Category: POLITICAL SCIENCE PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS
POLITICAL SCIENCE PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS, Political Science project topics and materials for undergraduate and post graduate students. Research project paper, seminar topics, proposals, titles, ideas and materials are available for dissertation, thesis and essay in Political Science department. Find below the list of research project topics for OND, HND, BSC, PGD, MSC and PHD Political Science students.
Training of personnel
is one of the most important functions of personnel management. Training is the
process by the management attempts to achieve the organization goals. Infant
human resources can be described as the key note of the resources to the very
existence of an enterprise. Therefore, it is necessary here to describe the
various system of training. The system of training civil service varies from
one country to another country it should be noted that the first country to
develop a scientific system of training was America.
In Nigeria the merit
system of training civil servant is adopted.
However, training into administrative
cadre in the Western Nigeria was based on orientation and induction of
employees.
A typical training
service commission training is based on orientation and inductive, provides new
organization about policies procedures practices and rule that will affect
them.
Also, the employees
are provided information about the job on which they will work.
All these information
should be communicated in a work as quickly as possible.
At this point in
time, having viewed what has been said so far, it is against the background
that the principle and merit plays a vital role in safeguarding the right of
all citizens as a matter of fact, the best guaranteed against federal character
nepotism and arbitrary training into the commission.
We can therefore that
the best available talented is trained to the principle of merit.
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:
Training has been a
process of learning the skill that you need to do a job e.g. management
training or vouchers training etc.
In as much that it is
essential for an organ manpower develop and efficiency.
One of the identified
problems is the method of training based on orientation during the induction of
employees. It has generally been by employees through practical had not yielded
the much needed result and therefore rendered the whole exercise useless and
punctured the sound orientation.
Another problem to be
considered is the employment of non professionals into unions fields work and
this coned not bring about efficiency and manpower development. It has been
observed on those that are not professionally available employed to work has
not been able to give their best take for example the training service
commission should have employed those that have not been able to give trained
best.
Furthermore, merit is
another perceived problem was observed the people that are employed and not
based on merit it has always been based on whom you know syndrome and this has
really affected manpower. Effectiveness and efficiency.
Finally carrying out a study of
teaching service commission which expresses its belief in training their
teachers but govern policies of federal character had pruned their ways in this
regard efficiency.
– Standardize level of education
– To get aid of universe element
– Bring smart to the commission
The government
policies of federal character even state government has been the enemy or the
commission. It is observed that trained person that was aware file would not be
employed why2 Because the trained person did not come from that state and
therefore will not be employed and this helped the Teaching Service Commission
in jeopardy.
In view of this all
of above stated point had been the perceived problem encounter by the Kwara
State Teaching Commission.
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF STUDY:
The aim of the
project is to assess critically the training exercise carried out by the
commission. This would enable us to access the performance of the commission
and the system adopted in training their employees.
To find out the
system is based on strictly supervision to evaluate the work of each employees
and it have been used mostly frequently as a based on selected candidate making
merit increase in hourly rates or salaries.
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
The essence of
carrying out a research of the magnitude is to points out the significance of
the study. The research is based on study and observation; it will be the
premise ‘to solving that problem encountered in training which is a guide to
manpower development in Kwara State Teaching Commission.
However, the process
of training of the teacher commission will enhance the efficiency of the staff
and bring about some level of achievement and efficiently to the commission.
Secondly, It improve
and standardize the level of education of the commission is the necessary tools
of training is put in place which will further aggregate and accelerate the
process of training there by bringing standardization to the education in the
State.
Lastly, the
significance of the study will bring about sanity in the teaching service
commission and unnecessary and unwanted policies and element could be about
doing a job.
Rural
development is one of the arms of the ministry of social welfare in the formal
northern Nigeria government. It was under ministry of education and community
development when kwara state was created in 1967 after about a year, the kwara
state government removed local government community development from education
and also removed local government section from governor’s office and emerged
the two together to become one ministry known as ministry of local government
and community development in the year 1969. (Rural development section was
under this ministry).
Presently,
ministry of rural development now exist. At its inception, kwara state
comprised of two provinces, namely Kabba and Ilorin. The arrangement of rural
development activities was based on provisional administration, but at the end
of 1968, divisional administration was created. Among the division created form
the provinces were Igbomina / Ekiti, Ilorin, Kabba, Kogi etc.
Rural
development is one of the instruments used to obtain popular and renowned participation
in development. The discussion, decision, planning and implementation of
development projects are jointly done by members themselves and the rural
development promotes who parties the programme.
The
attention of local government to rural development activities is due to proper
co-ordination and must do assignment of local government administration.
Nevertheless, most of these developments are initiatives of rural community
members but after all has been said and done, rural community members are not
independent of local or state government assistance and support.
The
contributions of local government towards any rural development can never be
over emphasized.
1.2 AIMS AND
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
In
view of the importance of local government as an instrument to transform rural
areas, this study aims at highlighting the impact of the local government
(Ilorin East local government) on rural transformation of its jurisdiction.
Also to examine the problems and solutions of economic and social activities of
the area.
Moreover,
the research is conducted to expatiate on the step that has been taken by
various rural communities and local governments in rural transformation
(2005-2008).
1.3 THE SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
This
study would be useful and beneficial to Ilorin East local government and other
agencies of rural transformation. It will contribute to the existing knowledge
and serve as a reference to future researchers.
1.4 THE SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS OF
THE STUDY
This
project work deals with how Ilorin east local government serves as means of
transforming its rural areas. It covers the period of local government reform
of 1976 to date.
There
are some constraints encountered in the process of writing this project work
among which are collection of writing this project work among which are
collection of information from local government personnel who usually referred
to some document as “classified document” and secret files which could not be
reached or treated for this work.
Also,
finance is another constraint which is the orbit in which every other factors
rotates and since it is limited, then one or two problems were encountered,
like cost of transportation and typing.
Local government has existed in all countries of the world – though under different names such as local authority, local administration, county council and district administration etc., as an essential primary instrument for rural development. In Nigeria, its existence has taken different nature, character and names as there are different regions and periods. The inability of these local governments to meet the aims of its creation leads to the various reform of local government. In the reform, local government was constitutionally recognized as third tier level of government. Consequently, local government was given both statutory roles/responsibilities and revenue allocations from both the federal and state government. This stimulated the policies of development ethnicity of many additional local government areas. Aninri Local Government is one of such newly created local government with over 773 local governments created all over Nigeria. It should be expected that most of Nigeria’s rural communities would be developed or lifted up to at least semi cities. However, it has been observed that there exists an increasing trend of underdevelopment in the rural area. Thus, this work is determined to find out the extent Aninri Local Government Council have mobilized and sensitized people in the development of its areas. Secondly what factor(s) is responsible for the current level of development in the council area? It is our main objective to provide answer to the problems/question raised above. Thus, we embarked on review of related literature to discover the opinions and findings of scholars and researchers on these issues on these issues, with a view to fill any existing gap in the literature. To effectively achieve this aim we adopted David Easton’s system theory as our preferred tool of analysis. As a pattern of action and orientation, the systems theory focuses on the input, conversion and output mechanisms. The dynamism of this process shall enable us to determine the factors responsible for the identified problems. As the analysis and evaluation provided by this frame work that is, the system’s theory shall enable us test the following hypothesis:
1. Aninri Local Government has not mobilized the rural populace in terms of development.
2. Financial constraints has been a cog in the wheel of development strategies by Aninri Local Government Area.
In search for information and data, we adopted both the primary and secondary methods of data collection. In the primary source, 150 questionnaires were distributed local government officials, politicians’ religious organizations, traditional authorities and the masses within the ten political wards of Aninri Local Government Area. Simple percentage method was adopted for our calculations and inferences. On the secondary sources, we made reference to library text such as Books, Journals Periodicals, and Government publications.
CHAPTE ONE
INTRODUCTION
It is never a gain saying the fact that rural development has become a national imperative in our country, Nigeria. A number of reasons can account for this. The first is the proportion of the National population resident in rural areas of Nigeria. In 1963 census, 80.7% of the national population were resident in rural areas; by 1985, this proportion has gone down to 70.13% and by 1990, it is expected to drop by 69% (OLisa, 1992).
Going by the views of Olisa, one can understand that a good proportion of the Nigerian populace is found in rural areas. The living standard of these people in the rural area is still at poverty level. Social amenities are inadequate or unavailable. Even if they are available, they are limited to the government functionaries who are serving in rural areas. It is to fight this object and total neglect,. Poverty, to mobilize and sensitize the local people for development necessitated that the new local government was established to critically cater for the need of the rural dwellers. Development of rural areas was one of the reasons for series of reform of local governments in Nigeria.
Olisa (1992) noted that “the history of local government in Nigeria portrays a sort of approach avoidance attitude on the part of Nigerian Governments. This exhibits the idea that the autonomy of local government as the third tier of government in Nigeria has been that of ambivalence. Since the British rule in Nigeria, attitude towards local government has been that of trial and reform. In 1976, the Murtala/Obasanjo regime took a giant stride and reformed local government system throughout the country. Out of nineteen states that were in existence, two hundred and ninety – nine local government were created.
In August 7th, 1991 (27), the government of General Ibrahim Babangida created thirty states plus Abuja with five hundred and eight nine (589) local government areas. Sani Abacha also created new local government in 1997 which saw to the creation of Aninri Local government Area.
The aim of this local governments is to bring government to the grass root so that they will feel the impact and presence of government and at the same time mobilize the local populace for their own developmental efforts. The federal government cannot know better the needs of the local government because it is the person that wears the shoe knows where it pinches.
1.1 Statement of Problem
During the colonial era, various communities embarked on self help projects and other rural development but this was not measurable. After Nigerian independence the bid for rural development was intensified, the need of these communities was to better their own lots. The people of NENWE, ODUMA, NDIAGBO, OKPANKU and MPU were among those communities that made every effort to bring rural development to their area. Most of these developmental activities embarked upon by different towns and villages were in from of building primary schools, roads, bridges, markets and so on.
In 1976, the local government system was reformed and unified; secondly, its status powers and responsibilities were constitutionalized in 1979. Thirdly, numerous local government councils were created to bring government closer to the people. Fourthly, the revenue allocation formula of the federal government was so much improved to ensure the flow of enough funds to the local government council. Finally, serial of grants have been advanced to these local government councils.
Despite all these efforts made by Federal government and the rural dwellers to better their living, they still face environmental constraints and are unable to embark on any meaningful development. Poverty has continued to characterize our rural area. Infrastructure was nothing thought of by rural dwellers while agricultural production was not for surplus but where it existed it was always at low cost because of the absence of good roads to transport these products.
This research will focus on answering the following question:
1) To what extent has Aninri Local government been mobilizing and sensitizing the rural populace for the development of their area?
2) To what degree has the local government pursued developmental projects in their area of jurisdiction?
1.2 Objective of Study
a) The objective of this study is to ascertain the extent to which Aninri local government area has mobilized and sensitized the rural populace for development?
b) To know the extent Aninri Local Government Area has pursued developmental project in their area.
1.3 Significance of the Study
The significance of this study lies in an attempt to use Aninri Local government as a case study in order to assess the contribution of local government as third tier of government levels in the country to rural development. Our finding will be a huge contribution in helping to mobilize both human and material resources to the development of rural areas. It will also administrators to rank their priorities effectively and above all contribute to knowledge
1.4 Literature Review
Communal effort has not been a recent phenomenon it dates back to the time of primitive communalism when people fend for their living communal. In the early age of man, he always sought ways of conquering nature.
Bathern (1968) in his work “Communities and Development” said that development is not new but an old idea. This can be supported by the idea that communities in Aninri Local Government Area have constructed roads, bridges, markets, and primary schools through communal effort. They were galvanized by the rich cultural heritage and were protected by the laws which they make and maintained by themselves.
Igere (1992) opined that the local people are organized on community and local Government level to display dance, fashion, songs, music, arts and craft.
During colonial period all the development that took place that period was not mean to serve the development needs of the local populace but to serve the need of the colonial government. This may be attributed to the pseudo-autonomy which the native chiefs have in administering their people. Olisa (1992) puts it that “however, the Emirs and Chiefs were soon to learn that they must depend on the caprice of an executive officer be it the Resident or the District officer”. Major infrastructures in rural areas served colonial interest such infrastructures in railways which is from the hinterland to the major sea pots in the country.
When the colonialist handed over administration, the nationalist issue of rural development and local government autonomy remained stagnant. When the military came to power, the issue was further watered down may be because of hierarchical nature of the military organization.
Igene (2992) that “up till 1976, Nigeria had no rural development programme”. He also expressed that it is not that they were no rural development problems but that rural problems were enmeshed in agricultural; issues. Local Government was for the first time called a tier of local government in 1976 guideline but the autonomy of local government was still reserved and do not enjoy autonomy as a development area, through this served as a relief to local government.
According to Odenigwe (1979), “The new local government in Nigeria is ultimate agency for mobilizing citizens and material resources for development of rural communities”. He was of the opinion that the rural populace has now the opportunity to participate in programme designed to raise the standard of their living.
Ogunna (1980) in a paper “Local government and Community development he noted that “local community has remained underdeveloped”. He attributed this to lack of revenues, low executive capacity, poor and inadequate working staff and excessive control by the state government which result in delay an red tapism. He suggested that the solution lies in the local government system particularly in area of review of financial relationship with the state government and personal”. This “dermative” or control of local government has made clear in implementation guideline on application of the civil service reform in the local government service.
Saitory (1962) in his work, “Organization of community development Programme” paid attention to practical aspect or organizing a community practice. What he was saying was that these local areas being so vital to local communities should be the concentration by local council.
Agbubuzu (1986) in his “Blue Print for community Development” advocates for effective implementation of strategies for community development, the town/community union, age grades and other groups should be linked with government. This idea he said was to involve the rural people fully through their union, age grade, and other similar organization in planning and implementation that are designed to improve their economic, social, political and cultural development”. Anyway, this was not to hold true because of approved-avoidance by the higher level of government towards local government. It was ambivalence towards local government that made development of rural areas still stagnant.
Ayande (1987) in his work, “Rural Development in Nigeria: the role of government identified the local government as veritable instrument vehicle for rural development. However, he noted that many local government councils have not made appreciable impact in this direction. He attributed this for the myriads of function allocated to local government council without commensurate financial backing. We note that the disparity between activities of the local government council in the Northern Nigeria and that of those in the Eastern part tends to contradict this generalization. Therefore, how true is it for the Aninri local government council?
Oluwu (1987) focused his own study on the approaches used by local government councils in rural development. He described the approach as imposition of development programmes on the Federal Government.
Lisa and Obiukwu (1992) regretted that rural development activities and programme of the past, these decades of national independence have not transformed the country’s rural areas into the modern, well supplied contends and prosperous populations envisaged at the definition of independence. They observed that the numerous development programmes have made little or no transformatory impact. They cited basic social services, public utilities and essential infrastructure as still being woefully inadequate in almost all the corners of Nigeria. We contend that apart from the general nature of this work, Olisa and Obiukwu could not provide concrete analysis of the factors or seasons behind this failure.
Olatubosun (1975) concentrated on the nature of Nigeria rural communities. He identified government indifferences to the rural sector and its agriculture and non-agric sector alone, the widening gap between urban and rural sectors, rural as the main impediment to rural development. He blamed the colonial development policies and structures for this. Thus, he suggested rural diversification as a means of reducing Nigeria’s external debt, improvement of health education and nutritional facilities, provision of social amenities and the option of integrated approach to rural development as the solution to rural underdevelopment in Nigeria.
Ijere M.O., in his work “Leading Issues in Nigeria Rural Development” identified the main reasons for rural development as: the attitude of the leaders, battle with the party in power to discredit them and practice, of “authoritarian handouts”. He therefore evaluated community development efforts and identified the followings as its problems: lack of co-ordinates rural development programme, lack of provision of infrastructures; relevant education and the aspirations of the people.
Ladsu (1976) compared the potentialities of the level of governance, Federal, State and local government for rural development. He identified the local government council as the rural veritable instrument for total development at the rural areas.
Yahaya (1979) in his work “local government as an agent of rural development: And evaluation focused on only local government as agent of rural development. He defined and outlined though in details the characteristics of rural development. He observed that rural areas are not attractive for habitation because of its underdevelopment, and therefore suggested a modification of the relationship between the rural and urban centers.
Obiukwu and Olisa (eds) (1992) evaluated and scored poorly the rural development activities and programmess for the past 30years according to them, it has made little or no transparent impact on the rural areas they used as their yard stick in the provision of such amenities as social services, public utilities and infrastructure.
Moghalu (1992) shared the same opinion and opined that water, electricity, good road and infrastructure have become luxuries in the local areas.
Scholars dwelt on community development where in their focus because the study and the evaluation of the community development efforts.
However, little or nothing has been done on the local government duty or role to mobilize and sensitize the rural populace for the development of their area. It is this gap that this work intends to fill by studying the role of Aninri local government area in mobilizing and sensitizing its rural populace for the development of their area.
1.5 Theoretical Framework
In science, theory plays the role of analyzing or explaining the underlying connection between groups of related phenomena. It marks an attempt to describe precisely element of the physical and the social world relation.
The theoretical framework for our analysis shall be David Easteon Theory of input – Output matrix which is to be used in analyzing the role of local government on rural development as well as the variables that influences such processes. “Easton suggests that political system has essentially two elements – input (demand and support and output (authoritative decision) Ecsein and Apter (1963).
Inputs are those things that act on a political system and evoke a kind of response from it. The inputs are expression of desire or expectations that input is demonstration of willingness to accept a particular value allocation process and the interaction by which the political system converts the demands and support into output.
The people of Aninri Local government make demand on their local government for the provision of social and economic services and first among these demand is the provision of pipe borne water because some areas like Oduma is infested with guinea worm and Ndeabor has no natural supply of water.
“Input provides the raw material on which the system acts sop as to produce something we call the output”. Ecatein (1965). The output are decision and actions of authorities Laston (1965). Without input the government cannot identify the work done by the government. “These outcomes and inputs are communicated to the public by dint feed back channel and may affect future demands and level support
The whole process could be represented in a diagram
A model of the political system redrawn from Easton D.A framework for political analysis.
Thus, there is interrelated activities between input output structure of a system and its environment. Therefore, the idea of a system connotes the interdependent of pasts and boundaries between it and its environment (Geoffrey 1972). This means that local government and its people shall be interdependent and if Aninri local government lacks manpower for its rural development efforts, it can scan its environment for possible information and support. If there is increase in finance available to local government and experienced staff, it can embark on viable rural development.
1.6 Hypothesis
The vital functional output of hypothesis is that of forecasting or indicating what data are necessary for achieving explanatory power of a research phenomenon. It is a tentative answer to an identified research problems and is more or less derived from a conceptualized theory.
In order to be guarded in the process of this research project, it has become pertinent to propose to tentative answers to problems earlier suggested. These answers or guesses will be proved or disapproved latter in this project report. Hence the following hypotheses are thereby adduced:
1) Aninri Local government has not mobilized the rural populace in terms of development
2) Financial constraint has been a cog in the wheel of development strategies by Aninri Local government area.
Writing on a project topic like ‘combating corruption in Nigeria; case study of the EFCC has presented numerous challenges, bearing in mind that not very many people are aware of the scope of responsibility being handled by the ant -graft body.
The journey takes one through in the first instance the creating of an overview of the fact that corruption really has Nigerian in its stragle hold, the recognition of the harm the corruption endemie has wrought on the Nigerian psyche and the need for fighting this human created cancer.
The need for the creation of an anti-graft body becomes very apparent when one look at the presidents set by other matters of corruption (huge as it were) swept under the carpet for lack of gats to deal with same.
The response of Nigerian as to whether the aims, objectives for the setting up of the EFCC have been met is also dealt with therein
How much can the EFCC achieve, and the question of whether Nigeria can in the end say ‘Uhuru is tackled therein.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria became an independent nation on the 1st of October 1960.
A country richly endowed with monumental geographical and diverse natural resources ranging from crude oil to gas (natural), coal al, et.
Nigeria possesses potential market ability for rapid economic development.
However, inspite of these obvious resources and its advantage, Nigeria remains a poor and underdeveloped country.
Scholars have achieved and advanced several reasons to explain this parlous and depleting state.
One of the major and prominent factors advanced is corruption
Corruption has been a major problem in Nigeria since independence.
Perhaps, it may be that we even inherited ‘the problem’ from our colonial masters.
Numerous state institutions have become dysfunctional because of large-scale corrupt practices.
Projects are routinely abandoned, and no one is brought to book, public goods and resources are diverted to private ends.
Corruption endangers the good governance and the democracy we see today.
Corruption was cited as one of the more prominent reasons for Nigeria’s first military coup by the coupists of January 15, 1966 military putsch.
Massive corruption and resource brigandage also were sited as reasons for the military takes over by the regime of Buharil Tunde Idiagbon on December 31st 1983.
This is in-spite of the fact that even the military elite cannot be called saints on the one side.
Due to the pervasive nature of corruption in Nigeria, Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his inaugural speech on May 29 1999 affirmed that corruption, the single greatest bane of our society today would be tackled head- on, at all levels.
No society can achieve its full potentials if it allows corruption to become a full blown cancer as its has become in our nation.
According to the World Bank (1997:5), “corruption thrives when economic policies are poorly designed, education levels or standards are low, civil society participation is weak, public sector management is poor, and accountability of public institutions are weak”.
Corruption has become the order of the day in our public institution, and because Government business is nobody’s business, the country continues to suffer (Nzemeke and Erhagbe: 2002:131).
Corruption has been cited as the major reason why developmental prescription, aids and policies imposed on Nigeria by international financial organizations have inexplicably failed.
Thus, corruption is indeed, to the society and the polity what HW/AIDS is to the human body
While manifestation of the “acquired immune deficiency syndrome” caused by a bio-virus, corruption is an expression of the “Deficiency of integrity syndrome” caused by a socio-virus (corruption).
‘As HW/AIDS breaks down our immune system thereby making it susceptible to ills and sicknesses, so also corruption breaks down the law and order, structure of the economy, thereby making it easy for the nation to be infested with all sorts of deficiencies and crimes.
Sam Adesua (1987: 8-9) noted that “in Nigeria, …corruption is a well – organized and well entrenched social malady bestriding the nation, but which tends to have the tacit approval of almost every Nigerian in the social ladders”.
This is an opposite description of the corruption status in the Nigerian nation.
Corruption is no doubt pervasive in the country.
It permeates all strata of both public and private life.
It is not peculiar to any regime or government, in the country.
Honesty seems to have taken flight, and corruption has in the meanwhile tremendously gained ground and become very rampant.
According to Familoni (2005:51), becoming corrupt in Nigeria is almost avoidable, as morality is lax because to survive, people have to make money.
The 1996 study of corruption by Transparency International (TI) and Goettingen University ranked Nigeria as the most corrupt nation, among the fifty-four (54) counties listed in the study with Pakistan as the second most corrupt country.
Also in the 1998 transparency international corruption perception index (CPI), the image of Nigeria dipped further as she was ranked ninety (90) out of the ninety one (91) countries pooled – Bangladesh came first in the ranking.
The country remained or rather retained its position in 2003.
In 2006, the transparency international perception index ranked Nigeria one hundred and forty-two (142) out of one hundred and sixty-three (163) countries pooled, with Haiti as the most corrupt country in the world.
Political Communication is a sub-field of political science and communication that deals with the production, dissemination, procession and effects of information, both through media and interpersonally, within a political context. This includes the study of the media, the analysis of speeches by politicians and those that are trying to influence the political process, and formal and informal conversations among members of the public, among other aspects. The media acts as bridge between government and public. The study and practice of political communication focuses on the ways and means of expression of a political nature. Robert E. Denton and Gary C. Woodward, two important contributors to the field, in Political Communication in America characterize it as the ways and intentions of message senders to influence the political environment. This includes public discussion (e.g. political speeches, news media coverage, and ordinary citizens’ talk) that considers who has authority to sanction, the allocation of public resources, who has authority to make decision, as well as social meaning like what makes someone American. In their words “the crucial factor that makes communication ‘political’ is not the source of a message, but its content and purpose.” David L. Swanson and Dan Nimmo, also key members of this sub-discipline, define political communication as “the strategic use of communication to influence public knowledge, beliefs, and action on political matters.” They emphasize the strategic nature of political communication, highlighting the role of persuasion in political discourse. Brian McNair provides a similar definition when he writes that political communication is “purposeful communication about politics.” For McNair this means that this not only covers verbal or written statements, but also visual representations such as dress, make-up, hairstyle or logo design. With other words, it also includes all those aspects that develop a “political identity” or “image”. Reflecting on the relationship between political communication and contemporary agenda-building, Vian Bakir defines Strategic Political Communication (SPC) as comprising ‘political communication that is manipulative in intent, that utilises social scientific techniques and heuristic devices to understand human motivation, human behavior and the media environment, to inform effectively what should be communicated – encompassing its detail and overall direction – and what should be withheld, with the aim of taking into account and influencing public opinion, and creating strategic alliances and an enabling environment for government policies – both at home and abroad’.
There are many academic departments and schools around the world that specialize in political communication. These programs are housed in programs of communication, journalism and political science, among others. The study of political communication is clearly interdisciplinary.
Political communications is an interactive process concerning the transmission of information among politicians, the news media and the public. The process operates down-wards from governing institutions towards citizens, horizontally in linkages among political actors, and also upwards from public opinion towards authorities.
1.2 Statement of problem
During the 2015 governorship election in Enugu State, as in other parts of Nigeria, politicians made all manner promises to the general public which they used to sell their parties and the candidates on their platforms. That advertising was delivered does not necessarily mean that it was received, nor does it imply that it was understood and accepted as truthful, such that it actually influenced the behaviour of the electorate in Enugu State during the governorship election. Or were there intervening variables in the communication process? It is in the light of the above that the study decided to investigate the quality of political communication during 2015 general elections.
1.3 Objective of the study
This research work titled “appraisal of the quality of political communication during 2015 general elections” The objectives of this research work includes the following;
1. To appraise the quality of political communication during the 2015 election in Nigeria.
2. To examine the impact of political communication on the success of 2015 election.
3. To evaluate the impact of political communication on the development of Nigeria.
4. To examine the challenges faced by Nigerian 2015 election.
1.4 Research questions
1. What is the quality of political communication during the 2015 election in Nigeria?
2. Does political communication have any impact on the success of 2015 election?
3. What are the impacts of political communication on the development of Nigeria?
4. What are the challenges faced by Nigerian 2015 election.
1.6 Significance of the study
This research work will be of immense help to the following group of individuals;
This research work will be of immense help to the researcher as it will help him to know more on the quality of political communication during the 2015 election in Nigeria.
This study will also be of great importance to politicians in the country as it will enrich their knowledge on the quality of political communication during the 2015 election in Nigeria.
This study will be of great importance to students and other researchers since it will serve as a reference point for the upcoming researchers.
This research work will also be of immense help to the general public as it will help the policy makers to enact laws that will guide the quality of political communication in Nigeria.
Economic globalisation has led to the increasing economic integration and interdependence of national, regional and local economies across the world through an intensification of cross-border movement of goods, services, technologies and capital. Economic globalization has been expanding since the emergence of trans-national trade, it has however grown at an increased rate over the last few decades under the framework of General Agreements on Tariffs and Trades (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) which made countries gradually cut down trade barriers. While globalization has radically increased economic integration and increased access to modern ideas, it has opened up the developing economies to stiff competition for the sale of their manufactured goods in the perfect market. Nigeria which is a developing economy has been engulfed by this wave of integration and therefore faces stiff competition in her international transaction with the outside world. This is even more challenging owing to the fact that it is signatory to the WTO and as such cannot make deliberate efforts towards protecting the local industry by placing barriers on the importation of certain goods into the country.
However, every society has its peculiarities and special health demands. Pharmaceutical products are usually developed in line with the nature of an environment and the health needs of the citizenry. It is therefore imperative that countries are self- sufficient in the area of drug production. This is also essential in view of the security implications involved in the importation of drugs from other countries.
The participation of developing countries in the globalization process should be an opportunity to better utilize their comparative advantage, employ advance technologies in their production process, and attract foreign capital and management experience. On the contrary, economic globalization has expanded the gap between the developed and developing economies. One of the major arguments has always been that it is a perfect market and free trade which means each economy has the power to determine its position in the international engagements. How then has economic globalization been a hindrance or otherwise to Nigeria‘s quest for self-sufficiency in the area of pharmaceutical manufacturing?
Despite the growing number of graduates of pharmaceutical sciences in Nigeria, the country still depends on importation for seventy percent of its drug needs. Globalization has seen to the flooding of the market to the point that even drugs which are on the federal government import prohibition list are still being imported into the country.
What then are the factors responsible for this problem?
1.2. Statement of Research Problem
The world has become so interconnected and it is unequally so that the developing economies have been exposed to the influence and dominance of the developed economies. Globalisation poses a serious challenge to Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab limited because it encourages stiff competition between the products of these companies and the imported products and at the same time globalization comes with a global standard such that for every pharmaceutical manufacturing company to survive in this competitive environment it must be able to adhere to its tenets. This challenge affects the different sectors of the Nigerian economy differently. Yet, most studies have focused on the effects of globalization on the domestic economy in general without attention to each of the sectors despite the rapid increase in the importation of pharmaceutical products into the country. This study therefore set out to examine the effects of globalization on the pharmaceutical industries in Nigeria with a special focus on Oris Umoeze Nigeria Ltd and Nipripharm Lab Ltd in Abuja.
1.3. Research Questions
What is the position of Nigerian pharmaceutical industries in the era of globalization?
What are the effects of globalization on Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Limited
To what extent do domestic factors hinder these companies from achieving global standard?
How can Pharmaceutical Production be raised to International Competitiveness in Nigeria?
1.4. Aim and Objectives
The aim of this research is to examine the nature of Nigerian pharmaceutical industries in the era of globalisation. Specifically however, the research sought to achieve the following specific objectives:
To examine the position of Nigeria Pharmaceutical Industries in the era of globalisation
To examine the effects of globalization on Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm lab Ltd
To examine the extent to which domestic factors hinder the companies from achieving global standard.
To suggest ways that Pharmaceutical Production can be raised to Global Competitiveness in Nigeria
1.4. Research Assumptions
This research is premised on the following assumptions:
Nigerian pharmaceutical industries is inefficient in this era of globalization
Globalisation is the major factor responsible for the poor performance of Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Ltd.
Domestic factors are the major hindrances to the effective performance of Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Ltd
Pharmaceutical Production process in Nigeria is below International Competiveness Standard
1.6. Research Methodology
This research employed two sources of data collection; primary and secondary sources. To get the primary data, the survey method of data collection and interview were employed. Questionnaires were distributed to the relevant stakeholders; Oris Umoeze Nigeria limited, Nipripharm lab limited as well as pharmaceutical importers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers; and extensive structured face-to-face interviews were conducted. Analysis of relevant literature was also carried out to utilize the content of communication and internet materials were also consulted.
1.6.1. Population of the study
The focal point of this research is the pharmaceutical industries in Nigeria. However, Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Ltd are used as case study in this research. These two pharmaceutical companies are located in the Federal Capital Territory. Therefore, the other stakeholders who form part of the population of the study are professional pharmacists and pharmacy practitioners such as pharmaceutical importers, wholesalers and retail premises in Abuja. These respondents were chosen because they are expected to be the immediate customers of the products of Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Ltd. The staffs of the National Agency for Food drug administration and Control (NAFDAC), Pharmacist Council of Nigeria (PCN) and the Federal ministry of Industry, trade and investment were the major respondents through which data were sought for this study. The staff of these institutions were consulted for data because they are directly involved in Nigerian Pharmaceutical industries as well as their international transactions.
1.6.2. Data Collection
The two pharmaceutical manufacturing companies; Oris Umoeze Nigeria Ltd and Nipripharm Lab limited are located in the Federal Capital Territory. Therefore, data were generated from the staff of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies themselves, as well as pharmaceutical importers wholesalers and retailers as well as patent drug vendors in the area. This was done because the premises are the closest to the Pharmaceutical manufacturing companies and should be their immediate customers.
1.6.3. Sampling Procedure and Sample Size
There are three hundred and thirty-two (332) PCN licensed Pharmaceutical retail premises in the Federal Capital Territory. One hundred and sixty-six (166) of this was selected through systematic sampling technique. The pharmaceutical retail shops were arranged in Alphabetical order and the second unit after each selection was taken resulting in a sample size of one hundred and sixty-six (166) for the pharmaceutical retail shops. Only twelve (12) companies are licensed drug importers in Abuja. Due to the size, they were all covered. The PCN also licensed forty-five (45) wholesale premises; twenty-three (23) of this was selected through the same systematic sampling technique. Having selected (22) through alphabetical arrangement, the last company was added thereby bringing the number to (23). Also, the systematic sampling technique was adopted in selecting a total of thirty patent drug vendors; five from each of the six area Councils of the federal capital territory. The total number of patent drug vendors in the FCT was still being compiled by the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) Head Office, Abuja, as at the time of this study. Therefore, the exact number is not at the researcher‘s disposal for this work. As stated earlier, questionnaire was also used in generating data from Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Limited in Abuja. Accordingly, the sample size for the respondents to the questionnaire was two hundred and thirty-three (233).
Purposive sampling technique was employed in selecting the respondents for the structured face-to-face interview. Thus only pharmacists and pharmacy practitioners and government officials in involved with the pharmaceutical industries were interviewed. The researcher also used two research assistants who helped tremendously in the distribution and retrieval of the questionnaires.
1.6.6. Analytical Technique
With the permission of some of the respondents, the interviews were recorded via a tape recorder. Each session of the interviews lasted between forty-five minutes to one hour depending on the disposition of the respondents. A total of seven respondents were interviewed. This was later transcribed into notes and the content further selected into various themes in line with the research objective and references were made to them in the discussion segment.
Descriptive method of analysis using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences, {SPSS) was used in analyzing the questionnaire. A number of journals and internet materials and other publications were also examined to corroborate the data generated from interview and questionnaires.
1.7. Significance of the Study
One cannot deny the fact that a lot has been written on the effects of globalization on industrial development but the pharmaceutical industry which is the bedrock of a healthy nation is usually subsumed in the general study of globalization. Nigerian Pharmaceutical industry has not been performing optimally owing to a number of factors. This study is therefore significant because it carefully analysis the nature of Nigerian Pharmaceutical industry in this era of globalization with special attention on Oris Umoeze Nigeria Limited and Nipripharm Lad limited. These too companies have been struggling to be major players in the pharmaceutical sector, but this has been a big challenge due to the factors discussed subsequently in this work. Therefore, this study is significant because it has brought to the fore the factors militating against the effective performance of these companies within the framework of a global standard. This study will also help decision makers in the area of economic policies have information on the state of the pharmaceutical sector in Nigeria in the global economy.
1.8. Scope and Limitations of the study
This study focuses on the Pharmaceutical industries in Nigeria but Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Ltd were used as case study. These companies, as earlier stated, were chosen in view of the fact that they have not been able to perform optimally. It therefore becomes imperative to examine the situation in line with global pharmaceutical practices and globalization. However, this study would have been broadened but for lack of financial resources to gather data from other pharmaceutical manufacturing Companies outside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), focus was restricted to the FCT.
1.9.7. Chapters Outline
This work is divided into five Chapters. Chapter one introduces the topic. Here the researcher established the problematic of Nigerian Pharmaceutical industries in the era of globalization. In Chapter two, attempt was made to carefully review the major literature relevant to the research problem. This was done thematically; focusing on issues and concepts pertinent to the topic. In this process, it was discovered that attention has not been given to the pharmaceutical industries especially Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab limited within the framework of globalization. This is therefore the gap filled by this study. The theoretical framework for this study is also clearly stated in this chapter. This study adopts the economic perspective of globalisation. The core of this research which is an examination of Nigerian Pharmaceutical industry in the era of globalization focusing on Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab Limited was handled in chapter four. This is done thematically and statistically so as to give a clear picture of the position of Oris Umoeze and Nipripharm Lab limited within the framework of economic globalization. The data generated from the field were carefully analyzed, discussed and the findings presented in an appropriate format. Chapter five is a summary of the entire research. Here conclusions were made and the findings were clearly itemized. All the materials consulted in the process of this research have been carefully documented at the end of this work.
Political corruption in its various forms is generally believed to be the bane of Nigeria development and it has been devastating the country and destroys its image among the comity of nations. It is now fast becoming a way of life in the country as integrity is now being eroded. Little wonder why in recent times, both the past and present government in the country made the fight against corruption a top priority. But none seems to have made a considerable headway.
The reflections of their efforts were made manifest in the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Corruption is found and practiced in every sectors of the public office in Nigeria and it is entrenched in nearly all sections of the society with many people deeply involved in it. Although, it is a global phenomenon but it is more prevalent in one environment than the other and Nigeria is a typical example of such. Iyanda (2012) argued that it is a plague that has eaten so deep into the entire fabric of the Nigerian society; it confers undue benefits on few people contrary to legal and moral norms of the society. It undermines authorities’ effort to provide suitable welfare for all citizens as the resources to do this are in the hands or at the reach of few of the populace, prior to its contagious and incurable infection.
In the words of Chinua Achebe as cited in Keeper (2012) that anyone who can say that corruption in Nigeria has not yet been alarming is either a fool; a crook or else does not live in this country. The situation has become bad to the extent that as far back as 1993, keeping an average Nigeria from being corrupt is like keeping a goat from eating yam (Achebe, 1988).This brilliantly explains the state of corruption among Nigerians and why all efforts to establish a just and egalitarian society in the country failed ever since. Corruption made development to be stunted in Nigeria. There is no effective and efficient administration in Nigeria that has not been frustrated by this evil. People bribe to get almost everything done in the country. For instance, Tokunbo (1992) alludes to the fact that you bribe to get your child into a school, you pay to secure a job and you also continue to pay in some cases to retain it. You pay 10 percent of every contract obtained, you dash the tax officer to avoid paying taxes, you pay the hospital doctor and nurse to get proper attention, and you pay the policemen to evade arrest, this catalogue of shame can continue without end. Corruption is the single greatest obstacle to economic and social development. It undermines development by distorting the role of law and weakening the institutional foundation on which economic growth depends (World Bank). It is one of the greatest challenges of the contemporary world. It undermines good government, fundamentally distorts public policy, leads to the misallocation of resources, harms the private sector and private sector development and particularly hurts the poor (Transparency International).
1.2 Statement of the Problem:
Corruption remains a universal phenomenon, which has been in existence for a very long time and always have adverse effects on the society ever since. Several people involved in it in the pursuit of the specific purpose or interests. It has overtime ruined the hopes for greater tomorrow and destroyed the value system in the country so much so that the world begins to see us as men and women without honour and dignity.
It has led to slow movement of files in offices, police extortion and slow traffic on the highways, port congestion, and queues at gas stations, ghost workers syndrome, and election irregularities among others. According to Chuta (2004) that the image of the country in the international arena has become so battered that every Nigerian psychologically feel a scorching hurt inflicted on his individual psyche. The dent has gone so far that everywhere in the world, Nigerians are said to be generally dreaded like mad dogs and criminals, cautiously approached like dangerous snakes, and avoided .Corruption is politically destabilizing, that is it has the capacity of engendering political instability, breakdown of law and order, brain drain, inefficient of the public service among others (Lawal, 2006).
Governance is imperative for the social, political and economic progress of every country and is indispensable for the achievement of the noble objectives of a state (Fabbrini, 1995; Oburota, 2003; Ogundiya, 2010). Governance is viewed in terms of process and structure. Thus, Gill (2002) views it as the processes, structures and organizational traditions that determine how power is exercised, how stakeholders have their say, how decisions are taken and how decision-makers are held to account. Ogundiya (2010) in a very concise and succinct manner sees governance as consisting as consisting of two essential elements of the state, namely, the structure of the state and the procedures of the legislative, judicial, executive and administrative bodies at all tiers of government.
Today, democracy is the dominating form of government in the world, its rivals have “either disappeared, turned into eccentric survival, or retreated from the field to hunker down in their last strongholds” (Dahl, 1998).
Democracy originated more than 2,400 years ago in Ancient Greece. Democracy as a system of government is one in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives to form a governing body such as a parliament or in the case of Nigeria the National Assembly. It is sometimes referred to as the “the rule of the majority”. The principal purposes for the establishment of democracy by the people are the protection of their rights, interests and welfare. In a democracy there are usually three principal arms or organs of government which are the executive, legislature and the judiciary but we will limit this study to the executive and legislature and the relationship between them. In a democracy, the executive carries out or implements the laws made by the Legislature. Maduabuchi (2001) and Andre (1994) agree that while the executive as a form of government is responsible for policy formulation, evaluation and execution to realize set targets, the legislature enacts laws and make the same functional as instrument of cohesion in the society.The belief here is that all the levels of government, be they executive, legislature and judiciary, each of them may not necessarily subsist without the other meaning that each organ of government is mutually reinforcing and contingent upon the success or failure of the other.It goes further to say that there is no political moose in the practice of the specifications and injunctions of the Nigerian constitution just as there is no secret cow in the dispensation of justice in all its ramifications. The executive is therefore seen as the appendage and embodiment of the legislative arm just as the judiciary as the third arm is seen as the arbiter of the two (Ekhator, 2003; Bade, 2000).
The rancor and bickering in the First and Second Republic culminated into years of military interregnums and usurpation of the reins of governance from the arms of government especially the Executive and Legislature, and denied them the opportunity to grow and mature over time in their relationship together.
For a democracy to mature (expected to endure) the political actors must accept the legitimacy of democracy and no actor must seek to act outside democratic tenets, institutions etc. The political actors which we focus on here in this case are the executive and the legislature. The necessity of building a workable synergy and desirable relationship between forces of government at the levels of both executive and legislature lies at the heart of this research. The tendency however is to enhance good, cordial relationship in the executive and legislative arena so as to institutionalize the tradition of best international practices so as to engender democratic consolidation.However, it is interesting to note that the Nigerian political system since her independence in 1960 has grossly known no peace considering the high level of feud orchestrated by political figures in the country thereby either over-heating the already tensed system or at best, running the Nigerian entity more or less like a private estate. At the dawn of its political independence, international attention had shifted to Nigeria as a country that would possibly make giant strides toward sustainable democracy and good governance, development in Africa. Such hopes were not misplaced, given the human and natural resources abundant in the country. Paradoxically, Nigeria plunged into conflicts, which have rocked the foundation of the country since independence due to the foundations as well as consolidated deficient social, economic, political and developmental structures laid from the beginning, arising from the colonial origin of the Nigerian state. The parliamentary system of government that was in place in the First Republic Constitution bequeathed to Nigeria enthroned a system of shared power between the Prime Minister and President and no complete separation of power between the Executive and the Legislature (Dudley, 1982; Nwabueze, 1985; Momoh, 2000; Akinwumi, 2004).
The restoration of civilian rule in Nigeria on October, 1979 after thirteen years of military rule also brought with it the “Washington model” of executive presidential and gubernatorial government and Nigeria turning its back on the Westminster model. The presidential system adopted was modeled after that of the United States of America. It was also predicated on a presidential single executive system of democratic governance. There was provision for a clear separation of the roles, personnel and powers of the executive and the legislature capable of harmonious inter-organ relations as well as ensure the independence of the legislature so as to enhance the performance of both the executive and legislative organs of government (Dudley, 1982; Fasugba, 2009).
The new 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria came into force with effect from the 29th of May, 1999, the date of the military handover of governance to a democratically elected civilian regime. The document was largely based on the 1979 presidential constitution, with some amendments. Following the adoption of the presidential system of government in Nigeria, therefore no one arm of government is superior to the other; neither is any subordinate to the other. In essence, there was a separation of powers and a system of checks and balances which is very central to a democratic system of governance which Nigeria professes to adopt.
The relationships between the legislature and the executive are one of the key defining characteristics of the functioning of any political system (Kopecky, 2004). It is central to the constitutional and political system of any territory and has been at the forefront of parliamentary debate in recent times (Winetrobe, 2000). These relationships are complex, depending on a range of formal and informal practices. The constitutional prerogatives vested in legislatures and the executive are, of course, most important because they structure the interactions between the two powers (National Democratic Institute (NDI), 2000). However, numerous informal rules and conventions, such as the customs concerning nomination of members of the cabinet following an election, practically precedent, habit and the influence of political parties are very important as well (Bernick&Bernick, 2008). Constructive relationships between the executive and the legislative arms of government are essential to the effective maintenance of the constitution and the rule of law (Holme, 2007). In recent years, however, the character of these relationships has changed significantly, both because of changes in governance and because of wider societal changes. Analysis of these relations will bring to the limelight the nature of legislature-executive relations, the factors engendering such relations with a view to bringing to the fore valid modalities for improving it and ensuring democratic consolidation. This research examines the dynamics, nature, causes and consequences of the relationship between the two arms and on democratic consolidation in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic 2007-2017.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The legislature and the executive in the presidential system adopted by Nigeria are each vested with some defined activities of government. In many respects joint efforts and collaborations are constitutionally required in the exercise of their powers. The nature of these relations between the executive and legislature in the presidential system has over the years, attracted wide variety of viewpoints both about conflict and cooperation, whether one or the other dominates and what benefits or liabilities result from either. Some see the conflict between legislature and executive as necessary and a beneficial precondition to limiting and controlling government (Madison, 1992; Magil, 2001). The principle of separation of powers is one unique feature of a democracy. At the same time, the branches are expected to serve as checks on each other as a preventive measure against absolute or abuse of power. The relationship between the executive and legislature is imperative to the maturing of democracy which is what democratic consolidation basically means. For democracy to deepen the executive and the legislature have very important roles to play.
Unfortunately in Nigeria today this relationship has sometimes threatened or hampered democracy and its consolidation especially with the actions of members of both the executive and legislature, some of these actions will be highlighted in this study. The relationship between the executive and the legislature in Nigeria has been characterized by mutual suspicion, distrust, political rivalry (Nwannekanma&Ogbodo, 2010). Despite the provisions in the 1999 constitution aimed at rectifying the problems identified with these relations in preceding republics, managing these relations has been the single most problematic issue both at the Centre and the state level since the country’s return to civil rule in 1999.
It is therefore imperative to examine the nature of the legislative-executive relations in fostering democratic consolidation. This research therefore investigates the nature of the relationship between the two branches of government at the Federal level regarding the consolidation of democracy
Women are underrepresented in most levels of government, as a result have made little progress in attaining political power in legislative bodies, or stamping equal relevance alongside their male counterparts in different political spheres in Nigeria. Consequentially, they have not achieved the decades old target of attaining relevance politically as set by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Resolution in 1990. Equal Opportunities Commission (2003) in reference to United Nation (1995), recommended targets for increasing the proportion of women in Leadership positions to 30% by 1995 and 50% by 2000. Historical evidences in many societies, both during the ancient and modern periods support the idea of male dominance over their female folks in many spheres of human endeavours (Aweofeso and Odeyemi, 2014). The trail of the female gender humiliation, manipulation and marginalization through a number of culturally biased practices has culminated into systematic institutionalization of male superiority over female in all sphere of life-socio-culturally, economically and politically. From the assertion above, it is evident that men play lead role in the political sphereAina (2012); Soetan (2014);Agbalajobi (2010).In 2015 the Deputy Director Gender Division of the Nigeria’s electoral body Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), stated that fourteen (14) females out of three hundred and sixty lawmakers were elected into the House of Representatives and eight (8) women won as Senators in total of one hundred an nine senators. Again, out of the out of the fourteen (14) candidates that contested for the presidential position in 2015 general election, the only woman who contested found herself in the 12th position (Akor, 2015).
The struggle of women dates back to several decades ago when women like Amina of Zaria, Madam Tinubu of Lagos, Olufumilayo Ransom Kute of Abeokuta, Margaret Ekpo and Hajji of Gabon Swabia among others who fought to bring pride to women in Nigeria’s history show that good number of women have their interest in contributing to the general development of this country Okafor (2010). According to Ayabam (2013), several factors, including funding, women perception of politics in Nigeria, political violence during election, lack of self-confidence on the part of women, women marginalization in party leadership, illiteracy and low educational status for the girl child, cultural and religious discrimination have been identified as reasons for poor participation in social-political activities.
Munir S, et al (2014), media and politics go hand in hand as both depend on each other for their respective functioning. This accession explains the significance of media for political gains. Media is a potent tool for women political participation; they can set agenda and make voice of women to be heard through programs like Gender Agenda on AIT and so on. Gender Agenda, is women empowerment/political talk show on Africa Independent Television (AIT) seeks to address issues of state, Nationhood, Transformation, rule of law and psycho-social perspective of the role of women in governance and policy making. Gender and Youth Development is also another programme on AIT to champion the course of women. It is a female parliamentary programme which attracts participants from across the thirty six states of the federation aimed at attaining the affirmative action in favour of women. Focusing on Enugu state, this study sets out to examine how the media can be used to access and accelerate women participation in political programs and activities in Nigeria; as the media has been proven to be one of the vital factors through which gender equality in politics can be pursued (Nwankwo, 1996).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It is no longer news that the percentage of women participation in politics in Nigeria is low. This poor participation reflected in the 2015 general elections in were only eight out of one hundred and nine senators are women, and out of three hundred and sixty members of National House of Representatives, only fifteen are women. Also, only five out of thirty seven ministerial appointments are women under the current federal government administration.
Since 1999, no woman has successfully contested for the presidency or served as vice president, no woman has successfully contested for a gubernatorial office and won, and currently, out of the thirty six states, only six states produced female deputy governors and two female chief judges.
The African belief system that relegates women to stereotype less significant roles has been a militating factor against women’s political awareness and participation in Nigeria. The misconception that women are soft, emotionally driven and intellectually inferior to their male counterparts could be a reason for the downward trend in female participation and attitudes towards politics, regardless of efforts made by gender equality advocates, agencies and media programs. Hence, this research sets out to examine the inputs of AIT’s gender equality advocacy programs towards women and its influence on women participation to Nigerian politics.
Objective of the Study
The objective of this study is to examine the influence of media on women political participation in Nigeria. To achieve this, the following objectives were drawn.
To ascertain if women in Enugu state are exposed to political program on AIT
To find out the level of acceptance of political program on AIT
To ascertain the degree of their participation after exposure to political program on AIT
Research Questions
In the course of this study, the following questions would be answered.
How exposed are women in Enugu to political program on AIT?
What is the acceptance level of women in Enugu state to political program on AIT?
What is the participation level of women in Enugu after exposure to political program on AIT?
Significance of the Study
This study will help policy makers design program that would engage women in political participation in Nigeria. It would also contribute to existing literature in this field. To this end, this research work upon completion will aid researchers, scholars and students of mass communication that may be interested in this area of study. It will give a better understanding to the influence of political programs on AIT.
Scope of the Study
This study focuses on women political participation and how political programs on AIT expose them to do so. Women with certain level of literacy are the ones in mind, reason being that to watch political program on television, some level of literacy is required.
This research was carried out in Enugu state metropolis. This consists of Enugu East, Enugu North and Enugu South local government areas. This researcher chose this area because the AIT program understudy is televised therefore requires an urban audience. This is not to say that there is no reach for rural dwellers but the tendency for urban viewers’ is high because television is mostly an urban medium.
Operational Definition of Terms
In this study, certain key words will be explained into conceptual and operational definitions.
Political Participation: the art of taking part in selection of those who run the affairs of the country through voting electioneering campaign, rallies etc. it can also be seen as those activities voluntary through which an individual or public express their political views and their influence on the political process.
Influence: this is an ability to change the character, development, behavior of someone or something. It’s the power to make people to agree with your opinions or do what you want.
Women: any female being from the age of eighteen up wards who us eligible to vote and be voted for.
AIT: African Independent Television Enugu Zone located 6th Floor, 36 ZikAvenue Uwani, Enugu Nigeria.
Nigeria is a nation that is endowed with abundant human and material resources, agriculture was the main stay of the economy at the time of Nigeria’s political independence in 1960, accounting for about 70 percent of the GDP and about 90 percent of foreign exchange earnings manufacturing which contributed 3.9 percent in 1960 to 1961, reached a pack of about 10 percent in 1981 and thereafter stated to decline progressively to the lowest level of 2.57 percent in 2006(Adelakun, 2008). Crude oil became dominant in the Nigeria economy, starting from 1970s and presently accounts for about 40 percent of the GDP, over 95 percent of foreign exchange earnings and over 70 percent of federal government revenue (Adelakun, 2008). However, due to gross mismanagement, profligate spending, kleptomania and adverse policies of various government of Nigeria, these resources have not been optimally utilized, these resources have not been adequately channeled to profitable investment to bring maximum economic benefit (Agbo, 2014). As a result of the foregoing, Nigeria has been bedeviled with poverty and unemployment (Tokunbo, 2005:1).
Nigeria claims to be giant of Africa but remains among the world’s poorest countries in terms of gross national product (GNP) and access to social and political life(Agbo, 2014). This is in spite of the fact that Nigeria is the sixth oil producing nation in the world, yet the poor and unemployed constitute 70% of her population (Dike, 2006:2, Onobum, Obadan, 2002:186, &Onah, 2006:68). This reflects the poor management of the economy, irrespective of huge resource injected towards it eradication (Joseph, 2006:238, & world 1996; 3).
Recession is generally the slowdown in economic activity. The national Bureau of Economic Research (2008) defines an economic recession as a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production and whole sale-retail sale. During recession, many macro-economic indicators vary in a similar way production GDP, employment, investment spending capacity utilization, household income, business profit all while bankruptcies and unemployment rate rise.
The current recession in Nigeria is as symptom of monoproduct economic structure, lack of economic diversification and over-reliance on to global oil price shocks and violality, worsened by oil pipeline vandalism and depletion of foreign reserves by previous governments Nigeria recession was triggered by a sharp drop in government revenues and or a drop in consumer spending. A global oil price (which Nigeria cannot); triggered a drop in revenue and government not being able to earn what is used to earn before the drop. The mono product economy structure, heavy dependent on crude oil export and official corruption are the root cause of economic recession in Nigeria (Eneji,Dinis,&Umejiaku,2016).
Economic recession created harsh economic climate in Nigeria which is evidenced by highly energy lost, high naira exchange to dollar. The horrendous nosedive in stock manufacturing industries were delisted [in stock exchange there were massive labour turnover(layoffs) as a result of low capacity utilization and factory closure, textile industry was the hardest hit with about 80% of its capacity utilization (Asian, 2005). The dwindling state of the economy made naira rate of exchange to Us dollar very unstable and tremendously high, it posed difficulty in importation of spare parts, equipments and raw materials for manufacturing industries (chukwu,Liman,Enudu&Ehiaghe 2015).
The initial response of policy makers in Nigeria was meek, either they did not understood the crisis or underestimated its magnitude and insisted that the fundamental of the financial system look impressively strong even when the capital market capitalization had dropped from12 trillion to less than 9 trillion (Abdul, 2009). Base on the foregoing, this study examine the link between the state and the management of economic recession in Nigeria between 2014-2017
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Nigeria is a country blessed with abundant of human and natural resources. However these resources are not put to good use As a result, majority continue to wallow in poverty. Basic amenities such as water, food and shelter are in short supply. According to NBS data the Nigeria economy recorded two consecutive quarter of economic contraction, in Q1 2016,GDP growth was negative(-0.36%) and recently revealed Q2 data reflects a larger contraction of situation .the situation Nigeria masses have been battling with for quite something. the antecedent in the country provided justification economic woe, also the present situation substantiates the effect of absence of clear policy direction of the government . the international monetary fund (IMF) as well as the central bank of Nigeria (CBN) have all agreed that the Nigeria economy has plugged into recession. They asserted that the Nigeria economy may not regain stability until early 2017 with low rate of 1.5%
The impact or danger of the consequences of recession may lack visible team of management to sustain productivity as a result of layoff. The standard of living of people dependent on wages and salaries are more affected by recession than those wholly on fixed incomes and welfare benefit, the loss of job is known to have negative impact on stability on families and individuals’ health and well being (Vaililigan, 2009). The recession in Nigeria and the effort to manage it has attracted attention of writers. Some scholars have failed to investigate on how the government invests in education and empowerment and how research and innovative activities are not encouraged by the government. According to economic researchers the countries with least enterprising spirit are amongst the poorest in the world, Schumpeterian sense, the entrepreneurs are agents of change and economic development who anticipate and maybe even trigger economic booms (Koellinger&Thunks, 2011).
Again, some other scholars asserted that the government should encourage small scale business. Increase domestic production, domestic trade and employment. This will boost income and increase produce and improve macroeconomic variable in this business cycle of recession.(Fuphunda, 2012; Eneji, Malifia, &Umejiaku, 2016) these scholars failed to explain how Nigeria export raw materials only to end up importing finished products. This is because they either do not have adequate processing industries (disjointed industries without product linkage) or fail to meet international standard in the processing of raw material into finished product.
The effort or the contributions of writer in the extant literature reveals that the link between the state and management of economic recession has not been properly articulated. This form the gap or lacuna this study attempt to fill based on the foregoing, the study investigate the following research questions:
Did the failure to adequately manage oil resources contribute to recession experience in Nigeria from 2014-2017?
Has the implementation of economic growth and recovery plan (EGRP) reduced the hardship caused by the economic recession in Nigeria between 2014 -2017?
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This study examines the state and management of economic recession in Nigeria from 2014-2017.However, the specific objectives for this study are:
To ascertain whether the failure to adequately manage oil resources contributed to recession experience in Nigeria from 2014-2017.
To ascertain whether the implementation of economic growth and recovery plan (EGRP) reduced the hardship caused by the economic recession in Nigeria between 2014 -2017.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically the study will add to existing body of knowledge on the management of economic recession in Nigeria, it will also bring to light those factors that militate against effective utilization and mismanagement of resources meant for alleviation of economic growth and eradication of economic recession in Nigeria.
Practically, this study will provide information and empirical evidence that will enable the government, policy makers, donor agencies and stakeholders to redesign and adopt sustainable, effective and efficient policies and strategies for the realistic management of economic recession in Nigeria
More so, the finding will also be of immense benefits to non-governmental organization (NGOs) and civil society by exposing them to economic recession in Nigeria. It will be serving as a guide towards a more pragmatic and result oriented approach to curtail recession and also help in building programs there by creating opportunities for the poor and unemployed in Nigeria to gain control over their lives
Finally, this research work serves as a spring board for continuation of research and information for the state and management of economic recession in Nigeria.
The contemporary aids influx from the foreign countries emerged from the economic breakdown of 1930s, which contributed to the world-wide economic depression, political extremism and the outbreak of the 2nd world war. Foreign aids are defined as all forms of grants and loans at concessional financial terms that are aimed at transferring resources from developed to developing countries on development, poverty and income distribution grounds (Todaro& Smith, 2011).
The Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) views foreign aids as official development assistance; consisting of grants or loans that one government (bilateral) or multilateral organization gives to a developing country to promote economic development and social welfare. According to them (OECD) Official Development Assistance (ODA) is calculated as the sum of grants and loans to aid recipients that:
Are undertaken by the official sector of the donor country
Have as the main objective the promotion of economic development and welfare in recipient countries and
Are on concessional financial terms (i.e., with a grant element equal to at least 25 percent of the total. The conceptualisations of aid above clearly depict that aid is not the same thing as loan. While aid is more comprehensive and encompassing, loan is embedded in aid. It is usually one of the total packages of aid. Aid may serve one or more functions: it may be given as a signal of diplomatic approval, or to strengthen a military ally, to reward a government for behaviour desired by the donor, to extend the donor’s cultural influence, to provide infrastructure needed by the donor for resource extraction from the recipient country, or to gain other kinds of commercial access.
Also in the work of Riddell (2007) foreign aids involves all kinds of resources ranging from physical merchandise, skills and technical know-how, financial grants including gifts, and loans which are given to recipients by donors at concessional rates.
Abiola (2008) emphasized that ODA is also a crucial instrument for supporting education, health, public infrastructure development, agriculture and rural development and food security. In a similar reasoning, Bakare (2011) argues
That foreign aid is a means of increasing the capital available for investment and the economic growth needed to reduce poverty and raise living standards in sub-Saharan African. He further stressed that it can provide resources for industrialization, enhance efficiency of resource use, increase product diversity and generate employment, (OECD-DAC, 1999). He however observed that in the absence of regulations governing natural resource extraction, or when they are weak or poorly enforced, increased openness to foreign aid can accelerate unsustainable resource use patterns
Ekiring (2000) (as cited by InangaEno L. and Mandah E. (2008)) conceptualizes foreign aid as an international transfer of capital, goods, or services for the benefit of other nations. Such aid, in her view, is offered in several forms: Capital transfers, in cash or kind, either as grants or loans, Technical assistance and training, usually as grants in the form of human resources and technical equipment, and Military assistance in the form of either equipment or training advisors. Foreign aid flows which are in the form of official development assistance (ODA) plays a significant role as complement to domestic financing for development in the Nigerian economy as observed by (Abiola, 2008).
Nigerian government has received several aids on poverty eradication and sustainable development from various sources.They include:
The Paris club of creditors
This is an informal group of creditor nations whose objective is to find workable solutions to payment problems faced by debtor nations. The Paris Club has 19 permanent members, including most of the western European and Scandinavian nations, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Japan. The Paris Club stresses the informal nature of its existence and deems itself a “non-institution.” As an informal group, it has no official statutes and no formal inception date, although its first meeting with a debtor nation was in 1956, with Argentina. The members of the Paris Club meet each month which may include negotiations with one or more debtor countries that have met the Club’s pre-conditions for debt negotiation. The main conditions a debtor nation has to meet are that it should have a demonstrated need for debt relief and should be committed to implementing economic reform, which in effect means that it must already have a current program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) supported by a conditional arrangement.
The London club of creditors
This is an informal group of private creditors on the international stage, and is similar to the Paris club of public lenders. The first meeting of the club took place in 1976 in response to Zaire’s debt payment problems. The club is also the organisation responsible for rescheduling debt payments made by countries to commercial banks.
They mainly grant uninsured and unguaranteed loans.
Multilateral Creditors
These are international institutions such as: African Development Bank, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, International Finance Corporation, International Development Association, European Economic Community.
Bilateral Creditors
These creditors usually grant loans for development purposes. Members are the European Union, the United States of America, the East European countries and Japan.
Promissory Note Creditors
These creditors grant uninsured trade loans, resulting mainly from trade arrears. In 1982 and 1983, Nigeria had trade arrears and was financed by promissory notes.
Since the emancipation of aids system there have been several types of aid which is allocated to several countries, these include:
Official Development Assistance: Official Development Assistance is the largest form of foreign aids provided by donor government to the low and middle income countries like African. This is a type of aids that Nigerian has been receiving over the years. ODA increase immediately after the World WarII and during the cold war but reduced in the 1990 after the war. Again after September 2001 terrorist attack on the US, the world have experience another growth in ODA due to the needs to fight terrorism and entrench development together with other association of principle of liberalism globally.
Official Assistance: (OA). This is the kind of aids provided by donors’ government to richer countries like Israel, Singapore etc. and to countries formally part of the defunct USSR.
Private Voluntary Assistance (PVA): they are grants from Non-governmental organization, religion group, charity foundations and the private companies. Usually given to low and middle income countries like Nigeria.
Bilateral and Multilateral aids: Bilateral aids are foreign assistance given from one country to another while Multilateral aids means those resources put together from various countries and donor organizations usually under the hospices of the World Bank and IMF.
The establishment of an aid system was one of the principles of the Breton Woods Agreement in 1945. The system believes that there should be a free capital market, which allows an unrestricted inflow of foreign aid. Based on this principle, a Marshall Aid Assistance of about $17.5 billion was granted to Western Europe to resuscitate her ruined economy due to the World War II. After a successful rebuild of the European economy damaged by the war II, the IMF and World Bank channeled their aids to developing countries with a different objective, which is profit oriented. Since then, the aid system has remained a durable phenomenon of the international economic system (Todaro, 1977) as cited in (Funso& Dare, 2010).
Nigeria debt crisis must be understand within the content of the structure of Nigeria political economy, especially the mono-cultural nature of the economy, and the dominance of the short sited leadership which make the country susceptible/vulnerable to the adverse effect of the global boom and boost/contraction and expansion in the global economy. Nigeria experience economic boom through its mono-cultural economy (oil) in the early 1970s but because of lack of effective economic planning by Nigeria leaders, by late 1970s and 1980s the oil revenue declined and punch the country into external debt crisis.
Specifically the first foreign aid which was inform of loan in Nigeria was borrowed in 1964, a sum of 13.1 million dollars from the Italian government for the construction of the Niger Dam. By 1970 Nigeria external debts have grown to 1 billion dollars and in 1980s it stood up to 19 billion dollars, from where it grew to 35 billion dollars in 2004. As at 2004, it was agreed that the loan from external debt was becoming unsustainable to Nigeria government and there was needs for debt reliefs to enable the country pursue the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs). By 2005 Nigeria obtained a debt relieves of 18 billion dollars from the Paris club of creditors and paid back 12 billion dollars (Ayodele, et al., 2005). Aid flows thereafter rose to US1.29 billion in 2008 and has been above that till 2011 with US1.78 billion as aid flow to Nigeria. Nigeria has received foreign aid from a wide array of agencies and countries between 1960 and today making the country to remain heavily indebted to foreign countries which have increased the rate of poverty in Nigeria.
There is no unanimously accepted definition of poverty. As a matter of fact it is almost never defined in itself, but through other concepts, such as growth, well-being, exclusion or equity. A basic feature of the concept of poverty is its complex and multidimensional nature which makes the plurality of definitions is inescapable.
According to Oxford Dictionary, (1988) the word ‘poverty’ refers to the state of being very poor. Similar words (synonyms) for poverty include beggary, bankruptcy, debt, destitution, hardship indigence and insolvency. Others are penury, privation, want, dearth, insufficiency, lack, paucity and shortage. Apparently, these are words of negative or bad connotations which make poverty altogether undesirable phenomenon. There is ambiguity as to the sense in which poverty is expressed. The word can be understood to mean the whole gamut of deprivations which may be economic, social, spiritual, political, cultural or in fact environmental. Poverty also involves lack of physical necessities, assets, vulnerability, low income rate, lack of access to productive resources and basic social services and so on
According to Copenhagen,(1995) in his work World Summit for Social Development, he stipulated that Poverty has various manifestations or indicators, including; lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihoods, hunger and malnutrition, ill health, limited or lack of access to education and other basic services, increased morbidity and mortality from illness, homelessness and inadequate housing; unsafe environments; and social discrimination and exclusion, lack of participation and exclusion., lack of participation in decision-making and in civil, social and cultural life”.
Oyeranti and Olayiwola (2005) view poverty as a severe deprivation of some basic human needs at the individual or household level. Put differently, poverty is material deprivation which can be assessed in monetary terms. Deprivation can be equated with lack of money to spend and to obtain material things needed to satisfy human wants. This condition can lead to low standard of living.
Poverty can take different forms by different definitions, but this study examines poverty from the point of view of “Absolute poverty”. Absolute poverty is measured not only by low income but also by malnutrition, poor health, poor clothing, lack of adequate shelter and of course lack of useful education. Thus absolute poverty in Nigeria is evidenced in low standard of living of the people whose lives are characterized by all indicators of absolute poverty. They live in fear and being fatalistic, wearing dirty cloths, hunger, no education, disease, poor nutritional value, ete
Nigeria has made significant economic advances in recent times. Over the last decade or so, the country has managed to sustain an economic growth rate of about 6-7%. This data meant that Nigeria not only grew far above the sub-Saharan average of 5.6%, but was also the third fastest growing economy in the group of 10 emerging markets referred to as EM10, behind only China and India. Such rapid economic growth enabled the country to lip-frog from an economy of $46 billion USD in 2000 to an economy of $264 billion USD in 2013 (Enweremadu, 2013).
Following a recent rebasing, the size of the economy soared to $ 509billion USD by the end of 2013, making it the largest economy in Africa. In spite of her abundant natural and human resources and the robust GDP in Nigeria, Nigeria has been identified as one of the poorest nations in the world. This follows the successive United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report on human development (HDR) since 2003 as observed by (Njoku, 2011). Consequently, this suggests the reason why Nigeria is one of the beneficiaries of foreign aid from the developed countries. Nigeria rapid growth in GDP has failed to translate into a reduction of poverty or increasing standard of living of a vast majority of Nigerians. Despite a multiplicity of poverty alleviating programmes and policies, poverty remain wide spread in contemporary Nigeria (Appleton et al., 2008).Indeed, as a 2014 World Bank report noted, that the country’s performance is at odds with the general international trend of poverty reduction, in particular in other countries experiencing rapid economic growth like Nigeria (World Bank, 2014; 16) .
For instance, official data published by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that percentage of Nigerians living in abject poverty, calculated on $1 USD per day, based on an adjusted purchasing power parity, had increased from 54.7% in 2004 to 61.2 %in 2010 (National Bureau of Statistics, 2012).
A recent report by the World Bank figures suggests that poverty rates in Nigeria is significantly lower than estimates based on the 2009/2010 NBS study. In the Banks view, per capita poverty rate registers at 35.2 and 33.1 percent of the population in 2009/2010 and 2012/2013, respectively (World Bank, 2014: 17).
This is still very high considering that Nigeria is a huge country. According to the World Bank, Nigeria with 7% of the world’s poor people now ranks as the third largest contributor to the worlds poverty figures (Ogunbiyi, 2014). And this is reason why Nigeria keeps on receiving all kinds of aids from foreign countries in other to eradicate poverty. It is pertinent to look at the implication of these foreign aids received in Nigeria.
The implication/impact of foreign aid on poverty reduction in Nigeria remains a subject of intense debate. Considering the relevance of foreign aid to the economies of the Less Developing Countries (LDC), it is needful to understand its contribution to poverty reduction of developing countries. Majority of aid critics assert that aid has sustained corrupt governments in the recipient countries and enriched the elite and government officials. In contrast, some pro-aid groups have come in defense of aid and argued that aid could play major role in poverty reduction, economic growth, and in addressing the issues of income disparity (Nakamura $ McPherson, 2005; Ijaiya, &Ijaiya, 2004). Increase in the amount of aid flowing from both multilateral and bilateral donors to the developing countries has prompted the need for the question, “is aid effective in reducing poverty in the developing countries?” Olofin (2013) contends that despite increase in foreign aid and growing working population, poverty and unemployment persist in the developing countries like Nigeria. Aid as well as grant can influence the economy of a nation from different fronts; increases in investment, physical and human capital, and increases in the capacity to import capital goods and technology. Aid is associated with technological transfers which promotes endogenous technical changes, fosters increase in capital productivity (Morrissey, 2001). Given the massive scale of poverty, aid might be argued to be just a drop in the ocean. However, by adjusting for differences in purchasing power, utilization of aid for a simple consumption transfer would ultimately eliminate extreme poverty (White, 1996). Developing countries have growing resource problems. Debt profile of most of these countries is alarming, and their dependence on foreign aid and grants seem eternal. Unfortunately, as aid continues to flow, debt burden is literally overwhelming. Official development assistance flows to recipient poor countries over the past decade is on the decline, and there is the need for developing countries to seek alternative ways of fixing the serious issues of resource problem, articulate ways of effective aid utilization through the right policies and finding innovative ways of attracting additional aids (Ekanayake&Chatrna, 2015).
Over the last half century, foreign aid has emerged as a dominant strategy for alleviating poverty in the third world. Not coincidentally, during this time period major international institutions, such as the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund gained prominence in global economic affairs (Hjertholm& White, 2003). Yet it seems that sixty years later, the lesser developed countries (LDCs) of the world continue to suffer from economic hardship, raising questions of whether foreign aid is a worthwhile and effective approach to boosting growth, development and eradicating poverty in Nigeria. Now the pertinent question is does foreign aids enhance economic development in less developed country? And how does foreign aid affect growth? This is a question that has attracted the attention of many scholars over several decades.
This made some scholars to argue on the role of economic policy in determining the effectiveness of foreign aid in aid recipient countries.
Pedersen (1996) argues that it is not possible to conclude that the foreign aid has a positive impact on growth. Morrisey (2001) claimed that aid works well conditional on other variables in the growth regression. Mosley (1980), Mosley, et al. (1987), Boone (1996), and Jensen and Paldam (2003) found evidence to suggest that aid has no impact on growth. Many other authors find evidence that aid can affect growth but have a negative impact on economic development in developing countries.
Developing countries like Nigeria are indeed characterized by low level of income, high level of unemployment, very low industrial capacity utilization, and high poverty level just to mention a few of the various economic problems these countries are often faced with. In addressing these problems, foreign aid has been suggested as a veritable option for augmenting the meager domestic resources. While some countries that have benefited from foreign assistance at one time or the other have grown such that they have become aid donors (South Korea, North Korea, China etc.), majority of countries in Africa like Nigeria have remained backward. Nigeria has continued to benefit from all sorts of foreign assistance and in fact still collect at least as much as the amount collected in the early 1964, 1980s, yet socio-economic development has remained dismal. While there could be so many factors both qualitative and quantitative explaining these unfavourable trends, the incessant socio-political crisis, policy inconsistencies, macro-economic instability and bad governance evident in many developing countries which are indeed indicators of poor policy framework (Salisu, 2007).Whitaker (2006) indicate that foreign aid donations do have a positive impact on the economic growth of the recipient nation but in most cases the foreign aid are detrimental to economic growth.
Sachs and George (2009) explain that in response to extreme world poverty, the United Nations, in its Millennium Summit in 2000, agreed upon a set of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be reached by year 2015 as a way of supporting future efforts to address poverty. One of the major commitments required to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was for wealthy and highly industrialized nations to increase their aid to developing countries to 0.7 percent of gross national income, a target that had been in place since the mid-1960s.
Despite the increased flow of foreign aids into Nigeria and the enormous potential of foreign aid in accelerating economic growth through bridging of the savings and foreign exchange gaps, Nigeria economy is still characterized by low level of income, high levelof unemployment, very low industrial capacity utilization, and high poverty level as observed by (Fasanya&Onakoya, 2012). Consequently, Njoku (2011) highlighted reasons for the slow economic progress in Nigeria. Furthermore he suggested that the major reason why Nigeria is experiencing slow economic progress is not far- fetched from the monoculture economy that is practiced, high population growth rate, import dependency, political instability etc. Therefore, it is discovered that there exist a gap between the domestically available supply of savings, foreign exchange, government revenue and skills and the planned level of the resources necessary to achieve development targets that leads to poverty alleviation in Nigeria. The key question is whether aid has effectively played its role by its effect on Nigeria’s growth and their level of poverty.
It is against this backdrop that this study aims to analyze the effects of foreign aid on the economic growth and poverty reduction in Nigeria, Hence the focal point of this study is to ascertain the nature of the relationship that exists between foreign aid and poverty reductions in Nigeria via the welfare of the overall economy; by analyzing critically the politics behind official development assistance and the conditionality’s attach to it, so as to pin point the reason foreign aids is beneficial to develop countries but detrimental to developing counties.
Statement of the Problem
Africa is the only region in the world where the number of extreme poor has risen over the past fifteen years (UN, 2007a). It is also said to be the only region in the world where not even a single country (particularly for sub-Saharan nations) is on the track to meet the MDGs (UN, 2007b). Education and health care are basic services essential in any effort to combat poverty and they are critical factors to achieving the human development MDGs.
Poverty is endemic in Nigeria just like other problems bedeviling the polity. Poverty has been described as wide spread and severe (CBN/World Bank, 1996). In spite of Nigeria’s vast resources, poverty has several dimensions and complexities (Khan, 2000).Therefore a study on poverty would further enhance our understanding of the various perspectives and issues in Nigeria’s rural poverty. The incidence of poverty in Nigeria became alarming in 2010 when the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) report for the year suggested that more than 50 percent of Nigerians live in chronic poverty and majority of them reside in the rural areas.
The poverty in situation in Nigeria has become an issue of grave concern to everybody both adult and children. Statistics have shown that the level of poverty that exist in Nigeria is quite alarming, child mortality rate is on the increase, the life expectancy of the Nigeria is too low, children die of preventable diseases due to poor medical health care facilities. All the effort made by Nigeria to combat poverty through foreign aids has proven ineffective. Poverty has been increasing in an outstanding rate despite the various aids employed to avert poverty in Nigeria (Appleton et al., 2008). Nigeria’s relative measurement stood at 54.4%, but increase to 69% in 2010 (CBN/World Bank, 2010). The North-West and North- East Geo-political zones recorded the highest poverty rate in the country with 77.7% and 76.3% respectively in 2010, while the South-West geo-political zone recorded the lowest at 59.1%. Among the state, Sokoto had the highest poverty rate at 86.4% while Niger had the lowest poverty rate at 43.6% in 2010. The dollar-par-day as a measurement to the level of poverty means the population of those living on less than US$1 per day. applying this approach to Nigeria, 51.6% of the Nigeria population were living on less than US$1 per day in 2004, but this increase to US$2 per day in 2010 (CBN/World Bank, 2010).in this regard 75.5% of Nigerian considered themselves to be poor in 2004, 2010, 2013 respectively, the case was even worst in 2015 and 2016 were most Nigerians claimed to be poor because of the outbreak of recession in Nigeria Economy.
Foreign aids and poverty are inextricably linked together and this research seeks to understand the extent to which the billions already deployed in foreign aid have served to impact on poverty reduction in Nigeria. Aid flows to Nigeria is ultimately intended to help recipient countries attain sustainable development especially in the area of capital development, sustained economic growth, poverty reduction and increase sustainable economic development. The justifications for increasing official aid to the poor countries of the world have constantly come under scrutiny and have generated intense debate among researchers. Against this background, this study is aimed at assessing the impact of Official Development Assistance on poverty reduction in Nigeria from 1999 to 2016,
This study is also concerned with identifying the root cause of persistent poverty in Nigeria despite the several programmes employed by the country through foreign aids to fight poverty. In a comprehensive manner the study will shows that Official Development Assistance has no significant positive impact on poverty reduction within the specified period in Nigeria. This means that foreign aid has a negative impact and an adverse effect on economic growth in Nigeria, and that aids obtained from donor countries has tied the nation down to a perpetual level of dependency.
Research Questions
This study provokes the following research questions.
Has the influx of Official Development Assistance (ODA) brought about a reductionin poverty rate in Nigeria between 1999 and 2016?
Have the foreign aids given by IMF and World Bank underminedsocio-economic development in Nigeria between 1999 and 2016?
Objective of the study
The study has broad and specific objectives. The broad objective of this study is to determine the impact of foreign aids on poverty reduction in Nigeria between 1999 and 2016. Therefore the specific objectives are:
To ascertain whether the influx of Official Development Assistance (ODA) has led to poverty reduction in Nigeria between 1999 and 2016.
To ascertain whether foreign aidsgiven byIMF and World Bank undermined socio-economic development in Nigeria between 1999 and 2016
Significance of the study
This research work has theoretical and practical Significance. The theoretical Significance is that the study will add to existing knowledge. Practically this study will contribute to the advancement of extent literature on impact of foreign aids and technical assistance on poverty reduction in Nigeria, thus forming a verifiable source of reference for researchers.
Again, it is also expected that the empirical result and recommendation of this work will be useful to policy makers as it will help in adopting the right and suitable foreign aids policies that will eradicate extreme poverty, extreme hunger and enhance fast economic development in Nigeria, more so the entire population of Nigeria and Nigerian government will benefit immensely from this research work as it will expose them to the benefit and harmful effect of foreign aids and help Nigeria policy makers on how to make the right policies as to clear their impending debt, makes the right economic policy in determining the effectiveness of foreign aid in Nigeria and invest wisely to attained economic development independently,the recommendations in this work would help to debunk the dependency level of Nigeria government to the donors countries.
Finally, the general public will find this work very useful because it will serve as a spring board for continuation of research as well as for detailed information as regards to foreign aids in Nigeria.
The scope and limitation of the study
This research is actually to ascertain the impact of foreign aids and technical assistance on poverty reduction in Nigeria, between 1999 and 2016.
1.6 Hypotheses.
The influx of Official Development Assistance (ODA) has not brought about a reduction in poverty rate in Nigeria between 1999 and 2016
The foreign aids given by IMF and World Bank undermined socio-economic development in Nigeria between 1999 and 2016
While in theory the nexus between FDI and growth (in terms of output and productivity) is in general positive, the empirical literature is far less conclusive. Some studies find positive effects from outward FDI for the investing country (Van Pottelsberghe and Lichtenberg, 2001; Nachum et al., 2000), but suggest a potential negative impact from inward FDI on the host country. This results from a possible decrease in indigenous innovative capacity or crowding out of domestic firms or domestic investment. Thus, in their view and in line with the standard literature on the determinants of FDI (i.e. Dunning’s OLI paradigm, see Dunning 1988) inward FDI is intended to take advantage of host country (locational) characteristics instead of disseminating new technologies originating in the sending country. Other studies report more positive findings: Nadiri (1993) finds positive and significant effects from US sourced capital on productivity growth of manufacturing industries in France, Germany, Japan and the UK. Also Borensztein et al. (1998) finds a positive influence of FDI flows from industrial countries on developing countries’ growth. However, they report also a minimum threshold level of human capital for the productivity enhancing impact of FDI, emphasizing the role of absorptive capacity. Absorptive capacity or minimum threshold levels in a country’s ability to profit from inward FDI is often mentioned in the literature (see also Blomström et al. 1996). Consequently the effect of FDI depends among other things to a large extent on the characteristics of the country that receives FDI.
Given the critical role of entrepreneurship in economic growth of any nation and considering the absence of adequate technology in developing countries, it is essential to seek for technology transfer. More so, market and access to expertise are crucial to the survival and growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries. Access to expertise allows SMEs to undertake productive investments efficiently and to acquire the latest technologies, thus ensuring their competitiveness and that of the nation as a whole. As opined by Dutse (2008), these latest technologies can be attained through the spill-over effects of FDI. This is because FDI is one of the major channels for transferring new scientific knowledge and related technological innovations. From a priori FDI is therefore an essential impetus to small and medium scale entrepreneurship development in the country. In this regard, FDI facilitates access to markets, access to expertise and most of all access to technology. However the willingness of Multinational Corporations to open their global value chains to local firms has not really metamorphosed into meaningful SMEs development. This therefore raises the question of why the abysmal performance of the SMEs in Nigeria? Furthermore, the pattern of the FDI inflow is often skewed towards extractive industries, meaning that the monumental rate of FDI inflow into Nigeria has been adduced to natural resources, although the size of the local market may also be a consideration (Asiedu, 2001). Invariably there is very little hope of economic development and growth for the country due to problems of socio-economic, political and religious factors. Historically Nigeria is one of the economies in Africa with enormous demand for goods and services and has attracted some FDI over the years. The amount of FDI inflow into Nigeria has reached US$2.23 billion in 2003 and it rose to US$5.31 billion in 2004, this figure rose again to US$9.92 billion in 2005. The volume however turns down vaguely to US$9.44 billion in 2006 (CBN, 2009). The question that comes to mind is do these FDIs essentially contribute to small and medium scale business development in Nigeria? If FDI effectively contributes to growth, then the sustainability of FDI is a worthwhile action and a way of achieving its sustainability is by identifying those factors contributing to its growth with a view to ensuring its enhancement.
Again, most studies on FDI and growth are cross-country studies. However, FDI and growth debates are country specific. Earlier studies (for instance, Otepola, 2002; Oyejide, 2005; Akinlo, 2004) examine only the importance of FDI on growth and the channels through which it may be benefiting the economy. This study however examines the contributions of FDI to Small and Medium scale businesses with much emphasis on agriculture and transportation sector from 1981 to 2009.
According to a publication on www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2016/11/22/
“The Federal Government’s economic diversification programme may have recorded a head-start as investment groups gather for the ground breaking ceremony of the Enpower Free Trade Zone (ENPOWER FTZ) scheduled by the end of this month with a target to attract N240 billion Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and 20,000 jobs Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi who consolidates on foundation efforts of former Governor Sullivan Chime on the project, was quoted as saying in a statement at the weekend that the ground breaking ceremony for the facility would bear the first set of investment fruits which will give highly needed momentum to his government’s economic diversification programme. According to him, “Enpower FTZ has put in substantial efforts into attracting specific, targeted high-profile investors right from the outset. These anchor investors play an important signaling role to other potential investors, and we expect them to attract a network of suppliers and partners.”The ceremony which holds at the Akanu Ibiam Airport site of the Free Zone is expected to attract up to $500 million (N240 billion) worth of foreign direct investments (FDI) from leading global manufacturing companies. Activities of the industrial clusters hosted in the free zone are also expected to create over 20,000 jobs across three major regions in the country. Licensed by the federal government to operate as a free trade zone in December, 2015, ENPOWER FTZ is a Public-Private initiative with the Enugu State government offering international and domestic investors the benefits of connecting to business opportunities from the South-Eastern cluster, which according to Canback & Company and the McKinsey Global Institute, is the second largest economic cluster in Nigeria, outside of the Lagos Cluster”.
In the world today, it becomes difficult for business to survive without a form of exchange or another which involves money, ideas, product and technology. As a result, every economy is affected either positively or negatively. Trade can be drawn from the need to exchange, which developed from the barter arrangement to the currency method. Trade in Nigeria, nevertheless, became general with the introduction of the imposing regulation, which brought in their merchandises and made Nigerians their middle men. The implication of this is that Nigerians came to comprehend the necessity for trade both domestically and internationally. International business has remained an area of concern to policy makers. Its significance lies on the capacity to acquire goods which cannot be manufactured in a country or which can only be manufactured at a higher cost. Similarly, it allows a nation to trade its locally produced goods to other countries of the world. The performance of a given economy in terms of growth rates of output and per capita income has not only been based on the domestic production and consumption activities but also on international transaction of goods and services (Jhingan 2006). Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) play very important roles in the process of industrialization and sustainable economic growth (Aremu & Adeyemi, 2011; Terungwa, 2012). Since the 1960s to date, SMEs are being given due recognitions especially in the developed nations for playing very important roles towards fostering accelerated economic growth, development and stability within several economies (Gunu, 2004; Onugu, 2005; Aremu, 2010). They make up the largest proportion of business all over the world and play tremendous roles in employment generation, provisions of goods and services, creating a better standard of living as well as immensely contributing to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of many countries (Paul, 2010; Ojeka&Mukoro, 2011). In Nigeria, SMEs account for fifty percent to employment on average and also fifty percent of its industrial output. SMEs represent about ninety percent of the industrial sector in terms of number of enterprises or firms, and, however, they contribute a meager one percent of GDP (Ariyo, 2004). Industrial and economic developments are flourished by SMEs in the country through efficient utilization of local resources; production of intermediate goods and services; transformation of rural technology. SMEs are the backbone, and they play a significant role in the business landscape of any country, but there are also faced with a lot of obstacles that make the sector not to contribute optimally to the economy. In this regard, Aregbeyen (1999) argues that the industrial development of Nigeria depends, to a large extent, on the growth and development of SME potentials.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The underdeveloped/developing nature of the Nigerian economy that essentially hindered the pace of her economic development has necessitated the demand for Foreign Direct Investment into the country. Aremu (2007), noted that Nigeria as one of the developing countries of the world, has adopted a number of measures aimed at accelerating growth and development in the domestic economy, one of which is attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country. According to World Bank (2006), FDI is an investment made to acquire a lasting management interest (normally 10% of voting stock) in a firm or an enterprise operating in a country other than that of the investor defined according to residency. However, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is often seen as an important catalyst for economic growth in the developing countries because it affects the economic growth by stimulating domestic investment, increase in capital formation and also, facilitating the technology transfer in the host countries. (Falki, 2009) It is in view of the above that the researcher intends to investigate influence of foreign direct investment and the development of small and medium scale enterprise in Enugu state, Nigeria.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to examine foreign direct investment and the development of SMEs in Enugu state. But to aid the effective completion of the study, the researcher intends to achieve the following specific objective;
To examine whether Foreign Direct Investment undermined the development of SMEs in Enugu state, 2007-2017.
To examine whether the Enugu state government provided an enabling environment for the development of SMEs in the state, 2007-2017.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research hypotheses were formulated to aid the completion of the study;
Did Foreign Direct Investment undermine the development of SMEs in Enugu state, 2007-2017?
Did the Enugu state government provide an enabling environment for the development of SMEs in the state, 2007-2017?
RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses were formulated to proffer answers to the research questions;
Foreign Direct Investment undermined the development of SMEs in Enugu state, 2007-2017.
Enugu state government provided an enabling environment for the development of SMEs in the state, 2007-2017.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is believed that at the completion of the study, the findings will be of great importance to the Enugu state economic planning committee as the study seek to explore the merit of FDI and the merit if any on the growth of SMEs in the state, the study will also be useful to the management of Enugu state investment and development committee as the study will help them formulate policies that will attract FDI to the state. The study will also be useful to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the findings of the study will serve as a reference point for further study. Finally, the study will also be useful to academia’s, researchers, students, teachers and the general public as the study will contribute to knowledge and the pool of existing literature.
SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study covers foreign direct investment and the development of small and medium scale enterprise in Enugu state, 2007-2017, but in the cause of the study, there were some factors which militate against the scope of the study;
a) Availability of Research Material: The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.
b) Time: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Foreign Direct Investment
A foreign direct investment is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct control.
Productivity
Productivity is an economic measure of output per unit of input. Inputs include labor and capital, while output is typically measured in revenues and other gross domestic product (GDP) components such as business inventories.
Small Medium Enterprises
The Central Bank of Nigeria defines small and medium enterprises in Nigeria according to asset base and number of staff employed. The criteria are an asset base that is between N5 million to N500 million, and a staff strength that is between 11 and 100 employees.
Development
Development in this context is the process of promoting the growth of small and medium enterprises. Simply put, to further or advance the growth of something.
Enugu State
Enugu state is a state in the Southeastern part of Nigeria, created in 1991 from part of the old Anambra State. Its capital and largest city is Enugu, from which the state derives its name. The state shares borders with Abia State and Imo State to the south, Ebonyi State to the east, Benue State to the northeast, Kogi State to the northwest and Anambra State to the west.
The Judiciary represents the court system in the land, it symbolizes judges and justice. It is the third arm of any modern government and was popularized by Montesquieu, the French political philosopher and jurist who postulated that there should be separation of judicial duties from legislative and executive functions to forestall tyranny. A court system implies a judicial arrangement of graduated competences of hierarchical structural arrangement from lower to superior courts, courts of first instance to Supreme Court, where appeals are taken or heard, and special courts or tribunals, exists in modern democratic states.
The judiciary also has other notable functions according to Akpan (2008) which include punishing offenders of the laws, swearing in of the President and other important public officers, granting letter of administration of estates and above all, guarding against an arbitrary use of power by the other arms of government. For the administration of justice to be fair and equitable in any political setting, it should combine autonomy with accessibility and a certain degree of uniformity. To be fair means that it is objective and fearless. To be equitable implies that court rules are equally applied, as rewards and punishment to both the poor and the rich. Autonomy connotes independence and authority.
Corruption has been the major problem bedeviling Nigeria, as it has virtually defied all solutions so far. In Nigeria bribery and corruption have assumed an alarming rate, established stronghold that the weekly star of 15th May, 1983, quoted in Achebe (1983.43), unequivocally maintains “that keeping an average Nigerian from being corrupt is like keeping a goat from eating yam” Corruption has been recognized as the major enemy of man, it is however, lack of political will to begin to tackle this problem, except for Buhari /Idiagbon regime (1983-1985) and Obasanjo regime (1999-2007). Past futile intervention against corruption include the Corrupt Practices Decree of 1975, the Public Officer (investigation of Assets) Decree No 5 of 1976, supplemented by the Code Of Conduct Bureau and Code Of Conduct Tribunal as provided for in the 1979 constitution. Shehu Shagari ethical revolution (1979-1983), with a minister of cabinet rank in charge of “national guidance”, the “war against indiscipline” campaign under the Buhari and Idiagbon junta which was to some extent the only serious intervention and the National committee on corruption and other Economics crimes under Ibrahim Babangida (1985-93). The IBB regime also came up with the corrupt practice and Economic crime Decree of 1990. Even the Sani Abacha regime (1994-98) came up with its own anti- corruption Decree, the “Indiscipline, Corrupt Practices and Economic Crime (prohibition) Decree 1994” which was a replica of IBB Decree of 1990. However, it is regrettable to note that inspite of interventions by past regimes to stamp out corruption, the evil monster keeps on recurring. According to Okonkwo (2005: 85), a historical view of bribery and corruption in Nigeria shows that rhetoric against corruption does not end corruption. All the inspiring words of our leaders and journalists have not changed anyone. Against this background, it has become unavoidably important to critically assess the judiciary and anticorruption in Nigeria.
Statement of the Problem
Over the years, successive administrations in Nigeria have set up various institutions designed to fight corruption. These institutions have not functioned appropriately and as a result, there is institutionalization of corruption. The above scenario almost turned Nigeria into pariah nation. In foreign states, Nigerians were treated with suspicion and embarrassment and foreigners were wary of making Nigeria their investment destination. The more government devises genuine policies and plans to combat corruption, the more the implementation pattern seems to be frustrated. Corruption, real or imagined, is believed to be so endemic in Nigeria that public disapproval of it has gradually turned into tacit acquiescence and positive acceptance. There is a need to act and investigate the hydra-headed problem of corruption for the sake of the unborn generations. The political and socio-economic destructive effects of corruption have been so overwhelming that unless decisive steps were taken, the state might well be doomed. In spite of the several legislations and multiple institutions put in place to fight corruption, little result has been achieved. This has made people lose hope in our ability to get out of these difficult situations.
On the night of the 7th of October 2016, between the hours of 10 pm and the wee hours of the next day, the Department of State Services (DSS), executing a carefully prepared script, invaded the homes of selected Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Abuja, Judges of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt and Abuja and State High Court Judges in Gombe and Kaduna States. These judicial officers and their families had their sleep rudely interrupted, homes broken into, searches conducted and reputations tarnished. The Government agency that spearheaded this ordeal anchored these unorthodox actions, on the overriding and compelling necessity to eradicate corruption. It was put in the public domain, snippets of the crimes these judicial officers were said to have committed. By and large, since these strong arm tactics were employed, there have been a torrent of views on both sides of the aisle hotly debating the bona fides or otherwise of the actions of the DSS and its aftermath. In this discourse, it is intended not only to review the legality or otherwise of the steps referred to above, but also to find a lasting solution to the incidences of corruption in the Nigerian Judiciary. There are many other ancillary issues that must be touched upon, such as the role of the National Judicial Council (NJC) and other stakeholders such as the Bar Association (NBA) in the fight against judicial corruption and the impact of public opinion on the evolving issues. Hence the research questions:
Research Questions
1. To analyze the efficacy of Judiciary in its fight against bribery and corruption in Nigeria.
2. To analyze the effect of severe punishment of offenders on anticorruption fight in Nigeria.
3. To identify the challenges militating against the performance of judiciary in its fight against corruption.
Significance of the Study.
The significance of this study or research cannot be over emphasized because of the immense contribution it is supposed to offer in the area of development of knowledge in Judiciary and anti-corruption in Nigeria. Over the years, scholars and experts have dedicated much attention to the study of corruption and their effects on the underdevelopment and development of different world’s economies. This study therefore is centered on the impacts of Judiciary on anti-corruption campaign in Nigeria, and the war against the end called corruption and how the government has used certain policies and institutions to fight this malaise.
This work will serve as a very relevant and important material for further research on activities of the Judiciary in war against bribery and corruption in corruption among nations in the world.
Democracy is a bargain between the government and the governed. This bargain is made up of two parts – the government’s legitimacy that is, claim of obedience to its laws as well as doing what the citizens want it to do. The second part is the arrangement that regulates this bargain of legitimacy in the competitive political election. The essence of the bargain is to ensure participation in policy making. This participation is the fundamental meaning of democracy. Democracy and political participation are two concepts that are interwoven; none can exist in the absence of the other. The process of establishing a democratic system requires the full participation of the people. This participation may be direct or indirect and must be by the citizens. Participation refers to the different ways in which the public express opinions and ideally exert influence on political, economic, management and other social decisions. For a well-informed participation to occur, a radical transparency though not sufficient, is necessary. It is argued that people most affected by a decision should have the most say while those less affected should have less say. Participation has its objectives from the administrative perspective, to motivate the people and public support building activities. For the citizens, it facilitates useful information exchange regarding local conditions. It enables individuals and groups to influence agency decision in a representative manner etc. Political participation is that activity that has the intent or effect of influencing government action.
It is that aspect of democracy that deals with the political environment. Davies (1963) cited in Unanka (2004:20), defined political participation as “taking part in making the basic decision as to what are the common goals of one’s society and as to the best ways to move towards these goals”. Political participation expresses actions, reactions, interactions and role expectation as one finds oneself as an integral member of a society. It is a known fact that without significant citizen’s involvement, the democratic process falls short of its goals. According to Ogunna (2003:24), political participation can be active, partial or passive.
Democracy, the actualized popular power through political structures that are based on mass participation and political sovereignty, is described by Powell, a well- known American political scientist, as quoted in Cayne (1993:777) as “an implicit bargain between the representative government and the citizens and a specific arrangement which regulates that bargain”. He further stated that a true democracy is that system of government that is controlled by the people through their representatives. True democracy is universally accepted as a system of government that believes in and operates on the principle of law and order, with them as the ultimate repository and regulator of the social norms and practice.
To the authoritarians and other critics, a common misapprehension is that democracies lack the power to oppress and also lacks the authority to govern. Indeed, democracy is unthinkable in the absence of viable political parties. Parties are expected to participate in the political socialization of electorates, contribute to the accumulation of political power, facilitate recruitment of political leadership, and serve as a unifying force in a divided polity (Omotola, 2010:125). The objectives which party regulation seeks to achieve, including the lingering question of internal party democracy, namely the push and pull of struggles to get political parties to respect their own rules and act in line with democratic principles in the conduct of their internal affairs, all remains central to the wider consolidation of democracy in Nigeria (Ibeanu, 2013: 1).
Anchoring on platforms offered by political parties, citizens make demands on the state, support specific policy positions, and participate in public policy making and implementation. Political parties therefore provide the vital linkage between citizens and the state, governors and the governed, and elites and the masses (Lawson 1980). The nature, behavior and performance of political parties and the nature of party relations with other parties, groups, and even the state have consequences for the nature of governance, integration, stability and security (Ikelegbe, 2013:7).
The character and tendencies exhibited by political parties has implications for democratic sustenance in the country (Pogoson, 2013: 5). The political party is a critical, formal, institutional, organizational and mobilizational player in the political process particularly in relation to power, democracy, governance, governments and economy (Ikelegbe, 2013:4). The nature of political parties and the nature of party politics have consequences for the nature of governance (democratic consolidation), integration, stability and security. The performance of political parties in terms of articulation, aggregation, representation and organization are critical to political accountability, communication, democratic consolidation and political stability (Ikelegbe, 2013:4).
1.2 Statement of Problem
Mainstream rhetoric in Nigeria media and popular discourses of the polity is often centred on the claim that Nigeria is “consolidating its democracy”. The evidence on the ground, however, contradicts this claim (Momoh, 2013:1). It is perhaps most appropriate to liken the relationship between political participation and the sustenance of democratic rule in a particular society to that which exists between the umbilical cord and the fetus (Yagboyaju, 2012:54). Political participation through political parties are at the heart of examining the health of any form of democracy (Orji, 2013:1), for example, maintains that ‘to talk, today, about democracy, is to talk about a system of competitive political parties. Their roles and activities are critical in any assessment of democratic practice (Momoh, 2013:1). With the transition to civil rule in 1999 (Signalling the commencement of the fourth republic), political parties had the mandate to produce the right calibre of people to govern (Momoh, 2013:1). One of the most complex and critical institutions of democracy is the level of political participation through political party (ies) (Omotola 2009).
Political parties are traditionally the most significant intermediary organization in democratic societies. Students of political science have commonly associated them with democracy itself (Orji, 2013:1). Political parties, as “makers” of democracy, have been so romanticized that scholars claim that neither democracy nor democratic societies are thinkable without them (Omotola 2009). In other words, the existence of vibrant political parties is a sine qua non for democratic consolidation in any polity (Dode, 2010). It is patently ironic that political parties largely pursue (and profess) democracy outside the gates and resist it within the gates (Ibeanu, 2013:1). Competitive party and electoral politics is expected to deepen and consolidate the democratic transition, which the country embarked upon in May 1999 (Jinadu, 2013:2). Well- functioning political parties are essential for the success of electoral democracy and overall political development of Nigeria (Adetula and Adeyi, 2013:3).
1.3 Objective of the study
The general objective of this study is to evaluate the Nigerian democracy in the context of political participation especially in Enugu State while the specific objectives are:
1. To find out the extent to which Political Participation has enhance political recruitment in Enugu state.
2. To evaluate political mobilization as a major attribute to effective democratic culture.
3. To examine the role of civil societies and democratic governance in Nigeria
1.4 Research questions
1. Does Political Participation enhance political recruitment in Enugu State?
2. Does political mobilization enhance effective democratic culture in Enugu?
3. Did civil societies engender democratic governance Enugu State?
1.5 Significance of the Problem
This involves both the empirically and the theoretical significance. Empirically, the result of this work on completion will help to address the problem of democracy and political participation in Nigeria. And it will enable the federal government and state government to see how to blend representative democracy and active participation in political activities in Nigeria by allowing them to get involve in political activities without fear intimidation for national development. Hence the need for this study or the problem this work intends to solve is to provide means to increase reasonable political participation in Nigeria polity that is enough to justify our democratic practice and to improve the quality of the polity. In doing this an attempt will be made to expose some of the phenomena responsible of strong political apathy in Nigerian polity like violence, corruption, godfatherism and electoral malpractice etc.
Political participation refers to the direct or indirect involvement of the citizens of a country in the governance of their country. Political participation can be broadly divided into two, namely, conventional and unconventional political participation (Efemini 2013). Conventional political participation is concerned with one’s involvement in political campaign, public hearing, recall, referendum, running for public office, voting in elections etc. while unconventional political participation has to do with one’s involvement in public protests, civil disobedience, political debates, community development, strike action, etc. political participation being an important paradoxical and delicate political theory, obliges individuals to form and support a given government or the implementation of a given policy based on certain grounds. It also obliges the same people to dissolve any government or oppose the implementation of any policy based on certain grounds too (Almondand Verba, 2010). This work attempts to show that political participation is an agent that provokes or speeds up significant change or action in development since it is only through conventional and unconventional political participation that one can influence the decisions, policies and other activities of the government for the good of the people. Without political participation, there can be no meaningful development in any country. This truth is evident / obvious in most contemporary societies especially in Africa where many countries are underdeveloped. This under-development in Some countries are due to marginalization of the people from active political participation and sometime apathy on the side of the people towards political participation as this makes the leaders to do whatever they like since no one questions them. But with active political participation of the people, they will be able to demand for what is due to them in term sof development which will include both human and infrastructural development. Where the government fails to provide development, it is still through active political participation that the people will be able to change such a bad government and replace it with a good one. This change can either come through voting such government out during election or by revolution. Arowolo and Aluko (2011) stated that through political participation citizens form and support a given government or the implementation of any policy based on certain grounds. The purpose of participation of citizens in the policy making arrangement is to create sense of belonging and awareness necessary for the sustainability of policy despite the nature of such policy,consolidate democracy and engender good governance.
The importance of political participation to national developmentcannot be overemphasized as thereany democratic society that does not encourage political participation.Emphasizing the need for political participation, Gauba (2008) arguedthat:
Since most people desire economic development and the physicalimprovement of their infrastructure and environments, responsive
Governmentwill be such that seeks and promotes economicdevelopment. On its own, good governance depicts the degree to which institutions of a particular country (such as executive, legislature or judiciary) and process (such as the role of political parties in election) are transparent, accountable to the people and allow them to freely participate in decisions that affect their lives (Omoregbe, 2009).
This is simply because good governance must indeed democratize the process of decision making in a way to guarantee the involvement of the groups for which decisions are being made. For example, wealthy creation programme can only be potent and sustainable only if the affected group is involved at all levels of decision making process.
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
Many countries are faced with the problem of national development. In a democratic society, both the leaders and the people are collectively responsible for this problem of national development, while the leaders can be blamed for not adhering to the main objective of democracy.which is the prioritization of the ‘common good’ over personal interest, which in turn is made manifest in national development. The people onthe other hand, receive the greater share of the blame for their lack of interest in political participation, this apathy on the side of the people gives the leaders room to do whatever they want, however they want it and whenever want it, since nobody questions the policies and actions.
It is only through active and popular political participation that the people can checkmate the activities of the leaders and re-dire minds towards the pursuance of common good as against private interest, so as to enhance national development.
Political participation is seen as a panacea for development in a democratic society because, it makes policies legitimate, as it makes people to have a sense of belonging and can lay claim of ownership of such policies. It is through political participation that the citizens partake in the governance of their country, by so doing, they are able to make input in the decisions and policies of the government, applaud a government that is doing well and condemn/oppose a bad government the or even remove such government.
1.3 Research Questions
The following research questions are stated for this st
1. Did political participation engender political development in
Enugu State from 1999-2015?
2. Did public opinion engender National Development in Enugu State from 1999 to 2015?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The broad objective of this study is to appraise political participation and national development focusing on Enugu State from 1999 to 2015.
The specific objectives include the following:
1. To find out whether political participation engendered national development in Enugu State from 1999- 2015.
2. To ascertain if public opinion engendered National Development in Enugu State from 1999 to 2015.
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses are stated for this study:
Hypothesis One
Ho: Political participation did not engendered national development in Enugu State from 1999-2015.
H1: Political participation engendered national development in Enugu State from 19992015.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study may be of enormous benefit to the general populace. It will go to a great extent in enlightening them on the essence of effective political participation as well as its essence in national development.
The recommendations of this study will suggest ways to ensure effective political participation of the populace.
The recommendations of this study will suggest ways to ensureeffective political participation of the populace.
Student and other researchers willas well as widen their scopefrom the information contained in this study.
1.7 Scope and Limitations Of The Study
This study on political participation and national development covers Enugu State from 1999 to 2015.
The researcher encountered diverse constraints in the process ofcarrying out this research study.
1. Difficulty in Gathering Research Material:
There was difficulty in gathering the necessary information or materials necessary for the successful completion of this research study. This isdue to the fact that most of the respondents were either not on sit orwere uncooperative in providing the necessary information as regardsto their reward management practices.
2. Time Constraints
Time also posed as a constraint to the successful completion of thisresearch study. The researcher had to combine the time for lectures andwork to carrying out this research study. Though it was not easy but shewas still able to carry out the research work.
3. Finance:
There was not enough finance on the part of the researcher to completethis research study.
Irrespective of these constraints, the researcher was still able tosuccessfully carry out this research study.
1.8 Definition of Terms
SOCIAL EQUALITY: Social equality is a state of affairs in which allpeople within a specific society or isolated group have the same statusin n certain respects, often including civil rights, freedom of speech,
Property rights, and equal access to social goods and services.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION:Political Participation can be defined as those actions of private citizens by which they seek to influence or to support government and politics
The rise of political parties as an instrument of national integration has captured the attention of many scholars in recent times. Their common purpose enables Appadorai (2004:537) to formulate his classical definition of political party as “A political party is more or less organized group of citizens who act together as a political unit, have distinctive aims and opinions on the leading political questions of controversy in the state, and who, by acting together as a political unit, seek to obtain control of the government”. Edmund Burke defined political party as “a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavors, national integration upon some particular principles in which they are all agreed” (Burke, 1839).
Ostrogorski, (1854-1919) was one of the first students of politics to recognize that parties were becoming vital in the new era of democratic politics. The twentieth century proved to be the century of parties. In West Europe, mass parties battled for the votes of enlarge electorates. In communist and fabist states, ruling parties monopolized power in an attempt to reconstruct society and the people within it. In the developing world, nationalist parties became the vehicle for driving colonial rulers back to their imperial homeland. In all their cases, parties succeeded in drawing millions of with the national political process, often for the first time. The mass party was the mobilizing device of the twentieth century.
In standing between the people and the state, parties became and substantially remain, integral to politics in four main ways.
Ruling parties offer direction to government, performing the vital task of steering the ship of state.
Parties function as agents of elite recruitment. They serve as major mechanism for preparing and recruiting candidates for public office. If you want to lead your country, you must first persuade a party to adopt you as it candidate.
Parties serve as agents of interest aggregation. They transform a multitude of specific demands into more manageable packages of proposals. Parties select, reduce and combine interests. They act as a filter between society and state, deciding which demands to allow through their net.
The declining extent, political parties serves as a point of reference for their supporters and voters, giving people a key to interpreting a complicated political world.
Political parties are permanent organizations which contest elections, usually because they seek to occupy the decisive positions of authority within the state, unlike interest groups, which seek merely to influence the government, serious parties aim to secure the levers of power in Rod Hague and Martin Harrop (2001:167). In Weber’s phrase parties live in a house of power Weber (1968).
A party may exist primarily as an electoral machine for gaining power with no coherent philosophy, or it may have deep ideological aims. It might also conform to Edmund Burk’s definition of a group agreed “upon a pimple by which the national interest might be served. It is a group publicly organized with the intention of gaining political power in government, to realize certain aims C. A. heeds (1975:124).
National integration is a process which includes among other things, the incorporation of various parts of a society into a functioning whole, the growth of obedience and loyalties of the nation transcending loyalties to its, parts and emergence of shared values and perspectives or consensus. Therefore, Nigerian could achieve national integration if loyalty to the nation transcends loyalties to the parts of state. Nigeria would be a country where all the citizens no matter where you reside could aspire, work and attain his life ambition without hindrance based on regionalism and states.
Party politics came into Nigerian during British rule in the country. As a result of the circumstances of their “birth”, most of the pre-independence political parties in the country lacked national outlook despite the fact that some of their main actors were looked upon as committed nationalists. A possible exception was, however, the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) which made a number of concrete attempts to assume a national outlook.
Although political parties in Nigeria under the presidential system wore new labels, the individuals who operated them still retained their old habits. If there was anything new in party politics under the presidential system, it was in the structure of the parties. For example, while political parties under the parliamentary system tended to deepen ethnic differences, the ones under the presidential system cut across enthnic solidarity. But because there was no corresponding change in the political ways of Nigerian political corruption and other vices that typified prepresidential political parties in Nigeria assumed alarming proportions under the new system.
The second republic, in spite of the constitutional provision for the emergence of true national parties, the five political parties that was registered by Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) was nothing but the reincarnation of political parties of the first republic. The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was a re-emergence of the NPC of the first republic, equally, the Nigerian People’s Party, the Unity Party of Nigeria, the NCNC, AG respectively.
IBB lifted the ban on political activities, which had been in place since the 1983 coup, two political parties were established: the center-right National Republican Convention (NRC)and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). Pulse.ng (2018)
Going forward, Abacha’s political madness cost Nigeria a great deal. But that ended on June 8, 1998 when the cold hand of death gripped him in what Nigerians believed to be a decisive moment. Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar prepared way for transition that saw the power returned to the ex-military head of state, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo as democratically elected president on May 29, 1999.
Abubakar appointed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct elections for Local Government Councils, State legislature and Governorship positions, the National Assembly, and Presidency. The INEC successfully held elections on December 5, 1998, January 9, 1999, February 20, and February 27, 1999, respectively. For local elections, nine parties were granted provisional registration with three fulfilling the requirements to contest the elections. These parties were the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the All People’s Party (APP) and the predominantly Yoruba Alliance for Democracy (AD).
The People’s Redemption Party (PRC) promulgated a new Constitution based largely on the suspended 1979 constitution, before the May 29, 1999 inauguration of the new civilian President. The Constitution includes provisions for a bicameral legislature, the National Assembly consisting of a 360 member House of Representatives and 109 members Senate.
Former Head of State Olusegun Obasanjo, freed from prison by Abubakar, ran as a civilian, candidate. PDP won the 1999 presidential election with its flag bearer, President Olusegun Obasanjo. The PDP produced 21 state governors, ANPP 9 governors and AD produced 6 governors. The emergency of a democratic form of government in Nigeria on May 1999 ended 16 years of consecutive military rule. (Vanguard, August 18 2013)
In the study, we shall comparatively analysis two political parties in Nigeria. Our task therefore is to access the attempt made by political parties in the achievement of political integration.
Statement Of The Problem
Since the return of Nigeria to the paths of democratization, the challenges of consolidating democracy occupy a central position not only in the academic circle, but also in the domains of civil society, public policy and democracy aid industry. This is probably so because sustaining democracy is often a task difficult as establishing it (Schedler, 1998; 2001), if not much more daunting. Moreover, the experience of history demonstrates convincingly the fluctuating fortunes of democratisation in Africa, given the abysmal failure of all previous attempts at democratisation in the continent. Worse still, under the third wave of democratisation, African democracies appear not to have taken firm roots. Indeed, they appear to be under the threats of potential breakdown and/or erosion. Tatah Mentan characterized them as being held together by pins and perpetually under siege by antidemocratic forces (Mentan, 2007). Evidently, the democratization process in Nigeria appears epileptic and inconsistent, beaming new hopes in some countries and instances, and faltering prospects in some others (Osaghae, 1999; Young, 1999; Baker, 2000; May, 2000;Basedau, Erdmann and Mehler, 2007; Journal of African Election, 2007; Menocal; Fritz;Rakner, 2008; Lindberg and Morrison, 2008). The situation is so terrible that one may be tempted to re-echo the sentiments of anti-democratic thought as to the possibility of democracy in Nigeria (see Gilley, 2009).
The deepening crisis of democratisation in Africa seems closely connected to the pertinent issue of multiparty elections and their administration (Omotola, 2009). Effective electoral reforms energises elections by contributing to the building of social capital for the democratization process. For the most part of Africa, however, electoral reforms and therefore, electoral administration has tended to be largely ineffective, becoming democratic liabilities, instead of assets, thereby reinforcing the thesis that elections in Africa are nothing but a fading shadow of democracy(Adejumobi, 2000; Van de Linde, 2001; Lumumba Kasongo, 2005; Obi, 2009). The concept of national integration is the prime political problem facing the Nigerian nation. Many authors and political scientists have devoted time and attention to this problem but it seems to be more increasingly intractable. Political party’s activities because of the determinative role they play in Nigeria and these roles should not always be taken for granted. Since political parties provide a link between the individual and the larger political community, they can be a mechanism for political socialization, mass mobilization and thus for achieving national integration.
National integration in totality may consist of political integration, social integration, cultural integration; economic integration etc. part of the problems of national integration is that initially the colonialists arbitrarily lumped together various groups under the name Nigeria. In fact Nigeria has remained a society where forces of ethnicity, parochialism and religious diversity or pluralism seriously predominate over centripetal forces. The emergence of political parties in the fourth republic entails the formal convergence of various communities with their leaders and members as well as their loyalties behind. In an effort to comparatively analysis two political parties in Nigeria, the following questions are considered fundamental
1.3 Research Questions
The problems to be encountered in this research are:
How does the ethnic character of political parties undermine national integration in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015?
Does the non-existence of the nationally oriented political parties affect national integration in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015?
Objectives of the Study
It is the intention of this research to expose alternative methods of achieving national integration and how political parties can help in bringing about national integration in Nigeria. Therefore, the aims and objectives of this research are as follow.
To examine how ethnicity in political parties undermine national integration in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015
To ascertain how the non-existence of the nationally oriented political parties affect national integration in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015
Significance of the Study
To realize national integration, there must be an organization responsible for the provision of the necessary personnel for the running of government. Here the role of political parties became imperative. It is the function of the political parties to provide the machinery for the selection of personnel of government.
This work aims at perpetuating itself as a viable resourceful and relevant material to lend information to future researchers especially in this chosen field. The significance of this research is as follows:
It will explore the roots of the problem of national integration and proffer solutions and how political parties can help in bringing about national integration. The problems of national integration in this research are the issue of ethno-regional domination, private interest etc. This work would proffer solutions on how these problems could be controlled.
It will act as a guide to researches on how the problem of ethno-regional domination, corruption has hampered on national integration. It would provide solution and alternative ways through which national integration could be achieved. Furthermore, if the lessons that would be gathered from this work would be adopted, it would improve the lots of the people and make them more responsive to the input structure of the political system. It would also make them to be politically conscious, patriotic and have a sense of unity. By the end of this research, one must have learnt alternative methods of achieving national integration.
Scope Of The Study
The scope of this study covers the period within the life span of the fourth republic (1999-2015). Consideration lies between APC and PDP political parties and their role in achieving national integration within the period.
1.7. Hypothesis
The ethnic character of political parties undermine national integration in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015
The non-existence of the nationally oriented political parties affect national integration in Nigeria between 1999 and 2015
There is no universal definition of the concept of intraparty democracy (internal party democracy), although many scholars agreed on some basic principles of electivity, accountability, transparency, inclusivity, participation, and representation.( Jeroen 2011) “Internal party democracy means that the party’s should be formed “bottom-up” and that the internal distribution of power should be marked by dispersion at different levels, bodies and individuals rather than by the concentration in one organ”.Cular(2004) Unlike most definitions of democracy at the level of political system, the definition of internal party democracy does not mean a state that can be distinguished from other forms of internal party order. It is rather about the scale by which we can measure the extent to which a party is democratically organized and eventually compare among other parties.
According to Salih (2006) internal party democracy “Implies support for the general interest of the party membership, the public and the state. It means that party structure and organisation are participatory and inclusive, essentially vehicles for the exercise of nascent democratic leadership and values”. There are two identified essential instrumental elements of intra-party democracy. The first group involves the organisation of free, fair and regular elections of internal positions as well as candidates for the representative bodies. While the second group involves equal and open participation of entire members and members’ group in such a way that interest are more or less equally represented. It is imperative to analyze actual practice by political parties in order to determine whether they adhere to the practice of internal democracy. Three levels of observations are determinable for the purposes of this analysis. These are legal requirements, party regulations, and actual practice. In Nigeria, these analyses will be carried out with reference to the Electoral Act 2010, (as amended), the Constitutions of the political parties and the actual conducts of the political parties during their various parties primaries conducted prior to the April 2011 general elections.
Political parties are one of the institutions that are carriers of democratic principles in any organised society. Thus, there are a number of ‘institutional guarantees’ that parties have to fulfil if they were to effectively meet what is expected of them in a democracy. One of such institutional requirements is internal (intra-party) democracy. As Magolowondo (n.d) points out, this very important institutional dimension is lacking in many political parties, particularly in emerging democracies. But the question is, what is Internal Democracy? Drawing on Scarrow (2004) study on ‘Political Parties and Democracy in theoretical and practical perspectives; Implementing intra-party democracy’, internal democracy is a very broad term describing a wide range of methods for including party members in intra-party deliberation and decisionmaking. It is democracy within the party and the extent to which a party subscribes to and abides by the basic and universal democratic tenets.
As Tyoden (1994) argues, hardly is a political system adjudged democratic without the central placement of political parties in its political process. This is because political parties are the major vehicles for the expression of an essential feature of the democratic process. In this case, however, inter and intra party relationships are vital because they determine the health and resilience of the party system and by extension the fate of democracy and the nature of the political system itself. In similar vein, Mersel (2006) asserts that various democracies in recent times have faced the problem of nondemocratic political parties, a situation where most parties only focus on external activities, neglecting internal planning and organisation. He argues that in determining whether a political party is nondemocratic, attention should be given to party’s goals and practices. This is so because some parties often ignore essential elements such as their internal structures.
Internal party democracy aims at developing more democratic, transparent and effective political parties. It identifies specific challenges in the internal management and functioning of parties and party systems. These include; candidate selection, leadership selection, policy making, membership relations, gender discrimination and party funding. From this outcome-oriented perspective, parties’ organizational structures should be judged above all in terms of how well they help the parties choose policies and personnel that reflect the preferences of their broader electorates. Another important effect of intra-party democracy in line with the assertion of Gosnell (1968) is that it provides necessary vertical linkages between different deliberating spheres and horizontal linkage between competing issues. The elements which are instrumental to intra-party democracy cannot be over-emphasized in having effective and working internal democracy. First and foremost, it involves in organizing free, fair and periodic elections of internal positions, as well as candidates for representative bodies. The second entails equal and open participation of all members and member groups in such a way that interests are equally represented.
The interplay between parties and democracies should reflect the parties’ adherence not only to democratic goals and actions but also to internal democratic structures (Mersel, 2006). Internal democracy aims at developing more democratic, transparent and effective political parties. It identifies specific challenges in the internal management and functioning of parties and party systems. These include: candidate selection, leadership selection, policy making, membership relations, gender, minorities, youth and party funding. It is in light of the above that the present attempts to investigate the internal party democracy and political stability in Nigeria, a case studyPDP Imo state between 2007 and 2016.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Maintenance of internal democracy, through the process of selecting candidates among political parties in Nigeria, particularly in the People‟s Democratic Party has remained a vexed issue (Akubo & Umoru, 2014). Consequently, After decades long colonial rule and military rule it was expected that the new democratic dispensation would create an avenue for the maximization an true embracing of democracy and it’s principles in the country.
The trend remains an overt reliance on structures of political parties to aid in the achievement of such democracy; since political parties are dividends and makers of democracies, it is expected of them to not only aid in achieving the needed democracy in the country, but also ensure that they maintain democratic principles within themselves. In essence, political parties were seen as the purveyors of the democracy, because they themselves exude democratic principles among members. Hence, the achievement of these roles is largely hinged on the capability of the party to foster internal unity, relations, democracy and cohesion. However, although these political parties theoretically befit constitutional qualities and prospects ascribed to them, enhancing internal democracy remained a herculean task in practice; they have been bereft of proper adherence to their respective constitutional party structures, particularly in the process of selecting candidates and conducting its primaries.
Such discrepancy has sparked odious high level of instability that has enveloped the system over the decades. Necessitating the need to identify and explain some of the constraints of Nigerian parties towards promoting political stability and upholding the democratic principles internally and externally.
1.3 Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated:
How has the lack of internal party democracy contributed to the intra party conflict in Imo state PDP between 2007 and 2016?
How has the absence of internal party democracy accounted for the defeat of the PDP at the polls during gubernatorial elections in Imo State between 2007 and 2016?
One of the fundamental challenges confronting women in every political system centers on the pervasive phenomenon of political alienation and domination of women by their male counterpart. From the local to global level, women’s leadership and political participation are restricted. Women are underrepresented as voters, as well as in leading positions whether in elected offices, the civil service, the private sector or academician. This occurs despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change and their right to participate equally in democratic governance. Women face several obstacles to participating in political life. Structural barriers through discriminatory laws and institutions still limit women’s options to run for offices. Over the years, the debilitating condition of gender inequality and discrimination against women in political participation and representation has given rise to the agitation for empowerment to enable an increase in their levels of political participation all over the world. In this regard, empowerment implies the creation of an enabling environment where individuals can fully use their capabilities to take charge of their lives. Women empowerment therefore, means investing in women’s right with legal backing, moral and financial support to enable women function effectively. Women empowerment also involves assessment of women’s needs and designing programmes to address those needs.
The increasing agitations for gender equality have raised intense academic discourse on poor participation of women in politics all over the world (Peterson & Ruyan, 1999: 48 & Akinboye, 2004:233). Women’s low political participation is a universal phenomenon (Waylen, 1996:11; Akinboye, op.cit:233; Lewu, 2005:62 &Rai, 2005). However the imperative of women participation in democratic governance cannot be over emphasized (Amadiume, 1997:81; Bruce, 2004:113; Babatunde, 2003; Bari, 2005). Sustainable democracy relies upon the equality and complementary participation of men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society through political processes (Sodaro, 2001:247, Anifowose, 2004:205; Akiyode-Afolabi&Arogundade, 2003). However, despite widespread democratization in most countries, women record poor participation in politics and decision making process across the world (Waylen, op.cit:10; Pokam, 2006; Henderson, 2006; Pascaud-Becane, 1999; Babatunde, op.cit; Anifowose, op.cit:204 & Bari, op.cit).
In Nigeria, although women constitute half the national population, the average representation of women in national politics has hardly ever been more than 3% (Ajayi, 2007:138; IPU, 2007; Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report, 2008). The challenge of women’s participation in Nigeria’s politics became worrisome following the country’s return to democracy in 1999. With the transfer of power from the military regime to a civilian democratic administration, one had expected a substantial improvement in women’s political participation in the country. On the contrary, the percentage increase in women’s political participation were 2%, 4% and 6% and women representation in the national parliament, 6.3%, 8.8% and 7.3% in 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections respectively (Okocha, 2007; Akioyede-Afolabietal, 2003; The Nigeria CEDAW NGO Coalition Shadow Report, op.cit:3 & Adu, 2008:27). It is obvious therefore, that the perception that democracy would automatically boost women’s political involvement in Nigeria has not been validated after several years of its return to civilian rule.
The foregoing indicated that alongside men’s political association in most parts of Nigeria, particularly in Igbo society, like in Enugu State, women also had their own well organized political groups which were solely managed by women leaders in various communities. For instance, in Enugu State, the Umuada at the community and village levels had appreciable political and economic influence through established associations that are well managed and solely run by them. “Their powers and influence go beyond issues that affect trade to issues of governance at the state level. Igbo women’s movement and some others in Southern Nigeria have struggled to maintain some respectable level of power and influence in their communities” (Garba, 1999:2).Women can be described as an indispensable group in the development of any nation. Women constitute a critical segment of the Nigerian population. Thus, “the population of women in the present day is estimated to over 55% of the total population of this country,” (Yahaya, 1999:132). Apart from their numerical strength, women have great potentials necessary to evolve a new economic order, to accelerate social and political development and constantly transforming the society into a better one.
Women are active in the agriculture and economic sectors of the society and have also contributed immensely to the decolonization and general development of Nigerian state. Olawoye (1985:18), describes Nigerian women “as a crucial factor of production”. According to him, women assume this status because they are largely responsible for the bulk production of crops, agro-base food processing, preservation of crops and distribution of yields from farm centers to urban areas”. Awe (1990:9), perceived the importance of women from their role as managers of home. She noted that “the peace and stability at homes depends largely on the managerial abilities of women folk. She stressed further that women, especially the mothers, plan, organize, direct and coordinated all the resources of the home both human and materials to the benefits of all the members of the family including their husbands”. Some of them occupy strategic positions in the governments where they have continued to prove their good character. For instance, “Dora Akunyili, Oby Ezekwesili of Due process fame, NdiOkereke Onyiuke, Ngozi OkonjoIwuala and Ambassador (Mrs.) Justina Eze, among others have undoubtedly distinguished themselves in their official assignments” (Okafor, 2010:9).
Notwithstanding, in Enugu State today, the issue of women empowerment and political representation have been a bone of contention. Since the advent of modern public administration in Enugu State, Cultural factors among others, have been a serious source of problems against the development of women politically and have continued to militate against the development and prominence of Enugu State women in their roles in politics. Enugu state politics and government have been dominated by men at all levels, not because there are no women fit to fill the positions but because most women think of political participation as irrelevant for them. Among the factors inhibiting women to take active part in political behaviors such as voting and contesting in elections is lack of proper enlightenment about politics and financial dependence among other factors.
It is therefore, in recognition of the above facts that gave light to the background of this study of Gender and politics participation in Enugu State between 1999 and 2016 and to seek ways on how to engender a balance in the political affairs of the state.
Statement of the Problem
Historical evidences in many societies, both during the ancient and modern periods support the idea of male domination over their female folks in many spheres of human endeavor. The literature on the subjugation of women to men’s domination knows no bound with such literature covering wide range of issues, including the body, class and work, disability, the family, globalization, human rights, culture, race and racism, reproduction, science, the self, sex, work, human trafficking and sexuality. Throughout ages and virtually in all cultures, women were rarely considered equal to their male counterparts. From the home as daughter, wife, and mother, through the school, office and church as student, employee and worshiper respectively, to the public sphere of life as in business and politics, women are known to have been discriminated, marginalized and dominated through the combination of gender-based cultural norms and practices which were in favour of men.
Since 1999 when the present civilian government came into power after a long period of military regime, women politicians in Enugu state like their other counterparts in other part of the federation have continued to express dismay over the low participation and alienation of women in the politics of the state. Consequently, in 2003 a female governorship aspirant, lauretta Aniagolu joined the race for the seat of governor in Enugu state. Unfortunately she was maneuvered in the party primary of the united Nigeria people party. She later joined the national conscience party and was defeated by her fellow aspirant Chimaroke Nnamani.
Therefore, the gap of the problem is on the issue of cultural disadvantage which might have impacted negatively on the women’s participation in politics and all sphere of life.
At best, women were strategically, through several means including cultural exclusion, reduced to the second fiddle offices of ‘deputy’ and ‘vice’. This development has raised several questions which remained largely unanswered, and has equally attracted many gender-related studies and intellectual discourse on gender-related matters. Against this background, this paper attempts to address some of these questions and thus, constitutes a gap-filling or gap-bridging in the ever increasing literature on gender studies in Nigeria.
1.3 Research Questions
To be able to find out the reason why women lag behind in political participation in Enugu state, the following questions have been put down as a guide.
Has gender been a barrier to political participation in Enugu State
Has cultural factors enforced the discrimination and marginalization against women over political participation in Enugu State?
Has money politic hindered women participation to elective political offices in Enugu state from 1999 to 2016?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of the study include:
To ascertain gender as a barrier in political participation in Enugu State?
To identify the cultural disadvantages associated with the women absence in participation in politics with their male counter parts.
To identify if the income status of women which hinders them from participating in elective offices in Enugu state between 1999 to 2016.
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study is designed to provide useful information and solution to the problems surrounding women participation in politics in Enugu state. It will correct all the notion and misconception that people of Enugu state have in terms of women and politics. The result of the study will make citizens of Enugu to understand that political participation is a civil obligation where both male and female have equal right and not meant for males alone.
This study will provide Nigerian women with the fundamental reliability and understanding of the women and political participation in Enugu state, thereby keeping them informed on the mechanisms suitable for the promotion of gender equality in political participation. Thus, this work will also be more beneficial to women, especially those who are aspiring for political positions. It will serve as a basis for building structures that will promote the aspirations of women on gender equality in political participation, this research work will also be beneficial to policy makers in general, thereby including more women into the decision making process.
Finally, this study will help to restore confidence in women, thereby building a sense of belonging in them to collaborate with their male counterpart in driving the economy of the state and also give reasons and hope to women for a better turn-up in political matters or issues.
1.6 Clarification of key concepts
The purpose of conceptual clarification is to clearly define terminologies to aid understanding for the purpose of this work. The following concepts will be defined for better understanding.
Gender: gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior, activities and attributes a particular society considers appropriate for men and women.
Gender Inequality: gender inequality refers to disparity between individuals due to gender
Women; women can be seen as an adult female person
Women’s Right: these are inalienable, integral and indivisible parts of universal human rights
Women Empowerment: this refers to the provision and availability of opportunity and services which enables women to actively participate and contribute to political, economic, social and cultural development of the nation.
Discrimination against women: discrimination is the practice of treating somebody or a particular group less fairly than the others. Discrimination of women stands as the practice of treating women less fairly than men in the society.
Politics: politics is the seizure of state power, consolidation of state power and usage of state power. It is also the art of governing especially the governing of a political entity such as a nation and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs.
Alienation: the concept of alienation is defined as the state of being withdrawn or isolated. It could be denying of someone’s right.
Culture: culture is defined as people’s way of life which includes their way of dressing, dancing, cooking, eating, greeting and speaking.
Political participation: political participation is a voluntary act which encompasses wide range of political activities, including voting at election, contesting for political and party offices, attending political rallies, joining political parties and many more.
Involvement; to engage in the interest of something.
1.7 Hypotheses
1. Gender inequality a barrier to political participation in Enugu state 1999-2016?
2. Cultural factors enforced discrimination and marginalization against women over political participation 1999-2016?
3. Money politics hindered women participation to contest for political offices in Enugu state 1999-2016?
The concept of Intergovernmental relations is associated with states having a Federal Administration system where the relationships between the Federal, Central or National Governmental and major sub-national unit (province, region or state) is formally spelt out in the constitution. Intergovernmental relations have been seen as a system of transactions among structured levels of government in a state. It is also seen as registration in which the parties are negotiating advantageous positions for power, money and problems-solving responsibility (Olugbemi: 1980).
The goals of intergovernmental relations are said to be to promote peace and harmony among the three tiers of government, which are the Federal, State and Local Government. This is to accelerate the achievement of a self-reliant economy. In so doing, inter-governmental relations will also help to minimize inter-jurisdictional conflicts among the various levels of government. Also it would help in boosting greater national economic integration through the activities of the three levels of government. Again to enhance the emergence of co-operative rather than competitive federation there is also need to enhance effective and efficient utilization of available human and material resources among the three levels of government as this would help in solving the problem of rural and urban poverty, also to achieve a situation where there is special need for integrating programmers on a nation wide scale. To look into the situation where states, local government or unit of the federal set up have responsibilities with no resources base to perform them (John Nwafor: Unpublished work).
The achievement of the objectives of inter-governmental relations is dependent on some social factors within the Nigerian social System. Some social factors include the political setting and the state of the economy in the nation. Looking at the political setting, the inter-governmental relation is basically based on the three tiers of government that is the Federal, State and Local Government. But looking at that, the Federal and State Government is said to have more autonomy than the local government due to the fact that they are the last tier of government (John Nwafor: Unpublished work). That is why local government is not given its full autonomy to do things on its own. The other tiers of the government still tell them what to do, how to make their own policies, how to elect/appoint those to rule them like the Chancellor or Chairman and so on. Local Government is still dependent on the other tiers of government making them too subordinate and loyal for my liking (Nwokedi, Ralph: 2002).
To this, there should be greater independence of the state and local governments in the Federal Government for their survival and performance of fundamental responsibilities. There should also be several reforms which should lead to the recognition of the local government as the third tier of government with relative autonomy and jurisdictional powers as provided for in the constitution.
Another problem is the state of the nation’s economy. The nation’s economy really influenced the nature and scope of intergovernmental relations in the local government in Nigeria. The wealth of any nation is a key factor in determining its pattern of material relation. Between 1960 and 1970, the basis of fiscal relations between the Federal, State and Local Government were richer and more powerful than the local government. But these problems will come to an end if the local government has greater control of the tax revenue. The local government should control 50% of the tax revenue allocation of its area without the Federal or State government interference. They should also receive grants and aids from outside and within the country, making them powerful and independent of their own. Their federation Allocation Account should be granted to them annually or monthly as the case may be. They should be allowed to run their affairs especially when it comes to monetary matters. (F Okoli and Onah O, 2002).
In so doing, channel of communication should be at its high level between the Federal, State and Local Government in order to produce an effective result. This is because without one another there would not be effectiveness due to the fact that an inter-governmental relation is a relationship between the three tiers of government.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
To appreciate the depth of crisis in the Federal system in Nigeria, one has to follow the recent trend of the raging controversy between the Federal and State Governments over the exercise of power or control of revenue resources of local government on how not to have assumed the undue Prominence given to it as a constitutional question if Nigerian Leaders, particularly at the Federal level had adhered strictly to the norms of federalism and followed the precedents established by the past democratic governments in Nigerian federation.
In Nigeria, the issue of sharing resources among the three levels of government has remained controversial due to lack of an acceptable formula. It generates tension and bad blood among the three tiers of government. This has resulted in setting up of different committees or commissions to prescribe the formular to be used. Also there exists a conflict between the Federal, State and Local government over acceptable formular for sharing revenue. For instance, the conflict is usually whether the principle of derivation, need, natural interest or landmass should be used as a basis for the purpose. Even when these principles may be generally accepted as the main basis for working out revenue allocation formular, conflict might arise following as to which of the principles takes precedence over others as the main criteria for sharing the revenue.
This is the problem of tax jurisdiction, which refers to the problem of which aspect of government should collect what revenue over a particular area. These have been serious problems between the Federal, State and Local Governments. Their share of tax revenue seriously affects local governments. They are the lowest level of government. Likewise they collect the least amount of tax revenue, which makes them still stagnant.
Another problem is the existence of control of one level of government by another in any aspect (Abonyi, 2005). The local government is dominated by the Federal and State governments. They do not have their own autonomy making them too dependent on the other levels of governments. Honorable mention must be made of the problem of finding the best method of channeling revenue from one level of government to another especially from the Federal to the Local Government. (Ugwu, 1998:90).
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The main objective of the study is to know if truly the local government has a clear autonomy within the three tiers of Nigerian government Nigeria,
Other objectives of the Study include
To determine the relevance of inter-governmental relations in Nigeria
To determine if the local government is independent and can work on its own.
To recommend measures required for an improved inter-governmental relations in Nigeria.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study will be of great benefit to local government administrators. This is because it will be expose the challenges it is facing in administering and fostering important inter-governmental relations which would help in ensuring full autonomy and making the local governments independent.
It would also be of great significance to researchers by way of making them aware of problems that have been uncovered by these researchers, so that they would know where to start from in their subsequent research work in the area of inter-governmental relations in Nigeria.
It would also be useful to university students like students of Godfrey Okoye University when doing a likely research. The study would be significant to policy makers and policy implementers, as they would make use of the findings and recommendations of this study.
This study is a modest attempt at a lucid explanation of the role of local government in Nigeria.
Nigerian local government system have witnessed tremendous transformation since the introduction of the 1988 civil service reforms one of the changes introduced at the local government is the direct payment of their statutory allocations which was also increased from 15%-20%, in addition, local government auditor was established by each sates government to ensure proper utilization of financial resources at the local level to avoid misappropriation of public fund. Also, all local governments now have a common structure which distinguish them from service department.
Local government at any level have some roles such as;
The maintenances of law and order, the promotion of economic
and social development etc. They are left with considerable freedom to actual will for the interest of the local community. Form the administrative point of view, the government as an agent of development is well placed to help the rural areas to develop. These can be done by investing in social and economic infrastructure such as; roads, hospitals, bridges, schools, electricity and telecommunication. The other essential duties inherited by native authorities include; water supplies, markets and libraries. We generally regard the convenience list as including those extra amenities which makes life better in the communities other than the stated ones. These include; creation of bus and lorry parks, the regulation of land cards on the streets, community recreation centers, parks and open spaces, grazing areas and fuel plantations, the naming of streets and the numbering of houses These are recognized automatically as the responsibility of the local government. They also help in service of parks control and water supply, electricity and gas, the provision of road of transport and any other trading undertaking that the state government authorizes.
The local government also take responsibility for health orientation and drug supplies, midwifery services arrangement of health visit and home nursing to provide facilities for immunization and vaccination.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM.
The local government is expected to become more active in facilitation social and economic development at the grassroots level. The local government is a potential social and economic booster if well equipped.
Although some factors like inadequate finance, lack of technical manpower, denial of autonomy militate against the efficient administration at the local level.
The local government despite these problems struggles to maintain a high standard in socio-economic development
The researchers want to identify those areas (roles) that the local government has excelled in terms of social and economic development using udi local government of enugu state as a case study
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
This study seeks to look at the contributions of local government in the economic and social development of rural areas in Nigeria using udi local government of enugu state as a case study.
This research is also indirectly aimed at identifying different factors militating against the effectiveness of local government administration and solutions to those problems identified. It will also make a recommend action on making local government an effective third tier of government and also making it a great manager of human and financial resources. The overall thrust of recommendation is how to ensure faithful administration of local government
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The research question will be based on the following;
i. Do local governments have any role to play in economic and social development in rural areas?
ii. What are the examples of such roles?
iii. To what extent has local government administration played it’s roles in rural areas?
iv. What are the effects of staff moral in the attainment of development objectives in local governments?
i. Are there any constraints that militate against the success of development process of local governments.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The need and important of the research is obvious. At a time when local government has come to assume on over whelming influence on the process of political and economic development, it becomes more relevant to examine much more closely the characters and dynamics of this third tier of government and to clarify the major contradiction that have tended to impede it’s capacity to promote development at the local level. However a scientific study of this kind become necessary especially at this time when the past and present civilian administration are particularly concerned abith rural development.
Finally, this study will generally aid to the growing number of literatures on local government affairs more particularly on the roles of local government administration in economic and social development of rural areas in Nigeria and pragmatic solutions offered towards making them more efficient and responsive to the needs of rural dweller and also to policy makes and researchers alike
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This research area and dimension of coverage is based only on the roles of local government administration in economic and social development of rural areas in Nigeria and to the staff, teachers farmers, businessmen/ women and artisans in udi local government area of Enugu state.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The researchers were affected by the usual constraints and problems common with similar researches in Nigeria.
Summarized below are some of the constraints,
Finance: in carrying out this research there was inadequate fund to carryout proper investigation in some areas that the researchers would have loved to.
Time: The time available for the research was limited coupled with the fact that there were other assignment to do and exam to prepare for.
Dearth of statistical data and information: As a result of lack of documental data and information there search finding appears to be written for easy understanding.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
This following terms have been defined for the purpose of this study
i. local government: this refers to a government at the local level
Exercised through representative councils established by law to Exercised specific functions within a defined geographical area
ii. development: this is a multidimensional process involving re-organization and re-orientation of the entire economic and social system in addition to improving income and quality
of life of the inhabitants of an areas it typically involve radical
changes in institutional social as well as popular attitude and sometimes even customs and beliefs.
iii council: this refers to that organ which constitute representation of people either elected or nominated.
(iii) Socio – economic development: This embraces improvement in not only the standard of living and capital perinccome but also in high level of employment reducing inflation, advocate provision of food, high in frastructures, stressing value rather than achievement.
(v) Objectives: This refers to those things that the researcher intends to achieves at the end of the research.
(iv) Programmers: This consists of essential integrated series of developmental projects that spans over a length of time or period