A Critical Analysis of Transition to Civil Rule in Nigeria & Ghana 1960 - 2000
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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. Both of them provided me with the much needed intellectual guide required for such an endeavour. They become personally concerned about the progress of the work and continuously kept propping me up. To the duo, once again, I say "Thank you very much'. Dr John Anfani Ayam, my initial major Supervisor, also never left me behind. He kept on encouraging me. I am very grateful to him. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr Paul P. Izah, Dr Ayo Dunmoye, Dr Siddique Abubakar Muhammed, Head of Department, Dr Kudu Ayuba Abdullahi, Dr Sabo and Dr (chief) W.N. Tagowa. Others are Mallam Saidu Adamu and Mallam Garba Aminu. Next, I am greatly indebted to the following: Rev Sr. Gabriel Roeder (SSND), late SR Sheron Dei (SSND) may God grant her enteral rest. Amen. Sr Terence Wasigner O.P, Sr Rita, Sr Clara Ann Fluech O.P, and Evelyn Wyatt (USA) . Others include Alhaji Abdul Azeez Olawuyi, Managing Director of Oyinda Enterprises Ltd., Kaduna, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Abiriyi, Mrs Theresa Bowyer, Dr B. F Alisah, Dr John Maisamari and the Apostolate For Peace in the United States of America. My profound gratitude also goes to Ahmadu Bello University most especially its Post - Graduate School and Board of Research for funding part of this research. My colleagues, Dr Victor Banlilon Tani and Dr Yakubu Yusuf Abdullah! proved to be friends indeed. I am very grateful to them. Other colleagues of mine whose company was of immense assistance include Dr Kayode Omojuwa, Mr Peter Odofin, Mr Paul Mutfrang and Mai Umar Ka'oje. My bosom friend, Mr Opoku Frederick, Headmaster, Abuakwa State College, (ABUSCO) . Kibi, Ghana also deserves a very special place in my acknowledgement. Words cannot express my indebtedness to him. Kofi Amoah, Assistant General Manager of Inter Projects Limited was of help to me particularly in typing the proposal. Her former typist fondly, called "Christie, also did a good job in that regard. I also thank Messrs Martins Peprah (Kwame Allan), Akom Fosu Rexford Asamoah, and Mr John Agyemang. I acknowledge with much gratitude the staff of Kashim Ibrahim Library, Ahmadu Bello university, Zaria and Balme Library, University of Ghana, Legon. I would like to show my appreciation to Professor Ebow Mensah of the Ghana Institute for Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) Achimota, Ghana for his generosity and fatherly advice. In the same vein, My gratitude goes to Professor Mike Oguaye, Head Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, Legon for granting me audience when I visited his department. Dr J.E. Gyong, Head of Deparment of Sociology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and Deputy Dean (Post-Graduate) should kindly accept my thanks. Mrs Suleiman typed part of this work and her efforts are appreciated. I however, owe much to Mr Badiru who typed most of the work. Finally, I would like to pray for my late parents, Papa Kwasi Ntim and Mama Amma Otibua. May they find favour in the presence of God. Amen. I thank my sisters Abena Kolibea, Abena Adubea and Grace Amankwaabea and my brother, Mr James Yaw Boateng (J.B) , for their concern and prayers. My dear wife, Mary, proved her worth by being resourceful when the going was tough. She stood by me and Ncoaxed1 me with words of encouragement. To her I say a very big thank you. And to my sons, Martin, Patrick, Michael and Anthony, I thank them for their understanding. Much as I have acknowledged the assistance of the people and organizations above, I am solely responsible for all errors of facts and logic in this study. Zaria, 2001 N.G Esew viii ABSTRACT The intrusion of the military in African politics and their disengagement thereof, has made transition to civil rule integral part of politics on the continent. In Nigeria as well as in Ghana, transition to civil rule was precipitated by the intervention of the military in the democratic process. Irrespective of the duration of the military in power, the military and the civil society have seen the need to put a programme for transferring power to civilians in place. This study, therefore, is an examination of the nature and pattern of the political transition to civil rule in Nigeria and Ghana. Why has it been difficult for the military in Nigeria and Ghana to initiate and execute any political transition successfully? Does the ambition of an incumbent have any impact on political transition? Our quest to find answers to the foregoing questions provides the stimulus for this study. It is our proposition that (i) given the powerful nature of the state in the allocation of resources, there will be a struggle for power between the military and the political elites for the control of the state policy-making apparatus, (ii) that most political transitions in Nigeria and Ghana are characterized by the desire of the incumbent to remain in power and (iii) the greater the degree of influence of the military in the transition process, the lesser its chances of success. Secondary sources on the various transition programmes in ix Nigeria and Ghana from 1960 to 2000, were collected, collated and then meticulously subjected to systematic content analysis to test the propositions. The study discovered that there is a relationship between military interest and the outcome of political transitions in both Nigeria and Ghana. That since the state is the major repository of wealth and controls the nation's resources, there will be a continuous struggle between the military and civil society over power. That success of transition to civil rule depends on whom the incumbent wanted to relinquish political power. That the military in their attempt to hand over power to civilians set up similar electoral bodies to oversee the transition programme. Among the problems associated with the military and political transitions include the insincerity on the part of the military in keeping to transition timetable. In cases where they are kept, the overwhelming influence of the military on the transition, makes the whole process a mockery. The entire transition programme is manipulated overtly or covertly to the advantage of the incumbent; an uneven playing field is, therefore, provided among contestants where the incumbent is an interested party. The thesis concludes with recommendations which could lead to a smooth and successful transition of power from military to civil rule thus: (i) The military should be sincere in their willingness to hand-over power to civilians, (ii) the antieo£e to military incursion into politics is good governance. Civilian leaders should therefore, try as much as possible to eschew ethnic X sentiments and tendencies and spread political appointments evenly across the nation. xi ABBREVIATIONS AD: Alliance For Democracy AG: Action Group AFM: Armed Forces Movement AP: Action Party APP: All Peoples Party APRP: All People's Republican Party ASUU: Academic Staff Union of Universities BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation BTA: Basic Travel Allowance CA: Constituent Assembly CC: Constitutional Commission CCDF: Co-ordinating Committee of Democratic Forces CDC: Constitution Drafting Committee CDRS: Committees for The Defence of The Revolution CDS: Centre For Democracy Studies CNC: Committee for National Consensus CPP: Convention People's Party DAM: Democracy Advance Movement DAs: District Assemblies DFK: Development Filosfas Kongress DPN: Democratic Party of Nigeria EC: Electoral Commission ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States EGLE: Every Ghanaian Living Everywhere ERP: Economic Recovery Programme xii FEC: Federal Executive Council FMG: Federal Military Government GBA: Ghana Bar Association GDM: Grassroots Democratic Movement GDRP: Ghana Democratic Revolutionary Party GNPP: Great Nigerian People's Party GPP: Ghana People's Party HOR: House of Representatives INEC: Independent National Electoral Commission ING: Interim National Government IPSA: International Political Science Association