POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF RIVERS STATE)
Abstract
The study examined the activities of political parties and their impact on voter involvement in Rivers State’s political activities. In order to achieve this goal, the study collected secondary data and used content analysis as the analysis tool.
The study focuses on the political activity of the various political parties and the emergent political concerns in the state prior to, during, and after the 2015 general elections. As the theoretical framework for study, the social exclusion theory was chosen.
According to the study’s findings, all of the political parties in the state engaged in various political activities during the study period that had a major impact on voter political engagement in the electoral process and the state’s political system.
The study also stated that according to their role in the politics at the federal or state levels during the period, all political parties in the state may be classed as opposition political parties.
The study gave several useful recommendations on how to redirect the activities of political parties in order to stimulate effective engagement of electorates in the state’s political system.
Political opposition, political party, political involvement, political activity are key terms.
Introduction
Nigeria’s political history and constitution have been favorable to political party politics, resulting in the development of political parties and their activity at various eras throughout Nigeria. Political parties have existed in Nigeria since the colonial era and have remained so since independence.
The politics of colonialism and the struggle for political independence resulted in the formation of various pressure groups, mass movements, and political associations, some of which were transformed into different political parties in response to Nigerians’ demand for political participation in colonial political activities and ultimate independence.
Wapmuk (2014, p. 87) agreed, naming the Lagos Auxiliary of the Anti-slavery and Aborigines Protections Society, West African Students Union, and Nigerian Youth Movement as pressure groups that matured into political parties during the colonial era.
For example, in 1923, the Lagos Auxiliary of the Anti-slavery and Aborigines Protections Society was transformed into the Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP), led by Herbert Macauley (the first political party to contest legislative elections in Lagos after the Clifford Constitution introduced the elective principle).
In the 1930s, the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) challenged the British government’s discriminatory practices in the education sector while also running for legislative Council seats in Lagos. However, on August 24, 1944, the NNDP and NYM combined to establish the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC), with the basic goal of providing formidable opposition to the colonial government’s political activities.
This trend persisted, and many political parties were founded in preparation for independence to participate in political activity. According to Wapmuk (2014, p. 87) and Niwora (2014),
in 1960, due to the inability of a particular political party to win a majority of seats in the federal parliament to form the government at the center, the Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC) formed the parliamentary government at the center with the NCNC, which won 89 seats, leaving the Action Group (AG), which won 75 seats, to function as the major opposition party in the First Rep.
However, the Northern, Eastern, and Western regional governments were controlled by the NPC, NCNC, and AG, respectively.
From 1979 through 1983, the Second Republic witnessed a different side of political party politics. The National Party of Nigeria, led by Alhaji Shehu Shagari, won the presidential elections and formed the federal administration, while other parties – Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Nigerian People’s Party (NPP), and others —
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POLITICAL VIOLENCE AND DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA (A CASE STUDY OF RIVERS STATE)
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