Ethnicity And Voting Pattern In Nigeria

Ethnicity And Voting Pattern In Nigeria

Abstract

This exploration work was conducted to determine the influence of race on advancing pattern in Nigeria with particular emphasis to the 2015 presidential election. To appear the over, the experimenter formulated three( 3) exploration questions, and three( 3) exploration suppositions. An open concluded structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Tables and simple probabilities were used in answering of exploration questions while ki- forecourt was used in testing of thesis. Grounded on data anatomized, the null suppositions were rejected and the volition upheld. From the findings of the study, it’s observed that there’s a relationship between race and the voting geste of Nigerians grounded on the tables, as maturity of reporters agreed that the 2015 Presidential election was a display of ethnical patronage grounded on the election results. The experimenter recommended amongst others that for a believable representation and handling of the ministry of government, choosers should look beyond ethnical cooperation and sentiments.

Chapter One

Background of the Study

Nigeria as a nation is an aggregation of several ethnicities. In real terms, it’s a pluralistic andmulti-faceted society, both in terms of religion, culture and composition. It has about 450 different ethnical groupings( Uduma, 2005). According to 2006 officially certified tale by Nigeria Population Commission, it has a population of 140 million with a growth rate of6.3 per annum. This makes it the most vibrant country in Africa and the largest attention of black race in the world. An estimated37.7 of the population are civic residers while62.3 are pastoral grounded. The life expectation rate is 52 times, knowledge rate is 45 and the fertility rate is5.7 while child and motherly mortality remain high( National Population Census 2006).

Despite the fact that Nigeria is composed of over 450 ethnical groupings, the three dominating ethnical groups are Hausa- fulani dominating the north, Igbo in the east, and Yoruba in the

western part of the country. The 1996 state creation and reorganization of the state structure in Nigeria saw these ethnical groupings being reorganized into six geo- political zones with the Hausa- Fulani comprising the north east, north west and north central; the Igbo concentrated in the south- east and south- south while the yorubas taking the south west. The 1996re-organisation was the last trouble by the Abacha governance in icing relative distribution of power and coffers within the country. still, agitation for state creation has not desisted . The attendant effect of this ineffectual reorganization has continued to have negative effect on the politics of the land. Every ethnical group has continued to battle for political office in order to enrich both individual and group interest. Political party conformation isn’t left out in this ethnical jingoism and configuration, hence party crusade also follows ethnical sentiments( Nnoli 1978). still, scholars have come up with colorful explanations on the determinants of voting pattern in numerous advanced countries of the world. Generally, they’ve emphasized the part played by factors similar as social class, race, religion and party testament. near examinations of their findings suggest that the republic they delved have developed overtime and thus parties have had distinct image and doctrines. Though, the Nigerian republic is still at its immaturity and thus couldn’t be said to follow a pattern as in the case of the developed countries of the world. It’s still regarded as one of the arising republic of the world with features that are likely to be different from the developed republic as motivators of choosers( Mafeja 1971). thus, the 2015 general choices in Nigeria was no exception in terms of ethnical colouration. Through the 2015 presidential choices, Nigerians had the occasion either to choose ‘ durability ’, as represented by the peremptory President Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and his ruling People’s Democratic Party( PDP), or to embrace ‘ change ’, as represented by the opposition seeker, General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Revolutionaries Congress( APC). These two leading campaigners in the 2015 challenge had also encountered each other at the ballot in the 2011 presidential contest, although at that time General Buhari was running on the ticket of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change( CPC).

The Nigerian presidential election that took place in the time 2015 was major. For the first time since the conformation of the Fourth Republic of Nigeria, in 1999, after another phase of military rule, Nigeria not only suggested out an peremptory chairman but the People’s Democratic Party( PDP), a party that have been described by utmost scholars as not simply a political party but an institution in the country. While in principle, there were other political parties in the political geography, in fact, 14 political parties had campaigners in the 2015 presidential race. Until the major 2015 presidential election, Nigeria fairly had a one- party system. The election, still, in the face of political fragmentation, growing profitable inequality and an profitable extremity, heightening social inequality and security enterprises posed by the terrorist group named Boko Haram; the All Progressive Congress( APC) was suitable to master the PDP, ever altering the political geography in Nigeria. Recent observation has shown that the 2015 presidential election may not later each be determined by the socio- profitable and political challenges or follow the assumed position that Nigerian choosers are motivated primarily by financial impulses in deciding who and what party to bounce for in any general choices. It may also be said that there are other factors essential in the presidential election that were embedded in early sentiments, common strain, language and religion. The nature of advancing alongside ethnical individualities in determining Nigeria’s electoral process and its political geography since 1963 has made it imperative to conduct this exploration to ascertain the voting pattern of the 2015 presidential election. To this end, this work is an academic attempt to unravel the impact of race on voting geste in Nigeria, with emphasis on the 2015 presidential choices.