P. O.

Oviasuyi , “Impact of Godfatherism on Nigerian Politics and Administration:

Anambra and Oyo States Experiences” in Educational Research Quarterly,
A Publication of Behavioural Research Press, (LLC), Grambling State
University, Grambling, Louisiana 71245, USA, Volume 33, Issue 2,
December, 2009, pp. 30-46.

IMPACT OF GODFATHERISM ON NIGERIAN

POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION:
ANAMBRA AND OYO STATES EXPERIENCES
BY

PAT. OSA. OVIASUYI, Ph. D., MNIM

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION,
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES,
AMBROSE ALLI UNIVERSITY,
EKPOMA, EDO STATE,
NIGERIA
E-MAIL: [email protected]

GSM: +2348033820158

08058850019

Abstract
There has been a lot of crises in Nigerian politics and Administration - a
crisis of confidence in our elected officials, a lost of faith in our democratic
government and an increasing frustration at government, and more also, an
increasing frustration at the irrelevance of individual’s vote in our political
process. All these crises are crises caused by the unholy alliance of
godfatherism (Ikejiani, 2006). This study is an appraisal of godfatherism
in Nigerian politics and administration with reference to the problems which
includes – creating a political process in which vested interest predominate,
and the public interest is forgotten and influencing the outcome of public
policies to the interest of few (godfathers) and to the detriment of the Nigerian
populace. This study recommends that if godfatherism must be stamped out
of our political and administrative systems, corruptive tendencies which
increases the financial base of the godfathers by creating a wide range of
problems in our politics and administration must be tackled head-on because
they use such moneys to place their godsons and protégés in various positions
of government. The study concluded that there is the need for an increased
confidence in the duly elected officials and also increase faith in the
democratization process. Electorates should be allowed to vote for their
1
 preferred candidates during elections without intimidation by political thugs
who are part of the instruments of godfatherism

Introduction

In Nigeria today, the activities of godfathers have been on the increase and it is a very sad

irony that a country like Nigeria through which trillions of petroleum dollars have passed since

the 70’s have the most miserable infrastructures, medical services, educational system and

standards. The worst are unemployment, deplorable roads and non-existent transportation

system. The living standard of the average Nigerians does not reflect the oil wealth of the

country. The country is quite below in the world’s poverty marginal index because as at 2005,

70.8 percent of the population was estimated to be living below poverty line of $1 per day. (UN

Human Development Report, 1990-2005).

The above-mentioned crises and the problems of confidence in our political system offer

an opportunity for advocates of new ideas. The barriers to true democratic participation in the

political process are serious, landscaping and deeply ingrained. To the extent that our system of

political democracy “works” in most instances it works, only for a very small group of the

citizenry the “godfathers” (Ikejiani: 2006). Godfather in this sense means, that man who has

enormous resources at his disposal with little or no credibility, while godfatherism is the process

by which an individual establishes links with a given institutional hierarchy in the expectation of

favoured treatment.

In Nigeria today, money has become the medium of political participation. A group of

wealthy individuals (otherwise known as godfathers) has taken hold of our politics and

administration and as a result, we are faced with what can be described as money-based politics

and administration, thereby resulting to money -biased policies. It is the individuals and interest

2
groups with money that invest in political office holders and use their money to gain access to

elected officials who wield so much power in our politics and administration today.

Over the years, while attention was diverted to the power and influence of the elected

officials, the role played by individuals, group sponsors, and godfathers have received

insufficient attention until recently.

According to Omatseye:

Adedibu and Uba are not the only godfathers staining the firmament
of Nigerian politics. The perversions in Anambra and Oyo States
may have hold our imagination hostage in more profound ways than
we realize, but we should not forget that these men are symptoms of
larger tendrils of evil in the land (http://hrw.org/reports:2007)

Furthermore, Omatseye tells us that:

Infact, like the thugs, the godfather is the main artery of Nigerian
politics. He breeds in every local government area, traffics in lies
and duplicity, intimidates, maims and murder
(htt://hw.or/reports:2007). It should be noted that, the main tragedy
of these godfathers is that they not only preside over fellow
illiterates and semi-illiterates, but also many university graduates
and the “so called sophisticated persons” in our society are all under
their thrall. Hence “the metaphor for folly” is that the godfathers in
Nigerian politics and administration determines whether we get the
right person or not in various positions. (http://hrw.org/reports:2007)

It should be noted that the primary aim of godfathers is the development of self and not

the electorate, community or nation. The godfather maintains a parasitic and selfish relationship

with his godson and community, not only is the interests of the godson and community

abandoned in fulfillment of those of the godfather but the godson and community are coerced to

work and make sacrifices toward the realization of the supreme interest of the godfather.

(Onwuzuruigbo: 2007). This form of godfatherism is oppressive malevolent and has found

expression in the realm of modern politics, governance and administration in Nigeria. Thus, the

emergent notion of godfatherism in politics, administration and elections portrayed the political

3
godfather as a mercenary politician who is willing to provide mentorship to his godson to the

extent that the latter could be used to expand and consolidate the power base of the godfather as

well as entrench the parasitic relationship the godfather maintains with the state (Odivwri: p.1).

The above category of godfathers are the likes of Chris Uba, the caucus leader in

Anambra State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the man who has reduced godfatherism to an

metaphor for capital investment in Anambra State. In his words “it is not just the governor and

his deputy, there are also three senators, 10 members of House of Representatives and 30

members of the House of Assembly of the State, I sponsored them, I put them there”. This is

the first time in the history of Anambra State that one single individual would be putting every

political office holder in the state in power. (Odivwri: p.2).

In Oyo State, the situation is not different as Lamidi Adedibu assumed the statute of a

godfather during the tenure of Rashid Ladoja. Adedibu, according to reports was said to have

submitted the names of 13 individuals to the governor to be made commissioners and the

governor had planned to have 14 commissioners (htt://hrw.org/report:2007).

The experiences of godfatherism in both states have resulted in wanton destruction of

goods and properties worth millions of Naira. In Anambra in particular, Uba hired and

mobilized thugs and some members of the National Association of Road Transport Owners

(NAURTO) to cause pandemonium and insecurity in the state. In the process, government

buildings and properties in Awka and Onitsha were destroyed. The Government House, Deputy

Governor’s Office, Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission’s office etc were all

looted and burnt by thugs (Odivwri:p2).

In Oyo State, Adedibu had stormed the NUJ press centre and supervised the beating of

anti-Adedibu’s politicians and journalists. (Onwuzuruigbo, 2007).

4
Statement of the Problem

There is a crisis of confidence in our elected officials, a loss of faith in our democratic

government, an increasing frustration at government and an increasing frustration at the

irrelevance of individual voters in our political process and administration due to the activities of

“godfatherism”. Godfathers in Nigerian politics and administration determine at all

elections who competes and who wins the elections and also who gets nominated or appointed to

positions in government.

Godfatherism in Nigerian politics and administration has skewed our national priorities

and the outcome of legislative decisions, and more also, it has made the National Assembly less

representative and less responsive to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. The ordinary

voters with ballots to give rather than money, are powerless and most times disenfranchised due

to the activities of godfatherism. Another problem is that godfatherism, controls the outcome

of our public elections, thereby otiosifying the entire democratization process. All these have

resulted in the huge looting and wastage of the financial resource of Nigeria and Nigerians

Consequently, it is postulated that for Nigeria to move towards the realization of the

Millennium Development Goals, the activities of godfatherism must be eliminated from our

political system.

Conceptual Clarifications

Godfather

(a) Godfather is that man who has enormous resources at his disposal with little or no

credibility, he wants the rostrum of social leadership, wielding the weapon of wealth with

his awesome financial influence, and he assumes some vapor-coated charisma. The type

that nudges the larger majority of society to him, not because of so much belief in his

5
 person or ideas, but more because of the immediate pecuniary benefits that rewards such

fellowship. Persons in this category of godfathers in Nigeria include: Lamidi Adedibu,

Chris Uba, Tony Anenih, Olusola Saraki, Olusegun Obasanjo, amongst others.

(b) On the other hand, godfather is that man who has enormous goodwill and respect of the

people, so much that his belief system represents those of his people. Wherever he

points, people follow. His leadership attribute endears him to his people (Odivwri p1).

Persons in this category of godfathers in Nigeria includes; Late Chief Obafemi Awolowo,

Late Mallam Aminu Kano, Late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia (before he

expired), Jim Nwobodo (before he expired) amongst others.

Godfatherism

Richard Joseph defines godfatherism as the process by which an individual establishes

links with a given institutional hierarchy in the expectation of favoured treatment

(Onwuzuruigbo).

Politics

Nwabuzor and Mueller define politics as:

All social interactions and dispositions which are directly

or indirectly aimed at or actually succeed in obtaining
binding decisions about who has desired resources (or who
do not), and when and how these are obtained (Nwabuzor
and Mueller, 1985, p. 4)

In the same vein, Robert Dahl defined politics as:

Any persistent pattern of human relationships that

involves, to a significant extent, control, influence and
authority. (Dahl, 19776, p. 3)

Harold Laswell defined politics as:

Who gets what, when and how (Laswell, 1936, as cited by

S. O. J. Ojo, “The Nature and Scope of Political Science in

6
 I B. Bello Imam and F. E. Iyoha (eds) Politics and
Administration in Nigeria, 1997, p. 3)

David Easton sees politics as:

The authoritative allocation of values for a society (Easton,

1960, p. 113)

In the context of this study, politics is defined as:

The placement and manipulation of persons in public

offices by godfathers, who then use these offices to amass
wealth inordinately for themselves and their godfathers at
the expense of the citizens.

Administration

The English word ‘administration’ is derived from two Latin words ‘ad’ and ‘ministiare’

which means ‘to serve’ or ‘to manage’ (Tonwe, 1994:11). The Oxford Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary of Current English defines administration as “management of affairs, especially

public affairs” (Hornby, 1974:12). The emphasis on public affairs here is largely because

administration is often equated with the act of governing. This accounts for why we talk of

Clinton’s, Thatcher’s, Reagan’s, Shagari’s or Obasanjo’s administration. Though in common

usage, administration may often be equated to the act of governing, administration is essentially

the management of affairs and as such could be public or private.

Administration, like every other concept is bedeviled with a plethora of definitions, but

for the purpose of this study, we give the following:

According to Tead:

Administration involves the necessary activities of those

individuals (executive) in an organization who are charged
with ordering, forwarding, facilitating the associated efforts
of a group of individuals brought together to realize a certain
defined purpose. (Tead, 1974)

7
 In the words of Urwick:

Administration has to do with getting things done; with the

accomplishment of defined objectives. (Urwick, 1943, pp.
35-36)

Furthermore, Pfiffner and Presthus see:

Administration as the organization and direction of human

and material resources to achieve desired ends (Pfiffner and
Presthus, 1967)

REASONS FOR GODFATHERISM IN NIGERIAN POLITICS AND

ADMINISTRATION

A lot of reasons have been advanced for the emergence of godfatherism in Nigerian

politics and administration. They include:

1. The Nigerian political and administrative aspirants on their own cannot attain their

political objectives, either because of weak financial standing or insufficient political

charisma.

2. Godfatherism in Nigerian politics and administration is inevitable because they oil the

wheel of the system and helps to give advantage to favoured protégés.

3. They have all the capabilities anchored on creating confusion and insecurity prior to,

during and after elections, so as to ensure the enthronement of their godsons.

4. They can make the state ungovernable through the use of thugs, thereby bringing

everybody, especially the politicians to their control or manipulation.

5. It should be noted that these godfathers are not mere-financiers of political

campaigns, rather they are individuals whose power stems not just from wealth, but

from their ability to deploy violence and corruption to manipulate national, state or

local political system in support of the politicians they sponsor

(http//hrw.org/reports/2007….)

8
NEGATIVE ACTS OF GODFATHERISM IN NIGERIAN POLITICS AND
ADMINISTRATION

Anambra State Experience

Anambra is one of the oldest states in Nigeria and it was created in 1976 by the General

Murtala Mohammed’s Regime. The state has a total of 21 Local Government Council Areas

with Awka as the Capital, and Onitsha and Nnewi as the major commercial cities. The Governor

of the State, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju sponsored by Chief Chris Uba was accused by almost

everybody through out his 4 years (1999-2003) administration of having done little or nothing in

the state, but rather he was said to be servicing an irrecoverable standing order payment to his

political bandits/godfathers led by Chief Chris Uba to a whooping sum of Naira monthly without

any certificate of job done to show for it. (Okorode, 2004) It is interesting to note that, during

the administration of Mbadinuju, no major road was constructed in the state, there was no regular

payment of salaries and pensioners’ entitlements, water was a scarce commodity, schools were

all closed down for almost one calendar year, courts were not spared as they were equally closed

down. The entire work force of the state went on strike for an unprecedented period of time. All

the aforementioned were necessitated by acts of godfatherism in Anambra State as led by Chief

Chris Uba who held Mbadinuju’s administration hostage.

This was the state of affairs in Anambra State when another Governor Dr. Chris Ngige

assumed control of the State in 2003. On assumption of duty, he had a wide support from the

market women, traders, workers, students and the poor masses that saw and believed that Dr.

Chris Ngige was all out to salvage the State from the buccaneers and restore hope to the citizenry

of the State. However, It should be noted that before Dr. Ngige was ever nominated by the

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as its flag bearer in the 2003 Governorship Election in

Anambra State, he was made to sign certain contractual agreement with his godfather, Chief

9
Chris Uba, and he was also, equally made to take an oath and swear at a particular shrine in the

state to be loyal to the godfathers.

Chris Ngige, in his bid to make a name for himself, jettisoned the agreement between him

and his godfather (Chris Uba). The aftermath of this was that, he successfully revamped the

educational sector of the state. There was prompt payment of workers salaries and allowances,

and provision of affordable health care services. He was seen as a man who had come to salvage

the people rather than one who cares for himself, his immediate family and his godfathers. He

took the unquantifiable risk of rescuing the state from the powerful grips of those who wanted

the state to be perpetually enslaved by godfathers. Unfortunately, the cabal led by Chris Uba in

the state who do not want the growth and progress of the state were not comfortable with the

performances of Governor Chris Ngige. And thus, they saw Chris Ngige as a betrayer of trust,

who instead of meeting the contractual agreement between him and his godfathers by using the

state resources to service them and their cohorts, was busy carrying out developmental activities

in the state at the expense of the godfathers. Consequently, a coup was plotted against him, by

the self-acclaimed “greatest political godfather” Chris Uba who used the police led by an

Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) and Commander of Zone 9 of the Nigerian Police

Force, Mr. Raphael Ige to forcefully remove and abduct the elected Executive Governor Chris

Ngige of Anambra State. In addition to the abduction of the Governor, godfather Chris Uba and

his cohorts hired and mobilized thugs and some members of the National Union of Road

Transport Owners (NAURTO) to cause pandemonium and insecurity in the state, and in the

process, individuals’ goods and properties worth millions of Naira, government buildings and

properties in Awka the state capital and Onitsha the most commercial city in the state were

wantonly destroyed.

10
 These acts of hooliganism and godfatherism in Anambra State culminated in the clarion

call by well-meaning Nigerians that all those who were involved in the abduction of the

Governor Dr. Chris Ngige and the destruction of private and public goods and properties should

be brought to justice. In the words of Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State “Democracy is doomed

in the country if those involved in the abduction of Dr. Chris Ngige are not tried as coup

plotters” (Okorode, 2004). Unfortunately, due to the relationship between President Olusegun

Obasanjo and Chief Chris Uba, these punishable acts of hooliganism and godfatherism were

swept under the carpet, thereby leaving Nigerian politics and administration worse off.

Oyo State Experience

Alhaji Lamidi Adebibu has been a strongman in Ibadan (Oyo State) politics since 1952,

when he was then a member of the Action Group (one of the earliest political parties established

in Nigeria). He has been on the forefront in championing political activities in the state, thereby

enthroning his godson’s into various political and administrative positions in the state. He

allegedly struck a hundred million Naira deal with Rashidi Ladoja and delivered promptly the

Oyo seat of government to Ladoja on a platter of gold. (Okafor and Anyagafu, 2006) In the

words of Lamidi Adedibu “I put him there, so if I am demanding money, will it be wrong? Do I

need to ask for it before he gives it to me” (Tell Magazine, 2006:2). It should be noted here; that

the money he is asking for is the common wealth of the citizens of Oyo State.

Trouble however, started shortly after Rashidi Ladoja was sworn in as governor, where

he thought that he had paid his godfather for services rendered, the elder politician allegedly felt

the deal had just started and wanted more fish out of the pie, (Okafor and Anyagafu, 2006), and

Adedibu nominated thirteen commissioners out of the fourteen nominees being proposed by the

governor. At this stage, Ladoja was no longer in anyway ready to service his godfather from the

11
state resources (fund) and as a result of this, the troubled water was stirred and a battle line

drawn between Ladoja (godson) and Adedibu (godfather).

The acts of godfatherism was brought to the fore when 18 law-makers from the State

House of Assembly loyal to Alhaji Lamidi Adedibu started and initiated series of impeachment

moves against Governor Ladoja. Some of the allegations include: N1.9billion said to have been

converted to his personal use; cancellation of subsisting contracts between the State Government

and one Rabilat Nigeria Limited in respect of the commercialization of the state forestry;

livestock and produce under the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, at an agreed

term of remission of N2million per month, which he was alleged to have unilaterally awarded to

his son, Ademola Ladoja (Okafor and Anyagafu, 2006).

Consequently, a 7-man impeachment panel was set up by the Oyo State Chief Judge

headed by Chief Bolaji Ayorinde (Senior Advocate of Nigeria) to try Governor Rashidi Ladoja

on the 14 allegations brought before him by the 18 lawmakers loyal to godfather Adedibu.

While all these were going on, the strongman of Ibadan politics (Adedibu) vowed to see Ladoja’s

back, and that Ladoja’s exit from the State Government House was the only thing that would

give him pleasure for now.

All these acts of godfatherism took place in Anambra and Oyo States without any

consideration for their impacts on Nigerian politics and administration. These acts are capable of

truncating our nascent democratic ideals, and consequently, hamper the developmental strives by

our elected officials with particular references to Anambra and Oyo States, and Nigeria in

general.

12
IMPACTS OF GODFATHERISM ON NIGERIAN POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION

The activities associated with godfatherism in Nigeria have brought and resulted in a

wide range variety of problems, having serious negative impacts on our elections, politics,

administration and our nascent democracy. For the purpose of brevity and contextual relevance,

let us look at some inherent problems brought about by the activities of “godfatherism”.

1. Godfatherism is the collaborating relationship and tendencies of both the godfather

and the godson in looting and siphoning resources met for the development of the

state into their private pockets.

2. Godfatherism has lead to placing people in various governmental positions whom

themselves do not have the required leadership qualities to bring about good

governance and development, and as a result, the godfather sits at home dictating the

pace of development and influencing decisions of government on who gets what,

when and how.

3. Another major problem of godfatherism is the attitude of developing self and his

immediate family members, neglecting the electorates, communities and the nation.

In most cases, the electorates are coerced to work and make sacrifices towards

achieving the ultimate interest of the godfather.

4. Many of our unemployed youths are being lured through the activities of

godfatherism into committing acts of political violence and thugery through promises

of employment or other forms of illegal government patronage that never come to

reality at the end.

5. Godfatherism in all ramifications over the years has resulted in the

disenfranchisement of eligible voters through the use of thugs. It has always been

13
 instrumental in the final determination of most of our public policies, thereby

challenging our idea of “one citizen”, one vote”.

6. Godfatherism has virtually succeeded in denying Nigerian citizens the opportunity to

shape the decisions that affect them. It has totally fractured our nascent democratic

ideas and principles, and the ordinary voters with their ballots to give rather than

money are rendered powerless.

7. Godfatherism in Nigerian politics and administration determines in all elections who

competes, who wins, who get nominated to positions or who gets appointments.

Godfatherism has also resulted in the turning around of our national priorities to

favour their own personal interest and thereby making the National Assembly less

representative and less responsive to the yearnings of the citizens.

8. Nigeria today has the worst unemployment problem, deplorable roads, and

transportation problem, miserable infrastructures, medical services, educational

system and standards, epileptic power outage, the living standard of the average

Nigerian does not reflect the oil wealth of the nation. All these are as a result of the

activities of godfathers who collaborate with their godsons to siphoned resources met

for the overall infrastructural development of the country.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE IMPACTS OF GODFATHERISM ON NIGERIAN POLITICS

AND ADMINISTRATION

In view of the foregoing, the implications of the impacts of godfatherism on Nigerian

Politics

and Administration are listed hereunder, but however, not exhaustive:

i. The study discovered that the unholy alliance of godfathers and their godsons has brought

untold hardships on the totality of the Nigerian populace.

14
ii Also, the study found that the rate of unemployment in the country has resulted in the

youths taking up to violence with or without any monetary reward, especially when there

is flamboyant promises by the godfathers.

iii The study also discovered that, most of the policies and decisions made by the

government are met to meet the interest of their godfathers.

iv Electioneering violence, the use of thugs, disenfranchisement of voters are all associated

with godfatherism in Nigeria.

v The study also discovered that most of our super-imposed leaders do not have the needed

abilities to deliver quality leaderships and good governance, thereby resulting to

misappropriation of scarce available resources in our nation.

Recommendations

As a forward and out of the present grip of the Nigerian Politics and Administration by

the

godfathers, the following recommendations are proffered:

1. A legislation is needed to aid the setting up of a regulatory body, which will be in charge

of administration and enforcement of reforms against godfatherism and private money

contributions to elections in the country.

2. A stable environment should be established and maintained in order to provide political

recruitment, promotion, nomination, election and appointment systems that will provide

men and women the same options and opportunities.

3. Since it is the duty of political sociologists and political scientists to proffer explanations

to political phenomena, it is the duty of politicians and political leaders to apply the

explanations in responding to political issues. It is, therefore, incumbent on Nigerian

15
 political leaders to device mechanism of making political godfatherism much less

attractive and discouraging to intending political aspirants from subjecting their political

ambitions and fortunes to the dictates of political godfathers.

4. Political parties as a matter of urgency should henceforth stop the discrimination against

women in their nomination process, recruitment and appointment into contestable

positions.

5. The social, economic, social-structural position of women, financial dependency or

limited financial means should be urgently addressed in other to create a smooth sail for

women to effectively participate in electioneering process.

6. Development has eluded Nigerians for so long, political party reforms and electoral

financing have not been tackled head-on, and for any change to be achieved in the fight

against godfatherism, these issues must be looked at from the perspective of creating a

political system that would truly be fair and equitable in its dispositions.

7. Political Parties should be made to perform their functions of: (1) political recruitment,

(2) interest articulation; (3) interest aggregation; (4) political socialization, and (5)

political education of Nigerians in order to create room for democratic consolidation in

Nigeria.

8. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices

Commission (ICPC), which are presently instruments of selective justice, should be

strengthened legislatively to totally eradicate and prosecute individuals indulging in

corrupt practices who through these various corrupt practices enrich themselves, thereby

assuming the position of godfathers, because they will now have the resources to do and

un-do

16
CONCLUSION

There is the need for an increased confidence in our elected officials, and our faith in the

democratic governance of Nigeria should also increase. People should be allowed to vote for

their preferred candidates during elections without fear caused by thugs who are instrument of

godfatherism. This can be achieved through the elimination of godfathers. A good example of

this is the case of Comrade Adams Oshiomole of Action Congress Party of Nigeria who

contested the governorship election in Edo State of Nigeria without any godfather backing him.

Unfortunately, godfathers in the opposing party in collaboration with the Independent Electoral

Commission (INEC), declared Prof. O. Osunbor as the winner of the April 14, 2007

governorship election in the State. Comrade Oshiomole took the matter to the Election Tribunal

that found him to be the legitimate winner of the election. Prof. Osunbor appealed against the

judgment of the Election Tribunal. The Court of Appeal on the 11 th November, 2008 upheld the

judgment of the Election Tribunal by declaring Comrade Oshiomole as the winner of the

governorship election. The people rejoiced overwhelmingly because, for once, their votes

counted. Consequently, Comrade Oshiomole was sworn in as the Executive Governor of Edo

State on the 12th November, 2008 as the Peoples’ Governor and the godfathers in the opposing

party were put to shame. However, it is pertinent to state that this is one case out of 36 cases.

Finally, there should be reform of the electoral system in Nigeria to allow for the genuine

use of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), as well as allowing private candidates who are

patriotic, selfless and credible to contest elections in Nigeria.

17
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United Nations Human Development Report (1990-2005) http://en.wikipedia.org

Urwick, L., (1943), Elements of Administration, (New York) as quoted by Tonwe, D. A. (1994),
Public Administration, An Introduction, (Ibadan: Amfitop Book Company).

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