Nigeria at the Crossroads

1.2. Political situation After independence, Nigeria had six coups (1966, 1967, 1975, 1983, 1985 and 1993), followed by military rule and short periods of civilian rule as a republic. Following these decades of mostly military rule, Nigeria has been enjoying the longest period of civi- lian rule in its history, having a multiparty democracy since 1999. It is a federation of 36 autonomous states and the Federal Capi- tal Territory. The executive wing of government is controlled by the All-Progressives Congress party (APC), which holds majority seats in the Senate and House of Representatives in parliament, as well in most of the States. It has a bicameral legislature comprising a 109-member Senate and a 360-member House of Representatives. Currently there are 18 registered political parties. Political parties alternate candidates for elected office on an “eth- no-regional” basis, also referred to as the Federal Quota System. The system was devised in response to fears of marginalization and ethnic domination in education and government. However, this system has a good number of critics who complain of a dis- criminatory effect. Perceived violations of these arrangements have often led to conflict. President Muhammadu Buhari will complete his second term in office on May 29th, 2023. General Elections to elect a new Presi-

dent, Federal and State Legislators and Governors are scheduled for February 2023. The two strongest candidates to succeed him are Bola Tinubu, ex-governor of Lagos, a Muslim and a member of Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) party; and Atiku Abubakar, a Mus- lim from the north, former vice president of the opposition PDP (People’s Democratic Party). Until now, the most important parties had always presented a ticket that represented the two main religions of the country. If the president was a Christian, the vice president would be a Mus- lim, and vice versa. But for the first time, the All-Progressives Con- gress presented Muslim-Muslim ticket: the presidential candida- cy of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shetima, both Muslims. Many Nigerians criticized the bias and insensitivity towards the pluralistic Nigerian society. The Muslim-Muslim tic- ket is widely seen as an indicator of increasing religious discrimi- nation and marginalization in the country. In this context a third strong candidate has emerged, Peter Obi of the Labor Party, popular with young people, Christians and southerners. Elections often serve as flashpoints for violence as political office at all tiers of government yields access to oil earnings and other state resources.

Nigeria geopolitical zones

North-Central (7 states): Benue, FCT, Kogi, Kwara, Nassarawa, Niger, and Plateau North-East (6 states): Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe North-West (7 states): Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara

South-East (5 states): Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo South-South (6 states): Akwa Ibom, Ba- yelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Rivers South-West (6 states): Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Lagos.

states 36

geopolitical zones

SOKOTO

ZAMFARA KATSINA

JIGAWA

BORNO

YOBE

KANO

KEBBI

KADUNA

BAUCHI

GOMBE

NIGER

ADAMAWA

KWARA

PLATEAU

FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY

NASSARAWA

OYO

TARABA

EKITI

KOGI

OSUN

BENUE

OGUN

ONDO

EDO

ENUGU

LAGOS

EBONYI

ANAMBRA IMO

CROSS RIVER

ABIA

DELTA

AKWA IBOM

RIVERS

BEYELSA

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