DOCSLIB.ORG

Electoral Credibility and the Prospects of Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria: the Role of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Electoral Credibility and the Prospects of Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria: the Role of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) www.idosr.org Udu ©IDOSR PUBLICATIONS International Digital Organization for Scientific Research ISSN: 2579-082X IDOSR JOURNAL OF BANKING, ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 4(1): 13-24, 2019. Electoral Credibility and the Prospects of Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria: The Role of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Larry E. Udu Department of Public Administration Ebonyi State University ABSTRACT The paper examines the power and responsibilities of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in electoral administrations in the country and the implications of the institution's under-performance on democratic consolidation in Nigeria. Content Analytical Approach was adopted and the systems theory propounded by David Easton was used as theoretical foundation. The paper reveals that there has been fundamental and institutional constraints which subject INEC to government/political manipulations, a situation that is inimical for democratic consolidation in the country. INEC performance in the 2015 general elections notwithstanding, the body ought to be autonomous in all ramifications so as to be able to discharge its duties impartially and responsibly and hence, consolidate democracy in Nigeria by the instrumentality of credible elections. Keywords: INEC, electoral, credibility, democratic consolidation and Nigeria. INTRODUCTION Elections are fundamentally the central institution of democratic Be that as it may, experiences over governments. This is because, in an the years, have shown that, despite ideal democracy, the authority of the painstaking efforts at electoral government derives purely from the reforms in Nigeria, the electoral consent of the electorate; hence, the institution (INEC) has not been truly principal platform for securing and independent, rather, it has operated translating that consent into like a parastatal of the executive or governmental authority results from ruling party of the time and this, periodically conducting credible results to high level electoral elections. Essentially, a malpractices which threaten democratic and credible election democratic consolidation in the are characterized by competitive, country. This paper contends that periodic, inclusive, definitive and the independence of INEC as transparently free and fair provided by the 1999 constitution of process; otherwise, the outcome the federal republic of Nigeria is would be enthronement of an grossly defective and as such, the illegitimate government which has requisite independence status of negative implications for the commission is not properly democratic consolidation. To achieve safeguarded. The defect is this, an independent electoral reflected in the clear lack of political process is critical and electoral will to protect the integrity of the institutions must be truly Nigerian electoral process [1]. independent of the executive or ruling party in all ramifications. 13 IDOSR JOURNAL OF BANKING, ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 4(1): 13-24, 2019. www.idosr.org Udu The Cardinal Objectives of This Paper are Section 1 captures the introduction and to:Identify factors that constitute electoral theoretical foundation of the paper; credibility; Assess the contributions of the section two dwells on the classification of INEC in ensuring electoral credibility and key concepts while section three deals democratic consolidation in Nigeria with the methodology employed in the against the backdrop of its avowed paper. Sections four discusses the mandates; and Examine the challenges of Role/mandates of the INEC, its historicity the INEC in living up to its expected and prospects of democratic consolidation responsibilities as electoral umpire in in Nigeria under INEC leadership. Section Nigeria five rapts up the paper with conclusion The paper is divided into five sections. and recommendations. THEORETICAL FOUNDATION David Easton was the first political system is an activity in which input scientist to develop a system framework from the environment are converted for political analysis [2]; [3]. Extrapolated into outputs through the from the biological sciences, a system can authoritative allocation of values. be seen as a set of interrelated elements or Consequently, as delineated by a set of inter dependent variables, while a Easton, there are four (4) main political system on the other hand, can be processes involved in a typical seen as a "system of interactions in any political system: the process; society through which binding or output process; the conversion and authoritative allocations are made" [4]. the feedback processes. This is perhaps, why [5], dubbed the system What can be deduced from the above theory as "input-output analysis". expose is that a typical system has certain peculiarities': first, a system According to [6], while the inputs give is composed of elements or parts the political system its dynamic (sub-systems), that function as a character as it consists of: (i) whole; in other words, there is an demands (the raw materials that the organic unity and interdependence political system is called upon to between component parts of a process), and (ii) support system such that any change in one (favourable orientations and part, causes a change in the other activity on the part of the people parts and by extension, the entire towards the political system and system, second, a system has serving as the energy that processes identifiable boundaries demands); outputs on the other distinguishing it from the hand, refers to those values that Macrocosm within which it operates; have been authoritatively allocated hence, a system can be for all of society. Hence, other international or domestic, though elements of the political system both categories are sometimes, not include the conversion process which mutually exclusive but portrays how the various demands complimentary and reciprocal. The are converted into outputs expressed impact of this is that, though a in form of public policies and system may convey the notion of programmes; and, the feedback self-sufficiency, yet inter-and intra- process that provides information to system relations must exist. policy makers on the impact of their However, where these cooperative policies on environment. and harmonious relations are lost and/or denied, as in the Nigerian A detailed discussion of this it not political system, then systemic necessary here but it is instructive breakdown would be inevitable. to note that [7], also drew attention to a salient feature that is critical in According to the theory, a political a political system maintaining 14 IDOSR JOURNAL OF BANKING, ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 4(1): 13-24, 2019. www.idosr.org Udu homeostatic equilibrium, and that selected to represent the electorate. is the ability of the political system In other words, a free and fair to meet the demands from its election, legitimizes an electoral environment. Accordingly, while too outcome. According to [8], there are many demands can pull down a four major variables on which the system, yet unfulfilled demands, concept of free and fair elections particularly when they are genuine, is rests. These are: (i) the political capable of spelling doom for the parties; (ii) the individuals; (iii) the political system as those whose voting process, and (iv) the election genuine aspirations are side-tracked outcome. or traded off, are most likely to Starting with the political parties, he withdraw their supports for the argued that in a multiparty democracy, for political system; hence, occasioning an election to be considered as free and stress. fair, the: Parties must be free to compete, to Liberal democracy entails unfettered organize, to recruit members, to articulate access to the greatest number of policies, to stage relies and to solicit votes. citizens in the determination of their The less the political system restrains national affairs. Consequently, when opposing parties from the business of this privilege is hijacked by an organizing and campaigning, and the less oligarchy or subtly withdrawn from it systematically, favours a particular party the masses like was prominent with (typically the ruling party), the freer and the PDP dominated government in fairer the election may be said to have the country in recent times, the been. political system is bound to experience instability and By the same logic, for an election to be disaffection. free and fair, the: Individual must be free to participate in The above scenario serves as a the political process to join the party of platform to posit that the osmotic their choice, to campaign for its platform take-over of the political landscape of and of course, to vote for it (or not to vote the county by then ruling People’s at all). Democratic Party (PDP); dovetailing in some unfulfilled demands by Furthermore, on the voting process: the citizens of Nigeria for a viable Each person should have one and only one oppositional alternative to realize vote. Each person should be counted their political objectives and make equally. No one who satisfies some limited their inputs with the political set of conditions (such as minimum age conversion box is potently and sound mind) should be refused destructive both for the party and for registrations, no registered voter should the society at large. The outcome of be prevented from voting, nor should the Nigerian general elections 2015 anyone be allowed to vote more than once, for example, has proved this nor should any votes be counted for a ascertain beyond reasonable doubts.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G
    This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Electoral Governance: Understanding the Democratic Quality of Elections in Nigeria Ibrahim Sani PhD Politics The University of Edinburgh 2015 Declaration I declare that except where otherwise indicated, this thesis is entirely my own work, and that no part of it has been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. ……………………….. Ibrahim Sani (s1144926) ii Asiya Usman Mani iii Table of Contents Declaration ................................................................................................................................ ii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................... iv List
    [Show full text]
  • Republic, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa the First Prime Minister of Nigeria Dumped the ECN and Announced the Creation of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC) with Mr
    republic, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa the first Prime Minister of Nigeria dumped the ECN and announced the creation of the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC) with Mr. Eyo Esua as its head. The FEC supervised and conducted the general elections of 1964 as well as the Western Region elections of 1965. The controversies that surrounded these elections especially the perceptions of the elections not being free, fair and credible has been adduced as one of the major reasons that truncated the first republic and brought in the military administration of General Aguiyi Ironsi. Sequel to the first military coup d’état, General Aguiyi Ironsi dissolved the FEC and it remained so until 1978 when the military administration of General Olusegun Obasanjo founded the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) with Chief Michael Ani as the chairman. FEDECO organized the 1979 transitional elections that brought in the second republic with Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) as the first executive president of Nigeria. Chief Michael Ani was subsequently replaced with Justice Ovie- Whisky by President Shehu Shagari as FEDECO chairman and he superintended the 1983 general elections which returned Alhaji Shehu Shagari as president. The controversies that trailed the 1983 general elections yet led to another military takeover which saw Major General Muhammadu Buhari as Head of State in December 1983 and later General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida in 1985. General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida dissolved FEDECO in 1987 and established the National Electoral Commission (NEC) with Professor Eme O. Awa as chairman and later in 1989 Professor Humphrey Nwosu was appointed as Chairman.
    [Show full text]
  • Voter Education Handbook.Pdf
    CHAPTER 1 REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA Introduction Democracy is the form of government, in which the people of a country, state or local government area decide how they want to be governed. They also decide who should govern them. In doing these as well as in their day-to-day life, the people have all the basic freedoms of speech, association, assembly, conscience, etc. Such institutions as an independent judiciary, free press, competitive political parties and an active civil society also protect them. Objectives On the completion of this chapter, the reader should be able to: - narrate how representative democracy started in Nigeria - explain what a Constitution is - trace the development of the right to vote (franchise) in Nigeria - explain the structure of the three tiers of government - describe the process by which the people elect their government. Key Words/Ideas Key words Key Ideas Democracy Tiers of Government Constitution Political Parties Franchise Separation of Power Mandate Federation Elective Representation in Nigeria What is today known as Nigeria is a product of British Colonial rule. In 1914 the first Colonial Governor- General of Nigeria, Lord Frederick Luggard amalgamated the southern and northern protectorates to form Nigeria. Earlier on, another British explorer Mungo Park had discovered the River Niger; hence the name Nigeria literarily means Niger area. 1 Lord Frederick Luggard 1914 -1919 Nigeria remained a colony of Britain until October1, 1960. The British administered the country as three regions, namely: Northern, Western and Eastern. Each region had a government, which was responsible for the affairs of that region. This arrangement started in 1946 under the Richards Constitution – which was the first federal constitution of Nigeria.
    [Show full text]
  • Constitutional Tinkering and Democratic Institutions : a Case Study of the 2019 Electoral Process
    University of Chicago Law School Chicago Unbound International Immersion Program Papers Student Papers 2019 Constitutional Tinkering and Democratic Institutions : a Case Study of the 2019 Electoral Process Tiffany Chikamara [Kamara] Nwosu [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/ international_immersion_program_papers Recommended Citation Nwosu, Tiffany Chikamara [Kamara], "Constitutional Tinkering and Democratic Institutions : a Case Study of the 2019 Electoral Process" (2019). International Immersion Program Papers. 120. https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/international_immersion_program_papers/120 This Working Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Papers at Chicago Unbound. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Immersion Program Papers by an authorized administrator of Chicago Unbound. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Constitutional Tinkering and Democratic Institutions: A Case Study of the 2019 Electoral Process Kamara Nwosu* Abstract This paper will discuss the aspects of constitutional tinkering and its impact on democratic institutions by looking into the constitutional tinkering in the Nigerian constitution and its impact on democratic institutions focusing mainly on the electoral system. As a caveat, this paper focuses on the electoral process within an electoral system and not the methods by which election systems are determined. Thus, the paper focuses on the administration of elections and not the system by which votes are to be cast such as plurality method, approval voting or simple majority vote. * J.D. Candidate 2020, The University of Chicago Law School; B.A. 2017, Boston University. This paper was produced as part of the author’s participation in the University of Chicago Law School’s 2019 International Immersion Program as well as an Independent Study directed under Prof.
    [Show full text]
  • Nigeria: Planning and Prospects for the 2011 Elections
    Meeting Summary Nigeria: Planning and Prospects for the 2011 Elections Okechukwu Ibeanu Chief Technical Adviser, Independent National Electoral Commission, Nigeria Mark Stevens Adviser and Head of the Democracy Section, Commonwealth Secretariat Sola Tayo Associate Fellow, Africa Programme, Chatham House Chair: Dr Lola Banjoko Nigeria Leadership Initiative 8 October 2010 The views expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of Chatham House, its staff, associates or Council. Chatham House is independent and owes no allegiance to any government or to any political body. It does not take institutional positions on policy issues. This document is issued on the understanding that if any extract is used, the speaker(s) and Chatham House should be credited, preferably with details of the event. Where this document refers to or reports statements made by speakers at an event every effort has been made to provide a fair representation of their views and opinions, but the ultimate responsibility for accuracy lies with this document’s author(s). The published text of speeches and presentations may differ from delivery. Meeting summary: Nigeria – Planning and Prospects for Elections in 2011 Professor Oke Ibeanu: One of the stories which recently captivated Nigerian society was a revelation by the former Governor of Cross River state, Donald Duke, where he laid out how state governors rig elections in Nigeria. INEC is a national body with 12 commissioners and a Chairman at federal level, and 37 state-level agencies each headed by a state-level electoral commissioner. It is said that the national body is irrelevant, and in fact the state-level agencies are key.
    [Show full text]
  • International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Review
    International Journal of Social Sciences and Management Review Volume: 02, Issue: 03 “May-June 2019” ISSN 2582-0176 ELECTION MANAGEMENT AND THE CHALLENGE OF ELECTORAL CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA’S 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS AYITI, SAMUEL BABATOLA Department of Political Science Ekiti State University, Nigeria MIKE OMILUSI Department of Political Science Ekiti State University, Nigeria ABSTRACT The conduct of free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria has always been problematic due largely to the challenges of corruption. Corruption, no doubt, is a cankerworm that has permeated Nigeria’s national life. One of the elements of election is its periodicity. In fact, this is one of the foundations upon which good governance is erected. It is also the hallmark of democracy which guarantees citizens’ effective participation in the political process. A truly independent, non-partisan and incorruptible electoral management body is synonymous with credible elections. However, the impartiality and integrity of the various electoral commissions in Nigeria over the years have been called to question due to the alleged romance of the electoral bodies with the ruling party with a view to conferring undue advantage on it during elections. To achieve this, some staff of the electoral bodies is compromised by the ruling party officials by offering them bribes to do their bidding. Such an attitude has major implications on the electoral process and ultimately on good governance as in most cases the legitimacy of such public officers produced through this method is always called to question. The objective of the study is to assess the causes and impacts of electoral corruption on Nigeria’s electoral system.
    [Show full text]
  • Election Management Bodies in West Africa a Comparative Study of the Contribution of Electoral Commissions to the Strengthening of Democracy
    Election Management Bodies in West Africa A comparative study of the contribution of electoral commissions to the strengthening of democracy By Ismaila Madior Fall Mathias Hounkpe Adele L. Jinadu Pascal Kambale A review by AfriMAP and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa Copyright © 2011, Open Society Initiative for West Africa. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher. Published by: Open Society Foundations For more information contact: AfriMAP / Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) P O Box 678 Wits, 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa [email protected] www.afrimap. org Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) BP 008, Dakar-Fann, Dakar, Senegal www.osiwa.org Layout and printing: COMPRESS.dsl, South Africa Contents Preface v Methodology and acknowledgments vii 1 Overview: The contribution of electoral management bodies to credible elections in West Africa – Pascal Kambale 1 A. Introduction 1 B. Colonial legacy 2 C. Elections and constitutional reforms 3 D. Membership of EMBs and appointment of Electoral Commissioners 4 E. Independence and effectiveness 4 F. Common challenges to electoral management 8 G. Conclusion 9 H. Recommendations 10 2 Benin – Mathias Hounkpe 12 A. Summary 12 B. Historical background 13 C. The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) 19 D. Funding of elections in Benin 31 E. Electoral disputes in Benin 34 F. Critical assessment of the CENA’s performance 36 G. Recommendations 47 3 Cape Verde – Ismaila Madior Fall 49 A. Summary 49 B. Constitutional development, party politics and electoral history 51 C.
    [Show full text]
  • Conference Paper by Oluwashina Adebiyi
    ‘‘KUDOS OR KNOCKS’’: ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF INEC IN THE 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA BY Adebiyi, Oluwashina Moruf Department of Political Science University of Ilorin, Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Mobile: +2347033275122, +2348154501694 ABSTRACT An electoral management body in any democratic polity is a key variable in democratic transition and consolidation. Election administration in Nigeria, particularly in the Fourth Republic has been that of mixed blessings. While some are described as credible e.g. the administration of the 2011 and 2015 general elections others are described as been fraught with crass anomalies and all sorts of electoral vices e.g. the administration of the 2003 and the 2007 general elections. The 2015 general elections however, have been described as depicting a major turning point in the country‟s electoral history. It is however, important to note that even though the conduct of the elections have been given a pass mark, the performance of the nation‟s electoral body needs to be assessed so as to discover areas of lapses with the aim of improving on them for future elections. This paper examined the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the 2015 general elections. The assessment is based on some critical issues of the electioneering process, these include: the distribution of permanent voters card and continuous voters registration, recruitment and training of ad hoc staff, distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, the use of electronic card reader and Diaspora voting. Through personal experience garnered from participant observation of the electioneering process and a qualitative assessment of extant and relevant secondary data, this paper submits that the overall performance of INEC was commendable.
    [Show full text]
  • Page 1 of 27 Nigeria and the Politics of Unreason 7/21/2008
    Nigeria and the Politics of Unreason Page 1 of 27 Nigeria and the Politics of Unreason: Political Assassinations, Decampments, Moneybags, and Public Protests By Victor E. Dike Introduction The problems facing Nigeria emanate from many fronts, which include irrational behavior (actions) of the political elite, politics of division, and politics devoid of political ideology. Others factors are corruption and poverty, lack of distributive justice, regional, and religious cleavages. All these combine to create crises (riots and conflicts) in the polity, culminating in public desperation and insecurity, politics of assassinations, decampments (carpet crossing), moneybags, and public protests. All this reached its climax during the 2003 elections. When the nation thinks it is shifting away from these forces, they would somersault and clash again creating another political thunderstorm. It looks that the society would hardly outgrow ‘the politics of unreason’ (Lipset and Raab, 1970), which is often politics of extremism, because the political class is always going beyond the limits of what are reasonable to secure or retain political power. During the 2003 elections moneybags (instead of political ideology) directed political actions in political parties; and it also influenced the activities of many politicians. As a result, the presidential candidates of the two major political parties (PDP and ANPP) cliched their party tickets by stuffing the car boots, so to say, of their party delegates with Ghana-Must- Go bags. This frustrated and intimidated their political opponents within (and those in the other minor political parties). Since after his defeat by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo in the 2003 PDP primary in Abuja, Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • A Critical Analysis of Transition to Civil Rule in Nigeria & Ghana 1960 - 2000
    A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSITION TO CIVIL RULE IN NIGERIA & GHANA 1960 - 2000 BY ESEW NTIM GYAKARI DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA DECEMBER, 2001 A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSITION TO CIVIL RULE IN NIGERIA & GHANA 1960 - 2000 BY ESEW NTIM GYAKARI (PH.D/FASS/06107/1993-94) BEING A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PH.D) IN POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA. DECEMBER, 2001. DEDICATION TO ETERNAL GLORY OF GOD DECLARATION I, ESEW, NTIM GYAKARI WITH REG No PH .D/FASS/06107/93-94 DO HEREBY DECLARE THAT THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN PREPARED BY ME AND IT IS THE PRODUCT OF MY RESEARCH WORK. IT HAS NOT BEEN ACCEPTED IN ANY PREVIOUS APPLICATION FOR A DEGREE. ALL QUOTATIONS ARE INDICATED BY QUOTATION MARKS OR BY INDENTATION AND ACKNOWLEDGED BY MEANS OF REFERENCES. CERTIFICATION This dissertation entitled A Critical Analysis Of Transition To Civil Rule In Nigeria And Ghana 1960 - 2000' meets the regulation governing the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) Political Science of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and is approved for its contribution to knowledge and literary presentation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Any serious intellectual activity such as this could hardly materialize without reference to works by numerous authors. They are duly acknowledged with gratitude in the bibliography. My heartfelt gratitude goes to my Supervisors, Dr Andrew Iwini Ohwona (Chairman) and Dr Ejembi A Unobe.
    [Show full text]
  • Electoral Process and Peaceful Transition in Nigeria
    Journal of Modern Education Review, ISSN 2155-7993, USA September 2015, Volume 5, No. 9, pp. 920–926 Doi: 10.15341/jmer(2155-7993)/09.05.2015/012 © Academic Star Publishing Company, 2015 http://www.academicstar.us Electoral Process and Peaceful Transition in Nigeria: The Role of the Theatre Umenyilorah Chukwukelue Uzodinma (Department of Theatre and Media Arts, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria) Abstract: Africa to which Nigeria belongs in all ramifications has recorded the gains and losses in all aspects of life. Having shared a common history of colonization and its attendant challenges, Nigeria is placed similar amongst other African and most nations of the world that shared similar history that are still struggling to holistically improve in its level of efficiency. But a closer juxtaposition of Nigeria and most countries that have enjoyed about five decades of independence clearly brings to the fore obvious malaise characterizing this multi-culturally rich black giant of Africa. This raises the question of what does Nigeria either do or ignore that other countries have since perfected thereby overtaking her in terms of global rating of development. The obvious answer lies in leadership style. The political leadership of Nigeria, though striving to attain improved efficiency, for so long has been adversely faced by the obvious challenge of transparent and peaceful transition from one tenure or regime to the other. This paper will analyze the existence of electoral process and regulatory electoral body in Nigeria with the view of, not just empowering the electoral body but the electorate in terms of knowledge- via theatrical endeavours, with the sole aim of achieving a violent-free political transition; through the process of politics of entertainment that will ensure freedom and growth in Nigeria.
    [Show full text]
  • THE ORIGIN of the NAME NIGERIA Nigeria As Country
    THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME NIGERIA Help our youth the truth to know Nigeria as country is located in West In love and Honesty to grow Africa between latitude 40 – 140 North of the And living just and true equator and longitude 30 – 140 East of the Greenwich meridian. Great lofty heights attain The name Nigeria was given by the Miss To build a nation where peace Flora Shaw in 1898 who later married Fredrick Lord Lugard who amalgamated the Northern And justice shall reign and Southern Protectorates of Nigeria in the NYSC ANTHEM year 1914 and died in 1945. Youth obey the Clarion call The official language is English and the Nation’s motto is UNITY AND FAITH, PEACE AND Let us lift our Nation high PROGRESS. Under the sun or in the rain NATIONAL ANTHEM With dedication, and selflessness Arise, O Compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey Nigeria is ours, Nigeria we serve. To serve our fatherland NIGERIA COAT OF ARMS With love and strength and faith Representation of Components The labour of our hero’s past - The Black Shield represents the good Shall never be in vain soil of Nigeria - The Eagle represents the Strength of To serve with heart and Might Nigeria One nation bound in freedom, - The Two Horses stands for dignity and pride Peace and unity. - The Y represent River Niger and River Benue. THE PLEDGE THE NIGERIAN FLAG I Pledge to Nigeria my Country The Nigeria flag has two colours To be faithful loyal and honest (Green and White) To serve Nigeria with all my strength - The Green part represents Agriculture To defend her unity - The White represents Unity and Peace.
    [Show full text]