NIGERIAPart 2

Public Opinion and Political Participation• historically, citizens have been encouraged to relate to

the government as subjects

• gradual emergence of civil society [realm outside of government influence]: professional associations, trade unions, , religious and interest groups

• relatively free press despite military rule

• prebendalism/ patron-clientism: large patronage networks based on personal loyalty– accompanied by corruption and informal influence– established form of political participation in Nigeria

• civil society: serves as both centripetal force (encouraging Nigerian unity) and centrifugal force (causing fragmentation along cleavage lines)

• MOSOP: Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People– founded by dissident Ken Saro-Wiwa

• NUPENG: National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers– support workers in all-important petroleum industry

• formal associations for legal, medical and journalism professions

• voting behavior: although voting has taken place in Nigeria since 1959, irregularity of elections makes tracking of voting patterns difficult

• numerous, fluid political parties, and personalized, charismatic leadership makes party loyalty an imperfect reflection of voter attitudes

• low level of trust in government, cynicism– questionable commitment by elites to democracy

• Nigeria ranked very low in “Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index”

Corruption Perception Index 2008, 2009

Country CPI Score Rank

2008 2009 2008 2009

China 3.6 3.6 72:146** 79:180

Iran 2.3 1.8 141:146 168:180

Mexico 3.6 3.3 72:146** 89:180

Nigeria 2.7 2.5 121:146 130:180

Russia 2.1 2.2 147:146 146:180

United Kingdom 7.7 7.7 16:146 17:180

• protest, participation, social movements:

• mobilization of ethnic-based and religious movements to pressure the federal government to address their grievances

• major targets: international oil companies operating in the Niger Delta oil fields

• economy:– British controlled the economy during colonialism, and economy

remains under state control today– but, internal conditions have forced Nigeria to turn to

supranational organizations – World Bank, IMF – for help in restructuring the country

• linkange institutions:– Since democratization is so incomplete, linkage institutions are

new and fluid

political institutions

• many regime types over course of Nigeria’s history– pre-colonial:

• well developed, large states with hereditary monarchies in north and west

• small kinship-based rule in south– colonial:

• British imposition of indirect authoritarian rule– independence:

• military-style regimes beginning in 1966• today, federalist and democratic (formally)

• political parties:– based on region and ethnicity– extreme factionalism– personalization– 3 parties in 2007 election:

• People’s Democratic Party (PDP)

• All Nigeria People

• S Party (ANPP)

• Action Congress (AC)

• Independent National Election Commission (INEC)– attempted to impose qualification for running for legislature nad

president– reduced number of eligible parties– widely accused of fraud

• elections and election procedures:

• voting on 3 levels: local, state, national– national election: vote for President, House of Representatives

and Senator from their state– Presidential election requires 25% of all votes cast in 2/3rd of

states

• election fraud– international observers concluded that elections were

corrupt– candidates assassinated, voters purged from rolls, protests

in 2007 led to violence and deaths of 200 people

• Interest groups:

• some civil society organizations cooperate with political parties• many based on religion

– Christian Association of Nigeria– Muslim organizations supported the sharia court system

• also labor unions, student groups, populist groups

• labor unions: before military oppression, these were organized, independent and politically influential

– Influence now limited through corporatism: only government approved interest groups can provide feedback to the government

– Nigeria Labor Congress organized a successful general strike to protest increases in fuel prices and taxes

• business interests: sometimes collaborated with the military, sometimes promote economic reform

• Human Rights groups: loosely organized but active• media: independent press, openly criticizes the government

Institutions of National Government• theoretically a federal political system

• Constitutions provide for a presidential system with 3 branches of government, but executive has dominated– each of 36 states and local governments have executives and

judiciaries, but now totally dependent on the central government– neither checks and balances are functioning

• the executive under military rule: – all promised ‘transition to democracy– many used repressive tactics– all military and civilian administrations concentrated power in

executive office

• patrimonialism: general/president heads a patron-client system, dispenses jobs/resources as rewards to supporters

• bureaucracy: bloated, inefficient and corrupt

• parastatals: government agencies = state-owned corporations, designated to provide commercial and social welfare services– public utilities, transportation, agricultural support, steel, defense

products, petroleum– corporatism: government allows political input from selected

interest groups outside the government structure– state corporatism: input provided by parastatals

• the legislature:– post-1979: presidential system with a bicameral legislature: The

National Assembly• Senate: 109 Senators, elected by direct popular vote• House of Representatives: 360 members from single-member

districts

– legislature as a check on executive power: none under military governments, limited under presidential governments

• the judiciary:– originally, Nigerian courts combined British common law with

traditional/customary law (including sharia in North)– eventually undermined by military rule, judicial review

suspended, judges compromised– Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeals, and single unified

system at national and state levels

• the military:

– strong force in policymaking– “military in government” vs. “military in barracks”

• has led to internal discord• frequently blocked democratic reforms• but one of the few institutions that is truly national in character

• public policy– top-down policymaking process– power concentrated in presidency, advisors placed through

patron clientelism– “loyalty pyramid”:

• State controls resources, only access from within

– “assumption” that military/political elite serve only their own self-interest

– result of a system put in place in colonial era• need to revive the communalism of pre-colonial era

• democratic rule: requires that political leaders assume responsibility for welfare of constituents, not patrons

• economic issues– Nigeria’s wealth has been squandered– country is deep in debt, people live in poverty– “disappearance” of oil revenue: complicated by ethnic and

regional hostilities and widespread distrust of the government– “revenue sharing”: allow government to collect oil revenue and

pool them into a ‘federal account’• theoretically, entire country would benefit• practically, Niger Delta region objects strongly

– a rentier state: • (a) economy heavily supported by state• (b) state heavily dependent on ‘rent’ from other countries• (c) state ‘leases’ its resources• “rent –seeking behavior”: individuals, groups, and communities

compete for the government’s hand outs – reinforces patron-clientelism

– most Nigerians are cut out, left to participate in the informal economy