Nigeria: Citizens, Society, and the State

1. Nigeria: Citizens, Society, and the State AP Comparative Government

2. Challenges to Democracy • Poverty • About 60% of all Nigerians live below the poverty line • Many are in absolute poverty, without the means to survive • There are large gaps between the rich and poor • Nigeria’s GINI index is 43 • U.S. 41.1 • Iran 44.5 • Mexico 51.7 • U.K. 40 • China 47.4 • Russia 41.7 • World 39 • Health Issues • It is estimated that 1 of every 11 NIgerianhas HIV/AIDS • The spread of this disease has caused social and economic issues • Literacy • There is a very low literacy rate in Nigeria, but females (60.6%) are less literate than their male counter parts (75.7%) • Both numbers are well below the world average

3. Cleavages • Nigeria has between 250 and 400 ethnic groups • The three largest are the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba • They have little in common and do not speak each other’s language • They also have very little contact with each other • Religion • About half of all Nigerians are Muslim, 40% are Christian, and the remaining 10% affiliate with native religions • These religious differences also make ethnic issues harder to deal with as well • The hatred of Christians is rooted in the preferential treatment Christians were given under British rule

4. Cleavages • Region/north v South • In 1955, Nigeria was divided into Three Federated Regions • These regions follow ethnic and religious divisions and they are the basis for election and legislative procedures • They also generally show the division of party • The North is primarily Muslim and the South is mainly Christian • Urban/Rural differences • Interest groups and political organizations mainly exist in cities • This is also true of almost all media

5. Patron-Clientelism (Prebendalism) • Nigeria practices a type of clientelism known as prebendalism • This is a personalized system of rule in which all public offices are treated as personal fiefdoms • This has allowed government officials to skew the government for extreme personal gain • This has led to great corruption within the government

6. Civil society • Since independence in 1999, political organizations have strengthened • Unfortunately this has caused Nigeria to fracture along ethnic and religious lines • Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Ken Saro-Wiwa) • National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers

7. Voting Behavior • Voting behaviors are difficult to track because of postponements and military takeovers • There are numerous political parties and they are very fluid • Charisma is an extremely important characteristic for candidates • It is estimated that 2/3 of eligible voters voted in the 2003 election • It is widely believed though, that the 1999 and 2003 elections were fraudulent

8. Attitudes toward government • Most Nigerians have a low level of trust in their government • When General Abacha died unexpectedly the Nigerians partied in the streets and dubbed it the “coup from heaven” • Democracy is a wanted commodity with 60% of Africans saying it was the best form of government • Transparency International has shown that out of 146 countries, Nigeria ranks 142nd in terms of how “clean” the government is

9. Corruption Perceptions Index 2010

10. Political Participation • In recent years religious, ethnic, and oil based political organizations have strongly pushed for changes in the governmental system • A good number of protests have ended violently and unfortunately being violently as well • Major Political Participation • disruptions of oil shipping and production have taken place as well • This therefore has world wide impact

11. After the 2011 election widespread demonstrations took place with the unhappiness that a Southerner (Goodluck Jonathan) had won the presidency twice in a row • A group whose name means “western education is sinful” fought for a greater application of sharia law and attacked the north • Police, churches and bars were the main targets