POLITICAL GODFATHERISM AND ITS EFFECTS ON GOOD GOVERNANCE. A CASE STUDY OF KWARA STATE

Abstract

This research work critically examines political godfatherism and its effects on governance in Kwara state. Political godfatherism is regarded by several literatures as a cancerous worm in the Nigeria political space that has continued to deny Nigerians the dividends of democracy. While the pattern of godfatherism in the first republic was tailored towards nurturing bright minds that would drive each region to the high level of development, the reverse has been the case in the fourth republic. Godfatherism continues to have a negative impact on party politics and governance. The consequence of this has been imposition of candidates on parties, lack of internal party democracy, giving credence to mediocrity over competence amongst others. This trend unfortunately has been prevalent in kwara since 1979 up until 2019 when the dominant godfather as well as the incumbent governor failed in their bid to impose their anointed successor on the state. The research therefore seeks to highlight the effects of godfatherism, examine its causes and how public perception of godfatherism in kwara state politics. This was carried out using a descriptive survey method and both quantitative methods of data collection were used in carrying this research. This was done through the use of a questionnaire with the sample size of 385 derived from the Krejcie and Morgan table. However, only 370 were returned from the respondents, giving a response rate of 96.1 percent. The data were interpreted using tables such as pie and bar charts as well as frequencies from SPSS. Result however shows that godfatherism has a wide range on negative impact on Nigeria’s democracy. Notable among these consequences include encouraging the youths into acts of thuggery; proliferation of arms and ammunition, inability to exercise one’s franchise at the polls, promotion of bad governance amongst others. The study recommends the use Political awareness campaign should be made attractive; efforts should be made to strengthen internal party democracy; strict measures should be taken to curb the ideology of money politics. The outcome of the study will prove beneficial to relevant stake holders especially as the Nigeria 2023 election draws closer.