Abstract: There is no doubt that political parties are indispensable institutions to the operation of democratic governance in any polity. This paper explored into an essential aspect of Nigeria’s political parties in contemporary period, which is, consensus building towards sustainable democracy in the country. From a descriptive perspective, the paper argued that for political parties to contribute towards the attainment of sustainable democracy in contemporary Nigeria, there is need for consensus building among the political elite and between them and the masses in the society coupled with party discipline, institutionalization and transparency. From this, some research questions were posed, viz: How have Nigerian political parties fared with regards to consensus building conducive to sustainable democracy in the country? What measures could help facilitate society-wide agreements by Nigerian political parties? The paper noted that Nigerian political parties have not measured up when examined against these parameters. A cursory assessment of the activities of political parties in the Nigeria’s fourth democratic republic revealed that they lacked commitment to consensus politics capable of engendering sustainable democracy in the country. To this end, the paper recommended among others, that the political parties should be transparent in the selection of candidates for the various elective offices as well as avoid imposition of candidates on the masses. Moreover, political parties must be typically institutionalized, internally democratic, disciplined, and free from godfathers influence.
Keywords: Political party, political identity, consensus building, election, sustainable democracy.
Title: POLITICAL PARTIES AND CONSENSUS BUILDING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEMOCRACY IN CONTEMPORARY NIGERIA: 1999-2015
Author: Victor E. Ita
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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