SEVEN years of IBB Vol. 6:
Date
1993
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lagos state: Daily Times of Nigeria PLC,
Abstract
Background to the political bureau report; Two-party system: The IBB legacy; Local Government reforms; Open ballot and democracy; The centre for democratic studies and the foundations of a new political order; NEC and the new political order; The 1991 census of Nigeria - A comparative Study.
Description
One of the most important problems that faced Nigeria as a nation since its Independence some thirty-two years ago was the lack of a viable, enduring and. positive political culture. During the colonial period, politicians from all nooks and corners of the country agreed on the struggle for Independence. To this end, they severally and collectively struggled against the British until Independence was finally achieved. Although they resolved that Nigeria should remain a united polity, irrespective of our differences, the politicians have never been able to evolve political parties and plan politics such that would ensure an enduring republic. The first republic (1960 -1966) did not travel far before it was beset with all sorts of problems, violence, rigged elections, bogged up census, corruption, and above all, lack of political tolerance and accommodation, which led to the intervention of the army in a coup in Jan., 1966. Even with the Army on the political saddle, we had to fight a civil war (1967 -1970) to keep the country as one entity and polity. From 1970 when the civil war ended to the collapse of the second republic in 1983, the country has had two Military Governments(1970-75; 1975-1978) and one Civilian administration (1978 - 1983).