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CHAPTER FIVE

POLITICAL CONFLICT, GODFATHERISM AND DEMOCRATIC SUSTAINABILITY IN NIGERIA'S FOURTH REPUBLIC

Abstract

By Saliu-0, Sanusi Avidime Ph.D

and E.K Enojo Ph.D

Department of Political Science, Faculty of Soc.ial Sciences, Kogi State University, Aoyigba

Political godfatherism has become a plague in the body politics of Nigeria. There is an emerging trend in Nigeria which indicates that an intending co~testant must have and depend on a godfather with the requisite wealth and power to get him into elective office. Political godfatherism has become the dominant feature characterizing contemporary Nigerian politics. Their role as a political phenomenon bas impacted on the body politics of country negative virtues which are now potential threat to the democracy in the country. Democracy as practiced elsewhere thrive on an environment of peace and tranquility, popular participation, fundamental human rights, the rule of law and free, fair and open competitive elections. However, the activities of these political gladiators have denied the citizenry from electing their preferred candidates as their leaders. This is detrimental to the sustenance of our nascent democracy. It is against this background that this paper posits that there is need for the redefinition of our value system. There is need for us to change our perception of politics as a short-cut to personal wealth.

Keywords: Political Conflict, Godfatherism, Democratization, and Sustainable development

Introduction Corruption in the body polity ofNigeria is widespread and is responsible for many of our

unpatriotic behaviours. Quite consistency, Nigeria has been considered to be among the first most corrupt nations of the world (Adebanjo, 2002: 18). It is in this tendency of corruption fuelled by greed rather than patriotism that has resulted in the average Nigerian seeing governance and government as a vehicle for exploitation and self-aggrandizement. While the Nigerian populace craves for a leadership to lift them out of economic and social doldrums, the political elites maintain mercantilism as their watchword and do everything in the hope of monetary gains and kickbacks. Anamabra, Oyo, Enugu, Edo states etc are classic examples of this situation.

Godfatherism bas become a plague in the body politics of Nigeria. There is an emerging trend in Nigeria which indicates that an intending contestant must have and depend on a godfather with the requisite wealth and power to get him into elective office. The implication is that contestants no longer rely on their popularity among the electorates but on their chosen godfathers to help them secure electoral victories. This whole process undermines the usual popular sovereignty and other attributes that make democracies often unique and preferable to other governmental systems. The dominant role of the political godfathers in Nigerian politics and the competition amongst godfathers to win elections for their godsons with the ultimate intention of controlling state apparatus necessarily encourage the adoption

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·of varying methods of achieve electoral victory.

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Although this is widely in practice ill all parts of the world, but here in Nigeria, it has assumed a disturbing and worrisome dimension. It has become pertinent to have an elite back-up or a strong political godfather before considering running for any elective offices or even political appointment. These godfathers offer the services of their support only in anticipation of financial returns that are alarmingly huge and extravagant as opposed to that of their service to the people.

A unique aspect of every sovereign state in the world is the nature of politics and the character of the state. Politics, according to Laswell (1936) is "who gets what, when and how". At the level of society, politics is the various activities that involve the relationship between and amongst individuals and coalitions of actors,. the means by which access to scarce, social and economic values are mediated and determined (Olaoye, 2006). However, the institution of government acts on behalf of the state, and through its structures, institutions and agencies, government enacts and express the sovereign will of the state. Apparently, it is the desire of most citizens to get control of the machinery of government for the ultimate purpose of the distribution and redistribution of the scarce resources.

In Africa and among other developing countries, the state becomes the central focus of politics. Expressing this view, Clapman (1985) asserts that, "the state has emerged as the key structure of third world politics". Olufemi (2003) also affirmed that despite the divergent conceptions of politics, there is a common ground in the centrality of the state to the political process. The concentration of power and wealth in the state in Africa explains the scramble for the control of its structures and institutions by the political class in society. This struggle and the consequent values have impact on society negatively. In our nascent democratic experience, the power tussles among the members of the political class have resulted in violence in varying forms and intensities. However, this study will focus on only those violence cases related to elections in Nigeria.

Conceptual Clarification The concept of godfatherism in Nigeria has necessaries tremendous scholarly literature

of the concept. Literature of the concept portrays varying opinions and views. However, from a general socio-political perspective, Williams (2004) attempts an incisive definition of the term. According to him; " ... godfatherism can be generally seen as a practice which entails the sustenance of a kind of social and political relationships in which the subordinate looks onto the superior for the propagation and fulfillment of certain roles, desire and interactions which binds both togethe.r or in which both have equal stake but with the superior determining what the subordinate gets in the process".

This view presents godfatherism as a relationship between a superior and a subordinate in which the superior bas some level of influence over the subordinate as a result of his superior status. In other words, godfatherism connotes a mutual relationship between individuals in which one is superior and the other a subordinate who relies on his superior partner for favours to help him attain his life goals. In the realm of politics, god.fatherism portrays a power-based relationship. For instance, Ukhum (2004) emphasizes that the implicit feature in godfatherism is power. He stated that, " ... power is the determinant or fundamental feature of godfatherism and the power could be economic, political, spiritual, voodoo etc".

Danoye (2004:44), see godfather as a human being who plays god to his people. He provides their basic needs, fends for them, protects them and assists them to secure and achieve their objectives. He further states "his support could be seen as investment, which he believes must yield some profits in the future". This is also peculiar to the god.fathers powerful blocs that have tremendous influence in the society such as the Kaduna mafia (Bala and Sonni, 1987). It comprises coalition of strong socio-economic and political elites that

Avidime, S.S. and Enojo, E.K. 4 9

share similar value system and under an organized structure. In most cases, there are always· godfathers who control the affairs of the mafia. ·

If the aforementioned statements are properly" x-rayed, one would agree with the statement that the reward of godfatherism seems to be more personalized. The godfathers take politics as an occupation they rely solely on for survival. They subject their godchildren to their hegemonic political influence. They rig elections massively to install their clients into offices. Virtually, they do this because of their interest in the state resources and assurance of kick-backs. In the words ofThovethin (2004:69) "those that cannot muster the billions of naira enter into "nocturnal agreement with political Lords who also want to control state power, but lack necessary credibility for contesting and winning election or those that see politics ~s the most money spinning investment". Therefore, those who have political ideas and do not have access to godfathers are not given the opportunity to use their ideas for the benefit of the state. One of the most worrisome implications of godfatherism in Nigerian politics is that the country is yet to make appreciable progress in transparent governance because godfathers usually create setback, which hinders democratic growth and development in the country.

Apart from being antithetical to democratic consolidation in Nigeria, godfatherism is an evil building block for corruption, retrogression, underdevelopment, mediocrity and backwardness. This view is quite revealing s it unveils the problematic dimensions the phenomenon of godfatherism has assumed in Nigeria especially during this fourth republic. Tracing the history of Nigerians since political independence, it shows that aspirants to political offices who are less financed empowered rely greatly on the financial muscle of the moneybags in the society who invariably become their mentors and political godfathers. The money-bags on the other hand may look for a popular and very outstanding character to invest their money on by encouraging him to contest for an elective office, which will be manipulated in his favour. In order to realize the mission, the political godfathers capitalize on the vulnerability of poverty ridden electorates who can be lured with money, food and material things to sell their votes to the highest bidder. On this, Nnamani again bas this to say:

Poverty makes it possible for the emergence of godfathers, the prevalence of this makes it easy for godfathers to rise and pervade the environment of the not well structure polities. In addition, the election is manipulated through financial inducement of electoral officers, thuggery or outright rigging of votes. The activities of political godfathers in Nigeria fourth republic are even challenging and daring to democracy and democratic stability. (Nnamani, 2004 :28).

From the foregoing, it is obvious that godfatherism involves two parties, (godfather and godson), whose relationship is symbiotic in nature. Both parties need each other to survive and achieve their aim. The godfather bankrolls the campaign of the godson while the godson reciprocates by paying huge interest and awarding contracts to the godfather.

Irrespective of the definitions and explanations given by various scholars, and authors, one thing is clear, that is the concept of godfatherism is firmly establishing as a scourge in contemporary Nigerians politics. The godfatberism phenomenon is an aberration to the practice of true democracy in Nigeria.

Godfatherism and Electoral Violence in Nigeria's Fourth Republic The state in Africa remains the instrument through which economic resources are

distribute and redistributed. Therefore, politics in Africa revolve around the state, its structure and agencies. This goes to explain the intense struggle to control the apparatuses of

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the state by members of the political class. In the bid to win and have control of this vital structure in society, godfathers often adopt varying methods to outsmart their rivalries. That is why in Nigeria methods such as thuggery, rigging, violence and manipulation of results are very important instruments for the determination of the popularity and acceptance of leader(s). and often times, election results are a true reflection of the votes of electorates. However, the same cannot be said of Nigeria's democratic experience since 1999. Elections in Nigeria are characterized by thuggery, rigging, manipulations and violence. They are usually the expression of the confirmation of an already chosen godson.

Without doubt godfatherism related crisis has assumed a bizaare position from the enthronement of civil rule in Nigeria in 1999. It started with the acrimony that existed between Dr. Olusola Salcari (godfather) and Alhaji Muhammed Lawal (protege), the governor ofKwara State between May 1999 and September, 2003. Dr. Saraki was purported to have endorsed other contenders as governor of the state and also bankrolled his campaign expenses. But Lawal refused to reciprocate this gesture of Dr. Saraki when he did not give him adequate government patronage and by acting in ways contrary to what was expected as a loyal "godson". Saraki who appears to have a finn control ofKwara State politics swore that a second term for Lawal would no longer be a matter of course.

"I am keeping the second term with me, Lawal's conduct will determine whether he will get it or not". When Saraki could no longer trust Lawal with the state governorship, he threw his son into the fray in the ticket for the governorship election in 2003. They orgy of destruction, violence and death recorded in the state is a veritable tribute to the godfather/godson syndrome. The result of the election at the April 2003 polls confirmed Saraki's rating as the kingmaker ofK wara State. (Omoruyi, 2006: 14)..

There are also high profile assassinations and kidnapping and hostage taking of politicians, children and women. For example, Harry Marshall was killed in his Abuja home in March 5, 2003, Bola lge the then Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation was murdered in his country home in Ogun State in December 23, 2004, others include Alabo Dikibo, Abigail, Barnabas Igwe, Ogbonnaya Uche, Theodore Agwata, Daramola, Funsho Williams to mention a few. Also, what can be called the lasted trend in Nigeria is the politically motivated kidnappings and hostage taking of children, wives or parents of politicians and highly placed individuals who may be connected to state power. These negative tendencies in the political system have undoubtedly narrowed the political space for sincere and honest individuals to engage in politics in Nigeria.

Another factor that gives rise to violence that relates to the role of godfatherism in Nigerian politics is incongruence of interest between a godfather and a godson. During the second term of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the phenomenon of godfatherism became more alarming and dangerous to the survival of Nigeria's fledging democracy. Olaoye (2007) posted that, incongruence between the interest of the godfather and those of the larger society can result in a struggle between the two. A godson in power position may either align with his benefactor to exploit the people and state resources (e.g. former Governor of Anambra State Mbadunuju and his godfather Emeka Ofor) or may align with the rest of society and work for the development of the state (Ngige of Anambra State). In the case of the former, there may be no problem as the interest of the godfather may take extra measures by even expending additional resources to ensure the ouster of his ingrate and disloyal godson from office. Thus, he may resort to creating chaos, violent demonstrations and protests against the regime. It may also include assassination, kidnapping and abduction. This situation played out itself inAnambra, Eougu, Oyo, and Plateau States.

For example, Chris Uba bad demanded from Ngige the appointment of all the commissioner and other personal aid to the governor and also demanded for reimbursement of three billion naira (N3b) being the total cost of his investment in installing Ngige as governor of the state (The Comet, 2003). Ngige's failure to meet these demands led to his

Avidime, S.S. and Enojo, E.K. 51

kidnap and his subsequent removal from office. In Oyo State, Albaji Lamidi Adediou (godfather) and Ladoja (protege) battled for the

soul of Oyo State. This affected governance in the state and it re-enacted political violence for which there was famous for. At the instance of Lamidi, Ladoja won the gubernatorial state election defeating the incumbent governor Alhaji Lam Adesina. The decision of Adedibu to nominate 80 percent of the new commissioners and special advisers signaled the beginning of the end of the pact betweenAdeidbu and Ladoja. The animosity between them was put into display during the electioneering campaign for the March 2004 local government elections. Ladoja was left to his devices until he was consumed through impeachment by the tiger he mounted in 2003 (Okafor, 2003:14). Albaji Lamidi Adedibu had placed similar demands on Ladoja his godson and gqvernor of the state. Like Ngige, Ladoja failed and he got the wrath of his godfather Larnidi Adedibu. In a Tell Magazine reportAdedibu was quoted as saying:

He (Ladoja) won't give me my money he owes me. The man will not just give me a duplicate key to the treasury, despite all my investments in the project ... second, he is too stubborn concerning my choice of commissioners, chairmen of government parastatals and boards members (Tell, 2003).

Godfatherism, political violence and democratic sustainability in Nigeria, an indication from the above analysis of godfatherism shows tow main variants of godfatherism, especially in the contemporafy Nigerian context. Thus, godfatherism could be described in both positive and negative terms. As Oguntola-Laguda (2004) remarks:

... by providing a legitimate platform for politicians to achieve their political dreams and objectives, a godfather could be positively conceived. On the contrary, when the godfather gives financial, logistic and moral support to the ambition of a politician with the objective of controlling the politician and seeking financial and other rewards, it becomes negative.

Another case of godfatherism was recorded in Edo State when Chief Lucky Igbinedion was elected as Edo State Governor in 1999 which was primarily the handiwork of Chief Tony Anenih, aided by Dr. S.O. Ogbemudia and the governor's father, Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion. The three musketeers played a consortium of godfathers between 1999 and 2003. However, between 2003 and 2009 during the second tenure of Lucky Igbinedion, it atomized into two unequal factions with Chief Anenih and Dr. Ogbemudia pairing up and Chieflgbinedion aligning (naturally) with his son Lucky. The battle line was drawn and new alliance and alliances were made. The entire polity of Edo State was polarized. There emerged multilateral state secretariat and duplications of party officials at wards, local government and state levels. This was followed by threat, and complaints of assassinations, arson, suspensions and expulsions, acts of brigandage, institutions of private armies etc. All these have replaced the primary aim of government and followership. This sorry state ofEdo was indicative of the diversion of scarce resources, ideas and materials to non-productive ventures designed on the innocent people ofEdo state (Osaze, 2005, 17). It is a well known fact that no meaningful development can be achieved in an atmosphere of wars of attrition, crisis and people who are perpetually and diametrically opposed to one another.

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Unfortunately, it is the negative brand of political godfatherism which bas become very ~pparent in Nigeria's political scene in the recent times. This practice is morally 'wrong as it deprives the people from the dividends of democracy. As Ukhun (2004) contends, " the brand of godfatherism in Nigeria leads one to conclude that it is fuelled and accentuated by egoistic impulse". Godfatherism syndrome in Nigeria to say the least, negates the utilitarian principle. And more importantly, the phenomenon of godfatherism has been responsible for most of electoral violence in Nigeria. And this has a very serious implication on the survival of the country's democracy.

A preponderance of views in political literature asserts that there exist a correlation between political violence and democratic sustainability in Nigeria (Salimano, 2004, lkelegbe, 2004 and Aurrel, 2005). Aurell (2005), for example, observed that violence is the greatest threat to democracy in developing countries. In Nigeria, the 1964 general election crisis and the western region's electoral crisis of 1965 contributed immensely to the collapse of parliamentary democracy in Nigeria. The fragile arsons, and clashes between and within a political party, kidnappings, violence in rallies, campaign grounds, thuggery and rigging of elections. These activities often perpetuated by thugs of godfathers create a sense of insecurity among the electorates and limits the political space. The apparent outcome is low tum-out of voters (political apathy) and the withdrawal of honest, sincere and credible individuals from the political scene. Perhaps, this explains why we now have mediocres as political leaders.

Godfathers who take charge of the affairs of political parties eventually constitute the monopolists that determine the outcome of governance. Thus they accomplish that goal by taking 9finanical) control of the state through their godson. In all this corruptive political institutions and have served as impediments to social and economic growth in Nigeria. So the eradication of this practice from Nigeria's political system is imperative for the survival ofits democracy.

Conclusion Political godfatherism has become the dominant feature characterizing contemporary

Nigerian politics. Their role as a political phenomenon has impacted on the body politics of ·Country negative virtues which are now potential threat to the. democracy in the country. Democracy as practiced elsewhere thrive on an environment of peace and tranquility, popular participation, fundamental human rights, the rule of law and free, fair and open competitive elections. However, the activities of these political gladiators have denied the citizenry from electing their preferred candidates as their leaders. This is detrimental to the sustenance of our nascent democracy. It is against this background that this paper posits that there is need for the redefinition of our value system. There is need for us to change our perception of politics as a short-cut to personal wealth.

Presently, both the godfathers and the godson see politics from this perspective. This informed the reason why the godfather is willing to invest his capital and use his influence and were necessary adopt uncivilized methods to get his godson control state resources that enables him accumulate wealth even at the detriment of society. In this same vein, the godson also accepts his stooge status as he sees his position as means for self aggrandizement. This perception of politics is detrimental to the growth and development of democracy and the society at large. Closely link to the above is the power of the state. The state in the third world wields too much economic and political power. This explains the intense struggle by members of the political class with the sole purpose of controlling the state for personal benefits. For those already in power find it difficult to relinquish it; while those who are out tries to remain relevant within the system.

These objectives of different class of political actors make the struggle more fierce and volatile. It is the candid view of this paper that the powers of the state be reduced and this can

Avidime, S.S. and Enojo, E.K. 53

be done through the empowerment of the citizens ·and the encouragement of the private sector. Finally, the press and 'the judiciary be made independent. The independence of the judiciary and the press will further enhance and strengthen democracy in Nigeria.

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