Nigeria CSV Flashcards
Christianity and Islam
Nigeria’s population is evenly split between these two religions.
flagrantly fraudulent national elections in 2007
This rocked the government’s legitimacy to its core.
national question
the question of how the country should be governed, or even if Nigeria should remain as one nation.
1960
Nigeria got its independence when?
military force and authoritarian leaders
Nigeria’s tendency is to solve problems using these two methods:
constitutionalism
the acceptance of a constitution as a guiding set of principles - this has eluded Nigeria.
fragmentation
the tendency to fall apart along ethnic, regional, and religious lines. Nigeria has strong impulses toward this problem.
Olusegun Obasanjo
A military general who became president.
Umaru Yar’Adua
Current president of Nigera. Elected in 2007. No military background.
very bad
The current state of Nigerian legitimacy
corruption
General Ibrahim Babangida and General Sani Abacha (ruled from 1985-1998 collectively) were infamous for this
corruption
why are most Nigerians very skeptical about their government?
democratic movements have continued
why is there hope beneath the cynicism for the government?
Sharia
an important source of legitimacy in the north. Increasing trend of comprimise between dictates of faith and the realities of modern life. If this trend continues, the tensions between Christians and Muslims will fall.
it strikes to the heart of the country’s legitimacy crisis.
what is the effect of this statement: “the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership?”
rigging, intimidation, fraud, and violence.
Howe were the state and national leaders elected in 2007?
trade connections
a reason for Nigeria’s prosperity - the Niger River an access to the ocean allowed contact and trade with other civilizations.
early influence of Islam
these principles, including the rule of religious law, governed politics, emphasizing authority and policy making by the elite.
kinship-based politics
Nigerian leaders in the South at the village level generally conducted business through kinship ties. In the precolonial era, this kinship-based politics contrasted the North’s tendency to build states
democratic impulses
Nigerian still value democracy because the tradition goes back a long way. Especially strong among the Yoruba and Igbo
precolonial era
centralized states developed early in the geographic area that is now Nigeria.
colonial era
this era came when Great Britain both introduced the rule of law and influences that worked against democratic patterns.
authoritarian rule
Great Britain ruled indirectly by leaving chiefs and other natives in charge of governments designed to support British economic interests.
Interventionist state
the British trained the chiefs to operate their governments in order to reach economic goals. In Britain this internventionist state system worked because individual rights and the free market checked the rights of the British government. However, in Nigeria this set up the expectation that citizens should passively accept the actions of rulers
Individualism
capitalism and western political thought released a tendency for chiefs to think about the personal benefits of governance, rather than the good of the whole community.
Christianity
The British brought their religion with them, and it spread throughout the south and west, the areas where their influence was the strongest. Since Islam was already well entrenched in the north, the introduction of Christianity create a split between Christian and Muslim dominated areas.
Intensification of ethnic politics
During the colonial era, ethnic identities both broadened and intensified into three groups: the Hausa-Fulani, Igbo, and Yoruba.
The era since independence
Nigeria’s state from 1960 to the present. Nigeria struggled to make the parliamentary style work, but settled into military dictatorships by 1996.
Parliamentary-style government replaced by a presidential system
From 1960 to 1979 Nigeria followed the British parliamentary style government, but this failed because ethnic divisions made it difficult to find a majority party and the PM could not earn necessary power. In 1979 Nigeria switched to a presidential system with a popularly elected president, a separate legislature, and an independent judiciary. However, the legislature and judiciary have failed to check the power of the president
Intensification of ethnic conflict.
After Nigeria gained independence, it struggled with this.
Military rule
Although Nigeria remained together after its independence, it did so only under this type of rule.
Personalized rule and corruption
During colonial rule, native leaders lost touch with the old communal traditions that encouraged them to govern in the interests of the people, leading to this:
Federalism
Nigerian leaders set up a federalist system, with some powers being delegated to state and local governments. Failed because Military presidents kept power centralized
Economic dependence on oil
Nigeria’s good fortune has been a liability; its rich oil reserves tempt the military leaders and this oil money has only enriched the elite.
Problem with dependence on oil
Nigeria’s economic survival is based almost exclusively on oil - when international oil markets fall, so does Nigeria’s economy.
Political culture
characterized by ethnic diversity and conflict, corruption, and a politically active military. It also includes a democratic tradition.
Patron-clientelism (prebendalism)
Nigeria, China,and Mexico have this in common.
clientelism
the practice of exchanging political and economic favors among patrons and clients. Is almost always accompanied by corruption.
Ethnicity and religion
Ways that patrons are generally linked to clients in Nigeria.
Civil society
refers to the sectors of a country that lies outside government control. Nigerian civil society has remained out of the control of government
Tension between modernity and tradition
Nigeria’s colonial past had encouraged it to become a strong, modern nation, but it has also also restricted its ability to reach that goal. It was subservient to Britain, but after it was independent, modernity was difficult to attain because of ethnic-based military conflicts and personalized, corrupt leadership practices. Nigerians want to reestablish contact with thier pre-colonial roots that emphasize communal acocuntability
Religious conflict
The population is evenly divided between Christianity and Islam - this bring much of this kind of conflict.
Geographic influences
Nigeria can be divided into six geographic zones,
Northwest
dominated by two groups that combined as the Hausa-Fulani people, the area is predominately Muslim.
Northeast
This area is home to many smaller groups, such as the Kanuri, which are also primarily Muslim.
Middle belt
This area contains many smaller ethnic groups, and it is also characterized by a mix of both Muslims and Christians.
Southwest
The large ethnic group called Yoruba dominate this area. The Yoruba are about 40% Muslim, 40% Christian, and about 20% devoted to native religions.
Southeast
This area is inhabited by the Igbo, who are primarily Roman Catholic, but with a growing number of Protestant Christians.
The Southern Zone
This area includes the delta of the huge Niger River, and its people belong to various minority groups.
Hundreds
How many ethnically-based groups live within Nigeria’s borders.
Cultural diffusion
Contact with and spread of customs and beliefs of other people.
Indirect rule
The British imposed this on Nigerians; they trained natives, primarily from the south, to fill the European-style bureaucracy
Vicious cycle
Elites received better education, which increased their power, which allows them to pay for better education…this is called a:
British education
This sowed the seeds for decolonization because the British trained Nigerians to rule their own country, teaching the natives about freedom, justice, and equality of opportunity.
National question
The possibility that Nigeria would not survive as a country.
Ethnic identities
The modern era has seen ____ _____ become the major basis for conflict in Nigeria.
7
How many military coups have their been from 1960 to the present?
Poverty
A societal characteristic of Nigeria that makes democratization a challenge. Many people do not have the means to survive.
Large gap between the rich and the poor
A societal characteristic of Nigeria that makes democratization a challenge. The distribution of income in Nigeria is very unequal.
Health issues
A societal characteristic of Nigeria that makes democratization a challenge. Nigeria has high rates of HIV/AIDS.
Literacy
A societal characteristic of Nigeria that makes democratization a challenge. There is a gap between the male literacy rate and the female rate of almost 15%.
Cleavages
Nigeria has one of the most fragmented societies in the world.
Ethnicity, religion, region, urban/rural differences, and social class.
Important social cleavages
Marriage and children
Nigerian women’s educational opportunities are often cut short by these two events.
Ethnic tensions
exacerbated by religious differences among Muslims, Christians, and followers of native religions.
North vs. south
The north is primarily Muslim and the south is mainly Christian.
Urban/rural differences
These significant differences divide Nigeria.
Social class
The division between elites and ordinary people runs deep in Nigeria.
Civil society
the realm outside government influence. Activities are now taking place in this:
Prebendalism
the special brand of clientelism in Nigerian politics. Meaning an extremely personalized system of rule in which all public offices are treated as personal fiefdoms.
Centrifugal influences
These cause Nigeria to fragment along ethnic and religious lines.
MOSOP
The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People, founded by dissident Ken Saro-Wiwa in the 1990s.
Problems with election
Many elections have been canceled or postponed by the military and others have been fraudulent.
Coup from Heaven
A term used to commemorate the 1998 death of the hated General Abacha.
Skeptical
Nigerians feel this emotion about the prospect of democracy because they do not believe that elections are conducted in a fair and honest way.
Transparency International
a private organization that compiles statistics about corruption in countries around the world.
Corruption
This is a major problem in all six countries except for the United Kingdom.
Gender equality
Nigeria has serious issues with this: the House of Representatives has only 6.4% women and 3.7% women in the Senate.
Linkage institutions
These are both newly developed and highly fluid because Nigeria’ efforts to democratize are so far incomplete.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP)
One of the better-established parties. This party is the party of Olusegun Obasanjo, who was elected in 2004. In 2007 (amidst widespread fraud), Umaru Yar’Adua won from this party.
All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP)
Former General Muhammadu Buhari, a Muslim from the North, was this party’s candidate in 2004 and 2007..
Action Congress. (AC)
This political party ran Vice President Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate in the 2007 election.
Indepedent National Election Comission (INEC)
A political party that is widely accused of corruption in the election of 2007.
Local, state, and national
Citizens vote for candidates on three levels:
National level
Citizens vote for the president, representatives for the House of Representatives, and for senators from their states from this level of election:
Plurality
What is the Nigerian voting system?
Election fraud
This is a huge issue in Nigeria.
Sharia
A large number of Muslim civil society organizations in the north work to support the sharia court system.
Corporatism
government-approved interest groups that provide feedback to the government.
Nigeria’s Labor Congress
The labor unions regained much of their previous power when this congress called and successfully orchestrated a general strike of workers in cities across Nigeria.
Radio
The main source of information for most Nigerians.
Federal
In theory, Nigeria is this kind of political system, with government organizations on local, state, and national levels.
No
Do federalism or checks and balances currently operate successfully?
Patrimonialism
the president is head of an intricate patron-client system and dispenses government jobs and resources as rewards to supporters. The president views state as personal property.
Bureaucracy
Bribery is common and jobs in this are awarded through prebendalism. This system has led to a rapid increase in the number of these jobs.
Para-statals
Many Nigerian government agencies are these, or corporations owned by the state and designated to provide commercial and social welfare services.
State-corporatism
para-statals provide this input to the government, but because they are controlled by the government, they create this:
The National Assembly
A parliamentary system was in place until 1979, when it was replaced by a presidential system with a bicameral legislature, kjnown as this:
4 years
Representatives and senators serve renewable terms for this length of time:
The Senate
A very diverse group - the upper house of the Nigerian bicameral legislature. Directly elected by popular vote.
The House of Representatives
Elected by plurality and represent many different ethnicities.
Judicial review
During the early years of independence the Nigerian judiciary had a great deal of autonomy. However, judicial review exists in theory, but it is stronger and more independent than in the past.
Military in government
A term that describes the politically active part of the military.
Military in barracks
Fulfills traditional duties of the military, and its leaders have often been critical of military control of political power.
Loyalty pyramid
Senior government officials are supported by a broader base of loyal junior officials, creating this:
Recipe for corruption
State control of resources means that those in they pyramid get the spoils and they alone have access to wealth and infuence.
Revenue sharing
allowing the entire country to benefit from offshore oil profits. However almost no one believed that the profits would benefit anyone except corrupt government officials.
Rentier state
Iran and Nigeria have this in common:
Rentier state
heavily supported by state expenditure, while the state receives rent form other countries.
Rents
Earnings that come from other states purchasing oil.
Rent-seeking behavior
Individuals, groups, and communities have learned to respond to the state’s control of rents through this, primarily by competing for the government’s largesse.
Informal economy
Most Nigerians struggle along without much access to rents, and participate in this, unreported incomes from small-scale trade and subsistence agriculture.
Over-reliance on oil
This means that the county’s economy suffers disproportionately whenever oil prices go down.
Federal character
a principle that recognizes people ahead of all elections, religions, and regions, and takes their needs into account.
Large national debt
Amassed during the 2008 economic crisis, this remains a major problem for Nigeria, especially as oil prices have plummeted.
Negative effects of federalism
Bloats and promotes corruption within the bureaucracy.
National question
Do Nigerians have enough in common to remain together as a country?
Signs of democracy
Some checks and balances between government branches, some independent decisions in the courts, revival of civil society, independent media, a peaceful succession of power, improving Freedom House scores.
A peaceful succession of power
For the first time in Nigeria’s history, power passed between two civilians as President Olusegun Obasanjo stepped down in 2007, peacefully allowing Umaru Yar’Adua to take over.
Nigeria’s late independence has not provided enough time for Nigeria to develop
political stability and national identity
