Browsing by Author "Olaniyi, Johnson O."
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Item An Analysis of Election and Its Purposes in a Political System: A Review(Department of Sociology, 2014) Olaniyi, Johnson O.The imperativeness of election in a democracy is often determined by the purposes it serves. The extent to which it serves these purposes is a function of its political . milieu. This review examines the purposes which election serves in a democracy and the objective is to carry out a prognosis of the purposes served by election in a democracy. Other objectives include: (i) an examination of what often serves as the inhibiting factors of the purposes served by election in a democracy; (ii) an examination of why the purposes fare better in some political systems than others; and (iii) an examination of the diverse forms such purposes serve in various democracies. The review is theoretical in nature but inferences were drawn from contemporary experiences of some nations across the globe. To that extent, the review adopts descriptive mode of analysis and its source of information was mainly secondary sources. The review arrives at a number of facts part of which include: (i) that most elections conducted by Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in developing nation often end up in skirmishes due to the fact that they fall -short of performing their functions unbiased; (ii) that the purposes served by elections in developed nations often fare better than developing nations because of the 'high political culture' of the latter; and (iii) that the purposes served by elections in various democracies often take diverse forms, perhaps, due to the selfish interest of the political elites of some countries or the socio-political values of some nations The review ends up with a number of recommendations which include: (i) constitutional provisions and the electoral laws of a nation should be emphatic on . how the purposes served by an election would materialize. The implementation of the purposes gtould De seen as a collaborative effort by all electoral stakeholders; . (ii) Continuous Mass Mobilization Agency should sensitize the political actors of a country prior to and during election on the need to allow election to take its course; and (iii) in order for election or electoral processes to meet international standards, efforts should be made by a country's Election Management Body (EMB) to enforce the purposes served by election, globally, before injecting local or domestic purposes into them.Item Application of the Principle of Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) to Nigeria's Educational System(2017-08) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Inter-Governmental Relations (IGR) is a principle which depicts a political arrangement where by, different levels of government and different categories of public official, inter-relate in different way for example, in the area of education. In Nigeria, education falls under concurrent legislative list which allows both the State and Federal Government to legislate on it. But apart from this arrangement, Local Government Councils also have responsibility to discharge in the area of education. The foregoing shows that since the three levels of government in Nigeria are involved in issues relating to educational policies, they are bound to inter-relate. This study therefore focuses on the application of the principle of IGR to Nigeria) educational system. The main objective of the study is to examine how the three levels of government in Nigeria, interrelates in the area of education. Its specific objectives include: (i) examine the extent to which the educational system in Nigeria complies with the principle of IGR; and (if) to examine the challenges q the application of the principle of IGR to Nigeria's educational system. Some of the findings of the study include; (i) the application of the principle of IGR to Nigeria's educational system had fared di.fJerently in Nigeria under various regimes, depending largely on the form of government in place; (ii) the application of the principle of IGR is a strategy of fostering national integration; and (iii) most of the challenges especially frictions between different levels of government of the application of the principle of lGR to Nigeria's educational system are traceable to the Constitution educational system of the country on one hand, and political actors on the other hand. Based on these findings, the study recommends that; (i) there should be strong constitutional provisions to help enforce and maintain the inter-relationships of the different levels of government in the area of education; and where they exist, they should be made more functional; (ii) governments should continue to adopt education as a mechanism for fostering national integration; and (iii) Nigerian political actors should endeavour to promote 'public interest' as opposed to 'private interest '.Item An Assessment of the Implications of Intra-Party Conflicts on Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria's Fourth Republic (1999-2016)(Department of Political Science, 2017-09) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Political parties the world over are seen as one of the instruments through which democratic processes are carried out. Their importance in establishing and maintaining a stable democratic order cannot be overemphasized. However, since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999 political parties have failed to perform their fundamental role of democratic consolidation religiously. This is not unconnected with the fragile inter and intra-party relations and incessant conflicts of varied magnitude. The main objective of the study is to assess how intra-party conflicts have been affecting political parties in contributing to the task of democratic consolidation in Nigeria's fourth Republic. This study examines the causes of intra-party conflicts in Nigeria and their implications on democratic consolidation in the Fourth Republic. In this study, comparative cum historical method serves as the research methodology Findings of this research work reveal that factors such as; lack of internal democracy, paucity of party ideology, godfatherism, issues relating to candidates' selection, among others, are the causes of intra-party conflicts in Nigeria. The study 't5CfuulIy reveals that intra-party conflicts have impacted negatively on the quest for democratic consolidation in Nigeria in a number of ways which include; proliferation of weak political parties, creation of civil unrest and electoral related violence. Based on its findings, the study recommends that political party should adhere to the principles of internal democracy: embrace certain political ideology; and play down the importance of godfather ism in its internal democracy.Item A Comparative Study of Nigerian and Indian Administrative Systems(Department of Political Science, 2017-06) Olaniyi, Johnson O.The role of an administrative system in the overall development of a country cannot be overemphasized. Apart from implementing policies and laws for the collective functioning of society, bureaucracy assists in policy formulation, sometimes through technical advice. The objective of this paper is to discuss the features of the administrative systems of developing countries of the world from a comparative perspective of Nigeria and India. System theory served as the theoretical framework of the paper. The research methodology adopted was qualitative, entailing the Lise of secondary data like textbooks, journals, articles and magazines. The findings of the paper are that, the Weberian model influenced significantly the administrative systems of developing countries, and also that there exist remarkable similarities and differences between the Nigerian and Indian administrative systems. Also, a lot of policies, like the quota and federal character systems had influenced administrative system in developing countries. The paper recommends that developing countries should rebuild their bureaucracies (Civil Service) so that they will be able to contribute to national development.Item The Incumbency Factor in Nigerian Elections: A Post-Fact Analysis of its Relevance to 2011 General Elections(Department of Political Science, 2012) Olaniyi, Johnson O.The incumbency factor is a domineering issues in electoral processes in virtually all political systems. However, it appears more pronounced in the developing states of the world than the developed countries. Consequently, political analysis of such countries usually decapitate their energies on its relevance in any electoral dispensation. In the case of Nigeria, its importance cannot be dismissed with a whisker. This is because, experiences of political analysis in the country before 2011 elections have revealed that more often than not, when an incumbent government contested an election, it hardly lost such an election. However, the results of the 2011 elections held in the country in the month of April revealed that incumbency was not a dominating factor in the elections. This was because many incumbents lost elections to opposition candidates. Rather, other factors like 'issues' 'party affiliation' and 'personality' out played it (incumbency factor). To arrive at this finding, an attempt was made to consider the impact of incumbency on elections outcomes in the previously held elections in the country (especially Fourth Republic) vis-a-vis the 2011 elections. It was further revealed that incumbency had been a threat to democratitization process in Nigeria before 2011 elections because it used to dampen the enthusiasm of the 'opposition' parties!candidates. Coupled with this were the constitutional provisions cum electoral laws which empowered the incumbent President to appoint the Chairman, National commissioner and Resident Electoral Commission (!NEC). However, in order toe ameliorate the logjam of incumbency on Nigeria's electoral processes; this study suggests that 'election administration' should be handled by individuals whose neutrality cannot be disputed. This we have found in what we tag as an 'Electoral Transitional committee' which will have a Judge of the 'Supreme Court' (the country's highest appellate court) as its Chairman with all the registered political parties that field candidates to contest elections having representatives in the Committee. This suggestion is in tandem with one of the recommendations of the Electoral Reform Committee headed by Justice Uwais which submitted its report in February 2009 but which the Nigerian Government failed to adopt for policy action.Item Nigerian Parties and National Integration(Accepted for Publication, 2017) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Political Party is a formal institution in a liberal democracy. It performs a central role in the enthronement of an enduring democratic legacy in any society "earning for political development Its Importance is further seen In the fact that even In an authoritarian society despots always hide under its platform to perpetrate their unwholesome acts. Nigerian political parties. since 1922 when the first political party- Nigeran National Democratic Party (NNDP)- was founded have been known to have fared differently III the area of national integration which is an Important function of a political party. The central objective of this study therefore. is to carry out an appraisal of how Nigerian parties have fared in the area of the integration of the country Other objectives include: (i )assessing how a party can perform its integrative function. (ii) assessing constitutional provisions in Nigeria as they affect the integrative role of political parties vis-a-vis party activities In Nigeria's Fourth Republic: and (iii) advancing strategies on how Nigerian parties of the Fourth Republic can better perform their integrative role in the country. The stud, adopts historical cum comparative methods as its research instrument for gathering all the necessary information. The theoretical framework adopted for the stud): is . structural functionalism. Some of the findings of the study include the following; (i) Nigerian parties before the Second Republic did not make the performance of integrative role a serious business: (ii)there were no manifest constitutional provisions or code of conduct for political parties that made it compulsory for Nigerian parties to key into the integrative efforts of successive regimes in the country. prior to the 1979 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; (iii) there has been a high level of compliance to the constitutional provision and electoral laws as they affect national cohesion by the Nigerian Parties of the Fourth Republic i~'the area of party organisation: (iv) activities of Nigerian Parties in the Fourth Republic in some instances. have given credence to the fact that they have not totally keyed into the integrative guidelines or provisions contained in the 1999 Constitution of the Fourth Republic of Nigeria (as amended): and (v) the signing of non-violence pacts before the 2015 General Elections went a long way to reduce the incidence of violence in the country to the barest minimum. Furthermore, 'the policy of making a defeated candidate to congratulate the winner of an election dropped the number of litigations to the barest minimum in 2015. Based on these guidelines, the study proffers the following as the strategies that can make Nigerian 'political parties fair well in the task of national integration; (i) party organisation and its activities or operations should continue to be guided by constitutional provisions as spelt out in sections 222 and 223; (ii)the country's Election Management Body (EMB) (currently the Independent National Electoral Commission - INEC) should, on an interval of two years be subjecting the organisation programmes and activities of registered political parties to a review and deregister any of them that contravenes aspects relating to their integrative role. This is necessary because there is no alternative to the unity of the country; (iii) the country's EMB should be organising interactive sessions with the registered political parties in the country guard against or reduce the incidence of political parties violating the aspects of their code of conduct bordering on national integration; and the signing of non-violence pacts should form part of the political parties code of conduct as developed by the Inter-Party Advisory Council. Furthermore. major political players should respect the rule of the game- accepting defeat.Item Nigerian Parties and Political Education in the Fourth Republic(Department of Political Science, 2017-06) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Political parties are different from other forms of associations because of its singular aim which is 'political'. Other associations may profess interests such as economic, educational, political, cultural, religious, social and environmental to mention but just a few The political aim of parties is often demonstrated by their intrinsic desire to capture; the reins of political power. However, before this can come to fruition, they are supposed to adopt a number of strategies principal among which is, 'political education'. This is the strategy by which political parties communicate with citizens regarding their manifestoes and the duties of the citizenry in the electoral process. The foregoing shows that the success of a political party during any electoral process is conditioned by its effective performance of political education. The main objective of this study is to assess the extent to which Nigerian parties have been performing the role of political education on one hand; and advance strategies on how Nigeria's Fourth Republican Parties can better perform their role of political education. The findings of the study reveal among others that (i) Nigerian parties that operated in the First, Second and Third Republics did not fare well in the area of political education (ii) in the current Fourth Republic although most of them availed themselves of the advantage of modern electronic media to reach out to the people, the performance is still below expectation; (iii) that the level of participation of people in political activities depends largely on how political parties and their candidates utilise the advantage of political education. The study recommends that: (i) for aparty to actualise its political aim, it must be more 'aggressive' in the area of political education; (ii) parties should take the advantage of modern telecommunication gadgets Networks to reach out to electorate during electioneering campaigns; (iii) civic education which is now being taught in post-primary schools in the country as a compulsory course, should be extended to tertiary institutions; and (iv) there should be constitutional, provisions and electoral laws that will make it mandatory for political parties and their candidates to offer political education to electorate . and their supporters.Item Nigerian Political Elites and Succession Crises in the Fourth Republic: A Study of the 2007 Governorship Elections(University of Ilorin, 2013-12) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Succession crises have become a recurring decimal in Nigeria's electoral processes over the years. Beginning from the First Republic to the Fourth Republic, each time an election was conducted in the country, the aftermath had always been a succession crisis between the declared winner and the loser. Experiences had revealed that the loser either took laws into his hand by propelling political crisis, or seek redress constitutionally, by taking his grievances to the Election Petitions Tribunal/Court. This study addresses succession crises in Nigeria's Fourth Republic using the Governorship elections of 2007 as its case study. The justification for the selection was informed by the fact that the outcomes of the elections recorded the highest number of litigations and up-turned gubernatorial elections in the country's political history. Some of the findings of this study include: (i) the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was indicted by some Election Petitions Tribunals/ Courts because of the sordid ways it managed the elections; (ii) about 80 per cent of cases filed before Election Petition Tribunals on gubernatorial polls, bordered on the outcomes of the elections; and (iii) about 80 per cent of the cases involved members of the opposition parties versus the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party. Part of the recommendations of the study are that: (i) INEC should always provide a level playing ground for electoral stakeholders during electoral processes; and (ii)Parties should always develop internal mechanisms that will guarantee equal representation in the affairs of the State.Item Political Participation, Voting Behaviour and 2015 Presidential Election in Nigeria(College of Social and Management Sciences, 2015-11) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Voting is the cheapest form. of political participation. People participate in political activities in various ways and for different reasons. This explains why there are often diversities in the voting behavior of electorate of any constituency. Election is one of the forms of political participation. It is also the most popular of all the various forms of political participation. The foregoing shows that there is a synergy between political participation and electoral activities. Voting is one of the forms of electoral activities.• It is through it political analysts can test; voters' tum-out in an election; the voting behavior of a group of electorate; popularity of governments' policies; and the level of political sophistication of electorate, among others. This study is anchored on the synergy between political participation and voting behavior using the Presidential Election of 2015 as its case study. Other objectives include the examination of (i) the imperativeness of political participation in a polity; (ii) issues that may determine the voting behaviour of electorate in any electoral dispensation; and (iii) factors that shaped the voting decisions of electorate in Nigeria during the Presidential Election of 2015. The study adopts historical cum comparative modes of analysis as its research methodology. Some of the findings of the study include: (a) -synergy exists between political participation and electoral activities; and (b) the voting behaviour of Nigerian electorate during the 2015 Presidential Election was largely determined by issues revolving around the primordial cleavages of the Nigerian State rather than factors like party affiliation and social group. Based on its findings, the study recommends that in order to avoid the threat of dis-integrative tendencies in Nigeria's future elections, Nigerian electorate need a prolonged sensitization and re-orientation period prior to the conduct of any election. The appropriate time recommended is immediately a general election has been concluded thus providing a time frame of four years. This panacea is necessary to guarantee a situation where by voting decisions in the country would rise above primordial sentiments.Item Political Parties and Nation-Building in Nigeria's Fourth Republic(College of Law, 2017-06) Olaniyi, Johnson O.This study evaluates the role of political parties in nation building using Nigeria as a case study and with specific reference to the Fourth Republic. The objectives of this study are: to evaluate the general roles of political parties in nation building in Nigeria; to examine the extent to which political parties in Nigeria have fared in the task of nation-building in the Fourth Republic and to analyze the challenges confronting political parties in enhancing nation-building in Nigeria. However, through the adoption of the historical/qualitative analysis cum comparative method, and the adoption of the plural society theory as the theoretical framework it was discovered that Nigerian political parties beginning from 1922 till now have not fared well in the task of nation building. This is because political parties in Nigeria right from independence were interested in championing sectional interests. It was also found out that despite constitutional provisions most Nigerian political parties in the Fourth Republic have given little or no regard to nation-building. It is however, recommended among others that Nigerian political parties should be more concerned about the activities that can enhance nation¬building. Political parties need to train and produce leaders that will promote the interest of the citizens and not a section of the population. This is to douse the tension that may arise from inter-ethnic conflict. Parties also need to adhere to constitutional provisions especially these on their formation and organization and those activities that can give credence to nation-building.Item The Politics of Mass Mobilisation in Nigeria: An Appraisal of the Administration of President Muhammad Buhari(College of Management & Social Sciences, 2017-05) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Governance is such a daunting task that requires reciprocal efforts of both the governors and the governed. This explains why governments in all political systems develop legitimation strategies aimed at enlisting the support of the people for their 'developmental projects'. This study examines legitimation efforts of successive administrations in post-colonial Nigeria through Mass Mobilization initiatives. The study, which adopts historical cum comparative methods of investigation and analysis, finds that while successive regimes in Nigeria have resorted to mobilization strategies including creation of agencies to earn legitimacy, certain regimes politicized their mobilization programmes turning them into instruments of political vendetta thereby negating the stated objectives of the mobilization efforts, The study concludes by proposing some measures capable of enhancing the integrity and effectiveness of mobilization strategies in Nigeria.Item State Independent Electoral Commissions and Local Government Elections in Nigeria(Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Networks, 2017) Olaniyi, Johnson O.Many state governments have not been allowing their State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to conduct elections as at when due but rather settle for 'caretaker committees'. Where elections have been conducted, the party in control of a state apparatus has been known to have cleared the polls. The general objective of this study is to assess the impact of electoral contest at the local government level on the political development of Nigeria. Specific objectives include (1) assessing the role of the political executives of a state in the determination of representation at the local government level in Nigeria; and (2) assessing the activities of SIECs in the management of local government polls. This study adopts comparative cum case study approach to analysing local government polls in Nigeria. This is discussed on a geopolitical basis. Some of the findings of the study include: (1) local government election in Nigeria is not given premium position by many state government in the political landscape of their state because of the fear of playing into the hands of their political rivals; and (2) SIECs are only independent in name and not in practice. The study recommends, among others, that (1) the country should adopt the arrangement in the aborted Third Republic where the country's EMB was empowered to conduct all elections at all levels of government and (2) local government elections in Nigeria should key into the electoral process of the country in all ramifications.