THE PURSUIT OF MATERIAL INTEREST AND PROLIFERATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN NIGERIA, 1999─2013 (Published)
Ideology constitutes a roadmap for the operations of viable political parties in a democratic society. It is the most outstanding yardstick for differentiating amongst political parties in a multi-party democracy. The enthronement of civilian rule in May 1999 heralded the proliferation of political parties which are either ideologically sterile or indistinguishable in Nigeria. This tendency is often associated with the urge to widen the political space for democratic opportunities and development. Nonetheless, this paper argued that the multiplication of such parties in Nigeria is essentially driven by insatiable pursuit of private material interest of their members. Thus, anchoring analysis within the paradigmatic orientation of the Marxist Political Economy, the paper examined the role of private material interest on the proliferation of non-ideology-based political parties in the country. Amongst other things, the paper recommended that the formation of parties and political contestations should be defined purely by political ideology.
Keywords: Marxist Political Economy, Material Interest, Political Ideology, Political Parties
Opposition Parties and Democratization in Nigeria, 2007-2013: A Diagnostic Assessment (Review Completed - Accepted)
Politics is a struggle of contending ideological viewpoints for the allocation and distribution of resources. Political parties are at the center of politics as modern democracy is unthinkable in the absence of viable political parties and the interplay of party politics that characterize the polity. This paper therefore examines the role of opposition political parties in political re-engineering of Nigerian state and the impact of absence of internal democracy on the electoral performance of the opposition parties in Nigeria. An attempt is also made to analyze the recent merger between the opposition political parties. The study adopts qualitative method of data gathering and uses theory of the post-colonial state. Hence, this paper argues that the opposition parties’ inability to offer itself as alternative government in Nigeria today lies in their weak institutionalization and ideology drought, which results in an increasing disconnect between citizens and their elected leaders, and a decline in political activism. It recommends that the formation and merger of future opposition political parties should follow a micro natural evolution and patriotic commitment; and that opposition politics in the context of inter party relations in Nigeria needs a total overhaul through proactive and agenda setting governance policy engagement and commitments.
Keywords: Democracy, Election, Inter-Party Politics, Nigeria, Political Parties