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1 ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: Democracy and Good Governance ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: 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 Cyprian Friday Okoro, (Dr. phil), Political Science, 2012 Dissertation co-supervised by: Professor Dirk Berg-Schlosser Department of Political Science, and Professor Claudia Derichs Department of Political Science 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. 1 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. 2 DEMOCRACY AND GOOD GOVERNANCE IN A MULTI-ETHNIC SOCIETY: NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY. A Grassroot Study of the Igbo, Yoruba and the Hausa-Fulani Ethnic Nationalities By Cyprian Friday Okoro Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities of the Philipps University Marburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Political Science and Social Sciences 2012 Advisory Committee: Professor Dirk Berg-Schlosser Professor Claudia Derichs 3 © Cyprian Friday Okoro 2012 4 Dedication I wish to dedicate this study to My Late Parents Okoro Agwu Nwaijah and Late Grace Ekeowu Okoro, both of Amata/Amagu Mgbom Autonomous Community, Okposi, Ohaozara Local Government Area, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. 5 Acknowledgement: I sincere wish to thank my Brothers Professor Francis Aja Okorie Agwu, Pharm Ogbonnaya Okorafor, Anthony Iruka Okoro, and My Cousins Stephen Agwu. Hon Ogbonnaya Okorie Akpoke, Barrister Ogbonnaya Akuma, and also some of my Friends Emeka Charles Anagu, Remiginus Opara, Cajethan Obiwulu, Eze Ogwe, Franklin Odoemenam. I am sincerely grateful to my able and dependable Supervisors, Professor Dirk Berg- Schlosser, and Professor Claudia Derichs, both of the Philipps University Marburg, Germany. Also, Professor Wolfgang Platzer, Professor Volker Hinnenkamp, Professor Bolinga, Professor Hentges, all of the Hochschule Fulda, Frau Maria Akinduro, Professor Adebayo, Professor Gbenga Odunuga. I thank of them for the moral support and words of encouragement throughout my study years starting from my undergraduate years at the University of Ibadan to this moment. I want to also express my deep heart-felt gratitude to all members and staffs of the Faculty of Humanities, and particularly the Department of Political Science Philipps University Marburg, the Faculty of Cultural and social sciences, Hochschule Fulda, the Faculty of Arts and particularly Department of European Studies University of Ibadan, as well as the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Osnabrueck, Germany. The Nigerian Community in Germany under the Nigerians in Diaspora (NIDOE-Germany), Katholische Hochschulgemeinde Fulda (KHG-Fulda), and also Evangelisches Schulgemeinde (ESG-Fulda). I am particularly grateful for the financial support from the two Christian organisations. I pray that God will continue to protect and prospers your work for the good of mankind. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………..10 List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………........14 List of Maps…………………………………………………………………………………16 Synopsis…………………………………………………………………………………….18 Chapter 1: Theoretical Problem and Framework…………………………………21 Theoretical Issues………………………………………………………………......27 The Choice of Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa-Fulani as a Case for ethno-political Difference in a multi-ethnic society study………………………………………..29 Theoretical Questions and Hypotheses…………………………………………..31 Some of the Existing Literatures on Ethnic Differences and Democracy Reviewed in their Theoretical Perspectives……………………………………..38 Ethnicity and Nigerian Perspective..................................................................44 Ethnic and tribal groups in Nigeria..………………………………………………46 Democracy……………………………………………………………………….....49 Critic of principles of democracy…………………………………………………..51 Chapter II: Methodology………………………………………………………………....57 Selection of the Nationalities for Describing the ethnic configuration of Nigerian State………………………………………………………………………………....57 Selection of the Independent Variables………………………………………….60 Tools for Inquiry into pattern of ethnic relation, rank and unranked society: H-G Scheme………………………………………………………………………………63 Influenced relation among unranked ethnic groups in a political field………...65 Data and their Sources…………………………………………………………….65 Process of Data collection…………………………………………………………69 Reflecting on the empirical field…………………………………………………..70 Interpretation Paradigm…………………………………………………………....71 Chapter III: The Geography and Ecology: Geography, Ecology, Homelands, and Peoples………………………………………………………………………………………74 Conceptualising Nigeria……………………………………………………………78 People……………………………………………………………………………….84 Hausa-Fulani………………………………………………………………………..84 Yoruba……………………………………………………………………………….84 Igbo…………………………………………………………………………………..84 Other Ethnic groups………………………………………………………………..85 Natural fragmentation and landscape……………………………………………87 The Igbo in Eastern region………………..……………………………………….96 The Yoruba in Western region………………….……………………………….109 The Hausa-Fulani in Northern region…………………………………………...126 Population………………………………………………………………………….138 Ethnic, Religious, and Political Interpretation of Nigeria’s Population………141 Traditional political Institutions and democracy in Nigeria……………………152 Chapter Summation………………………………………………………………154 7 Chapter IV: Ethnic Mindset and Politics in Nigeria…………………………….………159 Frames and their meanings………………………………….…………….160 Nigerian Factor: the old order……………………………………………...166 Nigerian factor and Politics: the new order……..………………………..171 Political parties and Ethno-political interests………….………………….172 Question and Hypothesis…………………………………………………..175 Section B. Chapter V: Research Design and Operationalisation of the variables………………177 Respondents compared…………………………………………………….179 Case Study Areas of Enugu, Kano, and Abeokuta………………………180 Electoral Demography in the Igbo nation………………………………….190 The Igbo and ethnic influenced mindset…………………………………..192 Political reference point of the Igbo………………………………………..199 Voting pattern of the Igbo…………………………………………………...202 The Northern region…………………………………………………………209 Hausa-Fulani and the dilemma of ethnic influenced mindset…………..212 Voting pattern of the Hausa-Fulani………………………………………...216 The Western region………………………………………….………………224 Voting pattern of the Yoruba………………………………………………..226 Ethnic mindset and frames in Yorubaland………………………………..228 Yoruba political philosophy and democracy in Nigeria………………….229 Comparative of features from the three
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