Parties Parallel Primaries and Its Implication to Political Development in Nigeria

Structurally, political parties in the country are weak and this has always led to lack of internal cohesion. Most political parties operate outside the purview of their constitutional guides. The lack of internal democracy in the political parties is therefore, not only worrisome but has become highly problematic with rising incidences of political parties’ parallel primaries. The recent primaries conducted by the various political parties have only shown that the culture of inclusive democracy is still miles away from the nation’s political space, which might take some time for Nigeria to catch up with the reality of representative governance. The primaries for nomination of candidates for the various political offices in preparation for the general elections from 2003 to 2015 may have come and gone, but the angst generated by the outcome of the primaries has continued to attract opprobrium. The effects of this malaise have threatened the very foundations of the Nigerian state and have slowed the pace of democratic consolidation and political development in the country. How then can we build democracy without democrats? Cries of candidate’s imposition, parallel congresses, undemocratic conducts and mass protest have greeted the outcome of the so-called primaries across the states of the federation. The disagreement and anger generated by the undemocratic conduct associated with the primaries have culminated in threat of mass defection from some political parties. This paper sought to investigate political parties’ parallel primaries in the context of Nigeria fourth republic with a view to ascertaining it implication to political development and proffering way forward. Key words: political party, parallel primaries, political development, candidate selection, internal democracy

Political Nomadism and Its Implications on Political Development in Nigeria: A Critical Analysis

Political nomadism; that is the nature of the game, politics without principles; understand it by whatever nomenclature, acronym or synonym you may so desire: political port - de - port, political party defection, cross carpeting, floor crossing, party defection or deflection, party decamping, political party prostitution and the likes; this writer prefers the term political nomadism not for any derogatory intent but for the primary purpose of capturing the vitiating nature of that phenomenon in the political prospect of Nigeria. Political nomadism is self-serving as it leaves the politician without a bus stop pursuant to self-aggrandizement. The concern of this paper however is not on political nomadism per se as much as it is on the political development of Nigeria viewed from the binocular of democratic consolidation. At the heart of Nigerian ruling class politics is a fundamental inability to serve the genuine interests of the Nigerian people. The APC’s emergence represents a major gain for the historically fractious oppositional segment of the Nigerian ruling class and in truth; they must be commended for coming so far to the point where they are increasingly becoming a serious alternative to the PDP. As the battlefield ‘election 2015’ is drawing nearer, Nigeria is witnessing more and more political nomadic movements, which may spell impending doom to our fledgling democracy. Drawing extensively on secondary sources of literature and leaning on the post-colonial state framework, this paper exposes the historico-evolutionary trends of political nomadism, rationalizes its causative factors and critically analyses its implications on political development in Nigeria. Based on the findings of this study political nomadism rests on a tripod of factors, namely: constitutional or legal inadequacies, irresponsible political ruling class and absence of internal democracy. Recommendations are therefore suggested for policy cum legal reforms for strengthening democratic practices. Key words: political nomadism, political development, democracy, party defection, internal democracy

Rural access roads and the quest for agricultural development: an appraisal of the conditions in south-east in nigeria

This study examined the quest for agricultural development in Nigeria vis-à-vis the conditions of rural access roads in South-east Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the impact of the condition of the three types of rural access roads, namely, bush-paths, gravel-surfaced roads, and tarred roads on the quantity of food crops produced by smallholder farmers, their income levels, and contribution to agricultural GDP. The study adopted the quantitative research method and cross-sectional survey design. The questionnaire was validated and pre-tested. The reliability test performed on the questionnaire showed a Cronbach’s Alpha Index of 0.823. Five (5) sample units comprising five chapters of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States were used to select 328 stratified random respondents. Descriptive statistics consisting of frequency counts, and percentages were used in analyzing the data. Three hypotheses were put forward for test using Simple Linear Regression and ANOVA. The findings show that bush-paths as rural access roads did not significantly increase the quantity of food crops produced by rural farmers, that gravel-surfaced roads as rural roads never increased the income level of rural farmers; and that tarred roads as rural access roads did not contribute significantly to total agricultural GDP. The study recommends that government and other major stakeholders like international agencies and other development partners should prioritize and embark on massive rural road construction and regular maintenance

Rural access roads and the quest for agricultural development: An appraisal of the conditions in South-East In Nigeria

This study examined the quest for agricultural development in Nigeria vis-à-vis the conditions of rural access roads in South-east Nigeria. Specifically, the study investigated the impact of the condition of the three types of rural access roads, namely, bush-paths, gravel-surfaced roads, and tarred roads on the quantity of food crops produced by smallholder farmers, their income levels, and contribution to agricultural GDP. The study adopted the quantitative research method and cross-sectional survey design. The questionnaire was validated and pre-tested. The reliability test performed on the questionnaire showed a Cronbach’s Alpha Index of 0.823. Five (5) sample units comprising five chapters of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States were used to select 328 stratified random respondents. Descriptive statistics consisting of frequency counts, and percentages were used in analyzing the data. Three hypotheses were put forward for test using Simple Linear Regression and ANOVA. The findings show that bush-paths as rural access roads did not significantly increase the quantity of food crops produced by rural farmers, that gravel-surfaced roads as rural roads never increased the income level of rural farmers; and that tarred roads as rural access roads did not contribute significantly to total agricultural GDP. The study recommends that government and other major stakeholders like international agencies and other development partners should prioritize and embark on massive rural road construction and regular maintenance

Democracy and sustainable development in rural communities of Ebonyi State, Nigeria: The bridge-building role

The inadequacies of socio-economic and infrastructural facilities in the rural communities in Nigeria has indeed, continued to pose serious challenge to the various governments in the country despite series of intervention programmes initiated and implemented to accelerate rural community development. The availability of these socio-economic infrastructure were believed to have enabled the rural community dwellers have access to the wide distribution of the benefits of the economic growth, significant improvement in the incomes and assets of the poor which would improve their living standard. This study therefore set out to examine the effect of democracy as a bridge builder in the provision of sustainable development in the rural communities in Ebonyi State. The study contends that sustainable development in the rural communities was a typical outcome of the application of democratic principle. It asserts that the practice of democracy is a determining factor in the sustainable development of rural communities in Ebonyi state. The study posits that democracy is the type of government that can guarantee the right of citizens to improved incomes and assets of the poor and to a large extent improve their living standard. The data for the study were collected from documentary sources, media commentaries, scholarly inputs and direct observation, while content analytical approach was adopted. The study adopted system’s theory as its framework of analysis. The study found out that the previous undemocratic governments approach to rural development were not consistent hence, it had no significant impact on the lives of the rural community dwellers. The paper concludes that democracy remains a viable bridge builder for community development in Ebonyi state even though the programme was not sustainable as the impacts were minimal