Democracy in Jeopardy: An Analysis of the Prospects of Opposition Political Parties in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

https://doi.org/10.35912/dpd.v1i2.1471
Published: Jun 9, 2023

Abstract:

Purpose: Opposition political parties are generally believed to be weak in Africa and particularly in Nigeria. Despite their centrality to the democratic consolidation, opposition parties are not performing the critical role as watchdogs to the ruling party partly because of their sizes or fragmentations. This study examined the role of the ruling political party in Nigeria and, by extension, the Nigerian government in making opposition parties be perpetually weak to ensure its hold on power.

Research methodology: The study employed qualitative data in carrying out the research.

Results: From the contextual analysis of the literature reviewed, the study discovered that weak political institutions and a lack of political will are largely at the heart of the problem in Nigeria.

Recommendations: It posited that transparency and political will on the part of the ruling party and the government will create a level playing field for all political parties to thrive.

Keywords:
1. democratic consolidation
2. opposition political parties
3. Nigeria’s fourth republic
4. ruling party
5. political institutions
Authors:
Amos Olajubu
Department of Political Science, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria
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Olajubu, A. (2023). Democracy in Jeopardy: An Analysis of the Prospects of Opposition Political Parties in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Dynamics of Politics and Democracy, 1(2), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.35912/dpd.v1i2.1471
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Vol. 1 No. 2 (2022): February
Articles
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

References

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  1. Abutudu, M. (2014). Political Parties, Elections and Governance in Nigeria: The Fourth Republic in Perspective. Journal of Political Studies, 21(2), 1.
  2. Adebiyi, M., Bakare, A., & Saka, L. (2019). Political parties and opposition politics in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic”. Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 8(1), 536-549.
  3. Adenuga, G. (2022). The Indigeneity clause and the mismanagement of ethnic diversity in Nigeria. Dynamics of Politics and Democracy, 1(2), 97-107.
  4. Adenuga, G., Adenuga, A., & Oderinde, O. (2021). Intra-Party Conflicts and Party Stability in Nigeria: A Study of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). Annals of Management and Organization Research, 3(2), 141-151.
  5. Agbaje, A., & Adejumobi, S. (2006). Do Votes Count? 1 The Travails of Electoral Politics in Nigeria. Africa Development, 31(3), 25–44-25–44.
  6. Aleyomi, M. B. (2013). Election and Politics of Party Defection in Nigeria: A Clue from Kogi State. Covenant Journal of Politics and International Affairs, 1(1), 82-94.
  7. Anglin, D. G. (1998). International election monitoring: The African experience. African Affairs, 97(389), 471-495.
  8. Ashindorbe, K. (2018). Electoral violence and the challenge of democratic consolidation in Nigeria. India Quarterly, 74(1), 92-105.
  9. Asingo, P. (2013). Opposition Coalitions and Democratic Ouster of Dominant African Parties: Lessons from the 2002 Kenya Elections.
  10. Auwal, A. (2021). Opposition Politics and Democracy: Lessons from the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria. FUDMA JOURNAL OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, 4(1), 144-153.
  11. Bogard, P. W. (2007). Blessings from a small house: University of Nevada, Reno.
  12. Branton, R., English, A., Pettey, S., & Barnes, T. D. (2018). The impact of gender and quality opposition on the relative assessment of candidate competency. Electoral Studies, 54, 35-43.
  13. Burcher, C. U., & Bisarya, S. (2017). Threats from within: democracy’s resilience to backslidingThe Global State of Democracy Exploring Democracy’s Resilience: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Retrieved from https://iknowpolitics.org/sites/default/files/idea-gsod-2017-report-en.pdf.
  14. Bybee, J. L., & Dahl, Ö. (1989). The creation of tense and aspect systems in the languages of the world: John Benjamins Amsterdam.
  15. Collier, P., & Vicente, P. (2008). Votes and Violence: Experimental Evidence from a Nigerian Election.
  16. Dolo, E. (2006). Opposition parties: Benefits and Challenges in Building Democracy. The Perspective, 1-8.
  17. Erameh, N. I., Oni, E. O., & Ojakorotu, V. (2021). International Election Observation and the Democratization Process in Nigeria. Taiwan Journal of Democracy, 17(2).
  18. Gandhi, J., & Lust-Okar, E. (2009). Elections under authoritarianism. Annual review of political science, 12, 403-422.
  19. Hamalai, L., Egwu, S., & Omotola, J. S. (2017). Nigeria’s 2015 general elections: Continuity and change in electoral democracy: Springer.
  20. Howard, M. M., & Roessler, P. G. (2006). Liberalizing electoral outcomes in competitive authoritarian regimes. American Journal of Political Science, 50(2), 365-381.
  21. Huntington, S. P. (1991). Democracy's third wave. Journal of democracy, 2(2), 12-34.
  22. Jiménez, M. (2023). Contesting autocracy: Repression and opposition coordination in Venezuela. Political Studies, 71(1), 47-68.
  23. Kavasoglu, B. (2022). Opposition party organizational features, ideological orientations, and elite co-optation in electoral autocracies. Democratization, 29(4), 634-654.
  24. Khan, M. M. R. (2021). Political state and the dilemma of dignity, equality and freedom: Evidence from a sovereign state. Dynamics of Politics and Democracy, 1(1), 29-37.
  25. Kiiza, J. (2005). The role of opposition parties in a democracy. Paper presented at the Regional Conference on Political Parties and Democratisation in East Africa, Tanzania.
  26. LeBas, A. (2003). The Contributions of Contention: Political Change in the Hybrid Regimes of Southern Africa. Paper presented at the delivery at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
  27. Lindberg, S. I., & Lindberg, S. (2006). Democracy and elections in Africa: JHU Press.
  28. Linz, J. J., & Stepan, A. C. (1996). Toward consolidated democracies. Journal of democracy, 7(2), 14-33.
  29. Lust-Okar, E. (2005). Structuring conflict in the Arab world: Incumbents, opponents, and institutions: Cambridge University Press.
  30. Mauk, M. (2022). Electoral integrity matters: how electoral process conditions the relationship between political losing and political trust. Quality & Quantity, 56(3), 1709-1728.
  31. Mesfin, B. (2008). Democracy, elections & political parties: A conceptual overview with special emphasis on Africa. Institute for Security Studies Papers, 2008(166), 12.
  32. Norton, P. (2008). Making sense of opposition. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 14(1-2), 236-250.
  33. Nwanegbo, C. J., & Alumona, I. M. (2011). Incumbency factor and democratic consolidation in Nigeria’s fourth republic. The Social Sciences, 6(2), 125-130.
  34. Obafemi, O., Egwu, S. G., Ibeanu, O., & Ibrahim, J. (2014). Political Parties & Democracy in Nigeria: National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
  35. Ojo, E. O. (2008). Vote buying in Nigeria. Money and politics in Nigeria, 38(3), 109.
  36. Olaniyan, A. (2020). Election sophistication and the changing contours of vote buying in Nigeria’s 2019 general elections. The Round Table, 109(4), 386-395.
  37. Omotola, J. S. (2006). The limits of election monitoring: Nigeria's 2003 general election. Representation, 42(2), 157-167.
  38. Omotola, J. S. (2010). Elections and democratic transition in Nigeria under the Fourth Republic. African Affairs, 109(437), 535-553.
  39. Omotola, J. S. (2012). Legitimacy crisis and ‘popular uprisings’ in North Africa. Strategic Analysis, 36(5), 713-719.
  40. Omotola, J. S. (2014). African Union and the Promotion of Democratic Values in Africa: An Electoral Perspective.
  41. Omotola, S. (2010). Explaining electoral violence in Africa's' new'democracies. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 10(3), 51-73.
  42. Onah, E. I., & Nwali, U. (2018). Monetisation of electoral politics and the challenge of political exclusion in Nigeria. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 56(3), 318-339.
  43. Onapajo, H. (2014). Violence and votes in Nigeria: The dominance of incumbents in the use of violence to rig elections. Africa Spectrum, 49(2), 27-51.
  44. Onuoha, F. C., & Ojo, J. (2018). Practice and perils of vote buying in Nigeria’s recent elections. conflict trends, 2018(3), 21-29.
  45. Ottaway, M. (1997). African democratisation and the Leninist option. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 35(1), 1-15.
  46. Oyewole, S., & Omotola, J. S. (2022). Violence in Nigeria’s 2019 general elections: trend and geospatial dimensions. GeoJournal, 87(3), 2393-2403.
  47. Sebudubudu, D., Bodilenyane, K., & Kwerepe, P. (2016). The politics of opposition electoral coalitions and alliances in Botswana. The African Review: A Journal of African Politics, Development and International Affairs, 1-26.
  48. Selçuk, O., & Hekimci, D. (2020). The rise of the democracy–authoritarianism cleavage and opposition coordination in Turkey (2014–2019). Democratization, 27(8), 1496-1514.
  49. Southall, R. (2000). The state of democracy in South Africa. Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 38(3), 147-170.
  50. Sule, B., Adamu, U., & Sambo, U. (2020). The 2019 General Election in Nigeria: Examining the issues, challenges, successes and lessons for future general elections. International Journal of Social Sciences Perspectives, 6(2), 100-113.
  51. Tenuche, M. (2011). The albatross called primary elections and political succession in Nigeria. Canadian Social Science, 7(4), 121-130.
  52. Teshome-Bahiru, W. (2009). Opposition parties and the politics of opposition in Africa: A critical analysis. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(1), 1-15.
  53. Tunde, S. R., Lawal, A. F., & Muhammed, A. (2015). The phenomenon of money politics and Nigeria’s democratization: An exploration of the fourth republic. Journal of Social Economics Research, 2(1), 1-9.
  54. Uzodike, U. O., & Onapajo, H. (2019). Beyond the card reader: anti-election rigging technology and national security in Nigeria. Insight on Africa, 11(2), 145-161.
  55. Webb, P. (2009). The failings of political parties: Reality or perception? Representation, 45(3), 265-275.
  56. Weghorst, K. R., & Lindberg, S. I. (2011). Effective opposition strategies: Collective goods or clientelism? Democratization, 18(5), 1193-1214.
  57. Weinblum, S., & Brack, N. (2011). 'Political Opposition': Towards a Renewed Research Agenda. Interdisciplinary Political Studies, 1(1), 69.
  58. Wiebrecht, F. (2021). Between elites and opposition: legislatures’ strength in authoritarian regimes. Democratization, 28(6), 1075-1094.
  59. Young, C. (2004). The end of the post-colonial state in Africa? Reflections on changing African political dynamics. African Affairs, 103(410), 23-49