The history of political parties in nigeria began when the first political party in nigeria was established in 1959, the year before nigeria gained her independence from great britain. The research was made possible owing to the participation of the following individuals and regional. They are regulated under the political parties act 574 which was passed in the year 2000. The development of political parties in western nigeria volume 49 issue 3 peter c. Its policies generally lie towards the centreright of the political spectrum.
History of political parties in nigeria information. Pdf ethnicity and development of political parties in nigeria. A history of fifty years of independence public affairs. The nigerian national democratic party nndp was nigeria s first political party. A political party is to democracy just as fish is to water. He is a member of the ruling peoples democratic party pdp. Are these heady days for nigerian political parties. The democratic party is one of two major political parties in the united states, and is the oldest political party in the world. Political parties and democracy in theoretical and. This, in turn, has immensely facilitated the countrys democratic development. Thus providing nigeria with a cheqeured history with political transitions from civilian to military. Political parties and democratic consolidation in nigeria s fourth republic akubo, a.
This was a key theme in the early history of ghanas independence. This report on political parties in africa is part of the programme of research and dialogue on political parties undertaken by the international institute for democracy and electoral assistance idea during the years 20042006. The development of political parties in nigeria dates back to the days of the struggle for political independent in the late 1940s, when the nationalists were at the preindependence and postindependence periods. Parties have frequently mobilized supporters based on ethnoregional, religious, and personality politics, while. History of political parties in nigeria what is a political party in a democratic system of government, a political party is an organization that subscribes to a certain ideology and seeks to attain political power through representation in government. A political history of the gambia, 18161994 on jstor. In obafemi awolowo founded a political party, the action group, with some of the egbes members as its nucleus, and in the process became the party s first president.
Intended for a general audience, books in the series present a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of select countries throughout the world. The hisrory and development of political parties in nigeria. Each state party to the present covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth. On 1, october 1960, nigeria, after several years of british colonial rule, became an independent nation. Ethnicity and development of political parties in nigeria. Department of political science, federal university, dutsinma, katsina state. Because of these weaknesses, their possible contribution to democratic development is often questioned. The ncnc was controlled by the igbos, the tribe dominating the eastern region. The peoples democratic party pdp is a major contemporary political party in nigeria. Nigeria has the appropriate credentials for greatness. Nigeria party politic has been polluted by ethnic chauvinism.
The act clearly stipulated how politicians who wish to establish a political party can go about it, including information on how a party is registered, operated and funded. Available records on the history of the political development of nigeria since independence have shown that the reins of government has always fallen into the hands of a political leadership class that showed more interest in private, group or ethnic gains than in the general wellbeing of the nigerian state. The nigerian national democratic party nndp was nigerias first political party. In addition, this third edition reflects some of the more recent trends in the institutes political party development work. It also follows from the functional definition that the significance of political parties for liberal democracy is that under conditions of competitive party and electoral.
It also focuses attention on party system the history of political party in nigeria and political party affiliations. These political parties were the national council of nigeria and cameroons ncnc, the northern peoples congress npc and the action group ag. In 2015 citizens elected president muhammadu buhari of the all progressives congress party to a fouryear term in the first successful democratic transfer of power from a sitting president in the countrys history. This newly formed country would go on to become a republic three years down the line on 1, october, 1963. Formed in 1923 by herbert macaulay to take advantage of the new clifford constitution, which succeeded the 1914 nigerian council. Nigeria became a federal republic, modelling its federal. Political leadership and corruption in nigeria since 1960. Political parties and democracy in ghana democracy in africa. Nigeria s parties have a history of formation, dissolution and reformation due to the many transitions in nigeria s postindependence political history.
An appraisal of precipitating factors in nigeria olayiwola victor ojo m sc political science, university of ilorin, ilorin, nigeria abstract nigeria s electoral politics from independence has been tumultuous. Political parties originated in their modern form in europe and the united states in the 19th century, along with the electoral and parliamentary systems, whose development reflects the evolution of parties. An overview of party formation in nigeria, 19601999 codesria. It was more of a personality clash in the early days of the evolution and development of political parties in nigeria, sir ahamdu bello of the northern people congress npc, propagating the interest of the north, the action group ag and political.
An introduction to the economic and political history of nigeria 1956 online. The whigs origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute monarchy. The nndp successfully organized various lagos interest groups into a single group that was able to compete politically. Numerous ancient african civilizations settled in the region that is today nigeria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo empire. In addition to the basket fund, usaid has a longer history of political party. Political party development in nigeria project topics. There will also betheneed to look critically at the origin, nature, dynamics and trends of political parties and their development in the countries in question as this shall largely offer a. The famous names were the nigerian national democratic party.
Between the 1680s and 1850s, they contested power with their rivals, the tories. Aduku and yakubu, adejo umoru centre for inter african and human development studies cides, jos, nigeria school of general studies, federal polytechnic, kaura namoda, zamfara state, nigeria. Political party and party system support in nigeria is unfolding in a climate of. The developing world includes countries in africa, asia, latin america, and the middle east. The conventional theories of party origin and traditional classifications of political parties are shown to have limited validity in the case of islamic parties. Elections for these offices were held in 1959 and three political parties participated in it. Democracy, political parties, political behaviour, party politics, among other relevant concepts that we shall encounter in thecauseof the study. The nigerian electoral process in perspective elections under colonial rule before independence in 1960, nigeria, which existed as an amalgamation of the. History of political parties in nigeria will never be complete if mention is not made of the various political bigwigs in the history of this country. The origin and development of political parties request pdf. The history of political party in nigeria can be situated within the context of the two party and multi party political system adejumobi, 2007, which can be traced to the development of nationalist consciousness, awareness and political movements agarah, 2004, that began in nigeria in the 1930s.
The party called for an immediate end to british rule and for the development of several social welfare programs. History and development of political parties in nigeria. Pdf political parties, ideology and the nigerian state adeleke. Huntington, 1968 and on the emergence and development of single parties in the developing. Here youll find a list of nearly 50 political parties in the united states many of which are active and regularly offer a candidate for president. Download complete project materials on historical development of political parties in nigeria from chapter one to five with references introduction. Historical development of political parties in nigeria. Case study of the all progressives congress olakunle olowojolu lecturer department of political science and international relations, landmark university, omuaran, nigeria abstract right from the 1960s, both the ruling parties and the opposition parties are always at. Aside discussing the political parties in nigeria, this write up will equally discuss about the political history of nigeria. It won every presidential election between 1999 and 2011, and was until the 2015 elections, the governing party in the fourth republic although in some cases, amid a few controversial electoral circumstances.
Nigeria has a population of 3 million, a landmass of 923,768km2, a bountiful endowment in arable land, solid minerals and petroleumgas resources. In the nigerian political history, political parties have appeared in various guises, and have also disappeared under different guises. Introduction by the time nigeria gained its independence, it was entering a period of rapid social and economic change, and many people were quite optimistic about its future. The scope of this study is strictly centered on the examination of the extent of development made by multi party system in nigeria political sphere. Clifford constitution of 1922, the parties that were formed prior to independence. In fact, many political parties in africa do not conform to the ideal of effective mass parties which perform democracypromoting functions such as candidate nomination, electoral mobilisation, societal representation, or interest aggregation. A distinction between the substantive and formalist definitions of political parties is used in order to distinguish between universal and specific political party functions. In 1959, there were three political parties in the country and they include the following. He served as governor of katsina state in northern nigeria between may 29, 1999 and may 28, 2007.
This is the first fulllength account of the modern political history of the gambia, covering the period from the establishment of the british settlement of bathurst on st. Analytical study of political party systems in nigeria. The origin and growth of political party the world over the origin of political party dates back to what is known today as representative democracy in western. The whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of england, scotland, great britain, ireland and the united kingdom. The development of political parties in western nigeria american. History of political parties in nigeria nigerian finder. Political parties in nigeria are institutions set up for healthy competition among those vying for particular government offices in the land and there is a need to know and understand how nigerian politics and political parties have evolved by looking into the history of political parties in nigeria. Marys island site of the modern capital, banjul on the estuary of the river gambia in 1816, to the overthrow of the elected government of president sir dawda jawara in an army coup in july 1994. Nigerias political system and the people vanguard news. This post is about the governmental and political history of nigeria. Contains the electronic versions of 80 books previously published in hard copy as part of the country studies series by the federal research division.
Though the history of the evolution of political parties in nigeria dates back to the. Its coast in the south is located on the gulf of guinea in the atlantic ocean. An assessment of political parties and democratic consolidation in nigeria s fourth republic mike omilusi, phd department of political science ekiti state university, nigeria abstract democratic values and practices are crucial for democratic institutionalization and the development of party. Political party, a group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power. He was declared the winner of the controversial nigerian general election of 2007, held on april 21, and was sworn in on may 29, 2007. Acknowledgements the world economic situation and prospects 2018 is a joint product of the united nations department of economic and social affairs undesa, the united nations conference on. Ohchr international covenant on civil and political rights. In the nigerian case study, the reconfiguration, formation of political parties, distribution of human and material resources and even crises coups, civil war, and religious impasse are hinged on ethnoreligious politics. The paper concludes that, the evolution and subsequent development of political parties in nigeria along ethnic divide is responsible for the.
About this collection country studies digital collections. Modernization and the crisis of development in africa. The history of the formation of political party in nigeria dates back to the colonial era, before the advent of colonialism, the whole idea of political. Political party development in nigeria political science. Since the division of the republican party in the election of 1912, it has positioned itself as progressive and supporting labor in economic as well as social matters. Nigeria is a federal republic composed of 36 states and the federal capital territory fct. The history of nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers nigerians living in the area as early as 1100 bc. In 1992, a referendum for returning to democracy passed and political parties were permitted again in.
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