Partisan Politics, Political Culture and Restructuring Drive for Good Governance in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper discusses a number of partisan political attitudes among Nigerians such as party switching; especially by incumbent political office holders to a ruling party, taking kickbacks for party funding, use of money and material things to lure electorate, recruitment of party-militia to foment violence, party control by incumbent political office holders, and followers docile attitude to leadership service, and examines how they have constituted wrong political culture. The study also discusses the effects of such attitudes on good governance in Nigeria, and offers policy options for restructuring the behaviours. The study relied on secondary data and was content analyzed. The study argues for a need to restructure the wrong partisan behaviours among political stakeholders because they have made good governance elusive, incumbent political office holders more powerful and corrupt, partisan politics patron-client inclined and breed violence during electioneering periods. A number of restructuring policy-agenda were offered to move the country forward and put governance in enviable position.