Regional, Ethnic, and Religious Cleavages in the Context of the Dominant Party System

Abstract

Eminent scholars and statesmen have argued that a practical way to mitigate the political
influence of ethnicity, religion, and regionalism in Nigerian/African politics is to adopt a one-
party system, or at most a two-party system. A belief that factions (ethnicity, religion,
regionalism) and political competition will disappear with the demise of rival parties.
Experience from the Nigerian Fourth Republic, starting in 1999, shows that a dominant party
may emerge from democratic elections. The question is whether these parties also have a
nationalistic, integrative element, as supporters of dominant or two-party systems claim. Have
one or two dominant national parties whittled down regionalism and ethno-religious cleavages
in Nigerian politics? There seems to be a connection among ethnicity, religion, regional
cleavages, intra-party political competition, and party system dynamics in Nigeria, despite the
dominance of the party(ies). This relates to the inability of the dominant party(ies) to manage
ethno-religious cleavages and regional politics effectively.