Federal Republic of Nigeria: Citizens, Society, and State

1. Federal Republic of Nigeria:Citizens, Society, and State By Scott Yu "Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress"

2. Lots of Diversity… • Between 250 and 400 separate ethnic groups with own customs, languages, and religions • Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5% • Languages: English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani • 521 languages

4. Lots of People… • Around 150 million • 8th most populous (after China, India, US, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) • One out of every four Africans Nigerian • Young population • 0-14 years: 41.5% • 15-64 years: 55.5% • 65 years and over: 3.1% • Median age: 19 years

5. And still growing • 2% population growth rate (61st) • Compared to Russia’s negative rate • In Nigeria, each woman bears an average of 5.49 children in her lifetime • Rate of urbanization: 3.8% • Compared to PRC’s 2.7% • 48% of total population urban • 1.308 million land-line telephones • 62.988 million cell phone users • 11 million internet users

7. Impact on Society • More children • Dependency ratio steadily rising since 1960s because of urbanization • Burden on welfare and education • Positive population growth rate, negative per capita GDP growth rate • Urban planning • 2002: Abuja at 4 million (compared to 1.5 million)

8. Public Challenges • Poverty • 60% below poverty line • Enormous income gap • HIV/AIDS • One of every eleven HIV/AIDS sufferers lives in Nigeria • 2.6 million living with AIDS, 170,000 deaths per year • Prevalence lower but larger population • Government initiatives

9. Public Challenges • Public Health • Economic implications • Life expectancy is 47 years • 1987 Bamako Initiative • Increased accessibility via community-based healthcare and user fees • “Brain Drain” • 21,000 Nigerian doctors in US alone

10. Literacy

11. Schooling • Public education, no compulsory attendance • Secondary school rate of attendance 32 percent for males and 27 percent for females • Nigerian National Planning Commission: “dysfunctional” (2004) • 8 years average • Males higher than females • .9% GDP devoted to education • 180th in world

12. Cleavages • Cumulative • Ethnic, regional, religious, urban/rural, social class • Undermine basic legitimacy of government

13. Ethnicity Cleavage • Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba • Cultural and language barrier • Regionally separated and virtually no contact between groups • 1967-1970: Nigerian-Biafran War • Igbo secession • Compare to ongoing Russia-Chechnya conflict • Economic interests

14. Religion Cleavage • Many competing religions • 50% Muslim, 40% Christian, remaining 10% native religions • Bitterness from British preferential treatment of Christians • Debate about role of sharia in policymaking • 95% of Nigerian Muslims Sunni (95%), but a significant Shia minority

15. Region Cleavage • 1955: Division into Three Federated Regions • Regions  election and legislative procedures, political party affiliations • East/Igbo/ANPP • West/Yoruba/AC • North/Hausa-Fulani/PDP

16. Urban v. Rural Cleavage • Political organizations, interest groups, newspapers, and media in cities • Activities suppressed by annulment of 1993 election and execution of rights activist and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995 • Most organized protests in cities • Black gold in underdeveloped south

17. Social Class Cleavage • Elite control state and country’s resources • Elite divided between personal and national interests

18. Political Participation • Long history of rich civil society but citizens subjects rather than active participants • Free press and interest group membership even under military rule but restrictions still exist • Much political participation in patron-client system • Special brand of clientelism known as “prebendalism” from Max Weber’s concept of an extremely personalized system of rule in which all public offices are treated as personal fiefdoms • Kinship ties important since polygamy permitted

19. Civil Society • Many formal interest groups and informal voluntary associations • 1999: formal associations strengthened • Trade unions/professional organizations: National Union of Petroleum and Gas Workers (NUPENG) • Formal associations for legal, medical, and journalism

20. Voting Behavior • Patterns difficult to track since many elections canceled, postponed, nullified, or fraudulent • Political parties numerous and fluid, formed around charisma of leadership • Party loyalty is imperfect reflection of voter attitudes • Political participation in 1990s decreased after Babangida’s annulment of 1993 election • 1999 and 2003 large turnout (2/3 of eligible voters in 2003 says one estimate)

21. Attitudes toward Government • Distrustful: 1998 “a coup from heaven” • Attitudes more favorable and national identification in early days of independence • 2006 Afrobarometer survey of 18 countries • 6 in 10 Africans: democracy best form of government • Satisfaction with democracy: 58 to 45% in 2001 • Transparency International’s 2006 “Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index” • 142nd out of 146 countries

22. Protests, Participation, and Social Movements • International oil companies major targets • July 2002: Ijaw encounter with ChevronTexaco • Others crushed by violent suppression by Obasanjo government • MOSOP, MOSSOB • 2006: increase in protests and unrest occurred • Armed rebels attacks • MEND • Production repercussions

23. But they’re still happy!