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Among the perennial constitutional challenges facing nation building
in Nigeria is the tension between people holding national citizenship
and those with indigeneship status. The dichotomy between ‘ethnic
indigeneship’ and ‘civic citizenship’ has been the cause of many
conflicts at the communal and state levels, as access to services and
resources depends on which category one belongs to. At the heart
of this challenge is the flawed application of the Federal Character
Principle, which marries citizenship and representation to indigeneship
or state of origin in respect of employment in government agencies at
the local, state and federal levels. The implementation of the Federal
Character Principle has seen indigenes of a state being favoured to the
exclusion of nonindigenes or settlers. The 1999 constitution endorsed
indigeneship as a legitimate basis on which to make political claims and
created justifications for indigene communities to deny nonindigenes
equal rights, while simultaneously guaranteeing all citizens freedom
from discrimination and freedom of movement within the federation.
To resolve this contradiction, a constitutional amendment that expands
the concept of indigeneship to include both individuals born in a state
and those individuals resident in a state for a minimum number of
years would be needed.
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There is no greater challenge to Nigeria’s democracy than a
fundamental reappraisal of the electoral system. There is a link
between the fixing of the electoral system and process, and the need
to reform the entire institutional edifice on which Nigerian democracy
is built: the powers and conduct of the executive; the ability of the
legislature to maintain its own integrity; the capacity of the judiciary to
be assertive in demonstrating its independence and adherence to the
rule of law; and the role of the security agencies in upholding citizens’
enfranchisement.
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Nigerians from all walks of life agree that corruption is an endemic
problem in the political system and constitutes a major challenge to
democratic governance. Corruption is seen as the cancer in Nigerian
democracy and it is rooted in the centralised, clientelist and patronage
nature of politics. The informal network of power-based relations,
pragmatic alliances, financial deals, the monopolising of information,
and a patrimonial distribution of patronage sustains corruption at the
federal, state and local levels. To maintain power, the system of patronage
– composed of self-serving politicians, businesspeople, political fixers
and ‘godfathers’ – trades offices, co-opts rivals, distributes concessions
and contracts to clientelism, political parties and political thugs. While
recent efforts under the civilian administration to fight corruption are
encouraging, no efforts can stem the spectacular political corruption
in Nigeria without attacking its systemic roots.
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The low percentage of women in institutions of political governance,
including political parties and elective government branches and
institutions, constitutes a challenge to democratic inclusiveness in
Nigeria. Factors militating against full political participation by women
include the ideology of patriarchy, male chauvinism, the dominance of
money in politics, and the rampant use of violence as an instrument in
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