NIGERIAN POLITICS OF ZONING: QUESTIONS FOR DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE

Nigerian political history has survived many stages of development ranging from democratic to military phases. The present democratic dispensation which started from 1999 is characterized by the process of ‘power rotation within the geopolitical zones’ of Nigeria called ‘zoning’. Though zoning system is a political party affair, it was for the purposes of all-inclusiveness and deepening of democratic principles in the Nigerian society that the zoning system was initiated. But the challenge as observed today is that zoning has reinforced a style of politicking characterized by ethnicity and religious bigotry in the system and in the consciousness of Nigerians. By this, it has reinstalled mediocrity and production of incapable leaders in the Nigerian polity. In addition to this, the question is: has zoning truly saved democracy in Nigeria? Has it actually succeeded in ensuring all-inclusive government? When there is a change of power from one party to another, what is the fate of justice in zoning system? It is based on this that the paper defends the thesis that zoning has encouraged, among Nigerians and in Nigerian politics, political injustice hence non-inclusiveness and high consciousness of ethnicity and religious bigotry than nationalism and patriotism. However, the expectation from this paper is an exposition of the rudiments and initial aims behind zoning ideology and how it could have been the best political mannerism to ensure justice and all-inclusiveness for a new born democratic, multicultural and religious society like Nigeria. It will by extension show the consequences of the failure to explore the democratic rudiments of zoning which today explain why and how the Nigerian politics has become characterized by ethnicity and religious dominance. The paper shall adopt analytic and comparative methods in this discussion.

Open Full Text (PDF)