Rights Abuse as Root Causes of Political Violence in Nigeria

Rights Abuse as Root Causes of Political Violence in Nigeria by Andrew Abidemi Olugbenga Babalola MBA, Buckingham, 2003 BSC, Ibadan, 1984 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University May 2016 Abstract Ethnic division fueled by inadequate governance and uneven economic development has led some ethnic based groups to regard violence as a legitimate means to achieve political and social ends. The political disruption caused by ethnic militia related violence in Nigeria prevented the first 3 attempts at republican democracy. The purpose of this study was to analyze the role played by human rights abuse in Nigeria in the formation of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) in 1994, and to also analyze the OPC turning to violence in 1999. The theoretical construct of the study is the constructivist philosophy, which purports that people develop meanings based on personal feelings, tastes, and opinions from their experiences. The conceptual framework of human rights theory is used to analyze whether human rights abuses and material deprivation created conditions that encouraged violence. The central research question addressed whether the militarization of politics in Nigeria so abused the citizens’ political and personal rights that the human rights threshold was met, influencing the OPC to turn to violence as means to achieve political end. Interview data was collected from 15 founding members of the OPC to form themes and descriptions for the study. Results indicated that the incessant abuse of citizens’ political and personal rights led to a violent reaction after the July, 1998 death of Chief MKO Abiola, who died in military detention. This research contributed to social change by documenting that human rights abuse in Nigeria created a condition that led violence by those abused. Further, research recommendations, if implemented, can facilitate social change through increased stability in governance, reduced human carnage from terror activities, and improved personal economy of Nigerians.Ethnic division fueled by inadequate governance and uneven economic development has led some ethnic based groups to regard violence as a legitimate means to achieve political and social ends. The political disruption caused by ethnic militia related violence in Nigeria prevented the first 3 attempts at republican democracy. The purpose of this study was to analyze the role played by human rights abuse in Nigeria in the formation of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) in 1994, and to also analyze the OPC turning to violence in 1999. The theoretical construct of the study is the constructivist philosophy, which purports that people develop meanings based on personal feelings, tastes, and opinions from their experiences. The conceptual framework of human rights theory is used to analyze whether human rights abuses and material deprivation created conditions that encouraged violence. The central research question addressed whether the militarization of politics in Nigeria so abused the citizens’ political and personal rights that the human rights threshold was met, influencing the OPC to turn to violence as means to achieve political end. Interview data was collected from 15 founding members of the OPC to form themes and descriptions for the study. Results indicated that the incessant abuse of citizens’ political and personal rights led to a violent reaction after the July, 1998 death of Chief MKO Abiola, who died in military detention. This research contributed to social change by documenting that human rights abuse in Nigeria created a condition that led violence by those abused. Further, research recommendations, if implemented, can facilitate social change through increased stability in governance, reduced human carnage from terror activities, and improved personal economy of Nigerians. Rights Abuse as Root Causes of Political Violence in Nigeria by Andrew Abidemi Olugbenga Babalola MBA, Buckingham, 2003 BSC, Ibadan, 1984 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Policy and Administration Walden University May 2016 Dedication I dedicate this Ph.D. degree to my late father, Chief David Fabowale Babalola, and my late mother, Mrs. Rebecca Mogbonjubola Babalola, for their comprehensive efforts to raise me from birth in the early morning hours on Friday the 17 of February 1961 through to graduating from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria in June 1984. I will forever remain grateful to you both for your efforts at giving me good education, the basic tool that has seen me through life. Acknowledgements My gratitude goes to all the members of my family that tolerated me in the last 5 years of my enrollment at Walden University. I am indebted to Esther, Toun, Janet, and Funmilola Babalolas for standing by me through thick and thin. My appreciation also goes to the members of my committee for their support. I am particularly thankful to my committee chair, Dr. Sylvia Gage, for her unflinching support to see me through the dissertation process in good time. I cannot but be grateful to the Walden University for giving me the opportunity to earn a doctoral of philosophy degree online.