Political Power Rotation, National Security and Integration in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic
Abstract
The paper examined the viability of political power rotation as a measure to address the issues of security and integration in Nigeria. This is motivated by the need for providing solutions to the challenges of insurgencies, insecurity and socio-political instability in the country. The study relied on qualitative method and was designed to examine the issue of political power rotation in relation to security and integration efforts in Nigeria. The primary data were sourced through in-depth interviews (IDIs) conducted with senior members of the academic, security, judicial and political sectors in Nigeria using purposive sampling while the secondary data were obtained from a structured literature review. Data collected were analyzed using appropriate descriptive and document analysis. The result revealed that, the problems of violent competition for power, unequal distribution of political powers, and agitation for secession including the proliferation of small arms constitute threats to Nigeria’s quest for continuous harmonious existence and security. Moreover, the result showed that political power rotation, regime change or power shift on geo-political basis or ethno-religious basis cannot be a solution to the challenges of insecurity and secession agitations being witnessed in the country in the contemporary period. Despite these findings, the study concluded that the panacea to the phenomenon of insecurity that pervaded Nigeria is locatable within the country. It recommends effective political leadership, true federalism, viable regulatory framework, strengthened armed forces and other para-military agencies, and a political system of con-federalism where the quest for power at the centre is curtailed and where the centre is relatively loose and federating units have varying degrees of autonomy within which they can have some sort of self-determination.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Adetoye, D. (2016). Nigeria’s Federalism and State Reorganization and Restructuring: Attempts at National Integration Through Fragmentation. International journal of academic research and reflection, 4 (2), 40-51
Ahmed, I.K. and Dantata, B.S. (2016). Federalism and national integration: The Nigerian experience. Historical Research Letter. 35, 8-13.
Ahmed, I.K. and Dantata, B.S. (2016). Federalism and national integration: The Nigerian experience. Historical Research Letter. 35, 8-13.
Ake, C. 1995). “The Nigerian State: Antinomies of a Periphery Formation”. In Claude Ake (ed). Political Economy of Nigeria. London: Longman.
Akinjide, R. (2001). “Democracy and the Challenges of Succession in Nigeria”. Unpublished Paper, November.
Akinlotan, I. (2012). “Ondo Faces Stark Choices”. The Nation, Sunday, September 9, 7(2243).
Ambali, A.R. and Mohammed, A.L. (2016). Sustainable Democracy and Political Domination: A Rotational Presidency among Nigerian Ethnic Groups. Journal of Administrative Science, 13(1), 1-12.
Dauda, A. (2001). Ethnic Identity, Democratization and the Future of the African State: Lessons from Nigeria. African Issues, 29 (1&2), 31-6.
Dudley, B.J. (1976). “Military government & national integration in Nigeria”. In D.R. Smock et al (Eds). The Search for national integration in Africa. New York: The Free Press.
Dziedzic, M. and Hawley, L. (2005). “Introduction”. In JockCovey, Michael Dziedzic and Leonard Hawley eds., The Quest for Viable Peace: International Intervention and Strategies for Conflict Transformation, 3-22. Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press.
Ebenezer, O.O. (2014). The challenges of democratic consolidation in Nigeria, 1999 - 2007. International Journal of Politics and Good Governance, 5(1), 1-29.
Ehiabhi, O.S. and Ehinmore, O.M. (2011). Nigeria and the Challenges of Credible Political Leadership Since 1960. Canadian Social Science, 7 (4), 136-143.
Fagbohun, O. (1990). “Environmental Degradation and Nigeria’s National Security”. In Law and Security in Nigeria. Available from: http//www.nails-nigeria.org/pub/olarewajufagbohun Assessed January 8, 2022.
Fatai, A. (2012). Democracy and National Identities: The Travails of National Security in Nigeria. British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 9 (2), 126-140.
Fayeye, J.O. (2012). The Role of Security Sector in Management of Conflicts and Promotion of Democratic Governance in Nigeria. Current Research Journal of Social Sciences, 4(3), 190-195.
Gerring, J. and Veenendaal, W. (2020). Population and politics: The impact of scale. Cambridge University Press.
Glenn, A.B. (2009).Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27 - 40
Hoffman, E.A. (2009). “Power Dynamics and Spoiler Management: Mediation and the Creation of Durable Peace in Armed Conflicts”. A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science in the University of Canterbury.
Horowitz, D. (1985). Ethnic Groups in Conflict. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Horowitz, D. (1991). A Democratic South Africa? A Constitutional Engineering in a Divided Society. Berkley: University of California Press.
Husted, T.F. (2022). “Nigeria: Key Issues and U.S. Policy”. March 25, 2022. Congressional Research Service, R47052. Available at https://crsreports.congress.gov, Retrieved January 13, 2022
Igwara, O. (2001). Dominance and Difference: Rival Visions of Ethnicity in Nigeria. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 24(1), 86-103.
Jekada, E.K. (2005). “Proliferation of Small Arms and Ethnic Conflicts in Nigeria: Implication for National Security”. A PhD Dissertation Presented at the International Relations and Strategic Studies Department, St. Clements University.
Kanji, O. (eds). (2003). “Security: Beyond Intractability” … Guy Burgess & Heidi Burgess. Colorado, Boulder. Available from: http://www.beyondintractability.org/m/security.jsp. Accessed on 13/01/2022.
LeVan, A.C. (2019). Contemporary Nigerian politics: Competition in a time of transition and Terror. Cambridge University Press.
Lewis, A. (1965). Politics in West Africa. New York: Oxford University Press.
Lijphart, A. (1968). The Politics of Accommodation: Pluralism and Democracy in theNetherlands. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Lijphart, A. (1977). Democracy in Plural Societies: A Comparative Exploration. NewHaven, CT: Yale University Press.
Lijphart, A. (2002). “The Wave of Power-sharing Democracy”. In A. Reynolds (ed) The Architecture of Democracy: Constitutional Design, Conflict Management, andDemocracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mbah, C. and Orjinta, H. I. (2020). “Group dynamics in politics: The Nigerian experience.” In Mbah, C.C. and Obi, E. A. (Eds) Readings in political behaviour. Pp. 154 – 170. Onitsha: Bookpoint Educational Ltd.
Nwachukwu, O. (2005). “Beyond The Institutional Approach: National Question and the Architecture of the New Nigeria”. In W.O. Alli (ed.). Political Reform Conference, Federalism and the National Question in Nigeria. Nigerian Political Science Association. (pp. 41-54).
Nwolise, O.B.C. (2006). “National Security and Sustainable Democracy”. in Ojo, E. O. edited, Challenges of Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria . Nigeria, Ibadan: John Archer Publishers.
O’Leary, B. (2013). "Power Sharing in Deeply Divided Places: An Advocate’s Introduction.” In: Power Sharing in Deeply Divided Places, J. McEvoy, B. O’Leary (eds.), University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
Obiyan, A.S. (1999). Political Parties under the Abubakar Transition Program and Democratic Stability in Nigeria. Issue: A Journal of Opinion, 27 (1), 41-43.
Ojo, E.O. (2009). Federalism and the search for national integration in Nigeria. African Journalof Political Science and International Relations, 3 (3), 384-395.
Okene, A.A. (2011). National Security, Good Governance and Integration in Nigeria since1999: A Discourse. Asian Social Science, 7(10), 166-176.
Omede, A.J. (2011). Nigeria: Analysing the Security Challenges of the Goodluck Jonathan Administration. Canadian Social Science, 7 (5), 90-102.
Omodia, S.M. (2010). A Decade of Democratic Survival: Implication for the Nigerian Democratic Process. Continental Journal of Social Sciences, 3, 77-82.
Omoruyi, O. (2006). “How to Resolve Nigeria's Succession Crisis” June 16, 2006, Unpublished paper
Onuh, P.A. and Ike, C.C. (2019) Restructuring in Nigeria: An Exploration of the Seismic Analysis of Social Formations, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), III (VII), 194
Orji, N. (2008). “Power-Sharing the Element of Continuity in Nigerian Politics” A Dissertation Submitted in Partial fulfilment of Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Unpublished) Central European University, Department of Political Science.
Orjinta, H.I. & Ameh, N.O. (2020) Political Parties and National Integration in Nigeria, African Journal of Politics and Administrative Studies (AJPAS), 13(2); 72-84.
Osaghae, E.E. (2006). Colonialism and Civil society in Africa: The Perspective of Ekeh’s Two Publics. Voluntas International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, September
Otto, G. and Ukpere, W.I. (2012). National Security and Development in Nigeria, (A Review) African Journal of Business Management, 6 (23), 6765-6770.
Oyadiran, P. and Adeshola, A.J. (2017) National integration and democratic consolidation in Nigeria, African Educational Research Journal, 5(2), 114-119.
Salawu, B. and Hassan, A.O. (2011). Ethnic Politics and its Implications for the Survival of Democracy in Nigeria. Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, 3(2), 28-33.
Suberu, R.T. (2004). “Attractions and Limitations of Multi-Ethnic Federalism: The Nigerian Experience”. Faculty Lecture delivered at the University of Ibadan. Series no 12. 2 December. Ibadan: The Faculty of the Social Sciences.
Trzcinski, K. (2018). What is Power Sharing? Consociationalism, Centripetalism, and Hybrid Power Sharing. Studia Polityczne, 46(3), 9-30.
Ujah, O. and Eboh, E. (2006). The Security Factor in Business Environment & Competitiveness across Nigerian States (BECANS) Working Paper Series 1, African Institute for Applied Economics, Enugu, Nigeria.
Veenendaal, W. (2020). Does smallness enhance power-sharing? Explaining Suriname’s multi-ethnic democracy. Ethnopolitics, 19(1), 64–84.
Veenendaal, W. & Demarest, L. (2021) How population size affects power-sharing: a comparison of Nigeria and Suriname. Contemporary Politics, 27(3), 271–291.
Vinson, L.T. (2017). Religion, violence, and local power-sharing in Nigeria: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.