The obvious answer to this question is that if there is an option to be involved in politics and the public dont participate, then the danger is that a minority will install a government that doesnt have the interests of the majority in their ag. He also earned a post graduate diploma in federalism, decentralization and conflict resolution from the institute of federalism, university of fribourg. The study examines the effects of political apathy on electoral process in nigeria s democracy focusing attention on the 2014 ekiti governorship election. Political apathy is a denial of political education. Political apathy can also be defined as the lack of interest in being active in politics either by voting or been voted for, i.
D department of public administration and local government university of nigeria, nsukka abstract it has been highlighted in this study that political apathy is a seemingly innocuous issue in the. Democracy and political apathy in nigeria 19992011 pdf. This research focuses on political participation and political apathy which has been a topical issue in nigerias democratic fabric. The economic context of nigeria economic and political. Electoral violence and political apathy in nigeria british journal of. Contending issues and the way forward idike, adeline nnenna, ph. In the study on which this article is based, the author found social restraints, feelings of futility, and the absence of spurs to action all tended to inhibit participation in the democratic process. As a conceptual paper, the methodology is descriptive. The problem of voter apathy has steadily become a major issue of concern since the may 1994 founding democratic elections. Five studies on the causes and consequences of voter turnout the harvard community has made this article openly available.
Budget implementation and governance in nigeriaianna jato gideon. Unfortunately, in nigeria, elections in have been characterized by lack of feeling of personal responsibility, a passivity and indifference for political affairs which could be viewed as apathy. When government doesnt listen to the yearnings of the people, or is carefree about their feelings, there is bound to be general lack of interest towards activities of the government. The word apathy was formed from the ancient greek word apathies which means lack of feelings. Statement of the problem the crisis of corruption and the challenges of. While between may 1994 and june 1999, the worry about voter apathy largely pertained to byelections, the trend has changed altogether following the november 2000 local government elections and the may 2004 general elections. Nigerian government has been trying out ways and means to get the citizens and youths to take an interest in its politics and policies. Determine whether male and female residents in yenagoa differ in their perception of the causes of political apathy in bayelsa state. News programs do not provide substantive coverage of candidates and their views on issues, offering instead sound clips and opinions from biased panelists. Africas leading economy, nigeria in close competition with south africa has a population of nearly 200 million people. Adesote and akinbi social media and political transformation of nigeria multidisciplinary journal of research and development perspectives volume 4, number 1, june, 2015. In any polity, be it developed, developing or underdeveloped, the idea of governance conjures a theoretical undertone of the social contract and. Lewisham is practically a suburb of london, and the conservative victory there in 1886 was on so great a scale, that it is very natural, for conservatives at. Sep 04, 2018 unfortunately, in nigeria, elections in have been characterized by lack of feeling of personal responsibility, a passivity and indifference for political affairs which could be viewed as apathy.
Consequently, leaders that emerge from nigerias democratic politics are not always the choice of the people, which. Its main proposition is that bad governance was responsible for apathy in. Below are some of the reasons for political apathy. A tensed preelection political atmosphere occasioned by the activities of the terrorist group, boko haram, that then controlled a large swath of nigerias territory and a fragmented elite divided along ethnoreligious and regional lines foreshadowed the election.
The first set of political parties to be formed in nigeria was formed in 1959, shortly before nigeria gained her independence from britain. This study is quite different from earlier works on voter apathy in nigeria because. Your story matters citation fowler, anthony george. Aug 29, 2016 this was made public by the lead researcher and professor of political science, adigun agbaje, during the public presentation of the report entitled, voter apathy and the 2011 elections in nigeria, in abuja, the report was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,200 respondents randomly selected across 12 states in the six geo. Finding of the study revealed that teachers perceived all forms of electoral malpractice and bad governance as some of the causes of political apathy. This is because multitudes of symptoms are responsible for electoral fiasco in nigeria. History of political parties in nigeria nigerian finder. Geographical analysis of voter apathy in presidential elections. Pdf voters apathy and revival of genuine political participation. Jul 08, 2014 the consequence of apathy to the political system, and the presence of apathy in nigeria present political era. Budget implementation and governance in nigeria by ianna jato gideon co college of education, katsinaala. At the development stages of this theory, some of the proponents, karl marx, gluckman and max weber anchored their arguments. As a result of this, the ingredients of democracy have not been able to thrive after many years of political independence in nigeria. During this period, the songhai empire reached its greatest limits, stretching from the senegal and gambia rivers in the far west and incorporating part of hausaland in the east.
Such a vote doesnt give the winner confidence that she is a popular political representative in a given area. Women and political empowerment the guardian nigeria. This was made public by the lead researcher and professor of political science, adigun agbaje, during the public presentation of the report entitled, voter apathy and the 2011 elections in nigeria, in abuja, the report was based on a nationally representative sample of 1,200 respondents randomly selected across 12 states in the six geo. The political culture in nigeria is characterized by intolerance, intimidation, thuggery, assassination, bitterness, apathy, indolence, money and ethnic politics. Voter behaviour and the electoral process in nigeria, free undergraduate project topics, research materials.
The study examined politics and governance a critique of the 2019 nigeria presidential election. The sixteenth century marked a high point in the political history of northern nigeria. Negative political news coverage and negative political ads create cynicism in many americans, which leads to apathy. Sustenance in nigerias fourth republic ghazali shafie. Nigerias flag consists of three equal vertical bands of green, white, and green. When following election returns, they may see that their state has been decl. The three political parties were the national council of nigeria and the cameroons ncnc. Political apathy is the path to imbalance of power which may lead to revolutions and civil wars. Continue reading to learn about the types of political apathy in nigeria, its reasons, and effects on the country. No community, nation and society can be said to be truly great if it neglects the need towards the political uplifting and development of the women. Political apathy is the lack of psychological involvement in public affairs, emotional detachment from civic obligations, and abstention from political activity. The study adopted descriptive method relying on relevant secondary sources.
In a broader sense, political apathy is the indifference on the part of any citizen of any country with regard to hisher attitude towards. The widespread political apathy in america has caused much concern among politicians and social scientists. Oct 19, 2016 the obvious answer to this question is that if there is an option to be involved in politics and the public dont participate, then the danger is that a minority will install a government that doesnt have the interests of the majority in their ag. But owing to widespread political apathy and high illiteracy level in nigeria, politicians are still able to deceive the. Apathy in this regard is considered as a latent or expressed reluctance to be politically involved or an outright negative attitude towards political involvement and it may also imply evidence withdrawal from political life of that. Political apathy is a feeling of disinterest in the sense of politics or apathy towards politics. A threat to democracy in nigeria democracy in africa.
Oct 26, 2019 what are the causes of political apathy in america 1. Find out the perceived causes of political apathy among yenagoa residents in bayelsa state, nigeria. Political participation and political apathy in nigeria. Political apathy is the indifference on the part of any citizen of any country with regard to their attitude towards political activities. It is said that the chief feature of the contest at lewisham is a profound indifference on the part of the constituency as to the result of the election. The research is credited to brics international resource solution. Finding also showed good governanceleadership and enabling environment for free and fair election among others as perceived remedies to political apathy in nigeria. Criminality and election outcomes in nigeria dialnet. The following are a inecs incompetence, especially in regard to organisation at polling units and the process of votingb unemployment. Several dominant themes in nigerian history are essential for understanding contemporary nigerian politics and society. In a study conducted by yougov, the question suppose that you alone could determine whether a democrat or a republican represents your congressional district by paying a. This is not because it was her first attempt at enthroning democratic rule, but because the transition. Voter apathy, a subset of political apathy, has thus emerged as a major problem in mature and emerging democracies, settled and volatile societies, large and thriving economies, as well as small and troubled ones. It attempted to find out the dangers of political apathy in nigerias democracy during the period under study.
Indeed, according to the cleen foundation, violence has been a feature of the countrys electoral process since the. The government of nigeria for instance rules in a bad and carefree manner, their act does not motivate people thereby making people to ignore and nonchalant to political activities. This article is an examination of democracy and political apathy in nigeria between 1999 and 2011. The second political party was the northern peoples congress npc and it. It can be categorized as the indifference of an individual and a lack of interest in participating in political activities. Free subscription get the hottest stories from the. The following points below are the reasons why people fail to participate in political issues. Belief that vote doesnt count many americans have doubts that their vote will be counted or that it even matters. Political apathy allows a government to be carefree in their activities.
Democracy originated from the greek words and from the greek citystate of athens where democracy emerged as a check on despotic. The study examines the effects of political apathy on electoral process in nigerias democracy focusing attention on the 2014 ekiti governorship election. Political corruption and underdevelopment in nigerian. Political parties, democracy, ideologies, intraparty democracy, democratic sustenance. The irony lies in the fact that people that cannot be accused of political apathy are the doyens of voter apathy. Kelvin ashindorbe holds a bachelors and a masters degree in political science and a masters and phd degrees in peace and conflicts studies from the institute for peace and strategic studies, university of ibadan. Statement of the problem the crisis of corruption and the challenges of governance and national development have. Its main proposition is that bad governance was responsible for apathy in nigerias democracy from 1999 to 2011. A worrisome impediment to electoral process in nigeria a large number of nigeria citizens especially the elites seem to have lost interest in voting and have left the exercise for commercial drivers, farmers, market women, artisans, commercial motorcyclists etc.
However, quite ironical, the nigerian elections over the years and even in recent times have been bedeviled with wanton level of political apathy. An overview of political participation and voter turnout in nigeria political participation is the involvement of citizens in political and especially, electoral processes, which is a fundamental requirement for representative. However, nigerias economy is highly dependent on oil and is therefore very vulnerable to fluctuations in crude oil prices and production. Voters apathy which is a subset of political apathy has continued to haunt nigerias voting exercise. Introduction nigeria s return to democratic rule on may 29 1999 marked a political watershed in the countrys history. Doc political participation and political apathy in nigeria. Electoral violence and the challenge of democratic. Political apathy threatens democratic dispensation when a politician wins an election in a high voter apathy political election, such a winner wins with a minority vote. First, the spread of islam, predominantly in the north but later in southwestern nigeria as well, began a. Pdf political corruption and underdevelopment in nigerian. Five studies on the causes and consequences of voter turnout. This paper examines the effect of electoral violence on political participation in nigeria with specific reference to the percentage of voter. Hence, the need to consider the causes of voterpolitical apathy in nigeria.
Introduction nigeria and nigerians have been caught in the frenzy of centenary celebration. There have been regular displays of lack of psychological involvement in public affairs, civic obligations and electioneering processes. Nigeria cannot be an exception in a changing world. This study examines electoral violence in nigerias fourth republic 1999 2015 and its implications for political stability. Pdf voters apathy and revival of genuine political. Voters apathy and revival of genuine political participation in nigeria article pdf available in mediterranean journal of social sciences 43 september 20 with 6,203 reads. An analysis grace malachi brown, phd department of history and diplomatic studies faculty of humanities rivers state university of education pmb 5047, rumuolumeni port harcourt, rivers state nigeria. What are the causes of political apathy in america 1. Abstract the crux of this paper is to examine budget implementation and governance in nigeria. Its main objective is to find out the dangers of political apathy in nigerias democracy.
1058 277 323 293 449 1435 471 978 1304 1185 772 951 296 1002 1559 487 190 459 469 151 1484 291 741 207 1154 564 1433 549 826 1332 146 704 995 940 678