(PDF) The Challenges of Same Faith Political Ticket on a Multi Diversified Country Like Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE:

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Religion has emerged as a significant force in recent decades, playing a significant role not just in public discourse but also as a vehicle of political mobilization. On the other hand, the emergence of religion is not something that has occurred all by itself; rather, it is intimately connected to larger material and ideological changes that have had an impact on international politics (Adebanwi, 2019). The decline and fall of state socialism is one of these developments. State socialism played major ideological and political tasks outside of the sphere of socialism, including the provision of an intellectual and political alternative. This alternative involved the establishment of a different moral and political view of the world, as well as, on the whole, an agreement among the governing elites that there needed to be a limit placed on social disparity. Since the 1980s, ideological and practical reactions to the seeming triumph of liberal capitalism have increasingly come to dominate politics on a global and national scale. This trend began in the 1980s and has continued to this day. Positive visions for the future of humanity have been confined to the operation of the market and the institutions that it consists of, which reflects a growing scepticism toward alternative ways of seeing the world. This perception is a reflection of the fact that idealistic thinking is frequently seen as being out of date. Since the 1980s, there has been a significant rise in worldwide inequality, and this trend can be traced back to both direct and indirect effects of this phenomenon. This trend can be seen in both the global North and South (Agbaje, 2022).

According to Deneulin (2019), Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. The country’s broad religious geography reflects the historical exposure of its northern communities to Islam through the trans-Saharan trade, and it also reflects the success of Christian missionary enterprise in many of its southern parts. Nevertheless, religious and ethno-regional identities are cross-cutting, and they often reinforce one another. This is the case even if historical alliances and common ethnicity are directly related with the adoption of these two global religions. Thus, while Islam had been established in the pre-colonial Hausa cities for centuries, many other northern groups converted to Islam in the wake of the nineteenth century Islamic jihad under Uthman dan Fodio (1754-1817). During this time, the greater part of northern and central Nigeria was incorporated into a new Caliphate, albeit with the exception of the already existing and much older Islamic kingdom of Borno. Borno is currently the most important rival to Sokoto’s claims to represent northern Nigeria The Yoruba of south-western Nigeria, where people initially converted to Islam as a result of links to Malian trading communities (Ekechi, 2017), and Nigeria’s middle belt, where large-scale conversion to Islam has continued throughout the postcolonial period, are examples of other Muslim groups that have a tradition that is independent of the Uthmanian Caliphate. Christianity in Nigeria can be traced back to the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the early nineteenth century. This was followed by the emergence of a literate African elite in coastal cities such as Lagos, which was comprised of liberated and returned slaves as well as local converts. This elite group was instrumental in the spread of Christianity in Nigeria. Christianity is not related with the power dynamics that existed before to colonization in this region since it is a far newer religion than Islam. And since the advent of Christianity in Nigeria was concurrent with the expansion of mission education, Christians dominated Nigeria’s professional elite for a significant portion of the country’s history. Like Islam, Nigerian Christianity is diverse. Although Nigerian-founded Pentecostal groups have made significant advances into this region during the twenty years previous to this research, Roman Catholicism has long been the predominant religion of the Igbo-speaking south-east (Ellis, 2018). In other regions of the country’s south, Protestant denominations, especially Pentecostal organizations, predominate in the Christian community; but, in the Yoruba-speaking south-west, the Christian population and the Muslim population are practically evenly split. It is generally accepted that a presidential ticket from the same religious tradition would have a negative impact on Nigeria’s diverse population (Mamdani, 2020). A country-state having a population of more than 200 million people, making it an extremely populous nation. In addition, there are about 250 different ethnic groups that contribute to the geographical manifestation.. Therefore, this study is will look into the challenges of same faith political ticket on a multi diversified country like Nigeria.

Statement of the problem

Today, Nigeria is going through a period in which it is in desperate need of coherence, peace, and togetherness. This is the case due to the unfortunate polarization of the nation along ethnic and religious lines, which is the outcome of ill-informed acts taken by state and non-state actors throughout Nigeria between the years 1999 and the present day (Guardian, 2022). As a direct consequence of this, the level of mistrust and suspicion that exists between the two predominant religions in the country has grown to such an extreme degree that it is impossible, unrealistic, and unwise for any political party to field a presidential joint ticket comprised of candidates from the same religious tradition. In addition, since the current political dispensation began in 1999, politicians and major political parties have avoided fielding Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim presidential and vice-presidential candidates in order to strike a balance between the religious sentiments that are prevalent in the country. This is done in an effort to appease the religious sentiments that are prevalent in the country (Makinde, 2020). In point of fact, there had been only two major exceptions to that general rule: the first was from 1983 to 1985, during which time Major-General Muhammadu Buhari and Major-General Tunde Idiagbon, both Muslims, held sway as military Head of State and deputy; the second was in 1993, when the Social Democratic Party (SDP) presented a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in the persons of the late Chief Moshood Abiola from the South and Alhaji Babagana Kingibe from the Their election, which was regarded to be the freest and fairest in the history of the nation, was still nullified by the military before the victors could be sworn into office (Imo, 2022). In that time period, the Christian population of the country did not seem to have lodged any formal complaints. Therefore, this study will investigate the challenges of same faith political ticket on a multi diversified country like Nigeria.

Objective of the study

The general objective of this study is to examine the challenges of same faith political ticket on a multi diversified country like Nigeria. The specific objectives is as follows:

Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

i. What are the challenges of having same faith political ticket in Nigeria?

ii. What is the probable effect of same faith political ticket on a multi diversified country like Nigeria?

iii. Is same faith ticket a strategy deploy by political parties to win elections?

iv. Will the same faith political ticket breed suspicion of an islamization agenda in Nigeria?

Significance of the study

This study will be significant to political parties as they should take cognizance on the fact that Nigeria is a multi diversified country streamed along two major religious lines and that whatever decision needs to be made should be made based on equity and fairness as if this is disregarded it could plunge the country into another civil war crisis.

This study will be significant to the academic community as it will contribute to the existing literature, and also, serve as a guide to students who might want to carry out a further research on the topic.

Scope of the study

The study will examine the challenges of having same faith political ticket in Nigeria. The study will also find out the probable effect of same faith political ticket on a multi diversified country like Nigeria. The study will further investigate if same faith ticket is a strategy deploy by political parties to win elections. Lastly, the study will assess if the same faith political ticket will breed suspicion of an islamization agenda in Nigeria.

Limitation of the study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, and interview), which is why the researcher resorted to a moderate choice of sample size. More so, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.

Definition of terms

Challenges: a call to someone to participate in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength.

Same faith ticket: two political aspirant from same political party that are connected to same religion

Multi diversified: Exhibiting diversity in many ways, or along many axes