Comparative Politics of Nigeria

• Capital: Abuja• Currency: Naira (.01 US $)• Language: English• Population: 162.5 million• Government: Federal Republic

Background

• Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches

• Executive power- government• Legislative- House of Representatives &

Senate• Judicial- Supreme Courts and levels of

lower courts

Government Organization

• General Provisions: Supremacy of constitution, organization of gov, prohibition of state religion

• citizenship• Fundamental Rights: life, fair

hearing, expression, dignity, privacy, assembly, property, free thought,

• Legislative Branch• Executive Branch• Judicial Branch• Federal Capital Territory,

Abuja and supplementary provisions

Constitution

• Nigeria was a British colony until 1960.• The Nigerian People's Congress and National

Council of Nigerians and the Cameroons formed a conservative coalition opposed by the Action Group.

• Perceived government corruption and tensions between ethnicities led to a Civil War (1966-1970)

• Military Juntas ruled until 1979 and again from 1983-1998.

• In 1999 Olusegun Obasanjo converted the country to democratic rule.

Evolution of Politics

• President- Goodluck Jonathan• VP- Namadi Sambo • Minister of Finance- Ngozi

Okonjo-Oweala• Minister of Petroleum

Resources- Diezani Alison-Madeuke

• Ambassador to the US- Adebowale Adefuye

• Minister of Power- Bart Nnaji

Leaders

Ethnic Cleavage• Ethnic cleavage is the national, ethnic, linguistic, and

religious divisions that affect political allegiances and policies.

• Ethnic cleavage pits groups against one another because of their differences.

• In Nigeria, a country with three different ethnic groups with different religions, ethnic cleavage has led to increased tensions.

• The three ethnic groups are: Hausa-Fulani Muslims, Igbo Christians, and Yoruba Christians.

• Christians and Muslims struggle with religious differences.• There is much friction between the regions because the

three regions are dominated by their respective ethnic groups.

Political Parties• There are currently three major political parties struggling

for power in Nigeria, although there are over 60 parties registered with the country.

• The three major parties are: the All People’s Party, the People’s Democratic Party, and the Alliance for Democracy.

• Internal fighting within the parties has led to weakness in the Nigerian government.

• All the parties are suffering from political infighting, especially over leaders of the party.

• This factionalism has weakened the stability of the already fragile Nigerian government.

Citizens• There are approximately 15 million people in Nigeria.• 43% are aged 0-14, 54% are aged 15-64, and 3% are 65

and over.• The life expectancy at birth is 52 years.• The mean years of education of adults are 5 years.• The estimated population growth rate of Nigeria was

2.553%.• 29% of the population are Hausa-Fulani, 21% are Yoruba,

18% are Igbo.• The rest are other assorted ethnic groups.• The literacy rate of Nigeria is 61.3%.• There are only .395 physicians per 1000 people.• 50% of the population lives in an urban area.

HDI Trends 2005-Present

Interest Groups• Organized interest groups play a key role in national politics.

Professional associations, trade unions, the media, student associations, and women’s organizations are all interest groups in Nigeria.

• These groups provided important channels of access to the government when it was under the direct control of the military.

• The Nigerian Bar Association has been at the forefront of protecting human rights and following the rule of law.

• The Nigerian Labor Congress (the largest union in the country) has organized strikes in the past but has recently faced problems of infighting.

• There is a large degree of freedom of the press. Therefore, the media has acted as a channel for the other interest groups to voice their concerns.

• Historically, Nigeria has had the most free and outspoken press among all the African countries. However, it also has been consistently the target of harassment by the past military dictatorships and recently under the governance of Umaru Musa Yar'Adua.• Radio and TV have had difficulties to reach large numbers of people, due to government restrictions, and also technical and geographical limitations. However, these are being nowadays worked around thanks to Satellite TV.• Due to the low internet usage (because of lack of affordable computers and internet service), the most common media are the radio and newspapers.• The government has a history of high influence in the media, therefore in their citizens' way of thinking

Role of Media

• The economy of Nigeria has been based on agriculture for a long time. About 70% of the workforce is still engaged in farming (mostly subsistence type). The chief crops are cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice... In addition, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs are raised.

• Petroleum is the leading mineral produced in Nigeria and provides about 95% of foreign exchange earnings and the majority of government revenues. Other minerals extracted include tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, columbite, lead, zinc, and gold.

• Industry in Nigeria includes the processing of agricultural products and minerals. Fishing and forestry are also important to the economy, and there is small commercial shipbuilding and repair sector.

• Except when oil prices are low, Nigeria generally earns more from exports than it spends on imports. The United States is by far the largest trading partner, followed by China, Brazil, Spain, and Great Britain.

Economic System

Nigeria exports

• Nigeria has been recently a very active participant in the U.N., especially in peacekeeping missions.

• A notable Nigerian intervention was the one at the Democratic Republic of Congo, action that introduced the country to worldwide politics.

• Its role in international affairs influenced the decolonization of many African countries, and the eradication of apartheid and racism.

• In 1977, Nigeria hosted a United Nations conference in its most populous city, Lagos.

• The country has represented the African continent at the UN Security Council three times

• It also chaired the UN Anti-Apartheid Committee from 1970 until 1994, when the committee ended its work.

Role and Participation in the UN

Lagos

Trade unions in Nigeria, though reluctantly established, have sought to address

employment issues like work conditions, wages, gender equity... However, Niegria

still has some issues. For instance, it ranks among the lowest of Comparable

African countries for minimum wage. (Nigeria has a high cost of living, yet low

minimum wage).

The government is working with UNICEF to tackle the literacy problem in the

country. The literacy level in Nigeria among citizens aged 45-49 years is 32%, less

than half the level of those 15-19 years, at 67%.

Currently, the government is committed to the elimination of poverty in the

country, yet many citizens still struggle to survive on meager earnings from

employment.

• Nigeria has the highest number of citizens still living below $2 a day compared to other

regional African countries; fully one third (34%) live below the national poverty line.

• Just 37% of Nigeria’s citizens have the probability of surviving beyond the age of 40.

Public Policy