VDM Orji, N: Power-sharing in Nigeria

Nigeria is well-known for bloody conflicts and institutional instability resulting from the intense political competition among the country s several ethnic and regional groups. Many analysts see the political history of post-colonial Nigeria as a history of political instability. It seems justified to characterize Nigeria as unstable considering the seemingly clear evidence of political discontinuities in the country. However, there is a deep structure of political continuity that exists in the country, one which challenges the discontinuity perspective. This structural continuity manifests in the practice of power-sharing. This book proposes an alternative perspective to Nigerian politics, presenting power-sharing as a fundamental and continuous aspect of Nigerian political life. The analysis sheds some light on the relationship between institutions and processes in Nigerian politics, and should be especially useful to students of Nigerian politics, political theory, and comparative politics.