ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY AND POWER SHIFT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN NIGERIA
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ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY AND POWER SHIFT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF NATIONAL INTEGRATION IN NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
Apart from systematic corruption, one of the most pressing concerns confronting Nigeria is the country’s constant struggle for control at the central or federal level among its numerous regions and ethnic groupings. If it is not sections in the North that insist on regaining power, it is elements in the South who claim they have not had enough of it yet to let up.
This jostling since independence has resulted not only in diverse areas and ethnic groups working against one another, but also in the nation’s growth being hampered, as well as violence and crises before, during, and after general elections.
Southerners’ cry of marginalisation and threat of independence has resulted from the “sit tight syndrome” and Northerners’ permanent dominance and control of central power.
The fear of northern supremacy has challenged Nigeria’s business existence. Several times, the rest of the ethnic groups that do not find themselves in the mainstream of power at the centre adopt disloyal attitudes and pursue the interests of their region or ethnic group at the expense of our national objectives.
The consequences of this unequal distribution of central power are already disastrous. The main issue to be addressed is “what is the best way to integrate the entire region or zones to guarantee stability and the much needed development?” To that end, I choose to write about “Rotational Presidency and Power Shift as a Tool for National Integration in Nigeria.”
The goal of this research is to critically investigate the notion of Rotational Presidency and Power Shift as a recipe for political stability, as well as the extent to which it can foster National Integration. The content analysis methodology was used for this study.
During this investigation, the injustice and marginalisation that occur in power sharing and distribution at the Nigerian central government were exposed. It was also dete
rmined that the notion of rotating president is unique to Nigeria and hence fits the ethnological idiosyncrasies of the country. Finally, I advocated for the strict implementation and true application of Rotational Presidency as a panacea for Nigeria’s numerous leadership and ethnic difficulties.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Nigeria has been plagued by chronic political instability since its independence in 1960. Social upheavals, widening ethnic cleavages, attempted independence and threats of secession, military coups, and corruption have characterised her political history. Nigerian politics has been characterised by ethno-political movements and an incoherent fight for central power.
Nigeria’s tragedy is that after fifty-six (56) years of independence, each consecutive government, whether military or civilian, has primarily concocted to be a birth right of ethno-geographical entity, notably the North, to the political annihilation of other areas of the country.
It has been widely assumed that the Northern Nigerian Oligarchy can only allow a Northerner to lead Nigeria, whether in military or civilian government. In these contexts, the issue of leadership competence
and the corresponding ability to provide positive leadership capable of erecting a virile and stable nation has been pushed aside in favour of the primary decision to impose Northern Nigerian leadership on the rest of Nigeria in pursuit of hegemonic legacies.
This unfettered power nomination by the North had riled up other parts of the country. However, the North’s persistent dominance in central political issues may be traced back to our British masters’ colonial legacies. The 1960 constitution, like its predecessors, gave the Northern area more representation in parliament than the Eastern and Western regions combined.
Also, the quota system used during colonial army recruiting, which granted the North 50%, the East 25%, and the South 25%. The issue was not with the theory itself, but with its implementation; the quota system was not based on geographical distribution, but on the newly created system of elective representation.
After critically analysing power sharing at the centre, Eme Awa concluded that “the Northern claim of numerical superiority over the south, with the resulting concentration of political powers in the hands of Northerners, constitutes today the greatest threat to the unity of the Nigerian federation.”
The North’s permanent supremacy at the centre has caused a variety of societal discontent. The height of the crisis was reached when the June 12th, 1993 election, which produced a southerner, was nullified and an interim administration was established. As a result of the June 12 annulments, late General Sani Abacha became the Head of State.
Many sectors of the country are crying out for marginalisation; to alleviate the anxiety of the North’s continued dominance of political power, a workable political system must be implemented to assure political unity and stability in Nigeria.
This research work seeks to investigate and analyse rotational presidency and power shift, its adoption and implementation as a tool of national integration that will foster peaceful coexistence, economic recovery, justice and equity, and, of course, political stability.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Every scientific investigation begins with a problem or difficulties that are usually clear. Nigeria, a diverse society, has faced various threats to its corporate existence since independence, primarily as a result of a section of the country’s continued dominance of political power. This random leadership arrangement necessitates the following questions of national leadership:
a. What exactly is national integration?
b. What factors contributed to one segment of the country dominating the remainder in terms of political power?
c. Why do the South and East object to the North’s consolidation of power?
d. What are the repercussions of depriving other parts of the country of central power?
Other aspects that represent a difficulty in this research study are as follows:
I. There is inequity in power distribution among the country’s constituent parts. The North has been accused of attempting to monopolise political power at the expense of others.
II. The colonial legacy of 1914 to 1946 has also been identified as the greatest source and origin of Nigeria’s political problem, namely the arbitrary amalgamation of diverse ethnic groups into a single entity called “Nigeria” and the principle of regionalism, which divided the country into three unequal parts.
III. In Nigeria’s fifty-six (56) years of political independence, the north has largely dominated central power, ruling for thirty-nine (39) years, while the south has only gotten there through struggle and compensation in 1999 for the June 12, 1993 annulment, and in 2010 when a Northern President died in office and his deputy, a Southerner, constitutionally replaced him.
IV. Minorities accuse majority ethnic groups of condemning them to perpetual second-class status, and as a result, they seek a new structure that ensures their access to national authority.
V. The issue of the value of power, which is heavily concentrated in the centre, particularly the position of the President.
This study tries to provide answers to the aforementioned challenges and questions, as well as determine the extent to which the option of rotating president might alleviate the problems of national integration in order to achieve unity, stability, and prosperity.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Many Nigerian politicians and researchers have worked hard to develop long-term solutions to the myriad difficulties plaguing Nigerian politics. These initiatives have yet to yield positive outcomes. This effort is being undertaken out of patriotic concern for Nigeria’s ailing political stability. The following are the research objectives:
a. To investigate how political power in the centre has been concentrated on the North, and how this monopolisation of power has contributed to our political insecurity and divisiveness.
b. To shed light on the widespread agitation for and implementation of rotational presidency in Nigeria. It seeks to resolve the issue of power concentration in the North in order to provide a rational analysis of the causes and consequences of political instability.
c. To evaluate critically and objectively the notion of rotational presidency as a formula for political stability, as well as the extent to which it can foster national cohesion.
d. To demonstrate that rotating presidency is the solution to the problem of political leadership dominance and the key to Nigeria’s stable democracy.
a. To investigate the shortcomings of the rotational presidency principle and the potential problems that will impede its effectiveness in Nigeria.
f. To demonstrate to detractors of this model that Nigeria is capable of creating a democratic framework that is unique and indigenous to the country’s diverse structure.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
In Nigeria, the call for peaceful coexistence based on fairness and the basic ideal of equity has proven elusive. The purpose of this research is to contribute to the resolution of injustice and marginalisation in the country’s national leadership by promoting and projecting the notion of Rotational Presidency in Nigeria.
Much has been said about rotating presidency and power squeezing. For that reason, we cannot boast that this endeavour will break ground on previously uncharted territory.
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