CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Political parties are the channels in which democratic process emanates. Their primary responsibilities are to, among other things, recruit and prepare candidates for elections. They check the excesses of government policies and programmes by serving as opposition to a ruling party. And importantly, they are involved in political education of the citizenry, especially in developing countries (Abdullahi, 2007).
However, since the inception of the present democratic rule in 1999, political party organizations were transformed into a battle field characterized by hatred, enmity, victimization and suspicion resulting from bitter struggles among party members in their quest to achieve public and/or personal interests. The inordinate ambition of some of the party stalwarts has created political problems in the polity. According to Elaigwu cited in Albert (2003) many of the politicians had neither understood the "rules of the game" nor had they accepted them. For many of them, politics was not a game, it was a "battle". As the rules were blatantly violated, party politics became a dangerous "game" for the atmosphere and the political arena became so polluted that in the absence of any form of ventilation, it endangered the lives of the players as well as spectators.
The parties that were established came into being through a rushed process in order to get the military to hand over power. The strong urge to get the soldiers out of governance took the priority position and there was little time to form parties that were genuinely democratic (IDEA, 2000). The parties reflected a combination of different tendencies with little or no shared ideological commitments. What is perhaps worthy of note is that these parties are essentially composed of strange bedfellows, relations are mostly informed by self-interest of the amalgamating associations, hence a weak internal cohesion (Muhammad, 2006).
The Nigerian situation, exhibiting a dearth of ideology especially following the recognition of a harvest of parties, and close to the 2003 elections saw aspirants carpet crossing from one party to another for the flimsy and often selfish reasons to satisfy their ambitions. This presented them with a situation where those joined the party in the last minute were gunning for the post of governor and president (Okoosi Simbine, 2004) Nigerian politicians are yet to cultivate the politics of accommodation that is partially practiced in the developed Western democracies. The ulterior motive for contesting elections is primarily self-aggrandizement. Politicians sought office more for ambition and selfish interest than to serve the people.
The way politics is played within parties between 1999 and 20015 explains the character of inter and intra-party relations among the registered political parties in the country. As at last count, over 30 political parties were recognized by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest elections into various political posts. In order not to overstretch the limits of this study, the parties can be grouped into major and minor parties. With regard to party crises, while the APGA, AD and APC, experienced low-level crises, the PDP, which was the ruling party, tends to be having the most threatening spates of fragmentation both at the state and national levels. How else can one explain the crisis within the Anambra State PDP in July 2003, where factions have resorted to using all means possible including the abduction of the state governor, destruction of property and using the instrumentality of police? "This is even worsened by the inability of the Nigerian State to deploy its coercive power to restore normalcy in that state" (Muharnmed, op. cit). Just as the PDF reels from one crisis to another, same applies to other parties as the APC, AD and APGA have at various times been engulfed by series of crises which, in some cases, resulted in the defection of some of their members to other parties. As regards inter-party relations, there is no denying the fact that (they are) more of a cat-and-mouse game. While the ruling PDP is wary and critical of any move or opinion by other parties, so are other parties at every available opportunity raining invectives on the PDP-led government. (The Punch, October 9, 2003). It needs be noted that those parties (AD, APGA and APC) together with minor parties such as (NCP, MDJ, JP and PAC) formed an umbrella association called, Congress of all Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) which serves as a platform for opposing policies and programmes of the ruling party which they consider inimical to good governance.
While politics of opposition parties is part and parcel of the political process in a democracy, in Nigeria this has continued to be played along a dangerous path even to the point of constituting a threat to the democratic project. Even at the state level, the situation is not in any way different and is at times worse than what obtains at the national level. This is because, inter-party relations in some states often take the form of violent confrontations among party faithful, leading to the destruction of lives and property of citizens. That was the case in states such as Lagos, Kwara, Borno, Ekiti, Rivers and Edo, among others, prior to the 2003 general elections and even after the elections (Lawal, 2005). These situations, are unhealthy in a context where parties are expected to assist in integrating a fragmented society, engender political communication and be in the vanguard for the realization of the much-desired dividends of democracy by the citizens. It is in view of the foregoing that this present study intends to examine party conflicts in Nigeria and their implications towards democratic consolidation using the events between 1999 and 2015 as a focal point of analysis. This study will therefore assess the impact of internal party democracy on political party performance in Nigeria by using All Progressives Congress as a case study.
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 et al, 2014). Therefore, enhancing democratic process since the launch of the fourth democratic dispensation has also been a daunting task in the country. After decades long colonial rule, military rule and epileptic democratic surge, it was expected that the new democratic dispensation would create an avenue for the maximization of democracy 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 cases of internal conflicts among them, resulting to the enmeshment of intra-party conflicts in the fabric of political parties. In the spate of this, intra-party conflicts in Nigeria have reduced political parties to a “liability than an asset to the common man and the system at large (Omotola, 2010: 141)”. Amidst these, the People’s Democratic Party has unfortunately remained the carrier of such odious legacies of internal crisis. Since its establishment, it has demonstrated wide ranges of internal conflicts, thus creating the necessity for the study of the political party. Therefore, through the employment of qualitative analysis obtained through relevant secondary data materials such as textbooks, magazines, online materials, articles and journals among others.
1.3 Research Questions
This research will be carried out to answer the following research questions:
i) What is the circumstance leading to the formation of political party and its impact on internal democracy of the party?
ii) What are the programmes of the party with a view of establishing their relevance to democratic governance?
iii) Are these programmes and policies were implemented with a view to enhance democratic governance?
1.4 Objectives of the Study
The aim of this research is to assess the impact of internal party democracy on political party performance in Nigeria by using All Progressives Congress as a case study. However, the specific objectives of the study are:
i) To identify the circumstance leading to the formation of political party and its impact on internal democracy of the party
ii) To understand the programmes of the party with a view of establishing their relevance to democratic governance
iii) To examine the programmes and policies that were implemented with a view to enhance democratic governance
Research Hypothesis
Ho: There is no significant relationship between Internal Party Democracy and Political Party Performance in Nigeria.
Hi: There is a significant relationship between Internal Party Democracy and Political Party Performance in Nigeria.
1.5 Significance of the Study
This work has two aspect of significance: firstly, it will theoretically increase the existing body of knowledge in the scholarship on political parties and democratic governance in Nigeria. Secondly, the research will practically be of immense value to political leaders and policy makers in Nigeria and will also enlighten and educate the masses on responsibility of parties in democratic governance by so doing; it will go a long way in providing practical solution to some of the problems of political parties in Nigeria democratic system. Equally, the study will serve as a contribution to the measures to be taken to enhance sustainable democracy in Nigeria. Finally the study will serve as a motivation for further inquiry in the area of political parties and governance in Nigeria.
1.6 The Scope of the Study
The scope of this study will cover essentially the role of political parties in democratic governance in Nigeria from 1999 to 2015. The study will also ex-ray the part played by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the ruling party during the period.
1.7 Limitations of the Study
The work is limited to library research and other documented materials.
