The focus of this article is an empirical study of political clientelism and its development impact in rural Ibadan, Nigeria. The study of clientelism in Nigeria is not in any way recent. As far back as the 1970s,
Post and Jenkins (1973) revealed the clientelistic structure of Ibadan in the 1950s under the patronage of Adelabu. Adelabu rose to prominence through identification with the cause of the Ibadan common man. The clientelistic structure then involved the Ibadan Muslim poor majority, who were disadvantaged in political and economic arrangements that favoured the educated Christian and non-indigene minority. Adelabu was seen as a son of the soil, ready to wrest political and economic leadership from supposedly foreign usurpers and to
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More than five decades after his demise, Adelabu is still cherished in Ibadan; the story of this political patron who ministered to the needs of the downtrodden is often told.
During Nigeria’s Second Republic (1979–83), Ibadan’s clientelistic structure was similar to the arrangements of the 1950s. This time, the poor majority became the clients of Alhaji Adelakun, a prominent
Ibadan indigene. He was popularly called E. ruobodo (the river is never afraid). Whoever won or lost elections in Ibadan was dependent on Adelakun’s clientelistic structure. Adelakun perfected the means of extending goods to clients and injury and/or death to political opponents. In spite of his fierce and open display of thuggery and violence, he remained a respected politician and patron in political circles and was thus beyond the reach of the law. Adelakun’s structure only collapsed after the military toppled the Second Republic on
31 December 1983. Adelakun was arrested along with several other politicians, and died in prison in 1986.
Again, during the Third Republic (1991–3) and the present
Fourth Republic (since 1999), Ibadan’s political structure was and is predicated on clientelism. The structure was dominated by
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Joseph noted that attaining political/administrative offices is intrinsically associated with ethnicity or local belonging in Nigeria. First and foremost, appointment to political positions is dependent on the ethnic group, city, town or village a candidate is from – and not necessarily on merit. This is termed ‘federal character’ in the nation’s constitution and supposedly is meant to ensure fair representation in public political/administrative positions. At each politico-administrative level (federal, state or local government), it is expected that representatives of constituent ethnic/cultural groups will be appointed to represent and protect the interests of their communities. Thus, for example, Ibadan men must be appointed at federal/state administrative levels to represent and protect
Ibadan interests. More often than not, officials are selected for positions based on the recommendation of patrons. Of course, such officials are expected to be loyal to the patrons who recommended them, while also extending goods to clients through the
Nigeria has a complex history and though it is independent the effects of British colonization are still present.1#2 Nigeria’s dissension is inextricably linked to the merging of Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914.2#3 Early missionaries used Western education as a tool for evangelism causing a northerrn pulation dominated by islam to be suspicious and reject Western influences.3 In the south western ideals were more widely accepted as a result of their acceptance to Christianity and evangelism. Due to their easy acceptance of westernization the British built schools, roads and infrastructure in the South, none of which appeared in the North.
“Nigeria has always been a divided country plagued by weak governance, ethnic cleavages, and corruption”("The Historical Background of Boko Haram", 2014). Also, “Boko Haram was born in this context, with religious fervor growing in the Muslim north and finally manifesting itself in violent Islamist terrorism"( "The Historical Background of Boko Haram", 2014). When the British pull out the region, it left the Northern parts of Nigeria unstable and not ensuring that northern Nigeria opened the door to corruption by terror groups. “The system led by Bifurcated country with a productive south flush with oil wealth and impoverishes north struggling to reconcile modernization with dictates of the orthodox and rapacious power broker”(Wall, 2015). The country was not modernized like the southern part of Nigeria and majority of the people were uneducated and poor.
. The constitutional heritage of former regimes, in which public resources have been widely utilized to obtain sustenance of backing networks causing the complication of administrative processing, influences the political landscape of the state after democratization (Gee, 2015, p. 42). Different types of backing and clientelism prevail across the political system and administrative procedures, as proved by yielding and acquisition operations being frequently adjusted on the basis of individual relations. Moreover, the elevating level of dependency on costs for political crusades has developed opportunities for political corruption and state seizure, especially at the local level (Strachan, 2014a, p. 12). Thus, the facts demonstrate that elevated levels of costs of political crusades and campaigns stimulate lawmakers and members of councils of provincial and district
of Nigeria. While Nigeria was still under British rule, in 1958, Shell started oil production,
Great Britain colonized Nigeria in 1884. Many people that are citizens of Nigeria were not happy European powers like Great Britain colonizing most of the country. Even though Great Britain brutalized and changed their culture. Great Britain did have an positive impact on Nigerians. Britain introduced western education to the Nigerians.
During the colonial period in Nigeria (from about 1850 to 1960), the British, like any other colonial power, asserted their dominance through a variety of media. The colonial experience of Nigeria and Britain, and Nigeria's early post-colonial history can be described, roughly chronologically, in three phases or periods: the formation of a ‘captured' colony, the education and inculcation of ‘proper,' British ways (i.e., the ‘taming' of the colony), and the immediate aftermath of colonialism (i.e., the ‘independence' of the colony). This essay attempts to scrutinize these periods in the light of the theories of Karl Marx, Ernest Gellner, and Jack Snyder. My claim is that Nigeria's colonial relationship with Britain, in general, reflects Marx's theory of the dichotomy between the oppressor and the oppressed, Gellner's theory that domination and oppression is disseminated through educational means, and Snyder's theory on the risks and dangers that young, ‘immature' … countries face when they gamble on democracy
There are countries that are not as lucky as America, where people have their rights taken away from them, like in Equatorial Guinea. Equatorial Guinea has a very corrupt government. It has been said that the voting has been rigged so that the president will win the election as many times as he wants. Most of the power is in the executive branch, so the president has most of the power of the country and no one can say anything about what he wants to happen. He president will harass the opposing parties so that he will win (Williams). In the article Equatorial Guinea HRW (Human Rights Watch) says, “Corruption, poverty, and repression continue to plague Equatorial Guinea under President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1979”. The “...per capita gross domestic product...” for Equatorial Guinea is $30,000, but yet most of the people live in poverty. The “...Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea (PDGE)...” rule the political system, you could say that it is a monopoly. The president of Equatorial Guinea will have a say in court cases. The court cases that are sensitive get brought to him and he gets asked what he wants to do (Equatorial...). We should care about Equatorial Guinea because arrest without reason, torture captives and give little rights to women.
...rd but in the sense of Nigeria the corruption is amongst the elites and found at the highest level of federal power.
The pocketing of profits by corrupt government officials shows characteristics of patrimonialism, which not only hinders the economy because these profits are the sole source of revenue for the nation, but also harms the democratic stability of the nation and can to some extent cause the regime changes of the nation. The civic conflicts of the nation are not handled by the government and not only do these conflicts drain revenue from the government, but shows the lack of mobilization in the government, possibly due to a lack of taxation, due to the resource curse. These claims show that the resource curse has affected the government and economy of Nigeria greatly as it leads to an ineffective and corrupt government with a hindered chance of democratization, with civic conflict that cannot be controlled by the civic government.
Nigeria is a developing country in West Africa that was colonized by the British in 1884 at the Berlin conference where Africa was divided by European powers (Graham 2009). The British wanted to expand their empire, which meant taking over other countries that had resources that they wanted, and would allow them to expand their trade market and economy. One of the colonies that British colonized was Colonial Nigeria, which was forced to participate in the slave trade in the past and was controlled by the British through the set up of trading posts and selling manufactured goods. The British split Nigeria into the north and the south regions (Temple 1912). The Southern and Northern Nigeria Protectorates controlled these two regions. The Protectorates
This essay is aimed to examine one of the agents of political socialisation for the way in which it operates and the effects it may have in Nigeria. Political socialisation is learning process that begins very early and continues all throughout ones life. Through political socialisation people acquire their perceptions and feelings about their political environment. It accounts for both the commonalties and diversities of political life. (DP Dawson p1).
A political institution is a system of politics and government. It is usually compared to the law system, economic system, cultural system, and other social systems. It is different from them, and can be generally defined on a spectrum from left, i.e. communism and socialism to the right, i.e. fascism. Linz’s argument is on the description of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes, which brings the main and important argument of explaining both Presidential and Parliamentary systems. Another important author whose thoughts were referred to political institutions is Seymour Martin Lipset. His argument emphasizes on political cultural-cultural factors rather than political systems. The last individual whose main arguments refer to politics and political institutions is Donald Horowitz. He describes that Linz claims are not sustainable because it is regionally skewed and highly selective sample.
Timothy Vilgiate King-Ndaya HIST 3000 April 28, 2014 British Colonial Policy and the Ensuing Nigerian Civil War. The Nigerian Civil War lasted from July 6, 1967 until January 15, 1970. The belligerents were the Federal Republic of Nigeria, led by the military governor Yakubu Gowon, and the Republic of Biafra, led by the military governor C. Odumegwu Ojukwu. After an abortive counter-coup d'etat in favor of Northern independence, General Ojukwu declared the independence of southeastern Nigeria. Each of these regions were dominated by one particular tribe, and the Hausa of the north long felt oppressed by the southerners underneath colonial rule, while during the short-lived military government from 1966 to 1967 the Igbo had been the victims of several pogroms within the army itself.1 2 To further complicate the tribal tensions already fueling the conflict, British Petroleum, and several other oil companies, had vested interests in vast fossil fuel reserves in the secessionist state, which they feared would be unfriendly to their business.3
Nigeria was first colonized by the British in the late nineteenth century who, set up an administrative structure and law while still recognizing the traditional morals. By 1960, Nigeria became an independent country and officially became known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria is located in West Africa and consists of 36 states with over 500 different ethnic groups. The country recognizes itself as a federal constitutional republic and has an open to the public type government. Since it was originally established by Britain, the Nigerian legal system is very traceable to them and originated its laws from common law. This paper will examine the culture of Nigeria, the fundamentals of its’ legal system and how laws are passed, legal actors that are part of the Nigerian criminal justice system, and will compare Nigeria to America.
NIGERIA AND THE PATH OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. Economic development is a term that economists, politicians, and others have used frequently since the 20th Century. The concept, however, has been in existence in the West for centuries. The term refers to economic growth accompanied by changes in output distribution and economic structure. It is concerned with quality improvements, the introduction of new goods and services, risk mitigation and the dynamics of innovation and entrepreneurship.