CGAP - Nigeria

General Sani Abacha

• military leader

• ousted Moshood Abiola, who still claimed presidency

• hated human rights

• Sentenced former president Obasanjo to life imprisonment in 1995, charged for helping coup

• Executed Ken Saro-Wiwa & 8 activists from Ogoni tribe of southeastern Nigeria (live in oil fields of Niger delta)

• Nigeria suspended from Commonwealth but Abacha won approval from Western gov’t for controlling public spending

• Became clear Abacha manipulated return to civilian gov’t to ensure he would be elected president

• But before he could carry out plan, died of heart attack in June 1998 (possibly from sex), Abiola took over but also suffered heart attack

African Union

continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent

Atiku Abubakar

Former Vice President

Abiola

• Presidential election of June 1993 Won by Moshood Abiola of new Social Democratic Party

• President Babangida claimed election rigged & refused to reveal results

• Outcry that followed persuaded him to step down in Aug & hand over power to transitional civilian government

• 3 months later Sani Abacha (military leader) ousted Moshood Abiola, who still claimed presidency

Ibrahim Babangida

• replaced Shagari

• Muslim from Middle Belt

Biafra

Igbo-dominated eastern region declared independence as new state

Boko Haram

Western education is impermissible

• Islamic fundamentalist groups

• Targeted major structures in Abuja (Nigeria’s capital)

• Ex: Kidnapped many schoolgirls in 2014 (mostly Christian)

Civil Society

• Very rich and flourishing 

  • Ex: #EndBadGovernance

    • Nigerians protested for days to oppose the government's actions that led to high costs of living

  • Making them feel like they are very close to democratic consolidation

Constitutionalism

constitutional government

Cultural diffusion

spread of cultural elements, both material and nonmaterial, from one society to another, or from one culture to another

ECOWAS

Economic Community of West African States, is a regional political and economic union of 15 West African countries established in 1975

“Federal Character”

• agency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

• oversees the principle of fairness and equity in the distribution of public posts and socio-economic infrastructures in different federation ministries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Hausa-Fulani

• biggest in ethnicity north Nigeria (28-30% of population)

• Two muslim major groups

• Live in the northern part of Nigeria

  • Where the capital is located

  • Land Issues because desertification

    • Problem because they are herders

Igbo (Ibo)

• ethnicity in southeast Nigeria (18%)

• Southeast

• Farmer

• Many more Christians

Indirect Rule

system of governance where local rulers maintain their positions of authority under the control of a colonial power

Independent National Election Commission (INEC)

electoral body which oversees elections in Nigeria

Informal economy (black market)

• very poor

• Rampant corruption: funnels $ away from economy and to gov’t officials

Kinship-based politics

a political system or structure where social relations based on familial ties play a significant role in shaping power and decision-making

“Loyalty Pyramid”

President appointing governor to work under him who supports him, that governor appointing someone who supports him, ect.

MEND and Niger Delta oil issues

• Niger Delta (down in the southwest) → where the oil is and the richest part

  • Farmers and oil

Muhammadu Buhari

• 4^th coup led by him

• a Muslim northerner (new president) during military government 2

“National Question”

Questions of: Who should run Nigeria's government? How should country be governed?

Para-statals

• Quangos and Bonyads

  • Semi-autonomous or autonomous government agencies 

  • Produce goods or services for the government to provide but run by private individuals

Patrimonialism

form of governance in which the ruler governs on the basis of personal loyalties

Patron-Client (pre-bendalism)

• Especially in the oil industry

  • Most amount of corruption

• Cabinet System, a lot of government jobs are a result of Patronage

Plurality

The most votes among those running; Ex. Multi-party systems

Rents, rent-seeking

Sucking up to the government to get part of the rent other countries pay for products and land use

Rentier State/Economy

• heavily supported by state expenditure, while state receives rent from other countries

• land, oil all to big companies

Resource curse

countries that underperform economically, despite benefitting from valuable natural resources

Revenue sharing

distribution of part of the federal tax income to states and municipalities

Rule of law

Concept that holds that government and its officers are always subject to the law

Ken Saro-Wiwa

Nigerian poet and environmentalist trying to do things legally to make the oil companies environmentally aware

Sharia

Islamic law

State Corporatism

• Inclusion of various groups in policymaking

• Emphasis on integrating groups into a government-controlled system

• Organizations resemble interest groups but were created to keep the PRI in power

Structural Adjustment Program

International Monetary Fund or the World Bank provide loans to countries while requiring economic policy reforms

“True federalism” movement

Called for by the Igbo Youth movement.Promotes accelerated economic development, it unifies and binds people together, it triggers intellectual dialogue and provokes a healthy rivalry in revenue generation. These laudable goals are only achieved where the federating units are allowed free access in decision making and inputs into governance

Umaru Yar’Adua

Second President of the Fourth Republic--after two terms served by Obasanjo

Yoruba

• ethnicity in southwest Nigeria (21%)

• South west

• Oil

• Christianity and traditional religions

Nigeria

• Capital: Abuja

• Size: more than 2x size of California

• Population: 201 mil

• Pop. Growth rate: 2.59% (2019-20)

• Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani

Nigeria System Type

Presidential system with seperation of power

• Federal 

  • Used to be have UK model  but didn’t work

  • Switched to the US model in 1970s

Head of Government & State

Bola Tinubu (Igbo from Lagos)

Religion

• 53.5% Muslim (North); 45.9% Christian; 0.6% other/traditional (South)

• Northern states support and use sharia – Islamic law

• Widespread admiration for Islamists

• Religious tensions have often turned violent

• Plays a role because practice of president alternating between muslim and christian

Ethnicity

• Between 250 and 400 ethnic groups in country

• Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, Igbo

• None of these groups think of themselves as “Nigerian” - ‘Nigeria is a geographical expression’ rather than unified country

• These are all split down the middle with the Niger river 

Region

• north is dry and poor while south is better endowed in resources and basic services

• Lagos alone has 9x elementary schools than north parts combined

• Best agricultural lands is in heavily populated south while north is savanna or semi-desert

• Oil mostly in southeast or off coast

Class

• Gov’t & business dominated by small educated elite

• Wealthiest include new business class, landlords, traders, & self-employed professionals

• Social advancement tied to jobs in gov’t & bureaucracy - corruption plays part in wealth of gov’t officials

• Most people are poor & working class

  • Women make up 79% of rural workers

Oil

• Makes up 9% of economy

• Biggest limitation is its dependence on oil, which accounts for 79% of exports

• Entire economy driven by international market price of oil as are gov’t revenues

• Most oil wealth has been squandered & stolen - corruption in gov’t, industry

• Outspent itself during oil boom yrs. of 1970s & now has Africa’s largest debt - $32 billion

Young country (1960) struggling in face of

ethnic & religious divisions

Authoritarian to progressive

Has had both civilian & military gov’ts

Of particular interest to U.S.

Many trace roots to what is now Nigeria, supplies OIL, and 40% of world’s heroin

• Fight against trafficked is held back by gov’t corruption

Population

• Most populous African country

• Current growth rate expected to double population within 25 yrs.

• Little more than half are rural though urban pop. growing b/c of jobs

Since 1960 independence

• Lack of settled & predictable patterns

• 3 civilian gov’t, 5 successful & several attempted military coups, civil war, & nearly 30 yrs. of military gov’t

1999-2003

• Communal violence resulted in deaths of 10,000

• Lack of democratic consolidation

PRECOLONIAL ERA (900 BCE-1851 CE)

• Series of emerging and declining states and kingdoms

• Muslims arrived in 700 CE

• 14^th cent – dominated by kingdoms of Mali and Ghana

• 16^th cent – dominated by Songhai & Benin

• Portuguese were 1^st Eur. to explore area

• With cooperation from Benin, set up slave trade to Americas

• Fr., Brits, & Dutch arrived in 17^th cent. – Brits biggest slave traders

• When slave trade ended in 1807, interior opened up & Christian missionaries arrived

COLONIAL ERA (1861-1960)

• Britain annexed Nigeria, driven by concerns of French expansion

• 1900 – Britain declared separate protectorates over Northern & Southern Nigeria & then combined them in 1914 into colony & protectorate of Nigeria

• Still ruled Nigeria as 2 colonies w/different administrative systems

• Indirect rule in north through traditional Muslim emirates and direct rule in south through advisory Legislative Council

• Divisions deepened in 1939 when Britain split Nigeria into 3 provinces

Protectorate

a state that is controlled and protected by another, usually established de jure by a treaty, similar to colonies

Britain split Nigeria into 3 provinces

• Provinces based on cash crops – peanuts in North, cocoa in West, and palm oil in East

• Provinces roughly coincided with 3 major ethnic groups so encouraged to think regionally rather than nationally

Opposition to Brit rule as educated Nigerians railed against colonialism

• 1920 – National Congress of British West Africa founded & Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe most active nationalist

• He helped set up 1^st political party – National Council of Nigeria & the Cameroons (NCNC)

After WWII

• 3 experimental constitutions – 3^rd one created Nigerian Federation w/federal parliament (1/2 seats to North)

• Regional elections contested w/ many regionally based parties

• 1959 national elections produced 1^st fully elected national government

Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

1^st Prime Minister was Muslim Hausa-Fulani (Oct 1st 1960)

INDEPENDENCE & FIRST REPUBLIC (1960-1966)

• Almost immediately, ethnic & religious divisions affected gov’t

• Census an issue since allocation of seats in federal parliament based on # of people in each region - proportional rep.

• Political parties broken down along regional lines so each state dominated by single party

• Squabbling among parties, workers’ strikes, charges of pol. corruption

Brit monarch was still head of state but in 1963

Nigeria cut remaining ties and created non-executive post of president filled by Dr. Azikiwe

1964

nat’l elections held amid charges of fraud

1965

• regional elections in the west marred by civil unrest & riots

• Military watched all this w/dismay

MILITARY GOV’T I (1966-1979)

• Jan 15, 1966 – 1^st military coup, staged by group of Igbo officers led by Major Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi

• Senior nat’l & regional leaders were murdered and federal system abolished

• Northerners feared Igbos (southeastern group) establishing hegemony & killed in unrest

• Northern army officers staged 2^nd coup, killed Ironsi & replaced him with Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon, a Christian from Nigeria’s central region (Middle Belt region)

• Gowon restored federal structure & promised return to civilian rule but massacre of Igbos on north continue

• Retaliation against northerners living in south

Civil War

• Tensions boiled over in July 1967 when Igbo-dominated eastern region declared independence as new state of BIAFRA

• Nigerian fed. gov’t against Biafrans led by Ojukwu

• War dragged on for 27 months, Biafra received financial support from sympathizers outside of Nigeria but recognized as sovereign state by only 4 other African government

• Starved into submission by naval blockade – 1-2 million deaths of Biafrans

• War ended Jan 1970, Ojukwu went into exile, Nigeria reunited

Yakubu Gowon (Former President of Nigeria)

• able to patch up some wounds but slow to return to civilian government & did too little to curb inflation, economic mismanagement, & squandering of profit from oil boom of 1970s - missed opportunity for economic growth and ‘bounce back’

• broke 4-region federation into 12 states to dilute power of “big three” ethic groups (increased to 19 by his successor)

• Increased army from 10,000 to 250,000 –  corruption widespread

• He postponed return  to civilian rule

July 1975 – reform-minded senior  officers seized power in bloodless coup

• replacing Gowon with Murtala Muhammad, Hausa-Fulani leader

• Won praise by purging army, announcing 4-yr timetable for return to civilian rule, & dismissing 10,000 gov officials & 150 officers - where corruption was draining power/resources/money

• Angering those who benefited from Gowon’s rule, Murtala Muhammad was assassinated 7 months after taking over during an attempted coup by Gowon followers in 1976

Olusegun Obasanjo

coup failed and succeeded Muhammad – 1^st Yoruba head of state- promised civilian rule

SECOND REPUBLIC (1979-1983)

• Nigeria abandoned Westminster model and opted for U.S. model w/directly elected executive, bicameral National Assembly, & separate Supreme Court

• 1979 elections swept by Shehu Shagari & Nat’l Party of Nigeria

• Shagari pardoned Ojukwu & Gowon & announced plans to move capital from Lagos to Abuja to promote national unity (exact center of country)

• Shagari won 2^nd term in 1983 but parties again broke down regional & ethnic lines & elections marred by ballot-rigging charges

• Unable to control corruption & econ weakened by fall of oil prices

• Regional & ethnic polarization continued; factional infighting, declining public services

MILITARY GOV’T II (1983-1999)

• 3 months after elections, Shagari was ousted in 4^th coup led by Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim northerner (new president)

• Welcomed at first but became authoritarian & ousted in 1985 in another coup

• Replaced by Ibrahim Babangida, Muslim from Middle Belt

• Political parties legalized in 1989, state gov’t & new Nat’l Assembly elected in 1990-1992, & final step in transition to new Third Republic was to have been presidential election of June 1993

Ogonis tribe wanted some oil $$ invested back in their land, which suffered environmental problems

4 pro-gov’t Ogoni chiefs murdered at rally & Saro-Wiwa (novelist) was blamed, tried, & executed

Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar took over after Abacha

quickly returned to civilian gov’t

FOURTH REPUBLIC (1999 to now)

• Series of elections 1998 & 1999 & military stepped down

• Obasanjo called out of retirement to head government w/People’s Democratic Party

• Purged several military officers who had held office 1984-1999

• Renegotiated Nigeria’s debt repayment schedule & repair relations w/trading partners (risk)

• World Bank & IMF placed austere measures (cutback on gov spending) that might have undermined Obasanjo’s government when it needed public support

At local level, community violence again w/ethnic groups (Obasanjo’s government)

• Within months of his inauguration, hundreds killed/wounded, mainly in south & con’t throughout 1^st term

• Needed to build strong political institutions, break power of elites, deal w/corruption & relationship between national & local gov’t - huge pressure of Obasanjo

NIGERIA TODAY

• 2^nd set of elections held in April 2003 & surrounded by usual charges of fraud & violence

• Obasanjo won 2^nd term against Buhari, former military leader

• Nigeria has ongoing econ problems, corruption still pervades, religious & ethnic violence as well, crime, sharia controversy

• Political leader running for re-election in liberal democracy with Obasanjo’s record would almost certainly lose – says something of quality of desperation in Nigerian politics (best option)

• Was military leader (’76-’79) who proved to be ‘least corrupt’

2011 Presidential Elections – won by Goodluck Jonathan (Christian)

• Supporters of Muhammad Buhari accused him of rigging elections

• Followed by violence, esp. in northern Nigeria

• Religion being used as tool by politicians

President

• 2 consecutive terms, 4 year terms, renewable once

• Directly elected

• Head of State and Head of Government 

• Power: 

  • Power of appointment

  • Commander in Chief 

  • Initiate bills but can’t pass(done by National Assembly)

  • Power to veto anything national assembly passes

Government of Federation (Cabinet)

• Big cabinet, one person from each 36 state

• Called ministers

• Have to be approved by the Senate

• Cabinet is one of the results of Patronage

  • Connections to the leader matter

• Certain ministers are considered more powerful than others

Role of Personality

• Personality of the leader makes a difference when running for president

  • Very small pool of candidates for president

  • Cause of the legacy of colonialism

Vice President

• Will always be from the opposite side of the country

  • Chosen by the president

  • Steps in case of illness and death

Bureracry

• Full of Parastatals

  • State owned but not directly run by the state, run by private

  • Tend to be inefficient another point of corruption

  • Some feel if democracy are going to do well, parastatals shouldn't exist

National Assembly (Legislative)

• Based on US Congress

• Bicameral (upper and lower)

  • Upper - Senate

  • Lower - House of Representatives

Senate (Upper House)

• 109 members, 3 from each state, 1 from Abuja

• Elected by SMD system

  • All come up for election at the same time

• 4 year terms

• Renewable multiple times

• Powers: 

  • Impeach judges and other high officials

  • Confirm all appointment of President

  • Second in Line: the senate president 

House of Representatives (Lower House)

• 360 members

• Elected by SMD system

  • Elections are up at the same time at the Senate

• 4 year terms

• Meet at least 6 months every year 

• All business has to take place in English

Judicial Branch

• Remained steady through all coups

• Subject to influence and corruption

• Has show a degree of independence that you don’t see in China and Russia

• Power of Judicial Review

  • Actually used it against both of the legislative and executive

• Common law at the national level 

  • but is Sharia in the north (locally)

• Lifetime membership but have to retire at 70

Subnational governments

• Every state has a governor and house of assembly 

  • Up for election at the same time as the national level

• Governors

  • 4 year terms and only 2 terms

• House of Assembly

  • Unicameral

  • 4 year terms

Terrorism

• MEND - Hate the rentier economy and want Nigeria to keep oil

• Boko Haram - religious

Parties

All progressive congress + Peoples democratic party

All progressive congress (APC)

• Party in power 

• Been in power since 2015

• Base of support comes from the Hausa Fulani area and Yoruba area

Peoples democratic party (PDP)

• In power during 1999-2015

• More right

• Base of support comes from southeast and central area

Constitution

• 7 constitutions

  • After each military rule constitution is suspended and new one is put in place

Constitution of 1979

• 5th constitution

• Changed system from UK (WestMinister) to US model

6th Constitution

Military Rule

Constitution of 1999 (current constitution)

• 9th in the past 64 years

• Ended the military rule 

• Reinstated the US model government

• 320 articles: (articles lay out the branches of government)

  • So big because a glossary attached to the constitution

    • To prevent anything being up to interpretation so government can progress without tensions between groups for meanings

  • Accounts for any possible issue happening

• National Unity is the main theme 

  • States responsibility is to keep the country together

  • give them a sense of belonging despite the ethnic tensions

  • Want to make sure no one ethnic group is dominating 

    • President must win 25% of the votes in at least two thirds (24/36) of the states

    • President’s cabinet must have a minister from each of the 36 states so states are represented

    • The VP has to be from a different part of the country than the president to make sure there is representation of many regions

Westminster Model failed

• Two branches fused, that means one party or one region dominates the branch of the government, which presents as a problem for the other regions

• National has the most government and states aren’t able to make their decisions without national supervision

• Multi Party system in legislative of UK system means it is very difficult for coalition and for everyone to agree, everything takes forever to happen

Tension between modernity and traditional life

• Connection to that ethnicity and local community 

  • A lot of people go to chiefs and village leaders to solve problems

• Opposite but they also have cities and western influence

• Some want to continue how they have been living for centuries but some want to live a modern life

• Globalization

Post-Colonialism

• Lack of highly educated and skilled leaders

• Leaving a power vacuum after colonists left allowing military rule 

• Official language is English

Dominance of State

• They still have a state that dominates many aspects of life even though there are a lot of ethnic groups

• Idea that the control at the top level you have a lot of power

• State plays a big role in economy, resource distribution

• But Civil Society is still such a big thing

Political Culture

• Slave Trade

• Colonialism - Had a civil war due to pushing different ethnic groups together

  • This country did not have a revolution 

• Community 

• Regionalism - Many different kinds of lands in Nigeria