COMP GOPO Unit 2A: Nigeria

Federal Republic

Direct elections, presidential, three branches, separation of powers, federal (states)

Direct Elections

a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons, or political party that they desire to see elected

Presidential

a system of government in which the legislative and executive branches operate independently of each other

Three Branches

Legislative, Executive, Judicial

Federal (states)

states whose power is divided between the central state and regional or local authorities (such as states, provinces, counties, and cities)

-Nigeria has 36 states and 1 Federal District where the capital, Abuja, is.

-Dependent subnational governments

Democratization and its impact on power, authority and legitimacy

colonialism to military rule to multiparty democracy, elections, mandatory ethnic diversity, corruption, citizen participation, universal suffrage, developing rule of law, ethnic/religious violence and separatism

Colonialism to military rule to multiparty democracy

Colonial Nigeria:

-"Nigeria" was popularized in 1897, the colony was not officially called Nigeria until 1914

-British imperialism: Royal Niger Company (1886-1914)

-British Colony (1914-1960); tribal leadership+ethnic rivalries both reinforced; spread of English language+Christianity+democratic principles; Cash cropping

Post independence:

-1960-66: Parliamentary Democracy (ends with Assassination of PM)

-1966-79: Military Dictatorship I: Five leaders, two coup d'etats, one counter-coup, one failed coup

-1979-83: Presidential Democracy, two-house legislature

-1983-99: Military Dictatorship II: Two bloodless coups, one annulled election, Abacha dictatorship leads to European sanctions:suspension from the Commonwealth

Legacy of British Colonization: dependency+democracy, regime change, identity politics (ethnic groups)

Elections

Nigerians can vote for President, House of Representatives, and Senate

-Elections happen every 4 years for each office; each election is staggered by 2 weeks

Mandatory Ethnic Diversity

Due to tensions between ethnic groups in Nigeria, there must be...

-president and VP must have different ethnic group backgrounds and religions

-Sharia Law (Islamic religious law) is enforced in the North

-Prez must win at least 25% of vote from each state so that the president is popular with each ethnic group

Corruption

dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery.

-1996=Nigeria rated as worst country for corruption by businesses and experts

-Oil/petroleum companies still pay former military leaders

-Corruption is still commonplace

-Lootocrats: bureaucrats often are corrupt because they have to take extra money since their normal salaries aren't enough to live on

Citizen Participation

Nigerians can vote and become part of a civil society

-civic and political participation is low though

Universal Suffrage

the right of all adults to vote for their representatives.

Developing Rule of Law

Nigeria is currently applying the law to everyone; some people are still somewhat above the law (e.g. bureaucrats taking bribes) and patronage

Ethnic/Religious violence and separatism

During the Colonial Era, the British gave special treatment to the Ibo (the smallest of the 3 main ethnic groups; biggest is Hausa-Fulani then Yoruba); this caused the other 2 main ethnic groups to dislike the Ibo

Northern Nigeria=mostly Muslim (due to earlier Arabian influences 1000 years earlier)

Southern Nigeria=mostly Christian (due to British colonization)

British pitted the ethnic groups against each other so that they wouldn't attack the British

Evolution of shared power with a largely regional framework intensified ethnic differences

Difference in ruling Northern and Southern Nigeria worsened existing divisions

Why is it particularly important in Nigeria that the executive is limited to two terms?

Nigeria has a history of military dictatorships; it's important that Nigeria's executive is limited to two terms to lower the chances of a dictatorship. Plus, having one person with one ethnic group have power and work favorably for that ethnic group for a long time builds up hostility among ethnic groups.

Executive

President, cabinet, appointment/removal, term limit ("fixed term"), single executive, legislative assent, foreign policy chief, commander-in-chief

Nigerian President

-Direct popular vote, plurality (not majority), 25% % in 2/3 of states (so that a president can't win from one region)

-VP exists but can't be the same religion/ethnicity as president

Cabinet

Appointed by president, Senate confirms

Appointment/Removal

Appointment by president (based on patronage and identity politics) (control of state allows leadership to put friends, relatives, and clients in government and corporate payrolls and to direct development projects to favored villages and neighborhoods), confirmation by Senate

President can remove any of his or her appointees at will

Impeachment charges are brought by Nigerian House of Representatives and people are removed by senate

Legislative Assent

Nigerian president has 30 days to give assent to bill or not

-no assent=bill is rejected

-No assent can be overridden by National Assembly (legislative branch)

Foreign Policy Chief

appoints ambassadors and negotiates treaties with advice and consent of Senate

Decree

An official order that carries the force of law

-no check on this

Legislature

Bicameral (Senate/House of Representatives), approve legislation, Senate=impeachment+confirmation

Bicameral

2 houses

-Senate (upper house; SDMP, 109 members, 3 per state and 1 from Abuja)

-House of Representatives (SMDP, 360 members)

-4 year term (same as president)

Approve Legislation

Each house must agree to same version of bill before sending it to prez

-prez must assent to bill

-if not, the National Assembly can still override the no assent and the bill still becomes law

Impeachment and Confirmation

-Impeachment=intentionally difficult (because of factionalism)

-Senate confirms presidential appointments

-House of Representatives brings impeachment charges, Senate votes on impeachment

Judiciary

Judicial review, federal, Shari'a Courts (Northern states), Supreme Court judges are recommended by a judicial council, nominated by the President and approved by the senate

Judicial Review

Allows the court to determine the constitutionality of laws

-people actually follow this in Nigeria

Shari'a Courts

Other type of court in Nigeria that is usually popular in Northern part of Nigeria. The court is based on Islamic law which is taken from Quran.

Supreme Court Judges are recommended by a judicial council, nominated by the President then approved by the Senate

-Judges are recommended by National Judicial council (so that court decisions would be less political), appointed by the president, then approved by the Senate.

Federal Courts and Subnational Courts

Nigeria has federal court system and also subnational courts (Shari'a courts and secular [non-religious] courts)

Commander-In-Chief

term for the president as commander of the nation's armed forces