POLITICAL EDUCATION AND VOTING
BEHAVIOUR IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY
OF OGBADIBO LOCAL GOVERNMENT
AREA OF BENUE STATE
APPROVAL PAGE
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Project Supervisor
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Head of Department
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Dean, Faculty of Social Science
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External Examiner
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ii
DEDICATION
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page -
Approval Page -
ii
Dedication
iii
Acknowledgement
iv
Table of Contents
vii
List of Tables
ix
Abstract -
1.5 Significance of the Study -
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction
1.1
Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem
4
1.3 Research Hypotheses
5
1.4 Objective of the Study
6
7
1.6 Scope of the Study -
1.7 Research Methodology
1.8 Definition of Concepts
CHAPTER TWO: Literature Review and Theoretical
Framework
Introduction
12
2.1 The Concept of Political Education -
12
2.2 The Concept of Voting Behaviour
16
2.3 Theoretical Framework
27
CHAPTER THREE: Historical Background of Ogbadibo Local
Government
Introduction
30
3.3 Political Arrangement/Administrative Unit
3.1 Creation/Location
30
3.2 The People
33
-
34
CHAPTER FOUR: Political Education and Voting Behaviour
in Ogbadibo Local
Government Area
vi
4.1 Introduction
36
4.2 Data Presentation and Analysis
36
4.3 Discussion of Findings
43
CHAPTER FIVE: Summary, Conclusion and
Recommendations
Introduction
46
5.3 Recommendations -
47
5.1 Summary
46
5.2 Conclusion
47
References
49
Appendixes
54
LIST OF TABLES
vii
Tables
Pages
4.2.1
36
Sex of Respondents -
4.2.2
37
Age of Respondents -
4.2.3
37
Education of Respondents
4.2.4
38
Occupation of Respondents
4.2.5
Source of Information on Political Education
39
Meaning of Political Education by Respondents
39
Voting Behaviours by Respondents -
4.2.6
4.2.7
Number of Times respondents have voted
40
Reasons for Respondents Refusal to Vote -
Response by Election Results -
40
4.2.8
4.2.9
41
4.2.10
4.2.11
Election
4.2.12
43
41
-
Respondents Behaviour by Candidates Loss of
42
Mode of Protest Adopted -
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ABSTRACT
The practice of a democratic system of governance to replace the
past colonial and military systems of government in Nigeria is
aimed at organizing a system of full citizen participation in all
spheres of governance. Dating back to the Nigerian history, one
will recall that, there were times when the governed had very
little or no say and impact at all in the affairs of the government,
either because of the dictatorial nature of the military rule or
disenfranchisement of particular groups of individuals. However,
in the light of the current democratic practice in Nigeria, where
rights are upheld and the people have a say, little wonder why
there are lots of complaints. This leads to the following questions:
Why the complaints about the government when every one has a
part to play? Do the masses really play their part? Are the people
politically conscious, enlightened, literate and aware of the part
they ought to play and the influence of their votes? These are a
few of the numerous questions that come to mind in the course of
this study on Political Education and Voting Behaviour. The
target population of this study is the inhabitants of Ogbadibo local
government are of Benue State. The research methods used were
survey and content analysis in order to get the detailed political
history and political stratification of the local government.
Questionnaires were also administered so as to get individual
opinion on the subject of study from which analysis were made.
While enlightenment and sensitization campaigns on the concept
of political education and its accompanying importance and
contributions to the society and to voting activities by the press
and political parties were made as recommendation among
others.
ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.2 Background to the Study
The issue of political education and voting in Ogbadibo Local
Government Area of Benue State of Nigeria cannot be discussed
without making reference to Nigerias political background. It is in
recognition of this fact that, it is important for us to take a look at
the political history of Nigerias pre and post-independence
experiences and narrow it down to the desired place of study.
Nigeria had her own established systems of government with
all principal organs and principles of government in some areas
before the advent of European colonial rule. The colonial rule
subsequently altered most, if not all of the pre-existing systems of
governance practiced.
British colonial rule in Nigeria made use of different
principles at different points. For example, indirect rule was once
practiced and at a point in time, constitutions were placed to
govern Nigeria and each of these individual constitutions upheld
specific principles. The Cliffords constitution of 1922 which
x
introduced the elective principle, the Richards constitution of
1946, the Macphersons constitution of 1951 and the Lytteltons
constitution which conferred on Nigeria the status of a federal
state before Nigeria finally got her independence in 1960. Since
then, Nigeria has had experiences of both civilian and military
rule.
The return back to a full democratic system in 1999 gave
way to the birth of the principles like; political equality, rule of
law, human rights, delegated legislation and decentralization of
governmental functions which has made it possible for the
average citizen to participate in governance.
The major concern of most democratic governments the
world over, has been to integrate the ruled into the affairs of
government and any attempt at neglecting this prominent
government phenomenon, puts the government into abject
disruption and also endangers the society. It is in recognition of
this, that the government tries to locate the peoples base and
make provisions where necessary. For this to be achieved,
machineries have been put in place to enhance political
participation of those at the grassroots through the creation of
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local governments. Nigeria presently has 774 local government
areas, but our focus here, is on the Ogbadibo local government
area of Benue State.
Democracy in general thrives on the principle of effective
political participation. The increasing failure of many individuals to
participate in politics especially in the selection of leaders through
voting leads to outraged of apathy. Democracy and democratic
theory presents voting as a unique activity which forms the
bedrock of political equality and civic rights in a society. Voting is
of paramount importance and it contributes to a collective
outcome, rather than the individual outcome. It is the most
common means of participation in a democratic system and this
explains why much attention is given to the rise in voters
absentation.
It is therefore, important to note that participation in politics
without sound knowledge of how the institutions of a country
work and how they can be influenced can be self-defeating.
Statistics on the 2011 general election in Nigeria show that
an estimated number of 53.7% turn out was registered out of the
73,528,040 million registered voters, with a total number of
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38,209,978 valid votes and 1,259, 506 invalid/blank votes
(Independent National Electoral Commission, 2011).
In Nigeria, there are a number of factors that motivate
political participation in general and voting, specifically. Past
studies may view these factors as economic, socio-cultural, and
so on. Whatever the case, it is necessary to note that, political
awareness and competence brought about by political education
of the populace have a fundamental part to play.
In recent years, much attention has been given to education
but it is necessary to note that, there exist some differences
between political education and education in general. While
education may involve only a solitary pursuit, political education
involves the action and interaction of groups. A political educated
person ought to know what the beliefs of political contestants are,
what the main disputes are about, which political institutions
operate in the society and posses the knowledge, skills and
attitudes needed to participate in public life and groups (that are
both occupational and voluntary). He recognizes and tolerates
diversities of political and social values.
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Whatever the case, the question however, is whether the
level of political education in Nigeria is good enough for the
country to pull through.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The problem of this study is that, so far, voter turn-out has
been quite low in so many parts of Benue State especially
Ogbadibo local government area.
Over time, there have been expressed dissatisfactions by
the people and complains that the government officials and
representatives do not reflect the publics choice. There are also
situations where individuals show up for voters registration and
still fail to vote when the time comes.
Government officers and parastatals like the INEC and
stakeholders in general have also attributed the increasingly
invalid/blank votes, inability of votes to identify candidates/the
various
categories
of
elections,
and
the
reluctance
and
nonchalance shown by eligible voters towards the whole process
of election to lack of adequate voters education.
The problem therefore has been to reconcile the complaints
of the populace with their inability to vote during elections.
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1.3 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses have been put in place to guide
the study.
H0: There is no major difference between education in general
and political education.
H1: There is a major difference between education in general
and political education.
H0: There
is
no
significant
relationship
between
political
education and voting behaviour in the Nigeria democratic
system.
H2: There is a significant relationship between political education
and voting behaviour in the Nigeria democratic system.
H0: Individuals
with
moderate
level
of
education
do
not
participate more in voting than those with low level
education.
H3: Individuals with moderate level of education participate
more in voting than those with low level education.
H0: Men are not more educated and politically educated and do
not participate more in politics in comparison with the
female folks.
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H4: Men are more educated and politically educated and
participate more in politics in comparison with the female
folks.
1.4 Objective of the Study
The general objective of this study is to examine the extent
to which political education can influence voting behaviour in
Ogbadibo local government area of Benue State.
The specific objectives are;
- To compare and ascertain the differences that exists in the
level of education of the men and women.
- To investigate the role history, culture and religion play in
improving the peoples education and shaping their voting
behaviour.
- To identify the structures and machineries that have been
put in place to bring about political conscientization.
- To make recommendations and proffer solutions where there
exist any flaws related to the subject matter of the study.
1.5 Significance of the Study
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A successful completion of this study will help bridge the gap
between low level education and general political behaviour. It will
also help to curtail the numerous problems of low voters turn-out
and participation during all election. It will also serve as a guide
for future elections in Nigeria. This work will serve as a reference
material for future researches in the area of political education
and voting behaviour.
Finally, the outcome of this work will be useful for
government policy making.
1.6 Scope of the Study
With regards to time frame, this study covers the years
1999-2011. The geographic areas or location are areas of human
settlement in Ogbadibo local government area of Benue State,
Nigeria. The subjects of the study are the inhabitants of the above
named local government. Institutions of the economy to be
covered and represented in this study includes; educational
institutions, political institutions, religious institutions and local
markets in the area.
1.7 Research Methodology
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This study covers the men, women, students, traders, civil
servants, and even the unschooled individuals in Ogbadibo local
government area of Benue State. As a result of how vast the
population of the study will be and how impossible it is to interact
with every member of the population, a hundred and fifty (150)
respondents shall be considered.
The random sampling techniques is adopted in this study in
order to ensure that, every member of the population has equal
and independent chances of being selected in the sample to be
studied.
Data for this research shall be obtained or gotten from
primary and secondary sources. The primary source of data will
be the use of questionnaires in order to get first hand information
from respondents in the population of study. While, the secondary
source of data in the study is going to be book, monographs,
journals, articles and government reports that relate to the topic
of this study.
The instrument of data collection shall be questionnaire. The
questionnaire format and response modes is the Fixed-Alternative
Question a form of structured questions in which, respondents
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are provided with pre-determined responses from which to
choose. The questionnaire shall be divided into three sections A,
B,
and
C.
characteristics
section
of
entailing
respondents
the
which
socio-demographic
include;
sex,
age,
educational qualification, occupation. Section B focus on the
knowledge of the respondent on political education, while section
C entails the respondents voter behaviour.
Data
descriptive
will
be
collated,
statistics
tools.
described
The
and
descriptive
analyzed
statistical
using
tool
necessary for this study is the frequency table which will be used
to show percentages and totals, where necessary.
1.8 Definition of Concept
The definition of recurrent concepts in this study is as
follows:
Election
Magstadt et al (1993:584), defines election as an organized
process in which people vote to choose a person, to a position of
public importance such as presidency, or a group of people to
represent them in national or state assemblies.
xix
Juma (2011:22), defines election as the process by which a
community selects rulers and empowers them to make decisions,
take actions to attain common goals and reconcile conflicts within
the community.
This definition by Magstadt et al and Juma is adopted
throughout this study. This is because their definition simply
portrays the meaning of an election and enhances understanding
of the term.
Political Education
Political education may be defined as the process of
educating citizens on their rights, duties and responsibilities to
empower and motivate them to identify what areas of the political
and governance processes they can effectively participate in;
what they can do to influence political outcomes and thereby
improve the quality of governance at both local and national
levels (healthy-action org, 2011).
Political education is therefore, civic education or, as Amy
Gutmann describes it, the cultivation of the virtues, knowledge,
and skills necessary for political participation (1987: 287).
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To Jennifer Rietbergen-McCracken, political education (also
known as citizen education or democracy education) can be
broadly defined as the provision of information and learning
experiences to equip and empower citizens to participate in
democratic processes. The education can take very different
forms, including classroom-based learning, informal training,
experimental learning and mass media campaigns.
These definitions will be use interchangeably in the course of
this study because, the definitions are not narrowed to specific
areas but encompasses human activities and influence in the
political institutions of society.
Voting
Kleppner, T. (1982), defines voting as a form of political
participation that is characterized by being highly accessible to
the average citizen and requiring low resource expenditure (time,
money, motivation etc).
xxi
Oriavwote (2000:40) posits that, voting is a means of
aggregating individuals preferences into collective decision in an
election; it is the action of formally indicating ones choice of
candidate or political party at an election. Juma (2011:22)
explains voting as the right to express ones choice or opinion,
especially by officially marking a paper or by raising ones hand.
The definition by Oriavwote will be used in this study since;
he explains voting with regards to elections and to the
understanding of the common man.
Voting Behaviour
Juma (2011:22) explains voting behaviour as a set of
attitudes and beliefs towards elections at the national as well as,
at the local level. Oriavwote (2000:41), said, voting behaviour
implies the way, the voter acts in making his choice of candidate
or political party at an election.
The definitions of Juma and Oriavwote is used in this study.
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