Vol. 7(8), pp. 215-230, August, 2015 DOI: 10.5897/JASD2015.0335 Article Number: 99E1DB054222 Journal of African Studies and ISSN 2141 -2189 Copyright © 2015 Development Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournlas.org/JASD Full Length Research Paper The impact of cross carpeting and multiplicity of political parties in Nigerian democratic process B. T. Badejo1* and N. G. Obah-Akpowoghaha2 1Department of Local Government Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. 2Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. Received 24 February 2015; Accepted 10 July 2015 The return to democracy in 1999 has ushered unprecedented hope on democratic process in Nigeria and, thus, heralded another opportunity for the country to launch a new strategy towards democracy, after many years of lost opportunities under a prolonged period of authoritarian rule. Indeed, the emergence of multiparty system in Nigerian Fourth Republic can be seen as a major breakthrough in the democratic process. The journey so far since 1999 raises a lot of concern and apprehension, chief among them is the multiplicity of political parties and most troublesome is the cross-carpeting of party’s members. Their structure, operations, funding and general activities can make or mar the democratic process. The way political parties in Nigeria have gone and going, does not, however, portend good tidings for her democratic process especially the selfish desires of candidates jumping from one party to the other. It is on these grounds, this study investigates factors responsible for proliferation of political parties, decampment of parties’ members; and how healthy are these activities to democratic process in Nigeria. In achieving this objective, the study relies on primary data and analysis would be done through basic statistical tools. Key words: Political party, cross-carpeting, multiplicity of political party, democratic process. INTRODUCTION One of the healthy activities on democratic development selection for primary elections are anchored on the appears to fall within the realm of internal party strength of the candidate in area of economic power, democracy and adherence to electoral laws. Issues in political power (incumbency), etc, and without any due nomination, selection and election of candidates, regard on the integrity and capability of the candidate executives and flag bearers are core reforming (Jinadu, 2014). This form of political permutation has instruments on democratic consolidation and these have created political crises leading to individuals forming their raise a lot of concern in most developing democracies. In own political party, decampment of parties’ big wigs and Nigeria, recognition of candidate for nomination and in general voters’ apathy in the ongoing democratic *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +2347033319553. Author agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License 216 J. Afr. Stud. Dev. process in Nigeria. The current wave that has created an empirical investigation to cross-examine cross- confusion and debate among academicians and voters in carpeting of candidates and factors responsible for general is what different analysts have described as multiplicity of political party at the inception of Nigerian canoe jumping, floor-crossing, party-hopping, high Fourth Republic with the aid of the following questions: jumping, frog jumping, party switching, decampment, (a) What are the factors responsible for the multiplicity of cross-carpeting, crossover, prostitution, etc. This political political parties and cross-carpeting in Nigeria? (b) To attitude has eroded the country’s democratic pace what extent do the federal government financial grants to (www.africapractice.com). political parties encourage the multiplicity of the political In Nigerian polity, most candidates seem to decamp parties in Nigeria? (c) What are the implications of cross- based on primordial interest and egoistic hedonism. carpeting and multiplicity of political parties for the Personalities like Ahaji Atiku Abubaka, Mallam Nuru democratic process in Nigeria? Further these questions Ribadu, Sen. Bukola Saraki, etc decamped from Peoples’ will also lead to hypothesis formulation that would guide Democratic Party to other party and made a U-turn the investigations: (1) Government financial grants to directly or indirectly back to PDP and again to another political parties are responsible for multiplicity of political party. This form of political oscillation calls for a lot of parties (2) Cross-carpeting of members and multiplicity of explanations and raises a lot of political questions. political parties obstruct the emergence of a viable Decampment can only be healthy to the political system opposition to the ruling party and further erode democratic and democracy when it is built on the choice of ideology consolidation. and it will be inimical to democratic process if it is the function of primordial and egoistic interest. Right from inception of the Nigerian Fourth Republic 1999, the RESEARCH METHODOLOGY political system has witnessed a great surge of proliferation of mushroom political parties and decamp- This study used primary and secondary data. The primary data were collected through questionnaire. A total number of 150 ment saga, and all these displays seem to be associated respondents were purposively selected from three states and with the dissatisfaction of some candidates in respect of Federal Capital Territory (FCT). They are as follows: Lagos State, administration and decision of the party’s executives in selected from the West; Enugu State, selected from the East; area of choosing candidate to represent the party. This Kaduna State, selected from the North; and FCT being the centre of dispensation has celebrated over one hundred decamp- political activities in the country. The target population consisted of the national and state officials of the selected political parties, ment of members arising from parties’ lack of internal officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) democracy, and selfish desires of members (Dike, 2003). and the general public. The distribution of the sampling size was as Most researchers such as Augustine Ikelegbe (2014) follows: 5 INEC officials in each of the locations; 22 officials from assessed it from the perspective of “Political Parties and the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (5 from each state and 7 Violence” and recommended that the issues of illegal from FCT); 12 officials from each of the four leading opposition arms importation, proliferation of arms and ammunitions parties (ANPP, APGA, ACN and CPC, that is 3 each from each location; 60 respondents from the general public (15 from each and the existence of armed groups, cult and thugs have location). Secondary data were collected from relevant books, to be curtained and the rules and procedures that govern journals, magazines, articles, newspapers and materials from the electoral behavioural and conduct need to be applied and internet. Data collected were analyzed using statistical tools such enforced. Ibrahim (2014) assessed it based on as percentages, histogram and pie charts. “engaging Political Parties for Democratic Development” where he discovered that the Nigerian political parties CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION have not yet attempted to build national, data-rich, and computerised membership and ward party offices, and Multi-party system partly due to the political manipulations of party Multi-party system means the existence of many political parties, membership used by party candidates to exclude their big and small, in a country. It is a situation where there are more opponents within the party, etc. Egwu (2014) also viewed than two political parties that contest for elections, leading to it from the angle of “Internal Democracy in Nigerian multiple choices before the electorates and which always Political Parties” and concluded that there is so much encourages coalition of government and defections of members. frustration falling back on the power of regulation The alternation of power appears to takes place between two major parties. It has been argued that multiplicity of parties often conferred on INEC by 1999 constitution. And while in encourages further fragmentation and it discourages alternation of other text, Omodia and Egwemi (2011) saw it from the power whereby the ruling party gets more strength and public angle of “Party politics and the challenge of political appeals (Kuenzi and Lambright, 2001). representation in Nigeria; Eme and Ogbochie (2014), on The phrase political party defection is used to refer to the the “the legal/constitution basis of political party defection departure of a member(s) from a political party to join another in Nigeria” concluded and recommended that there is a different political party, normally because of dissatisfaction in his existing party. A review by Eme and Ogbochie (2014) gives succinct need for new policy perspectives and a reform agenda reason(s) for decampment or defection of political actors, saying the (Egwu and Ibrahim, 2014). Hence this study undergoes trend results from personality clash, power tussles, contradictory Badejo and Obah-Akpowoghaha 217 views on the operations of a political party’s philosophy, crisis or monetary inducements, political parties and politicians