Political Parties are one of the fundamentals of Democratic governance, and it’s been adjudged the best form of government that allows equal opportunities for participation and representation all over the world. In 1999, Nigeria kick-started the journey of the Fourth Republic of democratic governance uninterrupted in the case of other civilized democracies of the world. Consequently, this work examined the conflicts in political parties and its challenges on governance in the country.
The study adopted the descriptive approach of analysis, and made of the strategic conflict theory, the study observed that a strong and stable political party under the rule of law will guarantee good governance, accountability transparency and many more under the law. This study further observed that the political parties in Nigeria have moved some steps forward, a lot needs to be done in the areas of incessant defections/ party switching/ cross carpeting of party members from one party to another. The work also observed that the political parties need to separate party leadership from governmental leadership; the two cannot be under the leadership of one elected government official in the name of party leader. This is the result of constant conflict in the struggle to control the headship of a political party between elected officials who may have abandoned governance and other party big wigs that leads to incessant defections by those who lost out of the struggle. The study concludes that for democracy to be fully functional in Nigeria, the political parties must strengthen the party institutions and make elected leaders answerable to the party, by this act the party will remain supreme and its ideologies and manifestos must be carried out to the latter by elected representatives at all levels of governance.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
THEORETICAL APPROACH
CONCEPT OF CONFLICT
PARTY POLITICS/INTEREST
POLITICAL PARTIES AND GODFATHERISM IN NIGERIA
DEFECTION/PARTY SWITCHING /CROSS CARPETING
GOVERNANCE
CONCLUSION
Research Objectives and Themes
This work examines the recurring conflicts within Nigerian political parties and investigates how these internal struggles and the phenomenon of incessant political defection undermine democratic governance and institutional stability in the country.
- The impact of internal party conflicts on national governance.
- The role of "godfatherism" in shaping political recruitment and leadership.
- Analysis of defection, party switching, and cross-carpeting as anti-democratic tendencies.
- The erosion of political ideologies in favor of personal gains and patronage.
- Strategic recommendations for strengthening party institutions and accountability.
Excerpt from the Book
DEFECTION/PARTY SWITCHING /CROSS CARPETING
The term political party defection, party switching/ cross carpet they all mean one and the same thing, the Merriam Webster dictionary meaning suggests the word is derived from the Latin word ‘defectio’, indicating ‘an act of conscious abandonment of allegiance or duty as to a cause or doctrine to which such person is bound, to go over to the side of an opponent. Defection, as noted by Malhotra as cited in Ogundiya (2011), is used to refer to the departure or decamping of a member from a political party to join another political party, typically because of discontent in his/her existing party, and depending on the position of the person, it may be given a different name such as party switching or crossing the floor. This term is also applied, often pejoratively, to anyone who switches loyalty to another religion, sports, team, political party, or other rival faction. In that sense, the defector is often considered a traitor by their original side.
Defection is an act of a person or group of people against an organized establishment that, indicates revolt, dissent, and rebellion. Defection thus connotes the process of abandoning a cause or withdrawing from it or from a party or programme. It has thus an element, on the one hand, of giving up one and, on the other, an element of joining another. When the process is complete by reason of a person defecting from a cause or a party or a programme, he is termed as a defector. Malhotra (2005), sees defection thus as a “process by which a person abandons or withdraws his allegiance or duty from one party to another”, traditionally, this phenomenon is known as ‘floor crossing’ which had its origin in the British House of Commons where a legislator changed his allegiance when he crossed the floor and moved from the Government to the opposition side, or vice-versa.
Summary of Chapters
INTRODUCTION: Provides an overview of the political landscape in Nigeria, highlighting the tension between judicial interventions and political stability, and introduces the problem of frequent party defections.
THEORETICAL APPROACH: Utilizes Karl Marx's Strategic Conflict Theory to explain how political actors compete for scarce resources and power, often at the expense of general public interest.
CONCEPT OF CONFLICT: Defines conflict as a multifaceted phenomenon driven by personality clashes, resource competition, and the failure of voluntary contracts to resolve political disputes.
PARTY POLITICS/INTEREST: Discusses how personal interest, rather than ideological alignment, drives political participation and causes instability within the party system.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND GODFATHERISM IN NIGERIA: Examines the historical development of political parties in Nigeria and the detrimental influence of "godfathers" in controlling political processes and government resources.
DEFECTION/PARTY SWITCHING /CROSS CARPETING: Explores the motivations behind political defection and its negative impact on democratic representation and the stability of political institutions.
GOVERNANCE: Analyzes the link between functional democratic mechanisms and good governance, arguing that political instability hinders developmental progress.
CONCLUSION: Summarizes the findings, emphasizing that political parties must be strengthened and elected leaders held accountable to party ideologies to ensure a functional democracy.
Keywords
Nigeria, Democratic Governance, Political Parties, Conflict Theory, Godfatherism, Defection, Party Switching, Cross Carpeting, Political Interest, Accountability, Electoral Law, Institutional Stability, Political Patronage, Democracy, Fourth Republic
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research?
The research focuses on the intersection of party politics and governance in Nigeria, specifically addressing how internal party conflicts and frequent defections challenge the stability of the democratic system.
What are the main thematic areas covered?
Key areas include the role of godfatherism in political appointments, the theoretical basis of political conflict, the lack of ideological clarity in party membership, and the impact of these factors on effective governance.
What is the core research objective?
The primary goal is to analyze how the struggle to control party structures leads to instability and to suggest ways to make political institutions more robust and accountable.
Which scientific theory is applied?
The study is anchored in the Strategic Conflict Theory by Karl Marx, which explains political behavior as a competition for scarce resources and power.
What aspects of the Nigerian political system are addressed in the main chapters?
The chapters cover the historical evolution of parties, the phenomenon of floor-crossing, the legal battles arising from party leadership disputes, and the consequences of sacrificing merit for political patronage.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as Nigeria, democratic governance, defection, godfatherism, political institutions, and conflict.
How does the author define the relationship between "godfathers" and governance?
The author highlights that godfathers often hold state governments captive by manipulating the enthronement and dethronement of political leaders, leading to the diversion of resources for personal gain rather than public development.
What impact does the author attribute to political defections?
Defections are seen as evidence of a lack of political ideology, which renders party labels meaningless and undermines the electoral pact between voters and elected officials.
What specific solution does the author propose for the issue of defections?
The author suggests that parties must adopt stringent measures in their constitutions to restrain incessant defections and ensure that elected leaders remain answerable to their respective party platforms.
- Citation du texte
- Benjamin Ibietonye (Auteur), 2021, Conflict of Party Politics and Challenges of Governance in Nigeria. An Overview Since the Start of the Fourth Republic in 1999, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1010149
