Contending Issues in the Niger Delta Crisis of Nigeria - Journal of ...

Samuel W. Ibodje and Fidelis Allen
opponents and practice of thuggery 1 can only send out messages of a
group of people deeply in search of satisfying selfish private interest
different from that of the society or mass of citizens.
The political class is cultic. This aspect of its character, points directly
to the irrationalities and continuities directly linked to the nature of
the colonial political economy of Nigeria as with several other formerly
colonized territories. It is therefore no wonder that many decent
Nigerians who would have probably had interest in electoral politics
have distanced themselves because of the cultic nature of politicians.
Society is affected negatively in the way politicians have recruited
supports by force of arms and maintained such support by force as
well.
They are insensitive and unproductive. Sensitivity to the welfare
needs of citizens is far on the agenda of the political class. In the more
advanced federal systems, orders of government engage in productive
ventures in the spirit of development. Besides, the political class lack
democratic values and culture. They were trained in the tradition of
military politics, characterised by the use of force against the
opposition. Indeed, according to Cyril(Obi, C, 2004), these crop of
politicians were fast-tracked into politics without any experience.
Most importantly, the political class lacks the civic culture, which is
indispensable for democracy. Citizens also lack this civic culture. The
1 Thugs are predominantly jobless youths who are mobilized by politicians to provide
informal security for them and rig elections. Usually they are armed with guns to
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