Nigeria

Anisa Ain, George Calley, Will Geise, Danielle LaForge, Abigail Moore, Kaitlyn Weaver

Geography

• Nigeria is approximately twice the size of Califronia and is located in northwest Africa

• Boarders the Gulf of Guinea so there are swamps and tropical rain forests

Geography

• South: hills and plateaus

• North: plains• Southeast: mountains• Highest Point: Chappal

Waddi(2,419m)• Natural Resources:

Natural gas, petroleum, tin, iron ore, coal, limestone, niobium, lead, zince, arable land

Historical Background • 60 years of colonial rule• 1894 Nigeria was claimed

to have fallen to Britain in the famous fight for Africa during the height of imperialism (Royal Niger Company established)

• 1897 the British campaigned against “unacceptable local practices in Nigeria and Benin City was burned

• 1900 company charter was revoked

Historical Background• 1903 and 1906 Sokotos and

Kanos out an end to slave-raiding expeditions

• After World War II the country was divided into 3 regions: Northern, Eastern, and Western

• 1954 a new constitution was written to establish the Federation of Nigeria

• Tensions between groups build and in 1966 there is rebellion in which the prime minister was killed and many Ibos were massacred

Historical Background• 1967 Eastern section declared

itself an independent nation, calling it the republic of Biafra

• By 1970 the civil war causes the people of Biafra to starve and the “nation” ceases to exist

• The death of the playwright and idealist Saro-Wiwa causes outcry and causes general to offer new election in 1999

• The election of Christain leader, Obasanjo, brings tension between Muslim and Christian communities and brings violent oubreaks in 2000

Economy and Social Conditions

• Nigeria’s economy is highly based off their rich resource of oil

• Plagued by corruption and poor macroeconomic management

• In 2008 the government began working on economic reforms in order to modernize the banking system and curb inflation

• Between 2007 and 2010 the GDP has raised due to increasing oil exports

• Population growth, povery, and unemployment are large issues

• GDP: 414.5 billion $ (31st in the world)

• GDP per capita: 2,600$• 70% of the population is below the

poverty line

Ethnic and Religious Groups

• Hausa and Fulani groups are predominantly Muslim and are mostly found in the Northern states

• Southern state groups are mostly Christian

• Yoruba religion originated in southwestern Nigeria (beliefs include one supreme god and reincarnation)

Ideologies

• The Supreme court of Nigeria practices strict stare decisis

• Recently, Nigeria has been focusing more on money politics

• Nigeria is known to have a lack of political ideologies and much corruption

How Rules are Chosen• After lurching from one

military coup to another, Nigeria now has an elected leadership

• Government continually faces the growing challenge of preventing Africa’s most populous country from breaking apart on ethnic lines

• The Constitution grants all citizens over 18 to vote

• Many of the elections prove to be very corrupt until recently

Role of Political Parties• After independence in 1960,

the Action Group (AG-west) and Northern People’s Congress (NPC-north) were the major parties (plus the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons in the east)

• Non-peaceful transfer of power led to more than 20 years of military rule after civil rule

• Now adopts a multiparty democracy with over 20 political parties

Role of Citizens in Politics

• Many Nigerians have seen much corruption in the Nigerian government

• All have the right to vote over 18 and interact with the numerous local governments(774) which report to the federal government

• Elections are becoming more important as Nigeria becomes a democracy

Major Political Institutions• Nigeria possesses a nearly

identical political system to the United States, containing an executive, legislative, and judicial branch

• Legislature is bicameral with a House of Representatives with 360 members and a Senate with 109 members

• Their president, Goodluck Jonathan (People’s Democratic Party) is the head after being sworn in after Yar’Adua’s death in May 2009

• Judicial branch includes a Supreme Court and various lower courts

Exercising Power• In April 2011, Jonathan was re-

elected president of Nigera• Since transitioning to a

multiparty democracy in 1999, this was the ‘most successful’ election in terms of fairness and lack of corruption to the ‘flawed processes’ of the years before

• The judiciary system is comprised of federal and state trial courts, a Federal Court of Appeal and the Federal Supreme Court, also the Shari’ah (Islamic) and customary (traditional) courts of appeal

Inter-Relationships of Institutions

• The 1999 Nigerian Constitution calls for an independent judiciary system

• The bicameral nature of the legislature works for some checks and balances

• Federalism plays a key role in uniting the entire country with 774 local governments and 36 states

Restraints on Political Institutions

• The 1999 Nigerian Constitution calls for trails to maintain the protected individual rights, such as ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and ‘right to counsel’

• Although necessary to maintain a healthy democracy and constitutional government, the courts lack a concrete and just system from the low pay of judges and bribery of the entire governmental system

Function of Political Institutions

• New government is attempting to bring prosperity and progress

• Gradual reform, especially to a market-based economy from the privatization of the industries

• Marked deterioration in social welfare since 1986 with health care and social services very inadequate

Establishment of Internal Order

• State owned institutions are called parastatals, including public facilities to accelerate economic development and solve issues of national security

• Health care and other social services remain inadequate in rural and urban settings with HIV/AID epidemic

• Educational programs are somewhat established with 6 years of mandatory primary schooling and 27 federally owned polytechnics

• Literacy rate is around 68% and is higher in males

External Security• Has the Nigerian Army, Navy

and Air force, the Lagos Garrison Command, and the Abuja-based Brigade of Guards

• Since independence, they have focused on regional economic cooperation and development with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

• Has played a pivot role in the support of peace in Africa with healthy relationships with its neighboring countries

Resolving Conflicts

• 76,000 active duty personnel in the Nigerian armed forces

• Demonstrated its capability to mobilize, deploy, and sustain battalions in support of peacekeeping

• The new political process has enabled peaceful transitions of powers and local governments help ethnic divisions remain nonviolent

Raising Money

• Taxes are relatively foreign to many Nigerians and are only collected from some citizens and businesses

• Leads to over relying on the state for money and thus increases the nation’s debt

• Privatization of industries, especially oil, is attempting to raise revenues and GDP of Nigeria

Services Provided by Government

• Attempt at gradual reform• Creation of bank and

privatization by the government from the World Bank

• Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) is helping sanitation, transportation, communications, and education

• Multiple labor and vocational related groups

Regulating Citizens, Legitimacy

• The Judiciary has always lasted throughout the multiple dismantling of government structures

• Laws and rules and s system of enforcement is held in the highest regard with British traditions and resolves disputes when necessary

• Legitimacy of the entire government is questioned but is growing stronger as the democracy continues to become liberal and the nation develops

Works Cited (in order of use, not repeated)

• "Encyclopedia of the Nations." Religions. Advameg, Inc., 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Nigeria-RELIGIONS.html>.

• Sunday, Adesina B. "Ideologies on Display: A Nigerian Election Petition Tribunal Ruling." Thesis. University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 2009. Http://hss.fullerton.edu. California Linguistic Notes, 2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://hss.fullerton.edu/linguistics/cln/SP09%20PDF/Sunday-TRIBUNAL2.pdf>.

• Musuwa, Hannatu. "Nigeria: The Ideology of Our Politics." AllAfrica.com: Nigeria: The Ideology of Our Politics. All Africa, 24 Aug. 2010. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://allafrica.com/stories/201008270556.html>.

• Bureau of African Affairs. U.S. Department of State. State.gov: Nigeria. Oct. 20 2011. Mar. 24 2012. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2836.htm

• National Encyclopedia. Nigeria Judicial System. Nationsencyclopedia.com. Jan. 2007. Mar. 24 2012. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa.

• NIGERIA. Nigeria. Web. Mar. 25 2012. http://www.iss.coza/af/prilfes/Nigeria/Economy.htmlx• “History of Nigeria.” HistoryWorld. Web. Mar. 25 2012.

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTestHistories.asp?historyid=ad41x.• Central Intelligence Agency. World Fact book. “Nigeria.” Jan 2009. Mar 24 2012.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook-geos/ni.html• Ajayi, J.F. Ade, and Reuben Kenrick Udo. “Nigeria.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia

Britannica. Web. Mar. 26 2012. http://www.britannic.com/EBchecked/topic/414840/Nigeria.• “Taxes-Accountability and Revenue in Nigeria- Nigerian Curiosity.” Nigerian Curiosity. Web. Mar. 25

2012. http://www.nigeriancuriosity.com/2009/11/taxes-accountability-revenue-in-nigeria.html• “This Is Nigeria.” Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Web. Mar. 25 2012.

http://www.nigeriaembassyusa.org/.