Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8kt4b Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-07T02:27:54.683Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Conflict and Divergence: Government and Society in Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Bolanle Awe
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract:

The paper postulates that the potential conflict and divergence between the Nigerian government in its formal structure and its beneficiaries, the Nigerian people, are crucial factors in the development of the country's present crisis. Its discourse adopts the historical approach, starting from the precolonial to the colonial and independent periods of Nigerian existence. It shows that, while governance in the precolonial period ensured largely the participation and the accommodation of the interest of all, including the women and the youth, the later periods witnessed the alienation of the ruled from the rulers; an elite group, the British and their Nigerian successors, made the interest of the majority subservient to their own. The long period of military rule only increased this alienation. Other potential factors of conflict such as ethnicism and religion intensified the subsequent crisis, which was further aggravated by the oil boom and the corruption it encouraged. The paper concludes by acknowledging civil society's valiant efforts to challenge government's increasing arbitrariness in spite of its constraints, and asserts that only democratic governance and a sovereign national conference to establish the basis of accommodation can provide a lasting solution to Nigeria's present predicament.

Résumé:

Résumé:

L'article postule que le conflit et la divergence potentiels entre le gouvernement nigérian dans sa structure formelle et ses bénéficiaires, le peuple nigérian, est un facteur crucial dans le développement de la crise actuelle du pays. Son discours adopte une approche historique, depuis l'époque pré-coloniale jusqu'aux périodes coloniales et de l'indépendance, de l'existence nigériane. Il montre que, tandis que le gouvernement, dans la période pré-coloniale, s'assurait largement de la participation et de l'accord des intérêts de tous, y compris des femmes et des jeunes, les périodes postérieures ont été le témoin de l'aliénation des gouvernés par un groupe d'élite, les Anglais, et leurs successeurs nigérians ont rendu l'intérêt de la majorité subordonné à leurs propres intérêts. La longue période militaire a seulement augmenté cette aliénation. D'autres facteurs potentiels de conflit comme l'éthnicisme et la religion, qui ont intensifié la crise qui en suivit -laquelle a été aggravée par le boom pétrolier et la corruption qu'elle avait encouragée - sont ici soulignés. L'article conclut en reconnaissant les vaillants efforts de la société civile pour défier le caractère arbitraire croissant du gouvernement, malgré ses contraintes, et affirme que seulement un gouvernement démocratique ainsi qu'une conférence sur la souveraine nationale pour établir la base d'un accord peuvent fournir une solution durable à la fâcheuse situation actuelle du Nigéria.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 42 , Issue 3 , December 1999 , pp. 1 - 20
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1999

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aboyade, O. 1976. Issues in the Development of Tropical Africa. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Ade-Ajayi, J. F. (1965). Christian Missions in Nigeria 1841–1891: The Making of a New Elite. London.Google Scholar
Adekanye, J. Bayo. 1989. “Politics in a Military Context.” In Ekeh, P. P., Cole, Patrick Dele, and Olusanya, G. O., eds. Nigeria since Independence: The First Twenty-Five Years. Vol. 5. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Adekanmbi, Dotun. 1999. “Tears for the Living.” The News, 12. 6, 41–44.Google Scholar
Adekanye, J. Bayo. 1993. Military Occupation and Social Stratification. Ibadan Google Scholar
Adekanye, J. Bayo. 1997. “Military in Transition.” In Diamond, Larry, Kirk-Greene, A., Oyediran, Oyeleye, eds., Transition without End. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Afigbo, A. E. 1972. The Warrant Chiefs: Indirect Rule in South Eastern Nigeria, 1891–1929. London.Google Scholar
Akande, A. E. 1987. “Contemporary Nigerian Communities and Rural Development.” Rural Sociologist 7 (3): 187–94.Google Scholar
Akande, A. E. 1994. “Issues of Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: Nigeria as a Case Study.” Dakar: CODESRIA.Google Scholar
Ake, C. 1996. Democracy and Development in Africa. Brookings.Google Scholar
Akeredolu-Ale, E. O. 1972. “The Competitive Threshold Hypothesis and Nigeria's Industrialization Process.” Nigerian Journal of Economics Studies 14.Google Scholar
Akinjogbin, I. A. 1967. Dahomey and Its Neighbours. London.Google Scholar
Akinjogbin, I. A. and Ayandele, E. A.. 1980. “Yorubaland up to 1800.” In Ikime, O., Groundwork of Nigerian History. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 21–143.Google Scholar
Akinyele, R. T. 1996. “States Creation in Nigeria: The Willink Report in Retrospect.” African Studies Review 39 (2):71–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alagoa, E.J. 1972. A History of the Niger Delta. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Gumucio-Dagron, Alfonso and Ngere-Nwagha, G. K., eds. 1993. Nigeria: NGO Puzzle. Lagos: UNICEF.Google Scholar
Awe, Bolanle. 1997. “It's Early Beginning.” In Lloyd, P. C., Mabogunje, A. L, and Awe, Bolanle, eds., The City of Ibadan, 11–25. Cambridge.Google Scholar
Awe, Bolanle. 1997. “Evaluation of Selected Women's Economic Adjustment Programs.” In Garba, Kassey, Akanji, Bola, and Isiugo-Abanihe, Ifeoma, eds., Women and Economic Reforms in Nigeria. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Ayandele, E. A. 1966. The Missionary Impact On Modem Nigeria, 1842-1914. London.Google Scholar
Ayandele, E. A.. 1974. The Educated Elite in Nigerian Society. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Biobaku, S. O. 1957. The Egba and Their Neighbours, 1842-1872. London.Google Scholar
Charlick, R. B. 1993. “Corruption in Political Transition: A Governance Perspective.” In Corruption and Reform: An International Journal 7 (33):177–88.Google Scholar
Commission on Peace and Food. 1989. Uncommon Opportunities: An Agenda for Peace and Equitable Development. London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Constitutions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 1979.Google Scholar
Denzer, I. 1998. The Iyabde in Ibadan Politics and Society, c.1850–1997. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Dike, K. O. 1956. Trade and Politics in the Niger Delta, 1830–1885. Oxford.Google Scholar
Educare Trust. 1999. Handbook for Education in the New Millennium.Google Scholar
Enery, J. H. 1985. “Towards a New Concept of Conflict Evaluation.” Conflict 6(1).Google Scholar
Falola, T. 1984. The Political Economy of a Pre-Colonial African State: Ibadan 1830–1900. Ile-Ife.Google Scholar
Falola, Toyin, and Ihonvbere, Julius. 1985. The Rise and Fall of Nigeria's Second Republic, 1979–84. London.Google Scholar
Himmelstrand, Ul. 1994. “Perspectives, Controversies and Dilemmas in the Study of African Development.” In Himmelstrand, Ul, Kinyaju, U. K., and Mburugu, E., eds. African Perspectives on Development: Controversies, Dilemmas and Openings. New York: St. Martins Press.Google Scholar
Idachaba, F. N. 1986. “Rural Development in Nigeria: Foundation of Sustainable Economic Development.” Ife Journal of Agriculture 8:71–120.Google Scholar
Ikime, O. 1969. Niger Delta Rivalry: Itsekiri Urhobo Relations and the European Presence, 1884–1936. London.Google Scholar
Ikime, O. 1980. Groundwork of Nigerian History. Ibadan: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Ikime, O. 1985. In Search of Nigerians: Changing Patterns of Intergroup Relations in an Evolving Nation State. Nigeria: Impact Publishers.Google Scholar
Mazrui, A., and Mazrui, A. M.. 1998. “The Interaction between the State and the Nation in Africa's Experience: Four Decades of Independence.” Paper presented at the International Seminar on Africa: National Unity, Stability and Development.Google Scholar
Mba, Nina. 1982. Nigerian Women Mobilized: Women's Political Activity in Southern Nigeria, 1900-1965. Berkeley: University of California.Google Scholar
Mugaju, B. Akiki. 1997. “Enhancing Democratization Process in Africa: Priorities for EU-ACP Cooperation.” ECDPM Working Paper No. 39.Google Scholar
Nnoli, O. 1989. Ethnic Conflict in Africa. CODESRIA Working Paper 1/89. Dakar: CODESRIA.Google Scholar
Nwakwo, A. A. 1987. The Military Option to Democracy: Class, Power and Violence in Nigerian Politics. Enugu.Google Scholar
Obasanjo, O., and Mabogunje, . 1993. A. Elements of Democracy. Sango Otta, Nigeria: African Leadership Forum.Google Scholar
Odejide, A. S. 1997. “Gender Blind Economic Adjustment Policies: The Consequences for Women In Nigeria.” In Garba, K., Akanji, B., Isiugo-Abanihe, I., eds., Women and Economic Reforms in Nigeria Ibadan.Google Scholar
Ogunseye, Bolaji. 1997. The Voluntary Sector and Sustainable Development in Africa: NGO Dilemmas. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
Olukoshi, Bayo. “Associational Life.” In Diamond, Larry, Kirk-Greene, A., and Oyediran, Oyeleye, eds. Transition Without End. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Olusanya, G. O. 1973. The Second World War and Politics in Nigeria 1939-1953. London.Google Scholar
Onimode, Bade. 1992. A Future for Africa: Beyond the Politics of Adjustment. London: EarthScan Publications.Google Scholar
Otite, O. 1986. “On the Sociological Study of Corruption.” In Odekunle, F., ed., Nigeria: Corruption in Development. The Nigerian Anthropological and Sociological Association.Google Scholar
Shyllon, Folarin. 1980. The Demise of the Rule of Law under the Military: Two Points of View. Ibadan.Google Scholar
Soyinka, Wole. “National Question in Africa: Internal Imperatives.” Development and Change 27:279–300.Google Scholar
Tamuno, Tekena O. 1980. “British Colonial Administration in Nigeria in the Twentieth Century.” In Ikime, O., ed., Groundwork of Nigeria History. Ibadan: Heinemann, 393–409.Google Scholar
United Nations. 1994. International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD): Program of Action. Cairo.Google Scholar
United Nations. 1995. World Summit for Social Development (WSSD). Copenhagen.Google Scholar
Usman, Bala. 1979. For the Liberation of Nigeria. London: New Beacon Books Google Scholar
Usman, Bala. 1981. The Transformation of Katsina, 1400–1883. Zaria.Google Scholar
Usman, Bala, ed. 1979. Studies in the History of the Sokoto Caliphate. Lagos.Google Scholar
World Bank. 1996. Nigeria and the World Bank: Learning from the Past. Looking to the Future. Washington, D.C. Google Scholar