Political Education and Multi-Party System in Nigeria: Implications to Societal Development

Political Education and Multi-Party System in Nigeria: Implications to Societal Development

Offor, Ugochukwu Ifeyinwa, Ph.D, Offiah Chukwuemeka, & Onunkwo Martin Chukwuma
Department of Educational Foundations, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.701004

Received: 22 September 2023; Revised: 06 October 2023; Accepted: 10 October 2023; Published: 24 October 2023

ABSTRACT

The study investigated political education and multi-party system in Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study consist 3 senatorial zones, namely Anambra North, Anambra south and Anambra central with a total of 4914622. The sample size was 600 politicians selected through multi-stage and simple random sampling technique. A structured questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The questionnaire was validated by three experts, two in the area of sociology of education and the other expert in political science, all in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability was calculated using Cronbach Alpha with a coefficient value of 0.81, and 0.79 respectively. Data collected were analyzed using mean. The findings of the study showed the role of civic and voter education in addressing the challenges of multi-party system in Nigeria Some of these challenges that are common in Nigeria’s multiparty system were able to be addressed by political education. It was therefore concluded that political education must be taught at all levels and even through mass media, and social media to address the challenges of multiparty system in Nigeria.  It was recommended among others that the remuneration of political office holders should be reduced so that they would see political positions as a call to serve and not to amass wealth.

INTRODUCTION

Education is a powerful force that drives development and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and improving health, gender equality, peace, and political stability. It is the transmission of values and accumulated knowledge of a society. Education is designed to guide people in learning a culture, moulding their behaviour in the ways of adulthood, and directing them towards their eventual role in society. According to Offor, Anadi and Orisa (2017), education is a mobile treasure that travels with an individual throughout life and it enables one to grow, develop and be empowered to participate in all phases of life including politics. Educational empowerment of people is the foundation of all other forms of empowerment, be it, social, economic, technological and political. The aim of education is therefore to provide everyone with the opportunity to play an active role in moulding the future of a democratic society, and political education attempts to motivate individuals of all ages to participate in democratic societies and communities.

Political education is essential for improved political skills, knowledge, and democratic involvement. It provides an awareness of political linkages such as supremacy and power dynamics. The goal of political education is to get people interested in politics and to become responsible citizens by teaching them how to analyze and access a given political situation (Chikendu, 2002). Its objective is to teach basic knowledge on how politics works, developing an understanding about politics and encouraging involvement in politics i.e. to learn the significance of voting. A good political understanding is important not only for teaching politics, pursuing a career as a professional politician, or working in a government ministry, but also for working in numerous specialized institutions and voluntary organizations, voting, and having political conversations. Descriptively, when this instructional process takes the dimension of inculcating relevant skills, norms and values appropriate to the dynamics, challenges, trends and development of the political system, then it is called political education. Political education means teaching people to take risks, challenge those with power, honor critical traditions, and be reflexive about how authority is used in the classroom. On the other hand, a ‘politicizing education’ refuses to address its own political agenda, silences through an appeal to a teacher driven methodology, objectivity or notion of balance. Political education perpetuates pedagogical violence, while a political education expands the pedagogical conditions for people to understand. Similarly, Egbo (2017), stressed that political education is only an aspect and specialized form of education. Like education in general, it is viewed as a way of bringing about a better polity in existence. Political education is very apt and more encompassing. Apart from stating explicitly that a preparation of the young ones for life in the society must deal in content with political matters, it also encapsulates non-formal ways of orienting or even re-orienting the citizenry for better polity through more and better involvement in the nation’s life. Hence, political education is broad in concept. It is designed to facilitate exposure to relevant values for attitudinal orientation and re-orientation and elicits awareness and consciousness imperative in the stability and development of the polity. In line with this thought, Obasi and Wilson (2017:14) indicated that:

“political education provides the people with full concept of democracy; principles and procedures of democratic governance, democratic values and electoral process and with low political education people will not appreciate the numerous socio-political and economic problems facing the society, and as such cannot be expected to contribute towards solving the problems”.

Political education will enable people to take advantage of various opportunities for political participation and help build a positive attitude towards politics. Particularly, people who major in this area will as a result, be able to participate actively in the running of the state, for example, by taking offices as members of parliament, councillors or administrators. Other areas of political participation may include political debates, political demonstrations, membership in political organizations and trade unions, as well as participating in the election process through voting and presiding over the voting process. Moreover, knowledge of various political experiences is necessary if people are to critically evaluate political institutions and activities. Studying politics will enhance people understanding of various political concepts such as sovereignty, state, political obligation, and the relationship between the individual and the political system. Knowledge of political affairs will help people to objectively and critically scrutinize leaders and political structures. Hence, people will be better placed to identify the types of political systems which would be geared towards the promotion of the welfare of the population. Such knowledge will help people to remedy and criticize the flaws of political activities such as rigging in an electoral process and as a result ensure good political performance. Political education has a potential of bringing about social transformation. This is possible because a good understanding of politics among people will empower them, thereby enhancing their political consciousness and participation. They can hence participate responsibly in public affairs by advocating just socio-economic policies. By bringing a more fair distribution of resources and greater employment, they can become agents of change of the existing redundant structures, which are oppressive. This may lead to improved living standards among individuals and the entire society. Political education enables people to notice relationships between political, economic, cultural, and social phenomena. This will enhance the people understanding of the dynamics of change and hence draw generalizations about the political process. Studying politics will help people to better understand political structures and how structures work so as to contribute to improving a political system. The study enhances an awareness of values in politics by communicating to people ideologies of various political systems such as democratic and dictatorial systems. Thus political education enables people to comprehend various forms of government and hence make informed choices with knowledge of the purpose and functioning of each. Good political understanding can enhance truthfulness and faithfulness in one’s promises by emphasizing the importance of morality in politics. This can help curb corruption, which has become a “cancerous” growth in many countries, especially in the area of politics, and thereby bring sanity to political activities. It can also help mould people’s character by inculcating in them a culture of diplomacy and democracy. People can thus refrain from acts of violence in attempting to address some political issues such as constitutional reforms and election crises.

Political education also includes voters’ education, civic education and assertive education, which aim at teaching the citizen their rights and privileges. Ganiyu (2011) posited that education in support of the electoral process has become known as voters’ education with the primary target being voters. There are a number of other areas of education required if an election is to be successful, but these may variously be conducted by political parties and election administration officials. Voter education is considered to play separate and discreet function. It is usually identified as a function of the electoral authority and is occasionally subcontracted by them to private sector and civil society organizations. It is also fostered by public interest organization independent of any mandate by election authority. At its core, voter education is an enterprise designed to ensure that voters are ready, willing and able to participate in electoral politics. This entails election literacy and confidence that the electoral process is appropriate and efficacious in selecting government and prompting policies that will benefit the individual voter. Voters’ education is essential to ensuring that voters can effectively exercise their voting rights and express their political will through the electoral process. Voter education ensures that members of political parties who are ready and willing to vote during election, encourages members of political parties to vote during election, provides information on eligible to vote among members of different political parties, members of political parties are informed on who and how to register for voter’s card, members of political parties are informed on who and how to vote during election and it provides members of political parties information on how electorate can check voters list to certify their registration. Also, voter education provides information on what type of election that are being held, where and when, it reduces election malpractice among political parties among other things. It appears that political education misconceptions about multiparty system can be corrected through political education. This can yield good results for Nigerians by giving people an opportunity to participate effectively in the political system.

Civic education on the other hand, is a broader concept which refers to a process of conveying knowledge of a country political system and context. Civic education might include information on the system of government, the economic, social, and political issues facing the nation: the value of democracy; equal rights of women and men and the importance of the peace and natural reconciliation (Uche and Uzochukwu, 2018). Civic education refers to process of educating citizens on their rights, duties and responsibilities. Civic education helps to empower and motivate the citizens to identify what areas of the political and governance process they effectively participate in what they can do to influence political outcomes and thereby improve the quality of governance at  both  local, state and national levels. At the core of civic education are the values and principles of transparency, participation, responsiveness, accountability, empowerment, and equality. Communication and access to information are also integral part of civic education. It is a critical and effective empowerment tool for promoting citizens participation in the democratic and development process of any nation (Adebola, 2019). It helps citizen to be active participants in the affairs of the nations by informing them about their rights, roles and responsibilities as citizens. Civic education empowers citizens both as individual and as part of the collective grouping in the society with knowledge, requisite skills, motivation and confidence to assert and exercises their rights and responsibilities in holding the government accountable. This enhances transparency and contributes greatly to its credibility and public confidence in the government and its system. Political education also empowers citizen of a society with assertive skills (Okeke, 2005). This enables competency skills in the areas of decision making, interpersonal communication skill and cognitive skills. Civic education gives relevant data in the political system, gives information on the nature of governance used by political parties, promote powers of the office to be filled in an election, gives information on the economic issues needed to be addressed by political parties, civic education gives information on the social issues needed to  be addressed by political parties, civic education gives informationon the political issues needed to be addressed by political parties and Citizens are exposed to democratic rights through civic education among other things

Assertive education helps to shape a person civic education which is, important in political participation. Assertiveness has been proven to be the most effective communication skill for building win-win relationships based on mutual trust and respect. Assertive skills will enable one to increase ones confidence, share ideas openly with reduced anxiety, gain support and commitment from others and minimize unproductive conflicts and other obstacles to co-operation and team work. By developing assertiveness skills, one will increase his/her overall ability to communicate effectively which will contribute to the person’s professional success. Being assertive is a core communicative skill. It means that one expresses himself/herself effectively and stands up for his/her points of the view while also respecting the rights and beliefs of others. It helps one to boost one self esteem and earn others respect. It also demonstrates that one is aware of the rights of others and it is willing to work on resolving conflicts. It is not just what one says but how the person says it that is important. Being assertive gives an individual the best chance of successfully delivering his /her message. If the person communicates in a way that is too passive or too aggressive, his/her message may not be delivered to the people. Political education, through voters, civic and assertive education equips citizens of any nation with adequate political socialization that will enable them to contribute towards enthronement and sustainability of political development of their nation.

Furthermore, functions of the Legislature, Executive and Judiciary are taught through political education so as not to leave the people vogue about the functions of government.  Invariably, Martins and Wisdom (2014) opined that political education is a process driven by relevant structures in enhancing partisan and civic orientation of persons and collectives in the political process. Hence, political education as a process is institutional and transmission as exemplified in family, school, mass media, political parties and relevant public enlightenment agencies of the State. From this indication, political education constitute an aspect of political socialization which represents a process through which individuals acquire beliefs and values relevant to the dynamics, challenges and expectations of a political system. Hence, it constitutes the dominant orientation of people towards politics and governance. This is because political education helps people to understand the nature of political system and how political parties operate in any country.

A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country’s elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals. Political parties have become a major part of the politics of almost every country, as modern party organizations developed and spread around the world over the last few centuries. It is extremely rare for a country to have no political parties. A political party basically, is a group of people. These people come together to contest elections in order to hold power in the government. It is a way to mobilize voters to support common sets of interests, concerns, and goals. The primary role of the political party is to fix the political agenda and policies. So, each party tries to persuade people by claiming their policies are better than those of other parties. In a broader perspective, a political party is a means via which the people can speak to the government and have a say in the governance of any country. So, every political party must have three key components: Leaders, Active Members and Followers.

A political party contests elections by putting up candidates. In countries like the USA, the candidates are selected by members and supporters of a party. On the other hand, in countries like India, the candidates are chosen by top party leaders. Every party has different policies and programmes. Voters make a choice in accordance with the policies and programmes liked by them. In a democratic country, a large group of people that have certain similar opinions group together and form a party. Then, give a direction to the policies adopted by the government. Those parties which lose elections form the opposition. They voice different views and criticize the government for their failures and mobilize opposition to the government. Political parties shape public opinion. With the help of the pressure groups, the parties launch movements for solving problems faced by the people. Parties even offer access to government machinery and welfare schemes. The local party leader serves as a link between the citizen and the government. A democracy cannot exist without the presence of a political party. This is clear from the function performed by the political parties. In case, there are no political parties then: Every candidate in the election would be an independent candidate. Any individual candidate does not have the efficiency to promise any major policy change to the people. In such a scenario, no one will be responsible for how the country is run. In the long run, only a representative democracy can survive. Political parties are the agencies that gather different views on various issues and present them to the government.

There are three types of party systems:  One-Party System, Two-Party System and Multi-Party System. In a one-party system, there is no competition in this system. Here, the lone party nominates the candidates and the voters have only two choices i.e. Not to vote at all or write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ against the name of the candidates nominated by the party Such a political system has been prominent in authoritarian regimes and communist countries such as China, North Korea, and Cuba. Before the collapse of communism, this system was also prevalent in USSR. In a two-party system, the power shifts between two major, dominant parties. So, for winning the elections, the winner will have to get the maximum number of votes. However, maximum number of votes is not equivalent to a majority of votes. So, the smaller parties tend to merge with the bigger parties or they drop out of elections. Such a parliamentary system prevails in Canada and Great Britain, in which there are two parties holding the maximum numbers of seats. The third and the most common form of government is the multi-party system. In such a system, there are three or more parties which have the capacity to gain control of the government separately or in a coalition. In case, no party achieves a clear majority of the legislative seats, then several parties join forces and form a coalition government. Countries like India, follow a multi-party system. Some people are of the view that a multi-party system often leads to political instability in a country. Some countries have only one political party while others have several political parties and could be referred to as multi-party system (Okoye and Nnatu 2017). A multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in coalition. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in parliamentary systems than presidential systems and far more common in countries that use proportional representation compared to countries that use first-past-the-post elections. Several parties compete for power and all of them have reasonable chance of forming government.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Multiparty system is practiced in Nigeria. The development of political parties in Nigeria dates back to the days of the struggle for political independent in the late 1940s, when the nationalists were at the pre-independence and post-independence periods. The foundational “developmental circumstance” of party in Nigeria is colonial rule and the opposition to it by the country’s nationalist movement, which transmuted into political associations to contest for legislative elections as the country progressed between 1922 and 1960 from non-representative government (legislative council), through representative government and responsible government to independence, under competitive party and electoral politics. Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. The restoration of democratic government in 1999 led to a new approach to party politics in Nigeria. The procedure for registering political parties was liberalized, thereby, opening up the political space for mass participation in political activities in the country. Today, there are more than fifty registered political parties in Nigeria, even though only few of them have been able to win election. The few political parties that have dominated the political space to the point that fears are being expressed that the country was drifting towards a one-party state. Opposition parties are beginning to cross to the ruling party both at the federal and states levels.

A multi-party system affords citizens the opportunity to have as many choices as possible. As such, those in support of the system say it is democratic. According to Nwankwo (2019) Multi-party systems tend to encourage peaceful change of governments. The existence of many parties means that there are other parties waiting for their turn to be voted into power can discourage crude means of gaining political power. Since there are many parties that are formed in a multi-party system, this allows for minority groups among the electorate to be represented. This also allows for increased political participation by the masses. .When there is opposition, it could encourage optimal results. The operation of multi-party allows open and constructive criticism of the policies of the ruling government. This prevents the leaders of the ruling party from becoming despotic or tyrannical. It may encourage voter participation.  Ensure links with critical electoral stakeholders.

In many cases, no one party is able to gain power alone. Therefore, it leads to difficulty in formation of government. Some parties might have to come together before a government can be formed and these coalition governments can be weak and unstable. It can be expensive to operate since all the parties vying for political power must convince the people to vote for them (Oddih and Obodo, 2017). They organize rallies, advertise in the media and so on in order to carry out their campaigns and reach voters. Electorates can become bombarded with so many choices to the point where they get confused. Another disadvantage of multi-party system is that it can lead to divisions in the nation. This is especially so in Africa where parties could be formed along tribal, religious or ethnic lines.  When there are many parties vying for the ultimate goal of ruling the country, it can degenerate into an unhealthy rivalry among the various parties. This could eventually stifle development and progress. It leads to political instability and often appears to be very messy (Nwoye, 2012). There is inadequate fund among political parties to compete with the ruling party during elections, and ethnic crisis in the state hampers the political ideologies of some political parties towards national development therapies. Furthermore, ethnic crisis also affects the recognition of some political parties especially in a heterogeneous state like Nigeria. Political and economic instability affects the ideologies of political parties towards national development, tribalism hinders the acceptance of some political parties among political participants, electorates, the political interest and dominance of stakeholders in various political parties hinders the efforts of political parties in nation building. The delay in government decisions and implementations hinders the contributions of minority political parties in national issues and there is negative use of political propaganda among competing parties and Nigeria’s unity in diversity (in theory) limits the advancement of different political parties in all parts of the country. More so, persistence electoral malpractices hinder political ideologies of political parties in Nigeria and there seems to be lack of internal democracy because power is concentrated among few leaders in diverse political parties who do not involve members in decision making and it appears that political education could play a significant role to play in cushioning these challenges confronting multi-party system in Nigeria. The multi-parties in Nigeria need to exemplify a new level of commitment to the yearnings and aspirations of the people for more fundamental and sustainable development through political education.

Statement of the Problem

Nigeria like many African countries has her fair share of democratic challenges though she has recorded achievements  over the years. Nigeria recorded about fifty registered political parties but only about two are prominent among them. It is very difficult for political leaders  to emerge from other political parties apart from the ruling party.. There  has been issues  across the countries for some adjustmens  and improvements  on the way political partis  are run and managed. Political leaders are imposed on Nigerians, as a result many have  argued that Nigerians  must necessarily adopt the  methods that will guarantee the rights of its citizens to elects leaders of their  choice as enshrined in the constitution. There is power tussle among political parties because of their quest to secure political power these often result to high rate of carpet crossing, confusion, in making a choice among the electorates especially when one is faced with multiple good option and thugs are used to eliminate the lives of political opponent based on the foregoing therefore it becomes very pertinent to investigate political education and multi-party system in Nigeria.

Purpose of the Study

The general objective of this study is to investigate political education and multi-party system in Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to determine whether:

1. civic education can address the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria
2. voter education can address the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria?

Research Questions

The following research questions were posed to guide the study:

3. In what ways can civic education address the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria?
4. In what ways can voter education address the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria?

METHODS

The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consists of the 3 senatorial zones, namely Anambra North, Anambra south and Anambra central with a total of 4914622 (National population commission, Awka (NPC), 2006). The sample size is 600. Multi stage and simple random sampling technique were used to select two local government areas in each senatorial zone (rural and urban areas); making a total of six local government areas. From each of the six local government areas, 100 politicians were selected through the use of balloting system of random sampling, giving rise to a total of 600 politicians that constitute the sample of the study. A structured questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. The questionnaire was divided into two parts: A and B. Part A of the questionnaire specified information on personal characteristics of the respondents while part B contained 35 items with regards to the research questions. The response option of the research questions in the questionnaire was Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). The questionnaire was validated by three experts, two in the area of sociology of education and the other expert in political science, all in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. To establish the reliability of the questionnaire, trial testing method was used on 50 youths in Enugu State outside the study area. The reliability was calculated using Cronbach Alpha for each of the subsections. At the end of the analysis, the scores obtained were 0.81, and 0.79 respectively. The results showed high reliability of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to the respondents by the researchers with the help of 14 research assistants, who were paired for each local government areas. Administration of the questionnaire was done after the 2023 presidential election. All copies of the questionnaire distributed were collected back because of on the spot delivery method and collection technique applied. Mean rating was use to analyze the data. The four point response mode used, informed the use of mean 2.50 as the cut-off point for decision. The decision rule was that mean scores of items of 2.50 and above were regarded as positives while mean scores below 2.50 were regarded as negative.

Table 1: the following are roles civic education can play in salvaging the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria

 Data in table 2 showed that all the items attracted positive responses with scores well above 2.50. With the cluster mean of 2.85 indicated agreement with roles civic education can play in salvaging the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria. Table 2: The following are roles voter education can play to address the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria

Data in table 2 showed that all the items attracted positive responses with scores well above 2.50. With the cluster mean of 2.58 indicated agreement with roles voter education can play in salvaging the challenges of multi party system in Nigeria.

DISCUSSION

The findings of the study revealed how civic education could address the challenges of multi-party in Nigeria. Accordingly, the findings of the study showed that civic education gives relevant data to create healthy environment for political completion among political parties, reduces irrelevant carpet crossing by providing information on the nature of governance used by political parties and reduces confusion in the choice of candidates during election. To support these findings, Egbo (2013), posited that civic education if effective creates healthy political environment for the implementation of democracy. In addition, Nwankwo (2019), supported that without civic education people would lack knowledge of governance in Nigeria. The findings showed that civic education promotes credible political leadership by addressing leadership issues among political parties, gives information on the how to address the financial problems of political parties, gives information on the ethic issues needed to be addressed by political parties, promotes political participation by encouraging people to join political parties of their choice among others. In this vein, Ngou (1989), agreed that civic education promotes credible political leadership and healthy political system.

Finally, the findings of the study showed that voter education promotes healthy completion among political parties by ensuring that members of political parties, who are ready and willing to vote, vote during election. Voter education encourages members of political parties to stay in a political party by educating them on the consequences of cross carpeting and it provides information on best choice of candidates those eligible to vote among members of different political parties. To Support these findings, Chikendu (2002) posited that voters’ education reduces high rate of party defection and voter education is essential to ensuring that voters can effectively exercise their voting rights and express their political will through the electoral process. Voter education ensures that members of political parties who are ready and willing to vote during election. The findings of the study showed that members of political parties are informed on who and how to register for voter’s card without ethic bias through voter education and members of political parties are informed on party ideologies to guide their voting option during election. It provides members of political parties information on how electorate can check voters list to certify their registration and it provides information on what type of election that is being held, where and when to promote democracy among others. Ngou (1989) supported that through voter education, people who have right attitude towards voting prefer coming out massively to vote for candidates of their choice. More so, Egboh (2013) agreed that through electorates with positive voting behaviour vote without being influenced to vote for or against a particular candidate because of material gratifications, cash gifts among others.

CONCLUSION

Nigeria is one of countries that practice multiparty system in the World. Multi party system is having some challenges in Nigeria such as unhealthy competition among political parties in their quest to secure political power, high rate of cross carpeting, confusion in political choice among electorates in primary elections and congested political space which hinder credible political leaders to emerge through party politics among other things. Some of these challenges that are common in Nigeria’s multiparty system were able to be addressed by political education. It was therefore concluded that political education must be taught at all levels and even through mass media, social media among other mediums to address the challenges of multiparty system in Nigeria.

Implications to Societal Development

The implication of the study is that if adequate steps are not taken by all stakeholders to ensure effective teaching of political education programme, people would not participate effectively in political activities and this would jeopardize their chances of making contribution in politics. This would adversely affect overall political, social cum economic development of Nigeria and the World at large and also go a long way to stymie the political progress of the country, bearing in mind how vital’ electorates are to the society.  Hence, this would make people to lack suitable knowledge regarding some relevant functional skills that would enable them to solve socio-economic cum political problems, create in them a sense of nationalism, participant political culture and democracy mindedness in the society.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made:

1. Government at all levels should organize political education programmes for people’ periodically at the Local, State and National levels. In doing so, some of the challenges of multiparty system affecting people’s participation in politics will be reduced and the extent people’ take part in politics in Nigeria will improve.
2. The remuneration of political office holders should be reduced so that they would see political positions as a call to serve and not to amass wealth.
3. Independent candidates should be allowed to co-exist with political parties without any form of disenfranchisement.
4. Government and policy makers should make policies that will promote political education among political parties. In doing so, the challenges of multi-party system would not impede electorates effective political participation rather strengthen them in political participation.
5. Members of political parties should be patriotic in Nigerian political system. In doing so, they will be motivated to use their votes prudently in promoting political and economic development in Nigeria.

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