AP Comparative Government Nigeria Vocabulary
Oyo
A centralized Yoruban kingdom from the southwest.
Para-Statals
A company or agency owned or controlled wholly or partly by the government. Common in both Mexico (Pemex for example) and Nigeria. Usually inefficient as there is a lack of competition for the goods or services they provide.
Sokoto Caliphate
A large Muslim state founded in 1809 in what is now northern Nigeria. The largest state in West Africa since the 16th century. Made up of united Hausa states and neighboring areas that had been conquered.
Yoruba
A more religiously diverse West African ethnic group living chiefly in southwestern Nigeria
Transparency International
A non-governmental organization that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide.
Corporatism
A political system in which interest groups become an institutionalized part of the state or dominant political party; public policy is typically the result of negotiations among representatives of the state and key interest groups.
State Corporatism
A political system in which the state requires all members of a particular economic sector to join an officially designated interest group.
Kanuri
A primarily Muslim ethnic group located in Northern Nigeria.
Rule of Law
A state of order in which all events and individuals conform to the law.
Indirect Rule
A type of colonial government that uses local officials to handle some tasks but reserves the highest power for the governing nation.
ANC
African National Congress; A political party in Nigeria formed from several minority groups in 2006. The party ran Atiku Abubakar as its presidential candidate in 2007.
Patrimonialism
An arrangement whereby a ruler depends on a collection of supporters within the state who gain direct benefits in return for enforcing the ruler's will.
Plurality Vote
An election rule in which the candidate with the most votes wins regardless of whether it is actually a majority.
Igbo
An ethnic group of Nigeria that lived in the southwest region for thousands of years. Known for metalworking, weaving, and carving.
Nongovernmental Organizations
An organization that is not part of the local or state or federal government and typically aims towards instilling a developmental programme.
Abacha, Sani
Corrupt Hausa military leader of Nigeria who took power in a coup and ruled from '93-'98. Reaped billions of dollars for his family through rent seeking. Died of a suspicious heart attack.
Biafra
Eastern Nigerian region inhabited mostly by the Ibo people; in 1967 attempted unsuccessfully to secede from Nigeria; defeated and reintegrated in 1970.
Informal Economy
Economic activity that is neither taxed nor monitored by a government; and is not included in that government's Gross National Product; as opposed to a formal economy.
Structural Adjustment Program
Economic policies imposed on less developed countries by international agencies to create conditions encouraging international trade, such as raising taxes, reducing government spending, controlling inflation, selling publicly owned utilities to private corporations, and charging citizens more for services.
Babangida, Ibrahim
Famous for his "custodial theory" of government., Military ruler of Nigeria from 1985 to 1993 who sought to establish the failed third republic.
"National Question"
Fundamental governance issue: basic structures of government, who will rule and how, should the country remain united?
Yar'Adua, Umaru
He was declared the winner of the controversial Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007. He was a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and died from pericarditis in 2010.
Rents, Rent-seeking
Income from property received by countries - A process in which political leaders essentially rent out parts of the state to their patrons, who as a result control public goods that would otherwise be distributed in a nonpolitical manner.
INEC
Independent National Electoral Commission; has monitored Nigeria's elections since 1998.
Sharia
Islamic rule of law that is derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the hadith.
Jihad
Jihad is an Arabic word which literally means striving or struggling, especially with a praiseworthy aim.
"True Federalism" Movement
Nigeria's Southerners believe true federalism can only exist when the central government devolves its power to the state and local levels, Nigerians believe regions should control their own resources, Northerners don't agree with it because of historical basis.
PDP
People's Democratic Party, President Obasanjo's party in Nigeria.
"Loyalty Pyramid"
President appointing governor to work under him who supports him, that governor appointing other officials who support him, until it represents a pyramid of reinforcing political power.
Patron-Client System (prebendalism)
Relations in which "Patron" gains support of "Client" through mutual exchange of benefits and obligations.
Civil Society
Society created when citizens are allowed to organize and express their views publicly as they engage in an open debate about public policy.
National Assembly
The bicameral legislature of senate and house of representatives.
Ife
The capital of the Yoruba people in what is now Nigeria.
CPC
Nigeria's Congress of Progressive Change, one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with its main rival, the People's Democratic Party. It was founded on 6 February 2013.
Buhari, Muhammudu
Muhammadu Buhari GCFR is a Nigerian politician who has been president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Major General of the Nigerian Army and served as military head of state from 1983 to 1985, after taking power in a military coup d'état.
Kinship-Based Politics
Nigerian leaders at the village level generally conducted business through kinship ties (nepotism is heavily associated).
Saro-Wiwa, Ken
Nigerian poet and environmentalist trying to do things legally to make the oil companies more environmentally conscious.
Revenue Sharing
The distribution of part of the federal tax income to states and municipalities, does not work well for Nigeria due to corruption and inefficiency.
Cultural Diffusion
The exchange of goods, ideas, and customs among different cultures.
Obasanjo, Olusegun
The first civilian president from Yoruba in nearly 20 years. He worked for a strong, unified Nigeria. He saw debt relief as essential to relief hunger and the future democracy in Nigeria and the rest of Africa. Despite his efforts the country still had numerous problems: corruption, poverty, hunger, war, violence.
"Federal Character"
The goal of NOM (the National Orientation Movement under Banangida): to build federal character.
Hausa-Fulani
The largest ethnic group in the North, Muslim region of Nigeria.
Jonathan, Goodluck
The president of Nigeria from 2010-2015. Was subject to much controversy as being a Christian from the South, he upset the previous balance of power transitioning between the South and Muslim North. Jonathan was one of the only leaders from Nigeria that was not a military official. This perhaps will lead to an even more democratic and free state in the future.
"Military in Government"
The role of the military in regards to government policymaking and decisions.
Constitutionalism
The set of arrangements, including checks and balances, federalism, separation of powers, rule of law, due process, and a bill of rights, that requires our leaders to listen, think, bargain, and explain before they act or make laws.
"Military in Barracks"
Traditional role of the military as the institution that provides national security, is involved in international conflicts, and maintains domestic order. In consolidated democracies, generally under civilian control.
Abubakar, Atiku
Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He is a Muslim native of Adamawa State, and was an influential member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) until 2006 when he switched affiliation to the Action Congress party.
