuals and groups in political system, denying popular rule.</p><p>III. The more people –oriented a party system is, the more stability is experienced in the system.</p><p>SCOPE OF STUDY</p><p>This project work will be based on the party formation and registration in the fourth republic. This is to create an incisive but in depth explanation of the rights and wrongs at that position programme while making a comparative analysis between it and other either truncated transitions programmes of the Babangida’s and Abacha era’s.</p><p>THEORETICAL FRAME WORK</p><p>The theoretical tools of the class analysis in Marxism shall be employed to explain the politics behind the party formation in the Nigeria fourth republic.</p><p>RESEARCH METHODOLOGY</p><p>This research work shall be historical exploratory and descriptive in nature. The date for analysis will be sourced from secondary material such as Journals, Magazines, Newspapers, Textbooks, Unpublished materials and so on.</p><p>SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY</p><p>This project work is significant because it is aimed at explaining the project of party formation and registration in Nigeria, and why this has remained a Herculean task. Besides, it is to show that no government has the right to form or create parties for the people, or rather, that parties do not die but mutate, the bans and non–registration nonetheless. Importantly it is meant to open fenestrate to the study of the project of party formation, and by extension registration, with the Nigeria fourth Republic at the foreground.</p><p>REFERENCES</p><p>1.Adejumobi, S (1998) African Journals “ Election in Africa Development: A fading of Democracy “African Development. COSDESRIA, VOLXX</p><p>2.Olayiwola K. (1998) “Parties and their Antecedents” in the National Concord, October 28 1998</p><p>3. Remi Anifowose and Francis Enemuo (1999) Element of Politics.</p> <br><p></p>