ABSTRACT
It is rather an unavoidable fact that ethnicity has marred politics particularly the Legislative sector in Nigeria, with various number of data and research, it is evidently portrayed that ethnicity determines the choice of votes, voters decision as well as policies and implementation made in Nigeria. The Legislative behaviour of political actors in Nigeria has been colored by ethnicity as policies are ethnically designated and motivated. Hence this research work, will analyse the issue of ethnicity and Legislative behaviour, by clarifying the major concepts that align with the proper understanding of this subject matter.
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria is a country with contrasting ethnic gatherings existing one alongside the other, fighting for survival, recognizing confirmation and affirmation in the country. Nigeria party legislative issues have been dirtied by ethnic shut mindedness. Ethnic conclusion has persistently sneaked to find a place in each looked of Nigerian political activity. Ethnicity in this way has transformed into a strong factor in the political presence of Nigeria. The distinctive thought of the Nigeria state on account of tribal differentiations has been surveyed that Nigeria has as much as 350 ethnic gatherings in light of lingual portrayal. In any case, the “Joined Countries says there are 250 ethnic gatherings in Nigeria, many consider this as had a poor opinion of. These ethnic gatherings however housed in one country, they don’t have comparable necessities, goals and wants. In light of these ethnical slants, it gives off an impression of being unbalanced in a way to treat the Nigeria wander without considering the ethnic improvement of country. Every now and again ethnic thoughts are used to supplant authenticity and capacities, with the true objective that round pegs are never again found in round openings. This self-important conduct impacts the administrative conduct of Nigerian government. The nation is described by extraordinary ethnic polarization and strife. It has been contended that bury ethnic contention for mastery is a lethal torment’ of the Nigerian political process (Afigbo, 1989, 4). In any case, how has ethnic assembly and showdown showed itself in the multi ethnic setting in Nigeria? The evaluated populace of Nigeria in 2001 is 11.6.6 billion (FRN, 2001, 123), making the nation the most crowded in Africa. The humanist, Onigu Otite, has given a rundown of 374 ethnic gatherings (Otitle, 1990).
There is a basic understanding, however that these ethnic gatherings are comprehensively isolated into ethnic ‘minorities’. The numerically and politically-significant ethnic gatherings are the composite Hausa-Fulani of the North, the Yoruba of the Southeast, and the Igbo of the Southeast. These three ‘hegemonic’ ethnic gatherings are appropriately alluded to by the non-specific term ‘Wazobia’. Focuses of huge populace fixation coincide with the homeland of these three dominant part ethnic gatherings who constituted 57.8% of the national populace in the 1963 evaluation (Afolayan, 19778; 147&155). That enumeration has the Hausa at 11,653,000 (20.9%), the Yoruba at 11,321,00 (20.3%) , and the Igbo at 9,246,00 (16.6%) (Jibril, 1991, 111). The various ethnicities like the Ijaw, Kanuri, Edo, Ibibio, Nupe, and the Tiv. Eleven of such substantial minorities constituted 27.9% of the populace. (Afolayan, 1978;155).
The level of every ethnic gathering in the national populace is that of exceptional political contestation, especially among the dominant part gatherings and a portion of the huge minorities. The figures propose that the three greater part bunches constituted around 51.61 percent of the national populace in 1952/3. This predominance is complemented by the tripodal territorial regulatory set-up of that period. In the Northern Locale, the Hausa constituted 32.6 percent of the populace. At the point when the united Fulani is incorporated, the figure ascends to 50.6 percent. In the Western District, the Yoruba constituted 70.8 percent of the populace, while in the Eastern Area, the Igbo constituted 61 percent of the populace. Buttressing this statistic conveyance were pioneer discernments that ‘Nigeria falls normally into three areas, the North, the West and the East’ (Governor Arthur Richards, referred to in Oyovbaire, 1983, 8). There is in this way the numerical and political dominance of the three larger part ethnic gatherings, in their particular districts, and in the country all in all. The propensity of numerous minority gatherings to bunch ‘ politically, phonetically and socially – round the huge three, has given Nigeria a tripolar ethnic structure which shapes the primary setting for ethnic activation and contestation. Nigeria is additionally a nation that has inventively, if not generally effectively, tried to ponder its legacy of ethnic decent variety and struggle (Mustapha, 2002). Be that as it may, a mystery of current Nigerian governmental issues is the strength of tripolar ethnic preparation notwithstanding rehashed endeavors at political designing and country building.
CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION
The under listed concepts or keywords have been clearly discussed for proper understanding of this research work. They key words includes: Ethnicity and Legislature
ETHNICITY
Ethnicity is derived from the word ‘ethnic’, it has no general or universal definition, it has been defined by various scholars based on their own different individual perspective. Ethnicity involves the common consciousness of shared origin and tradition among a group of people (Lain McLean, 1996 p. 163). As indicated by Nnoli (1978:5) ethnicity is a social wonder related with the personality of individuals from the biggest conceivable contending common groups (ethnic groups) looking to secure and propel their enthusiasm for a political framework.
The term ethnicity is sometimes used interchangeably with ethnic nationalism or ethnonationalism. Ethnic Nationalism is a stronger or extreme form of ethnicity, while ethnicity is being pursued within the framework of a state, ethnic nationalism basically seeks for the attainment of sovereignty or statehood for an ethnic group. Ethnicity has also been defined as a strained and exaggerated feeling of difference in relation to other ethnic groups (Heinecke: 1986 p. 40). The important collective factor might be dialect, culture, race religion as well as basic history. Ethnicity is just a single of the wonders related with cooperation’s among shared groups (ethnic groups). Others incorporate exchange, discretion, companionship hatred, organization, self-denial and self-augmentation. Eteng (2004:45) says that: An ethnic gathering, nonetheless, isn’t really semantically or socially, homogeneous, seeing that it frequently subsumes sub-social, etymological, logic word related and class contrasts, contingent upon the overall level of financial advancement and social separation. In rundown, ethnicity is the think and awareness of following of one’s personality to a specific ethnic gathering and enabling such feeling to decide the way one relates with individuals and things, ethnicity makes the sections of ‘we’ ‘they’ ‘our own’, ”theirs’ inclination. Ethnicity makes it extremely troublesome for various ethnic groups to concede to anything.
The study of Ethnicity in Nigeria, dates from the colonial era and it became very evident and obvious with the tripartite struggle between the elite or spokesperson of three major ethnic groups, each of which commanded a number of population over other ethnic groups in each of the then three regions, also the regional dominance led to the agitations from the ethnic minorities in these regions for separate states of their own, before the period of independence in 1960, the ethnic competition was no longer just between the three major ethnic groups but the minority ethnic groups in each of the region of the north, west and east began to perceive members of the majority ethnic groups as their rivals, hence this led to the early cry for separate regions just before independence due to the fact that the three ethnic regions were seen as belonging to the major ethnic groups. The cry of marginalization led to the colonial government’s appointment of the minorities commission (coleman 1958: pp. 390-396). It is then evident that the issue of ethnicity has been an issue in the political arena long before the advent of independence. Abne Cohen (1969, p. 4) defined ‘ethnicity as strife between groups in the course of which people stress their identity and exclusiveness’. One of the factors that give rise to ethnicity is the presence of the elite group.
It is important to note that ethnic conflict, ethnicity, ethnic strife and ethnic politics has been in existence for a very long time it has been recognized as a fundamental threat to institutional and organizational stability, political order and state cohesion in multi-ethnic societies of the third world (Diamond, 1987). Although there are still few places in the world where the issue of ethnicity can not be found but in majority of places, it is evident with an endless list like Afrikaners and Bantu, Turks and Greek, Ukraine and Russia e.t.c.
THE LEGISLATURE
The overseeing body is a social affair of the operators of the all inclusive community picked under a honest to goodness framework to make laws for the colossal well of the overall population. It is moreover the institutional body responsible for making laws for a nation and one through which the gathering will of the all inclusive community or part of it is verbalized, imparted and realized. The lawmaking body controls through institution all fiscal, social and political activities of the nation. It in like manner looks at the methodologies of the Executive and gives the structure to the lawful to work. The lawmaking body is given different orders in different countries. In Nigeria and France, for instance, it is known as the National Assembly, in Japan it is called Congress of Deputy, in Britain and Singapore, and it is known as the Parliament; while in the United States it is implied as congress. The combination of the administering body changes from country to country. Some have unicameral system which suggests a lone place of lawmaking body; while some have a bicameral representing body which is included two houses. They have settled residency and blamed for the obligation of making laws and also changing, and scratching off existing ones. In Nigeria, the council is a piece of the apparatus of administration over the elected, state and neighborhood government levels. They are known as administrators. In Nigeria, the National Assembly is in charge of law making laws. It comprises of the Senate and House of Representatives and is vested with the administrative forces of the Federation. Nigeria works a bicameral arrangement of enrollment which comprises of a lower and upper House. Both House individuals come in through races. Be that as it may, at the at the government level, the lower House is known as the House of Representatives while the upper House is known as the Senate
The national get together comprise of the senate 109 seats-3 each for the 36 states and 1 for Abuja; individuals specifically chose in single-situate voting public by straightforward dominant part vote to serve 4 years’ terms and the House of Representatives with 360 seats; individuals specifically chose in single-situate bodies electorate by basic lion’s share vote to serve 4-year term.Laws made at the elected level pass by the tag ‘Demonstrations’ while enactments made by nearby governments are named ‘By-laws’. Officers in the legal and official governments are once in a while statutorily engaged to make laws for the most part named ‘Controls’.
Ethnic & Regional Composition of Nigeria’s Population
Ethnic Group Population Percentage
Edo 468,501 1.5
Fulani 3,040,736 9.76
Hausa 5,548,542 17.60
Ibibio 766,764 0.25
Igbo 5,483,660 17.60
Kanuri 1,301,924 4.18
Nupe
Tiv
Yoruba
All Nigeria
North
East
West 359,260
790,450
790,450
31,156,027
16,835,582
7,967,973
6,352,472 1.15
2.54
16.2
100
54
25.6
20.4
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: RATIONAL-CHOICE THEORY
The hypothesis that will be utilized for this work is the Rational Choice Theory. The possibility of this hypothesis is that individuals tend to settle on decisions in a way that expands their leverage while limiting the cost. Utilizing this hypothesis, financial expert, political researcher, and other specialist can endeavor to display and foresee what individuals will do when gave certain alternatives. It is utilized progressively to depict marvels as shifted as voting propensity, consumerist, and business choices. At its center, this hypothesis hypothesized that when settling on choice, individuals initially measure the imaginable positive advantages against negative outcomes, and afterward construct their decision in light of what they think will at last advantage them the most. By thinking about different extra factors, for example, the quality of a person’s inclinations, relative aloof natures between specific choices, their insight, and attach accessible to achieve a choice. It is conceivable to create valuable conduct models for an assortment of circumstances. Reasonable decision hypothesis has been maybe most broadly connected to political battles and races. It can be utilized to help clarify why individuals vote in favor of one competitor over another, and why a greater part of people commonly pick not to vote by any means, because of recognitions that don’t profit the specifically, through a comprehension of the decision sane leaders tend to make, it is additionally feasible for analysts to consider the choices of freak deciders.
Application of the Rational Choice Theory to Nigeria Legislative Behavior
States and most other international ‘performing artists,’ like intergovernmental associations, nongovernmental associations and multinational organizations, are elusive ideas that can just act through people. Understudies of international relations, and in addition on-screen characters in the international framework, need to know how pioneers and other essential chiefs of these associations and organizations settle on choices so they can anticipate their activities in international relations. Balanced decision hypothesis is one endeavor to clarify how and why performing artists act the way they do. Reasonable decision hypothesis is a hypothesis in sociology that contends human behavior, and social life when all is said in done, can be clarified as far as judicious selections of people. Social communication, including political connection, is thought to be a kind of trade where people will collaborate with each other if the normal additions exceed the normal expenses emerging from the cooperation. For instance, you may choose to go into a fellowship on the off chance that you trust you will get more out of the companionship than the weight the kinship will force upon you.
THE ROLE OF ETHNICITY LEGISLATIVE BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIA
Since Nigeria had political freedom in 1960 certain key issues have assumed overwhelming parts in deciding the nature, character and bearing of government and legislative issues in the nation. The vast majority of these issues have been depicted by researchers and observer on Nigeria legislative issues as the heritages of the nation’s pioneer understanding. The emergence can be traced back to the nearly one hundred years of provincial control. One of the issues or drop out of the Nigerian government framework I ethnicity. Ethnicity in Nigeria gets from the diverse and assorted nature of the Nigerian domain, which comprises of individuals of various foundation, lineage and convention.
Fundamentally individuals from an ethnic gathering could then be depicted as comprising of the individuals who see themselves as being indistinguishable by uprightness of their coon family line, dialect, custom and additionally convention, Olisa et al[ 1990]. Ethnicity as a power in Nigerian governmental issues began from the pioneer strategies of the English, who through their ‘partition and control approach ‘. Empowered the utilization of various uses of frontier arrangements on the conventional establishment and structures of the different ethnic gatherings in Nigeria. The unequal effect of provincial strategies saw the incomplete introduction of western instruction by the English Ministers to a specific piece of the nation, specifically the southern piece of Nigeria, in this manner estranging the northern.
The perils natural in these segregationist approaches soon ended up plainly evident in the 1940s, 1950s, and not long after political autonomy in 1960.Overlapping inequalities have had a tremendous impact on the electoral politics of the country and the composition of different governments. Under conditions of scarcity, inequalities and uneven access to economic and political resources, ethnicity has provided a convenient platform for political mobilization. From about 1951, regionalism gave rise to parties strongly associated with each of the major ethnic groups: The Hausa-Fulani dominated Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC) in the North; the Igbo dominated National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) in the East and the Yoruba dominated Action Group (AG) in the West. Until the 1990s, this remained the basic template of party formation in Nigeria, despite repeated efforts by military regime.
The legislative body is made up of citizens that are members of different ethnic groups and when bills are passed, every member of the house will want the bill to favor their ethnic group. Ethnicity in the Nigerian legislature is very obvious from the way the members dress, sit and address each other. Ethnicity also comes in when members are coming to an agreement on a particular issue or series of issues. In the period 1967 to 1979, the composition of the cabinets changed dramatically, largely because of the creation of states and the tendency to promote the equality of states in the composition of the cabinet. Ethnic minority representation increased. Nevertheless, the 1979 to 1983 period witnessed the reassertion of a northern majority in the cabinet. Northern minorities continued to have significant representation, while the constitutional provision for a representative cabinet meant that each state was represented. Nigeria party politics has been polluted by ethnic chauvinism. This problem is one of the major qualms confronting the progress of liberal democracy in Nigeria since 1960, to the extent that ethnic sentiment has gradually crept in to find a place in every faced of Nigerian political activity. Ethnic consideration in Nigeria today is more important than who one is and what he can deliver. Ethnic sentiment has been one of the factors responsible for most of the inefficiencies and low productivity in Nigeria.
Example of Evident ethnicity in the Nigerian Legislative Behavior: According to Tonnie (Vanguard Newspaper) On the 4th of October 2012, the Taraba State House of Assembly impeached the then Deputy Governor of state, Sani Abubakar Danladi. His unproven misconduct which was serious enough to the legislators to warrant his impeachment was that he allegedly used his office to attract favours and development to himself and his local community. In other words, Taraba legislators relied on nepotism, another word for zoning, as an impeachable offence a rather common short coming of every Nigerian politician. Thus, a few people saw the impeachment as a suspect. In earnest, ethnicity is one of the ‘settled’ issues of our federalism hence every president we have had, usually went to his ‘place’ to register and to vote during elections, notwithstanding that the entire nation is his constituency.
Also instances can be seen in the presidential election in Nigeria whereby presidential election is not only based on ruling existing political party but also ethnicity
RECOMMENDATIONS
Every research work is useful in providing new forms of awareness about a subject, but if specific ideas are not proposed or proferred as solutions to the issues discussed, there would be no real value of the research work (Ikein, 1990). This researach work investigated the issue of ethnicity in legislative behaviour, from the reasearch done and data ollected, it is obvious that ethnicity has been in existence long before now, prior to independence, hence this study will like to profer likely solutions to this subject matter
- Integration should be emphasized, that is every country should emphasize the need for integration, which is the coming together of everyone as one, so as to avoid such form of ethnic crisis, there should be an embracing of eachothers culture.
- Individuals should forget the crisis that has occurred in the past between ethnic groups and tribes and focus on the future in order to promote development in nigeria as a whole, because the ethnic crisis is a major factor slowing down the pace of development in Nigeria.
- Political actors should implement policies properly, void of favoritism and nepotism. Whatever policies will be made by them must be void of favoritism or tribalism, evertything should be done for the major aim of promoting the course of Nigeria’s development.
- There should be equal participation of all tribes in the legislative process inorder to prevent tribalism in politics.
- The body incharge of elections should be more effective.
CONCLUSION
It is conceivable that if Nigeria was not colonized, the entrenchment of ethnic slants among the diverse ethnic groups would have been exceptionally incomprehensible. Past talk, the British provincial bosses started expansionism, first through the example of regional triumph and gathering which later came about to the amalgamation exercise of 1914. This was the start of the ethnic doubts in Nigeria. The establishment of ethnicity which the provincial bosses left since freedom is the thing that has decided a few issues in the nation. The urgent objection for states and neighborhood government creation is a method for looking for comfort even with provocative ethnic minimization of the real ethnic groups against the ethnic minority groups. In the event that the ethnic inquiry in Nigeria isn’t unavoidably tended to on time, its impact will always wait among the ages to come in Nigeria. With the nonappearance of ethnicity, legislative behavior will be more satisfactory, laws would be made to support everybody as a rule. Nigeria would grow more than it has today. An arrangement instrument for accomplishing ethno-local adjust is the Federal Character standard. The accentuation on portrayal and power sharing was given established support in 1979 under the Federal Character Principle. The drafters of the constitution were of the assessment that the dread of mastery or rejection were notable parts of Nigerian legislative issues, and that it was basic to have particular arrangements to guarantee that the prevalence of people from a couple of states or from a couple of ethnic or other sectional groups is stayed away from in the piece of the legislature and its organizations. The piece of the Government of the Federation or any of its organizations and the direct of its undertakings might be done in such way as to mirror the elected character of Nigeria and the need to advance national solidarity, and furthermore to charge national devotion along these lines guaranteeing that there should be no prevalence of people from a couple of States or from a couple of ethnic or other sectional groups in that legislature or in any of its offices [Section 14 (3), 1979 Constitution]. The Federal Government ought to emphatically debilitate the soul of indigene-pioneer wonder in Nigeria furthermore; the Federal Character Principle ought to be firmly executed both at the state and neighborhood government levels. Ethnic bullheadedness ought to be see in Nigeria particularly where it is utilized as a measuring stick to decide arrangements and purposes behind presence.
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