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ABSTRACT
The practice of liberal democracy in Nigeria is overshadowed by the clamours for political zoning and other power-sharing arrangements as mechanisms for ethno-regional balancing. A few scholarly commentaries have alluded to the capacity of such informalities for conflict mitigation and consensus formation in plural societies. Drawing motivation from a traditional paradigm of power rotation among the Ilaje of Ondo state, Nigeria, this article based on a qualitative study, examines how ideas and practices of zoning and rotational access to political power intersect with identity politics, corruption, and the ideals of liberal democracy in Nigeria. The article affirms that the prevalence of zoning and power rotation as forms of political practices across Nigeria, and the discourse built around the two, point toward a national and local appropriation and accommodation of the concepts. It argues that though the practices have the capacity for maintaining peaceful political order, they have occurred more as an elites’ strategy to negotiate continued participation in the political process and access to the national wealth. The article, therefore, concludes that political turn-taking exemplifies ‘a social mechanism of corruption’ and a perverted form of liberal democracy.
Acknowledgments
An earlier version of this article was presented as a paper at the Crossroads in African Studies Conference held at the Department of African Studies and Anthropology, University of Birmingham in September 2013. I owe a debt of gratitude to Olatunde Bayo Lawuyi, Insa Nolte, and Aderemi Ajala for their helpful comments on earlier drafts.
Notes on Contributor
Babajide Olusoji Ololajulo teaches Cultural Anthropology at the University of Ibadan. His research has ranged over the effects of oil exploitation on rural oil communities, identity politics, and unusual identities in Nigeria. He is a fellow of the American Council of Learned Society (ACLS) and has received travel grants from the South-South Exchange Program for Research on the History of Development (SEPHIS) to participate in international workshops in Brazil and Peru.
Notes
1. The Ilaje are a Yoruba-speaking group occupying the Atlantic coastline of Ondo state, Nigeria.
2. One of the biggest debates in Nigeria is the number of years the country's leadership was retained in the north, especially during the era of military dictatorship.
3. Also see Clark Gibson & James Long ‘Notes on recent elections: The presidential and parliamentary elections in Kenya’ December 2007 [online] <http://www.africog.org/reports/Gibson%20and%20Long%202009.pdf> (accessed 10 October 2014).
4. In Oyo state, Nigeria, there is the myth about the Oyo not serving a leader twice. The myth is strengthened by the failure of all previous governors to serve a second term in office.
5. Some of these positions are also considered to have political significance for the identity groups that occupy them.
6. Also see John Ayoade ‘Indeed, zoning is a problem!’ ThisDay Live 20 March 2013 [online] <http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/indeed-zoning-is-a-problem-/142701/> (accessed 12 October 2013); and ‘Nigeria: rotation of power is not democratic – Sheikh Jingir’ NewsRescue 1 April 2013 [online] <http://newsrescue.com/nigeria-rotation-of-power-is-not-democratic-sheikh-sani-jingir/#axzz2hTnY6PLu> (accessed 12 January 2014).
7. Ibid.
8. Olu James, personal communication (16 May 2012).
9. Ilaje local government area is made up of two electoral constituencies. Ilaje Constituency 1 is wholly constituted by the Ugbo subgroup, while Ilaje Constituency 2 is made up of the Mahin, Aheri & Etikan.
10. There is a popular story in Nigeria about a minister who accused a fellow minister of betrayal after the latter had been invited to come and ‘chop’ or eat.
11. Gbebemi Balogun, personal communication (27 May 2012).
13. ‘Ex-commissioner canvasses power shift in Plateau’ News24 27 August 2013 [online] <http://m.news24.com/nigeria/Politics/News/Ex-commissioner-canvasses-power-shift-in-Plateau-20130827> (accessed 16 October 2013).
14. A Raji ‘Principles of power rotation for political equity’ Punch (Nigeria) [online]
<http://www.punchng.com/opinion/principles-of-power-rotation-for-political-equity> (accessed 11 October 2013).
15. Zion Zadok ‘Why Nigeria must embrace power rotation’ (interview with Chief Felix Ohiri Amadi) Leadership (Nigeria) 30 May 2014 [online]
<http://leadership.ng/features/372678/nigeria-must-embrace-power-rotation> (accessed 10 October 2014).
16. F Olokor ‘C'ttee wants power rotation in constitution’ Punch (Nigeria) 2014 [online]
<http://www.punchng.com/news/cttee-wants-pn/ower-rotation-in-constitution> (accessed 10 October 2014).
17. Elkanah Enikuomehin, personal communication (22 May 2012).
18. The quote ‘For their tomorrow, we gave our today’, is attributed to the English Classicist, John Maxwell Edmond (1875–1958).