The Politics of Alliance Government in Nigeria, 1954 – 1957

Abstract

The formation of alliances is one of the permanent features of the politics in most multi-ethnic states. This is because, more often than not, ethnicity and competition for the control of the ‘structural frame’ and ‘system of rewards’ always prevent the existence of nation-wide or country-wide political associations and the emergence of nationally acknowledged political leaders. Yet, in order to guard against the domination of the ‘minorities’ by the ‘majorities’, the constitutions of most federal and non-federal multi-ethnic states often stipulate that the central governments of such states must be formed by the parties or candidates with the overall majority of either parliamentary seats or total votes cast in general elections. Since this is always difficult to achieve, particularly in Nigeria where appeals to ethnic sentiments are almost always a predominant issue in electioneering campaigns, the formation of alliance-governments become inevitable. In the formation of these alliances, however, a lot of political manoeuvrings often take place. This article discusses the politics behind, the factors responsible for, as well as the consequences of the formation of Nigeria’s first alliance government..