This study examined the interface between separatist agitations and national integration under Buhari’s Administration in Nigeria. The study investigated the various separatist groups operating in Nigeria, particularly the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) that emerged as an outcome of unbearable incidence of marginalisation by Buhari’s administration. The study leveraged on the propositional trappings of relative deprivation theory to explain and bear witness to the argument that when marginalization consistently goes beyond its bearable height against groups to favour others, it would amount to relative deprivation. This becomes a breeding ground for various forms of agitation like self-determination. The study relied on documentary method for data gathering and adopted content analysis for analysing the materials generated. It firmly upheld that marginalisation, as obviously witnessed in Buhari-led administration, not only resulted in the revitalisation of the various separatist groups, but also undermined national integration in Nigeria. It recommended, amongst other things, for an inclusive national policy of integration and unity.
The argument that Nigerian elections are characterized by electoral irregularities since the commencement of present democratic engagement in 1999 has not been sufficiently subjected to an analytical procedure to embrace the six Nigerian election cycles. Thus, the study investigated this unsettled question to provide insights into how the recurring incidence of irregularities has dominated Nigerian election seasons within the period under review. It situated the problem within the context of the winner-takes-all majoritarian electoral system (MES) and queried the adoption of the MES-driven model, implemented in an environment of do-or-die politics and the 'glorification' of clandestine electoral strategies. It further argued that the model reinforced the use of these strategies by politicians to increase their odds of victory without considering their detrimental consequences. The examination of available documents revealed that the model is consistently implicated in the electoral irregularities that characterized Nigerian elections. It further discovered that the model promoted the crude perception of politics as a zero-sum contest. The present deplorable state of democracy in Nigeria is a function of irregularities and their consequential composites: life-taking elections, election disputes, and voter apathy. These suggest the need for a thorough electoral reform that will throw up a digitally secured electoral system that will be implemented to reflect the various shades of multiethnic cultural Nigerian society. To reduce tension during elections and encourage inclusivity in Nigeria, the reform should be able to institutionalize the electoral commission, check government interference in its activities, reduce the present huge election spending, ensure proportional distribution of votes and positions, and make public offices less financially attractive.
The argument that Nigerian elections are characterized by electoral irregularities since the commencement of present democratic engagement in 1999 has not been sufficiently subjected to an analytical procedure to embrace the six Nigerian election cycles. The unsettled question of irregularities that have consistently dominated elections in Nigeria is interrogated in this study. The study situates the problem within the context of winner-takes-all majoritarian electoral system (MES) and queries the implementation of the MES-driven model in an environment of do-or-die politics, weak electoral institution, and 'glorification' of clandestine electoral strategies. It further argues that the model reinforces politicians’ use of subtle strategies to increase their odds of victory and pay less or not attention to their detrimental consequences on democratic development. The study is underpinned on personal experience as active participants in Nigerian elections and available textual documents. The analysis of data supports the argument that MES-model is poorly implemented in Nigeria and promotes the crude perception of politics as a zero-sum do-or-die contest. The present deplorable state of democracy in Nigeria is a function of irregularities and their consequential composites: life-taking elections, election disputes, and voter apathy, which has been in a downward fall since 2003. These findings suggest the need for voter-driven electoral reform that will reduce tension during elections and encourage inclusivity in Nigeria. The reform should be able to institutionalize Nigeria’s electoral body and check government interference in its activities, reduce the present huge election spending, ensure proportionate distribution of votes/positions, and make public offices less financially attractive.
Inconclusive (delayed) elections are fairly a common phenomenon in the practice of representative democracy. In Nigeria, however, they are occasionally allowed to happen and sometimes stage-managed to serve the calculated interests of power centres. Thus, this study inserted in the debate on inconclusive elections and democratic consolidation by investigating the limiting effects of inconclusive gubernatorial elections (IGEs) in Nigeria. The study argued that the Nigerian leaders learned during colonisation and inherited during decolonisation the warped conception of politics as a means of personal enrichment against its service-driven notion. Since the state activities revolve around its power and power is popularly acquired through elections, the election period in Nigeria becomes contentious and controversial or destructive and divisive with its undermining effects on democratic consolidation. The research follows a documentary approach and leverages the information explosion and availability that characterise contemporary times. The systematic examination of the literature shows that the duo of electoral malpractice and violence accounts for the contentious electoral credibility and voter participation (indicating democratic consolidation), leading to the rising IGEs in Nigeria. The findings suggest the imperative for immediate comprehensive electoral rectification to enthrone a renewed electoral system premised on digital election technology that will produce leaders with innocreative ideas and merits for purposeful leadership and good governance in Nigeria as self-serving leaders are disasters to any nation.
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