Since the transition to civil and democratic rule in 1999, Nigeria has witnessed series of ethno-religious conflicts stimulated by different political factors. This has been the major cause of the country's economic regress and political instability. In fact, politics has never been as tough as it is in the present dispensation. Political activities, as well as electioneering campaigns for the 2015 general elections in Nigeria have taken different coloration from previous ones.
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Two major political parties, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) – ruling party and the All Progressive Congress (APC) – the opposition, are the most vibrant in the race to acquire different political offices in the country. These parties are preparing fervently to record success in the forthcoming general elections.
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As politicking gets tough day-by-day, the most challenging issue in the country is insecurity, which has been heightened by the insurgent activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group. The group came to prominence in 2009 with its incessant insurgent activities of kidnappings, killings and bombings which have affected both the economy and political stability of the country.
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Boko Haram attacks have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, displaced almost half a million Nigerians, destroyed thousands of properties in the Northeastern part of the country and caused several threats to Nigeria's security. The most disturbing aspect of the insurgent activities of Boko Haram is the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in April last year from Chibok, Borno state.
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The southwestern and southeastern parts of the country also have their own fair share of the insurgent groups which include the Odua People's Congress (OPC) and the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), among others. Insurgencies, coupled with different ethno-religious conflicts and leadership failures have been the major challenges to the security of lives and properties in Nigeria.
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As commentators and critics have noted, under the current political dispensation, public corruption has become more pervasive in our country than ever before. Almost on a daily basis, the media is awash with news about the high level of corruption in our country.
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Nigeria has been described as a "weak state," leaning towards failure, a "crippled giant," a nation of "wasted resources," where oil has become a curse instead of blessing to its citizens. As a state, Nigeria has failed to meet the basic human needs of its population; it lacks transparent and accountable political institutions and it has not produced sustainable or equitable economic growth. What is being experienced today in Nigeria is what most scholars call leadership crisis, leadership challenge, failure of leadership or lack of leadership.
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In his work titled, The Trouble With Nigeria, Chinua Achebe noted that: "the trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else.
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The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership." Achebe identified ethnicism (tribalism), and corruption as Nigeria's twin evils and "in spite of conventional opinion, Nigeria has been less than fortunate in its leadership."
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The survival of a nation depends on the good leadership and the respect it has for the virtues of democracy. If a true democracy is seen as it is popularly conceived (as government of the people, by the people and for the people), it is therefore justifiable to say that Nigeria's brand of democracy has given the world a reason to think that the basic or elementary principles of democracy is after all, questionable and inadequate in the country. "Ours is a democracy that thrives upon filth.
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Leaders are selected rather than elected, electorates are subjugated rather than liberated; and results of votes cast are cooked up in someone's living room rather than collated from the honest votes of the electorates."
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In Nigeria today, the two major political parties are seen as organs representing the two dominant religions in the country. Some people conceive of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) as the party representing the interests of Christians and the southerners, while the All Progressive Congress (APC) is seen as representing the Muslims and northerners.
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Regional and faith-based politics have been the key challenges posing serious threat to the political stability of Nigeria. These have been witnessed in the 2007 and 2011 political activities. Politicians of nowadays divide the electorates along ethnic and religious lines.