Essentials of Comparative Politics: Case Study 6 - Nigeria

National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS)

program launched in 2003 that increased the transparency of government finances by auditing the accounts of various levels of government and making the findings of how money was spent available to the public, prompted the government to address the corruption problem and improve rule of law by creating an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to pursue theft/money-laundering; has focused on the country's inadequate infrastructure by seeking to boost electricity production, improve transportation, increase telecommunications, and expand access to sanitation/clean water

Niger Delta

region in Nigeria where the Niger River enters the sea, creating a vast, swampy area of over 5,000 square miles; third largest wetland in the world; source of Nigeria's oil (*one of the poorest regions of Nigeria because of limited infrastructure and development)

resource curse

theory that natural resources that are abundant and state-controlled often serve to support nondemocratic rule because ruling regimes can employ the state-controlled resources to co-opt/buy off key stakeholders and pay for the repression of others

derivation formula

way of dividing oil revenues between the national and local governments in Nigeria

(Obasegun) Obasanjo

General who took power in 1976 after the assassination of General Murtala Muhammed and continued plans for the restoration of civilian rule - stepped down after the elections in 1979 of the Second Republic and became active in WHO and Transparency International; his respect for rule of law and prominent international role allowed for his return to politics as President of the Fourth Republic after winning the 1999 elections

Republic of Biafra

Igbo-dominated region in Eastern Nigeria that tried and failed to secede from Nigeria in 1967 - the movement was fully defeated in 1970; result of the 1965 coup that prompted a civil war

Sharia

Islamic law; practiced in some courts in Northern Nigeria

Sokoto Caliphate

Islamist empire founded in 1809 by Usman dan Fodio that was concentrated in Northern Nigeria; provided a uniform government to a region racked by war (*established Islam's central role in western Africa)

Fourth Republic

Nigeria's current presidential democratic regime that was established in 1999 after General Abubakar carried out a democratic transition/released political prisoners; Obasanjo came back to power as the first head of state after winning the 1999 elections; Buhari currently serves as the president of the regime after a peaceful transition of power between political parties

(Umaru) Yar'Adua

President of Nigeria from 2007-2010, a Fulani Muslim and hand-picked successor to Obasanjo who won in one of the more corrupt elections; during his presidency he battled political corruption and negotiated the 2009 cease-fire in the Niger Delta before dying in 2010; succeeded by his VP Jonathan

Goodluck Jonathan

President of Nigeria from 2010-2015, an ethnic Ijaw and southern Christian who assumed power after the death of President Yar'Adua; during his presidency he promised to tackle political corruption, improve economic infrastructure, and bring peace to the Niger Delta (without success) - but was successful in using oil revenues to co-opt opponents and foster a patronage network; his election in 2011 prompted the creation of the APC

federal character principle

a quota system written into the Nigerian Constitution that requires the president to appoint ministers from each of the states of the Nigerian republic to the Federal Executive Council; also used with federal appointments and civil service positions in the bureaucracy - each ethnic group is given a certain portion of positions based on regional population

patrimonialism

a system in which personal rule by authoritarian leaders shores up economic privileges that those leaders then bestow upon a coterie of loyal followers

zoning

an informal system of presidential rotation in which the party would alternate every two terms nominating candidates from the north and the south; facilitated support for democracy, but limited the pool of qualified presidential candidates and exacerbated ethnic divisions

Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)

an umbrella organization whose loosely connected militant subgroups have engaged in "bunkering"/illegal siphoning off of oil, kidnapping foreign oil workers/sailors, ransoming captured ships, and launching attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta - a 2009 truce and amnesty helped decrease violence, but did not end it

Third Republic

brief-lived period of democracy in 1993 during which presidential elections were held and quickly annulled by Babingida; an interim civilian government was installed but quickly overthrown by Abacha's coup

(Muhammadu) Buhari

current President of Nigeria since 2015, a Hausa Muslim and candidate of the APC, whose election marked the first peaceful passing of power between political parties; first entered the political scene by leading a 1983 military coup against the Shagari regime's rigged elections before being ousted himself in 1985

People's Democratic Party (PDP)

dominant party that has dominated Nigerian politics since its formation in 1998; its base was originally Hausa Muslims; established the system of zoning as a way of enhancing the legitimacy of the presidential elections

scramble for Africa

late 19th century race by European powers to expand influence and establish imperial control over the majority of African territory; led to the UK's creation of the Nigerian colony

House of Representatives

lower chamber of the Nigeria's federal legislature, the National Assembly; contains 360 seats with members representing individual districts and serving renewable 4 year terms; along with the Senate, the House serves as a rubber stamp to the executive branch because often times one party controls both branches of government; recently the legislature has been more vocal in expressing regional demands and local interests

Boko Haram

militant, radical Islamist terrorist organization whose name means "Western education is forbidden" and originated in 2002 as a peaceful Islamic splinter group in Borno; after leader Mohammed Yusuf was executed in 2009, the more radical Abubakar Shekau replaced him and has led increased attacks with the goal of rooting out Western influences, destabilizing/overthrowing the government, and establishing an Islamic caliphate in northern Nigeria; known for the kidnapping of 300+ schoolgirls in 2014

(Benjamin Nnamdi) Azikiwe

northern Nigerian who studies in the USA before returning to Nigeria in 1938 and establishing a daily newspaper; helped to found the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) in 1944, which advocated national unity and self-government (and drew heavily from the Igbo); later served as the first head of the new parliamentary government of the First Republic

First Republic

Nigeria parliamentary democratic regime that followed the country's independence in October 1960; lasted from 1960-1965; Azikiwe served as the first head of government; destroyed by an Igbo-led coup after contentious 1965 regional assembly elections

(Ibrahim) Babangida

Nigerian general (Muslim and ethnic Gwari) who took control after a 1985 coup and held power until stepping down after the 1993 elections of the Third Republic; had to deal with an economic crisis that resulted in his implementation of a neoliberal structural adjustment program; deepened ethnic tensions by packing the military government with northerners

(Sani) Abacha

Nigerian general who took power after a military coup in 1993 and held power until his death in 1998; known for regularly employing violence as a means on public control; called for the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa

Second Republic

Nigerian presidential democratic regime that was established in 1979 with the drafting of a new constitution that switched from a parliamentary to presidential system; lasted from 1979-1983; Shagari won the 1979 elections; destroyed by a 1983 coup led by Buhari after rigged elections

All Progressives Congress (APC)

a party formed in 2013 as a merger of the 3 main opposition parties to the PDP (and included some PDP defectors) in response to Goodluck Jonathan's election to a second term in 2011; sponsored Muhammadu Buhari, who was successful in the 2015 election

Ken Saro-Wiwa

a critic of the Abacha regime and of Shell's role in Nigeria who was arrested and later executed for his opposition (in 1995) - his execution led to the imposition of sanctions by the USA and EU; established the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) in the 1990s to defend the interests of the Ogoni

Hausa

a dominant Nigerian ethnic group that is overwhelmingly Muslim and concentrated in the North; supports the Northern People's Congress Party (NPC) (*notable leaders include: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Murtala Muhammed, Shehu Shagari, and Muhammadu Buhari)

Fulani

a dominant Nigerian ethnic group that is overwhelmingly Muslim and concentrated in the north (*notable leaders include: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Murtala Muhammed, and Umaru Yar'Adua)

Igbo (Ibo)

a dominant Nigerian ethnic group that is predominantly Christian and concentrated in the southeast; supports the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC); attempted a succession movement that resulted in the short-lived Republic of Biafra (1967-1970) (*notable leaders include: Johnson T. U. Aguiyi-Ironsi)

Yoruba

a dominant Nigerian ethnic group that is somewhat divided among Christians, Muslims, and animists, and concentrated in the southwest; supports the Action Group Party (AGP) (*notable leaders include: Olusegun Obasanjo and Ernest Shonekan

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP)

a group established in the 1990s by Ken Saro-Wiwa to defend the interests of the Ogoni which employed a variety of legal/extralegal political tactics to secure more financial benefits with fewer environmental costs from foreign oil interests in the Niger Delta