POLITICAL THUGGERY AND VIOLENCE IN NIGERIA: THE BANE OF WOMEN PARTIICPATION IN POLITICS
Olusegun Obasanjo (2002: 50-51) asserts:
We fight, and occasionally shed
blood to obtain and retain political
power simply because for us in Nigeria, the
political kingdom has for too extended been
the gateway to the economic kingdom
The foregoing statement captures the content and context of political thuggery and violence in Nigeria. The statement demonstrates how blood is getting exchanged for political power in Nigeria. The use of thugs in Nigerian politics has not only led to waste of human resources, but it has also resulted in the dearth of able-bodied males who can be useful in the future of Nigeria, and low participation of women in politics.
With no doubt, Nigerian politics has considering that independence, been characterized by thuggery and violence. Little wonder, politics is conceived as a dirty game and exclusive right of thugs and hooligans in Nigeria. Consequently, Nigeria politics manifest in acrimony, assault, assassination, intimidation, harassment, maiming and killing. This trend is not a phenomenon of recency thuggery, brutality and violence political behaviour have been with us for the past 4 decades. Quickly following independence the politicians, in an try to capture, exercise, and retain power within their regional settings involved themselves in diverse acts that were politically immature, unwise and distrastrous. They adopted a style that was antithetical to democratic tenet and decent governance. They recruited, trained and empowered thugs to harass, intimidate and victimize perceived political opponents and opposing views against their political ambition. This culture of thuggery has not only been imbibed and sustained as component of the country's political behaviour given that independence to the present moment, it has been one of the potent causes of the low participation of ladies in politics. It is against this background that this paper examines thuggery and violence in Nigerian politics, its causes, effects on girls political participation and suggest approaches of ensuring maximum and high participation of Nigerian females in politics.
UNDERSTANDING THE Concepts
THUGGERY
Thuggery according to the (Oxford Dictionary of Present English (1998: 952), merely signifies violent act or behaviour by ruffians. From the foregoing, it is observed that thuggery is synonymous with violence.
Howell defined thug politics the tireless repetition of misleading details designed to depict an opponent as personally despicable and in regard to governance as harmful to physical and spiritual life of a nation (2004:3). Thuggery is an act characterized by rudeness, hooliganism, touting, intimidation and harassment. It is a behaviour that contradicts peace, harmony and co-existence amongst groups. Political thuggery is an illegitimate and violent signifies of searching for political power with a view to subverting national opinion for parochial ends by way of self imposition.
Therefore, political thuggery is just the criminalisation of politics. When politics is criminalized, it is left in the hands of ruffians, thugs and hooligans, for the reason that the great people today are scared away.
VIOLENCE
Violence is defined as "the illegitimate and unauthorized use of force to effect decisions against the will or desires of other individuals" (Wolf, 1969:606).
Karl Schmit (1968:three) posits that violence, especially political violence, represents a disturbance to the political equilibrium program. According to Gurr (1970:2), political violence refers to all collective attacks inside a political community against the political regime, its actors including competing political groups as well as incumbents – or its policies. From the foregoing, 1 can observe that there is a correlative relationship in between the two ideas. As a matter of truth, they are complementary. The end-product of thuggery is violence. Violence is the indicates by means of which thugs accomplish their aims.
THUGGERY AND VIOLENCE IN NIGERIAN POLITICS
It is evident that Nigerian politics is characterized by thuggery. Similarly, it is an indisputable truth that Nigerian politics is not violent-totally free. In fact, modern events, across the country have clearly demonstrated that Nigerian politics has been hijacked by political thugs.
Due to the fact the 60's, no regime can be said to be immune from this syndrome, both military and civilian governments have been partaking in this dastardly act. Thuggery has been elevated to a fashionable but regrettable status inside the Nigeria polity. The number of thugs a politician can preserve serves as a determining aspect for his electoral machinations and outcome. Put differently, the much more thugs a politician has, the significantly more relevant he becomes in the society. Thuggery has develop into a implies to an end in Nigerian politics. It is a signifies of sustaining power and life, an asset that brings revenue for thugs for life sustenance although it brings and sustains power for their barons. It is an indispensable instrument in the hands of hungry power seekers.
Thuggery and Godfatherism have turn into so prevalent in transitional process even in democratic dispensations. The social, political and economics status and stature of those involved have made it a national concern. Given that Godfathers are themselves the ruling elite or prospective ruling elite, their activities have been institutionalized to the point of subverting the constitution for parochialism and aggrandizement. Subscribing to this assertion, a scholar has tersely submitted that:
Political godfathers are by style
placed above the laws of the land
Category Article key words political thuggery, women
