title: Democracy and Good Governance in a multi-ethnic society: Nigeria as a Case Study. A grassroot study of Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani in Nigeria 1999-2011
title: Demokratie und "Good Governance" in einer multiethnischen Gesellschaft : Nigeria als Fallstudie
Creators: name: Okoro, Cyprian Friday
Publisher: name: Philipps-Universität Marburg
Year: 2014
Subjects: Democracy
Multikulturelle Gesellschaft
Good Governance
Politik
Multi-Ethnic Society
Demokratie

description: The “ethnic contraption of Nigerian
      state” was a natural creation, but exploited by the British
      through colonisation, and then propagated by the ethnic
      nationalities therein through the internally entrenched
      mindsets. The divergence in political mindset derives from
      her multi-ethnic composition, which created a non solid but
      soluble political environment. This environment so created
      and the actors in it, both active and non active attract the
      attention of scholars who want to probe the continuing poor
      returns in the democratic adventures of the country. I probed
      into the fundamental issues responsible for her poor runs on
      the democratic tracks and the premise was based on the
      perspectives of people within the three ethnic groups under
      study, as well as through the exploratory works of Donald L
      Horowitz, and Clifford Geertz which I call the Horowitz-
      Geertz framework. A strong ethno-political mindset among the
      three nationalities of Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa-Fulani stood
      as the nucleus of this study. The mindset is evident in their
      political philosophies, their membership of the registered
      political parties, their open and discreet political rivalry,
      and their pattern of political argument. I found also that
      the political philosophies of the various personalities in
      the first republic of 1960-1965, and the second republic of
      1979-1983 still dominate the present democratic process, from
      1999 to 2011, though with minimal difference noticeable only
      in the personalities within the political parties. I found
      that some of the major political parties still draw their
      bulk of supporters or members from the ethnic groups where
      the parties are formed, particularly in the Yorubaland and
      the Igboland. Parties are ethnically based and so won
      elections within the three ethnic regions. I found as well
      that the people from these three ethnic groups viewed their
      political rivalry as normal. Just as the people believed that
      they are members of their ethnic groups first, and Nigeria
      identity as a matter of coincidence. I found that the issue
      of ethnic mindset is both internally as well as externally
      influenced. This contributed to the persistent violent ethnic
      influenced crises among the three ethnic groups under review.
      I found also that lack of good governance created deep
      resentment and distrust of the political class by the masses.
      I established that the negative ethnic mindset and other
      internally entrenched contingencies combined to sustain the
      ethnic divide among the three nationalities, and thereby
      impede the success of democracy in the country. From 1999 up
      until 2011, development performances by the elected officials
      are state specific. Unlike in the pre-independence era and
      also during the first republic of 1960-1965, where
      development was purely regional dependent, and rivalry among
      the three ethnic groups was based on developmental
      performance. In spite of the inheritance of the same colonial
      political legacy by the three ethnic nationalities of Igbo,
      Yoruba, and Hausa-Fulani, the discovered political
      apprehension within the groups, detailed how ethnic mindset
      makes nonsense of democratic politics in the country, and
      constitute the basis for the poor run that has held down
      democratic politics in Nigeria. I found also that the
      political philosophies of the various personalities in the
      first republic of 1960-1965, and the second republic of
      1979-1983 still dominate the present democratic process, from
      1999 to 2011, though with minimal difference noticeable only
      in the personalities within the political parties. I found
      that some of the major political parties still draw their
      bulk of supporters or members from the ethnic groups where
      the parties are formed, particularly in the Yorubaland and
      the Igboland. Parties are ethnically based and so won
      elections within the three ethnic regions. I found as well
      that the people from these three ethnic groups viewed their
      political rivalry as normal. Just as the people believed that
      they are members of their ethnic groups first, and Nigeria
      identity as a matter of coincidence. I found that the issue
      of ethnic mindset is both internally as well as externally
      influenced. This contributed to the persistent violent ethnic
      influenced crises among the three ethnic groups under review.
      I found also that lack of good governance created deep
      resentment and distrust of the political class by the masses.
      I established that the negative ethnic mindset and other
      internally entrenched contingencies combined to sustain the
      ethnic divide among the three nationalities, and thereby
      impede the success of democracy in the country. From 1999 up
      until 2011, development performances by the elected officials
      are state specific. Unlike in the pre-independence era and
      also during the first republic of 1960-1965, where
      development was purely regional dependent, and rivalry among
      the three ethnic groups was based on developmental
      performance. In spite of the inheritance of the same colonial
      political legacy by the three ethnic nationalities of Igbo,
      Yoruba, and Hausa-Fulani, the discovered political
      apprehension within the groups, detailed how ethnic mindset
      makes nonsense of democratic politics in the country, and
      constitute the basis for the poor run that has held down
      democratic politics in Nigeria. I found also that the
      political philosophies of the various personalities in the
      first republic of 1960-1965, and the second republic of
      1979-1983 still dominate the present democratic process, from
      1999 to 2011, though with minimal difference noticeable only
      in the personalities within the political parties. I found
      that some of the major political parties still draw their
      bulk of supporters or members from the ethnic groups where
      the parties are formed, particularly in the Yorubaland and
      the Igboland. Parties are ethnically based and so won
      elections within the three ethnic regions. I found as well
      that the people from these three ethnic groups viewed their
      political rivalry as normal. Just as the people believed that
      they are members of their ethnic groups first, and Nigeria
      identity as a matter of coincidence. I found that the issue
      of ethnic mindset is both internally as well as externally
      influenced. This contributed to the persistent violent ethnic
      influenced crises among the three ethnic groups under review.
      I found also that lack of good governance created deep
      resentment and distrust of the political class by the masses.
      I established that the negative ethnic mindset and other
      internally entrenched contingencies combined to sustain the
      ethnic divide among the three nationalities, and thereby
      impede the success of democracy in the country. From 1999 up
      until 2011, development performances by the elected officials
      are state specific. Unlike in the pre-independence era and
      also during the first republic of 1960-1965, where
      development was purely regional dependent, and rivalry among
      the three ethnic groups was based on developmental
      performance. In spite of the inheritance of the same colonial
      political legacy by the three ethnic nationalities of Igbo,
      Yoruba, and Hausa-Fulani, the discovered political
      apprehension within the groups, detailed how ethnic mindset
      makes nonsense of democratic politics in the country, and
      constitute the basis for the poor run that has held down
      democratic politics in Nigeria. I found also that the
      political philosophies of the various personalities in the
      first republic of 1960-1965, and the second republic of
      1979-1983 still dominate the present democratic process, from
      1999 to 2011, though with minimal difference noticeable only
      in the personalities within the political parties. I found
      that some of the major political parties still draw their
      bulk of supporters or members from the ethnic groups where
      the parties are formed, particularly in the Yorubaland and
      the Igboland. Parties are ethnically based and so won
      elections within the three ethnic regions. I found as well
      that the people from these three ethnic groups viewed their
      political rivalry as normal. Just as the people believed that
      they are members of their ethnic groups first, and Nigeria
      identity as a matter of coincidence. I found that the issue
      of ethnic mindset is both internally as well as externally
      influenced. This contributed to the persistent violent ethnic
      influenced crises among the three ethnic groups under review.
      I found also that lack of good governance created deep
      resentment and distrust of the political class by the masses.
      I established that the negative ethnic mindset and other
      internally entrenched contingencies combined to sustain the
      ethnic divide among the three nationalities, and thereby
      impede the success of democracy in the country. From 1999 up
      until 2011, development performances by the elected officials
      are state specific. Unlike in the pre-independence era and
      also during the first republic of 1960-1965, where
      development was purely regional dependent, and rivalry among
      the three ethnic groups was based on developmental
      performance. In spite of the inheritance of the same colonial
      political legacy by the three ethnic nationalities of Igbo,
      Yoruba, and Hausa-Fulani, the discovered political
      apprehension within the groups, detailed how ethnic mindset
      makes nonsense of democratic politics in the country, and
      constitute the basis for the poor run that has held down
      democratic politics in Nigeria.
description: Die "ethnische Neuschöpfung des
      Staates Nigeria" war eine folgerichtige Entwicklung, die von
      den Briten durch deren Kolonisation erreicht wurde und
      anschließend von den ansässigen ethnischen Gruppen mit ihren
      tief verwurzelten eigenen Geisteshaltungen, Denkweisen und
      Traditionen propagiert wurde. Die Zersplitterung der
      politischen Ideale von einer Nation hat ihren Ursprung in der
      multikulturellen Zusammensetzung der Gesellschaft, die ein
      unsolides und leicht auflösbares politisches Umfeld und Klima
      hervorgerufen hat. Ich fand heraus, dass die politischen
      Ideen der verschiedenen Persönlichkeiten der ersten Republik
      von 1960-1965 und der zweiten Republik von 1979-1983 immer
      noch die gegenwärtigen demokratischen Prozesse prägen,
      wenngleich sie vor allen Dingen bei den Akteuren der
      politischen Parteien zu Tage treten. Die großen politischen
      Parteien rekrutieren immer noch den Großteil ihrer
      Unterstützer aus Mitgliedern der ethnischen Gruppen in denen
      die Parteien gebildet wurden, insbesondere im Yorubaland und
      im Igboland. Die Parteien werden auf der Basis ethnischer
      Zugehörigkeit gebildet und so gewinnen sie die Wahlen in
      ihren jeweiligen ethnischen Regionen. Ich fand auch heraus,
      dass die Menschen aus diesen drei ethnischen Gruppen ihre
      politische Rivalität als normal ansehen. So wie die Menschen
      glauben, dass sie in erster Linie Mitglieder ihrer ethnischen
      Gruppen sind und ihre nigerianische Identität eher als eine
      Sache des Zufalls angesehen wird. Ich fand auch, dass der
      Mangel an guter Regierungsführung in der Bevölkerung tiefen
      Groll und Misstrauen gegenüber der politischen Klasse
      verursacht. Ich habe festgestellt, dass die negative
      ethnische Denkweise und andere versteckte Zufälligkeiten die
      ethnische Kluft zwischen den drei Nationalitäten erhalten,
      und so den Erfolg der Demokratie im Land behindern. Von 1999
      bis 2011 galten Entwicklungsleistungen durch die gewählten
      Volksvertreter für den gesamten Staat. Anders als in der Zeit
      vor der Unabhängigkeit und auch während der ersten Republik
      von 1960-1965 , in der Entwicklung rein regional abhängig war
      und die Rivalität zwischen den drei ethnischen Gruppen sich
      auf die Entwicklungs-Leistung beschränkte. Trotz des gleichen
      politischen und kolonialen Erbes der drei ethnischen
      Nationalitäten der Igbo , Yoruba , Hausa und Fulani - , führt
      die aufgezeigte politische Besorgnis innerhalb der Gruppen
      vor Augen, wie eine ethnisch geprägte Geisteshaltung
      demokratische Politik im Land behindert. Diese Besorgnis
      bildet die Grundlage für das schlechte Ansehen, das die
      Politik in Nigeria genießt.