POLITICAL PARTY DEFECTION AND DEMOCRATIC STABILITY IN NIGERIA (2015-2021)
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POLITICAL PARTY DEFECTION AND DEMOCRATIC STABILITY IN NIGERIA (2015-2021)
Abstract
From 2015 to 2022, this study looks at political party desertion and democratic stability in Nigeria. After years of military dictatorship, Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 heralded a tremendous hope of democratic dividend and a unique opportunity for the country to undertake a new democratic policy.
Since 1999, the establishment of multiparty democracy in Nigeria has been regarded as a significant step forward in the democratic process. However, the manner in which Nigerian politicians defect from one party to the other has not only been a source of democratic annoyance, but has also caused major anxiety among political observers and participants in Nigeria.
This has given credence to the lack of a distinct ideology and manifesto among Nigerian political groups. Defection has been a major stumbling block in Nigeria’s democratic process.
The rate at which Nigerian politicians move from one party to another reflects political immaturity, ideological disarray, and a complete lack of direction within the political class.
As a result, the study looked into Nigeria’s unusual trend of defection and its consequences for the country’s democracy. The study relied on content analysis to achieve this goal. However, the study recommended,
among other things, strengthening and/or amending the constitution and electoral laws to control the alarming rate of political defection in Nigeria, social re-orientation, and political education aimed at instilling new values and norms in the political system.
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Political parties are well-known organisations in democratic societies. Political science students have typically identified them with democracy itself (Orji, 2013). Political parties have been idealised as’makers’ of democracy to the point where researchers suggest that neither democracy nor democratic societies can be imagined without them (Omotola, 2009).
In other words, active political parties are required for democratic consolidation in any community (Dode, 2010). Political parties that function properly are critical to the achievement of electoral democracy and political progress in Nigeria (Adetula and Adeyi, 2013).
Democracy, with its traits of freedom of expression, rule of law, accountability, and elective representation, has become the world’s standard system of government.
Democracy as a political system indicates that the political community’s power is based on popular sovereignty. In modern times, elected representatives refer to democracy as the way by which the political community expresses its general will.
Defection from one party to another appears to have become a crucial feature of Nigerian party politics. Defection politics in Nigeria can be traced back to 1951, when several members of the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC)
defected to the Action Group (AG) in order to deny Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and his party (NCNC) the necessary majority in the Western Regional House of Assembly to form the government in the Western Region (Adejuwon, 2013).
Ladoke Akintola, a deputy leader of the Action Group (AG), quit the party in a personality and ideological split with the party’s leader, Obafemi Awolowo, to join the United Democratic Party (UNDP). To counter AG supremacy in the Western Region, UNDP formed an alliance with the Northern People’s Congress (NPC).
According to Mbah (2011), desertion has become not merely a norm, but an increasingly permanent aspect of Nigeria’s democratic culture. The most serious threats to Nigeria’s democracy are party defections and political instability (Nwanegboet al., 2014).
Politicians typically defect to other political parties if they fail to secure party nominations during their own party’s primaries, while others who felt disillusioned, cheated, or denied free and fair primaries defect to other parties in order to participate in elections,
with the intention of returning to their original parties following such elections. This has been the practise in Nigeria during election periods since the country’s democratic rebirth in 1999.
Lack of internal democracy inside political parties is one of the concerns that has contributed to party defections in Nigeria. In Nigeria, recognition of candidates for nomination and selection for primary elections is based solely on the candidate’s economic and political power, with no regard for the candidate’s integrity or capability/capacity (Jinadu, 2014).
As a result of unhappiness with party operations and overall voter indifference in the democratic process, these acts have caused political crises, with individuals defecting to rival parties and/or creating new parties (Badejo and colleagues, 2015)
For example, between 2013 and 2015, major members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) defected to the opposition party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), due to an unhealthy power struggle and intra-party problems.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In Nigeria, no political party has a distinct philosophy, which has resulted in constant internal party problems, which usually result in defections. However, even when there is no crisis within their political parties, some leaders still desert to another. As a result of the above scenario, it is important to emphasise that party defections in Nigeria are no longer limited to one party,
but have become a political standard in the country’s democracy. As a result, the wave of defections and their ramifications for Nigeria’s democracy have raised fundamental concerns about the country’s democracy’s long-term viability. Based on this context, the researcher wishes to look into political party desertion and democratic stability in Nigeria (from 2015 to 2019).
AIM OF THE STUDY
The following are the study’s objectives:
To identify the elements that contribute to party defections in Nigeria.
To learn about the effects of party defections on Nigeria’s democracy.
To determine whether party desertion is a contributing factor to Nigeria’s democratic instability.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research question listed below will be developed.
What factors contribute to party defections in Nigeria?
What impact do party defections have on Nigeria’s democracy?
Is party defection one of the causes of Nigeria’s democratic instability?
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The research hypotheses listed below will be developed.
H0: In Nigeria, no factors are responsible for party defections.
H1: In Nigeria, there are reasons that contribute to party defections.
H0: Party defections have little impact on Nigeria’s democracy.
H2: Party defections have ramifications for Nigeria’s democracy.
H0: Party defection in Nigeria does not lead to democratic instability.
In Nigeria, party defections contribute to democracy instability.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This contemporary and topical study is important for two reasons: practical and scholarly. Practically, this study will be critical to Nigeria’s election management bodies, particularly the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC),
registered political parties, non-governmental organisation authorities, national and state governments, and the general public for the following reasons:
This research/study is significant because it tries to provide long-term solutions to the problems of party desertion, which have a negative impact on Nigeria’s democratic process. It is also of interest to academics, policymakers, practitioners, and students. The study will also add to the body of knowledge and inspire other writers or academics to do similar work in the sector.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study’s focus includes political party desertion and democratic stability in Nigeria. The study will be limited to Nigerian political parties.
Study limitations
The researcher confronts various limits that limit the scope of the study, which are as follows:
The researcher’s research material is insufficient, restricting the scope of the investigation.
The study’s time span does not allow for broader coverage because the researcher must balance other academic pursuits and examinations with the investigation.
Inadequate funding tends to limit the researcher’s efficiency in locating relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in the data collection method (internet, questionnaire, and interview).
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Democracy is a type of administration in which the people have the authority to consider and decide on laws, or to elect governing authorities to do so.
Party defection: In politics, a defector is someone who abandons allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, in a way that the first state considers illegitimate.
Democracy stability: Those polities that have enjoyed a “uninterrupted continuity of political democracy since World War I and the lack of a strong party opposing to the “rules of the game” and unstable democracies that fail to meet these conditions.\
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