THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PARTY POLITICS

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Like most of the developing heterogeneous and multi ethnic socialist, Nigeria a plural society has been faced with problems of instituting a stable and democratically elected form of government, despite attempt made by previous administration towards getting this situation now a common trend in third world countries curbed. Prior to the attainment of independence in 1960 the struggle was between the national list leaders and the colonial masters, which was aimed at the liberation of Nigeria from colonial dominance. Within this period, the issued of power sharing based on the grounds of segmental cleavages (ethnic) remained a silent feature.

At independence in 1960, Nigeria inherited a weak social political structure, a defective and unbalanced federation indigenous ethos of government and culture and above all, an inexperienced leadership. Most of the apparatuses of state ( a civil service not primarily geared to development, a police force alienated from the interest of a ruling class and increasingly turn apart by regional sentiments and judiciary wedded to the protection of the interest of power elite could not met the aspiration of an emergent state. The parliamentary constitution did not contain adequate provision for socio-economic transformation and national integration. It encouraged regionalism. All major political parties, important instruments for social and political mobilization, were ethnically based the North/South conflicts, which has been husbanded by the British as part of their divide and rule tactic, that they negatively impacted on all political division the mode and manner, of political party formation in however, extensively related to the level of political stability in the society.

Political party formation in Nigeria has been base on, ethnic grounds. The genesis of political party formation in Nigeria date for back to the early 1920s, with the introduction of electoral positions in the Nigeria Legislative council, Franchise was however granted to the inhabitants of Lagos and Calaban. This led to the formation of the Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP) in 1923, and subsequently in 1938, to the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM). Both parties could, however be properly called, following Thomas Hodglain, proto-parties’ their influence banely extended beyond the immediate environment of Ibadan and Lagos. Parties, properly so called, are formal organizations which compete through electoral process to control the personnel and politics of government and these in Nigeria were a product of the post Richardson constitution. The first of these to emerge was the National council of Nigeria and Cameron (NCNC), which was formed 1944 and 1947.

In 1984, the second major political party the Action Group (AG) emerged, an offshoot of the Yoruba culture Association Omo oduduwa, (Lit Association of the children of Oduduwa, the mythical ancestor of the Yorubas) started in London around 1945 by Obafemi Awolowo then a law students 1951 gave to the third and most influential party in the first republic. Northern people congress (NPC) like the Action Group (AG), it was also an offshoot of a cultural association, the jam Lyyan mutanen Arewa (JMA) clit, the association of people of the North. The JAM was formed in 1948 by the Northern intelligent who wanted a form within which the political changes taking place in the country could be discussed.

Beside the major political parties, were numerous other smaller political parties such as the North Elements progressive Union (NEPU), the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), United Nigeria Independence part (UNIP) Bornu Youth Movement (BYM) The Kano people party (KPP) and the Mid-west Democratic frount (MDF). These parties were highly localized based essentially on specific interest and whose main significance was that they provided avenues for the dominant parties, through alliance to extend their electoral reach into region outside their sphere of influence. Thus, for instance, the Action Group by entering into the alliance with the UMBC was able to reach into the North, while the NPC succeeded in extending its electoral appeal into the mid-west through its alliance with the MDF.