Democracy And Electoral Process In Nigeria Politics Essay

Democracy And Electoral Process In Nigeria Politics Essay The wave of decolonisation after World War II has led to a number of Third World nations, attempting to govern themselves through Western-style democratic Institutions. Almost all of them have failed. There have been various theories of democratic stability and explanations of democratic failure. In general, these theories agree that poor nations, with massive socio economic development needs and high popular expectation: as poorly integrated nations, with deep ethnic divisions; and as politically underdeveloped nations, with fragile party system, weak administrative bureaucracies, and little experience with the give-and-take of large representative institutions, Third world nations, at their present levels of development, have little realistic hope of sustaining democratic institutions. According to Diamond (1988) the democratic renaissance in Africa has been led by the continents wealthiest and most populous nation, Nigeria. There was huge expectation after the return of power to civilian elected government in 1979, after thirteen years of military rule. This was to be a crucial test of liberal democracy in Africa (Sklar 1982). The system collapsed in less than four years as a result of massive corruption, mismanagement and electoral violence and fraud. This led to the military coup of 1983. Democracy is defined as a political system which meets three essential conditions, namely, meaningful and extensive competition among individuals and political parties; a highly inclusive level of political participation in the selection of leaders and policies; and a level of civil and political liberties sufficient to ensure the integrity of political competition and participation. Other concepts related to these are democratic stability, the likelihood of its enduring over time, particularly through periods of unusual conflict, strain and crisis. Democratic theorists stress the peculiar degree to which the stability of democracy depends on a widespread belief in its legitimacy. Democracy as it is practised in Western nations such as the united States usually involve a thorough process of contestant selections. This culminates in the primaries within individual parties. In this system, the party candidate is picked based on the acceptance of the individuals manifesto. There is also party loyalty and candidates do not defect to other parties or form entirely new ones if they do not win the primaries. In such systems, the total funds raised by each candidate are also monitored. This system is also transparent and voters are confident in the system to ensure that the best candidate wins. Democracy and Electoral process in Nigeria According to J. Herskovits (1979), Nigeria rejected Britains parliamentary form of democracy which they had continued after independence in 1960 and chose the first wholly Nigerian-made constitution, to follow the American model instead. This choice was made with characteristic pragmatism: Nigeria, like the United States, is large, complex, and heterogeneous. There was therefore the notion that What works for America may work for Nigeria. Nigerias form of government looks familiar to the American style as the president has a four year term and has a possibility of a second term. The national assembly is bicameral, with a senate and a house of representatives distributed among the states by population. There is also the apex judiciary court known as the Supreme Court. Nigerias transition towards democracy has only begun. The re-establishment of an elected government after decades of military rule in 1999 formed merely a starting point in a transition process towards a democratic society-a transition that can be expected to take many years. Democratic government in its full sense comprises a wide area of issues; a very important one among them is the creation of accountable institutions (Harneit-Sievers 2004). Political parties form another core group of institutions in any functioning democratic system. Under current Nigerian conditions, however, most political parties are merely zero-issue alliances of influential individuals and small groups who are able to control; and, often enough manipulate party structures, candidacies and even the electoral process itself. In Nigeria, a major issue impeding democracy is the selection process of political office holders. This is because so far, the country has been unable to hold free, fair and credible elections. The 2003 elections were billed as a landmark as it was the first time since independence in 1960 that political leadership changed hands from one civilian to another (Herskovits 2007). The election results showed overwhelming victories for the ruling party, PDP as the presidential winner received 70 percent of the votes. According to international and domestic observers alike, the elections themselves were disastrous with even more rigging and violence than during the previous presidential elections in 1999. The run up to the elections also witnessed the assassination of two gubernatorial front runners and violent election related incidents. Based on how expensive partisan politics is in Nigeria, governments at all levels will rather starve other sector than lave their electoral ambition to suffer funding. This is apart from the fact that in most places, governance has almost been suspended for scheming ahead of the polls. As a result, Nigerians may therefore have to wait till elections are completed to enjoy several social amenities promised during the last tenure. The electoral process has also witnessed legal challenges as contestants take election winners to court to contest such results. A memorable case of this is the Osun State elections which were overruled after three and half years. The election result stated that the incumbent governor, Oyinlola won the elections. The opposition took the election result to court. During the investigation process, it was discovered using biometric machine that several people has voted up to 30 times each for the incumbent governor. The court therefore asked that this votes be cancelled. This led to the opposition candidate Raufu Aregbesola becoming the governor. As a result of almost four years of uncertainty in the state, local and foreign investors lost confidence in the state. As a result, several companies already operating in the state closed and moved to other states. This led to massive retrenchment and increased unemployment in the state. It also caused a reduction in state revenue generated. The electoral process in Nigeria has a negative impact on the country in general. This is because revenue that could be used to provide infrastructure needed by business are used for funding elections. This has led to continuous borrowing and deficit budget for year 2011. The total budget for the 2011 elections released by INEC was put at N89billion ($659million). In the federal budget for 2011, another N46.4 billion has been allocated to the same elections. Indeed, the total budgetary allocation for elections is about N133 billion naira. It is important to state that INECs budget for 2011 dwarfs the budget of most states of the federation. Osun state has budget of N88.1 billion, Kwara state N68.6 billion and Edo has a budget of N106 billion. It is also important to note that this would be funded by government borrowing. When compared to other developing countries such as Bangladesh, India and Ghana, the cost on per capita basis in Nigeria was more than double. INECs N74 billion on v oters register amounts to N1, 138 per capita for 65 million registered voters. Ghana conducted its 2008 elections at the cost of $40million which amounts to $3 per capita. The instability caused by flawed elections has led to a threat to foreign investment. As a developing country, Nigeria required foreign investment to survive. The use of large sums of revenue for funding elections rather than developing infrastructure necessary for investment makes the country less desirable to investors. As a result, there is lack of confidence in the country. The political violence and killings have also affected the countrys image abroad. There is also a threat to security as assassination of political aspirants and kidnap of their families is becoming rampant. Recently, the government has taken various measures to ensure free and fair elections in Nigeria. This was affirmed by the sack of former INEC boss, Maurice Iwu who was widely accused of corruption and complacency in electoral result manipulation. The new INEC boss, Jega has committed to ensuring a free and fair election in the country. There has also been the amendment of the electoral law in Nigeria in order to further curb the widespread election rigging in the country. Conclusion The issue of political instability has affected the activities of multinational companies in Nigeria; the oil companies in the oil rich delta where kidnap is rampant have been seriously affected. Most multinational companies are currently closing their business and relocating to other countries with more favourable environment and required infrastructure. The level of uncertainty and instability disrupts the profit hunt and causes inability to meet corporate targets. In the political foyer, some groups have been neglected which is not a practice of true democracy as power is been controlled by the dominant party with large resources. In order to reduce the problem of election rigging, Nigeria has to be firm in its commitment to providing free and fair election. This goes beyond paying lip service. The INEC also should be given more powers in order to prevent it been manipulated by the government. There is also the increased need for foreign observers to train and sensitise INEC officials and also to monitor elections.

Air Transport Industry

Air transport is one of the integral parts of the tourism industry that has largely contributed positively to the global tourism industry. The advancement in air transport industry coupled with improvement in communication and information technology over the decades has seen the quality of the air travel improve in standard and reduction in the cost of air tickets hence increase in traffic of tourists frequenting destinations that were otherwise deemed inaccessible or too expensive. The great strides were taken in ensuring the safety of air transport, reducing the cost to make air travels accessible to a bigger audience and increased ports have seen the tourism industry flourish enormously (Duval, 2013). Although other forms of transport supplement air transport, particular tourist destinations are wholly dependent on air transport. This explains how essential air transport is to the tourism industry. This paper seeks to address the correlation between the tourism industry and transport industry and in particular air transport and analyze its range of influence on the tourism industry as well as its economic impact. Air transport is a crucial segment of the extensive travel and tourism sector. According to world statistics, about 75 percent of the world international tourists use air transport. In some tourist destinations, air transport is the only means of transport (Duval, 2013). These increasing statistics of more tourists is due to law of better taxes that are considerate. Cost of air transport deeply influences the tourist`s choice of the destination as well as other tourism products. However, the improved technology by which larger aircraft have been developed that can carry a large number of passengers hence reducing the cost of an individual ticket. Additionally, the ability to cover long distances within a short timeline has made air transport stand out as the ideal method of transport preferred by a bigger percentage of tourist globally. Accessibility of the tourist destination is one of the factors that influence the development of tourism in any particular place. A region may have spectacular landscapes that would rake in tons of dollars earned from tourism, but if it is inaccessible, then it may never be of any help. However, thanks to the advancement in air transport, places that were previously considered inaccessible are now reachable. For instance, the Kalahari Desert in Africa is now a hub of tourist destination. Travels around the globe are now measured regarding hours not as previously, which was regarding days of months. The efficient network of air travels the most convenient. This has seen a sharp increase in some tourist arrivals in every single part of the world. For instance, according to the Panama central statistics office, an analysist of tourist arrival in 2007 was 79,223, which was an increase from the 2006 figure, which was 769,897. This was a growth rate of about 3.7 percent. This growth was due to the increase in some aircraft as well as plane seat capacity. The economic impacts as a result of an increase in tourist in-flow due to improved air transport are numerous. For instance, government benefits from the contribution to the government revenues generated by taxes imposed tourism- related businesses such as the hotels, employee`s taxes, tax on goods and services offered to the tourists and departure taxes. Apart from the government, private investors owning the hotels, small aircrafts used to transport tourists locally benefits a lot. There is also a range of jobs created directly from the tourism industry such as drivers, cooks, restaurants, souvenir shops as well as nightclub operates (Graham, 2013). There are also pilots who operate the planes transporting the tourists. The benefits accrued to increased tourism activities as a result of improved airline transport are numerous. According to a study conducted by the World Tourism Organization, the estimate of tax contribution imposed directly or indirectly on travel and tourism; related activities worldwide amounted to US$ 850 billion in 2001 a figure expected to triple by 2020. The statistic indicates how a well-organized and customer friendly system of transport can be of importance as far as economic development is concerned. These funds are channeled in different government projects such as infrastructure, which benefits the general public hence improving their condition of living. Air transport has helped the tourism industry to spread worldwide. The economic benefits gained from improved air transport about the tourism industry are many. The government has benefitted by earning taxes that are used to fund sustainable development projects such as roads construction while many business people and individuals have benefited from the tourism industry as either employees or owners of the facilities used by the tourism. Improving air transport even further will make it even further will make it even cheaper hence more affordable to a bigger population, this will mean a definite increase in the tourism industry since there will be more tourist who is able and willing to visit many tourist destination sites around the globe and more often hence increased revenue to the various related to sectors (Graham, 2013). Harnessing this revenue properly can mean improving the gross domestic revenues of host countries around the world hence improving their economy (Buckley, 2012). Also, air transport will improve global tourism industry by opening up remote places that were previously less known to the world. This means due to the easy of transport; more tourist will be able to frequent these destination hence indirectly improving the economic statues of these remote places. Most world tourist destinations depend almost completely on air travel services for the transportation of tourists. This means air services are a necessary component in the success of global tourism industry. The economic impacts resulting from increased tourism activities due to air services benefit both the government and individual contained in the tourism industry. Improved air service is the only way that the only way that the global tourism industry can thrive. This is already evidenced by the emergence of airbuses and low-cost carriers, which are quite affordable enabling even a more significant number of tourists to visit different destinations of their choice and more often. ReferencesBuckley, R. (2012). Sustainable tourism: Research and reality. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(2), 528-546.Duval, D. T. (2013). Critical issues in air transport and tourism. Tourism Geographies, 15(3), 494-510.Graham, A. (2013). Managing Airports 4th edition: An international perspective. Routledge

Pleasantville - 1586 Words

Tiffany Niemiller November 15th, 2010 Utopia/Dystopia Dr. Viau Pleasantville Pleasantville is a great movie with many hidden messages. The not so obvious but informative messages are one of best aspects of this nineties flick. The special effects are impressive considering this movie is indeed from the nineties. Pleasantville touches base on many actual conflicts in America and throughout history in the most subtle but blunt way. My favorite thing about this movie is how it takes this blind community and shows them what they never knew existed: passion and real emotion. I have heard many people talk about their love for earlier decades such as the fifties and how they wish they could go back and live in the â€Å"Simple Times† but in†¦show more content†¦I found a website that brings a spiritual point of view to pop culture and on it I found a nice outline of ‘Pleasantville’ filled with commentary and ideas of symbolism in relation to the Bible. I liked this website because it called attention to many things I notice d throughout the movie. Here is a statement from the site that lists some of the symbols, â€Å"There are a ton of Bible connections in this film. There is a burning bush. The God-like moon behind the gardens apple. And even a rainbow of color and promise over Pleasantville† (Bruce). He goes on to talk about how at first glance he extremely disliked this movie, as do many other viewers, but he then discusses the realization he had about ‘Pleasantville’ a week or so after watching, that is a good movie with a powerful message and ability so shed light on certain hushed topics. This film is about honesty and real-life topics. As viewers watch Pleasantville, they may find themselves feeling sad and uneasy at the interruption and corruption of this seemingly perfect world. To me this movie can be seen as having similarities to the novel Brave New World. In Brave New World books are banned because they create knowledge and individuality begins to arise through oneâ₠¬â„¢s thoughts and imagination. In ‘Pleasantville’ the uncolored citizens burn all the books because they do not understand. In both novel and movie the people are afraid of change. In BraveShow MoreRelatedThe Movie Pleasantville 1281 Words   |  6 PagesThe film Pleasantville shows the changes in American society over the past 50 years by placing two teenagers into the Pleasantville show, which was from the 50’s. The movie depicts how there is no longer the â€Å"American Dream† and no longer a perfect way of life and the changes the world has made. The world that the teenagers come from is filled with sex, drugs, money, and is very different from the way the world was in which the Pleasantville Show took place in. Morals and values have changed inRead MorePleasantville1670 Words   |  7 Pagessatisfying life a woman could lead by fulfilling her duties. Gary Rosss 1998 feature film Pleasantville examined the differences between the 90s and the 50 s image of family by transporting 90s characters into the ideal black and white image of the ideal 1950s family of a mother, father, son and daughter. Not only did this movie explore ideas in feminism, but racism as well. When a character of the original Pleasantville was exposed to something new, they turned from black and white to an image of colorRead MorePleasantville setting essay1151 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Describe at least ONE important setting in the text(s). Explain how the setting helped to show the author / creator’s idea(s), supporting your points with visual and / or oral language features. The film Pleasantville written, directed and produced by Gary Ross shows a time period in American History where life was more comfortable, stable and ‘perfect’ if you would generalise it. However, as the film ironically shows, this was a time when people were more ignorant, racist and most certainlyRead MorePleasantville Racism Paper959 Words   |  4 Pages and/or being ignorant of other people’s cultures. In the 1998 movie Pleasantville, it is shown that racism and discrimination towards different people occurs because of sudden changes to an established system and society. In reality, racism is a result of generations of stereotypes and mistreatment of a certain group of people, and is not something that can be resolved as quickly as it is in the movie. The film Pleasantville, directed by Gary Ross, is the story of how two teens from the 1990’sRead MorePleasantville Film Analysis Essay765 Words   |  4 PagesThe film Pleasantville directed by Gary Ross is about two modern teenagers, David and his sister Jennifer, somehow being transported into the television, ending up in Pleasantville, a 1950s black and white sitcom. The two are trapped as Bud and Mary Sue in a radically different dimension and make some huge changes to the bland lives of the citizens of Pleasantville, with the use of the director’s cinematic techniques. Ross cleverly uses cinematic techniques such as colour, mise-en-scene, camera shotsRead MoreEssay on Pleasantville - Change1449 Words   |  6 PagesThe movie ‘‘Pleasantville’’, written, produced and directed by Gary Ross, approaches a period in America’s history which subsequent generations idealise as a better and more stable society. He portrays this time period of the 1950s as a time when people and life were less complicated; a time when everyone knew their place in society. However, as the film ironically shows, this was a time when people were more ignorant, racist and most certainly sexist. Ross demolishes this illusion of the great 1950sRead MoreTown Folk, Such As, For The First Time In Pleasantville,1805 Words   |  8 Pagesfolk, such as, for the first time in Pleasantville, a tree catches on fire and the firemen have to figure out how to put it out and a rose on a rose bush that is black and white turns red; this all â€Å"triggers Betty to start seeing color. Gary Ross uses the instance of color to show an â€Å"awakening† or transition from the â€Å"quid pro quo† norms of society happening to Betty. The more Betty wants to learn and know about the goings on in and outside of Pleasantville, the more she sees in color until oneRead MoreThe Village Of Pleasantville Board Meetings Essay1733 Words   |  7 Pages. The village of Pleasantville conducts public board meetings every second and fourth Monday of each month. On rare occasions, for further discussion on serious issues or concerns of Pleasantville, the village board will conduct meetings—like a public hearing—on other weekdays. These meetings are located in the conference room on the second floor of the Village hall, which is also next to the Pleasantville Police Station. The village board consists of four trustees—Steven Lord, Mindy Berard, ColleenRead MorePleasantville Analysis of Film Techniques against the Theme of Change2162 Words   |  9 Pagesstages)In Pleasantville, the filmmaker, Gary Ross, conveys his attitude towards change through the characters of David and Jennifer who are transported into the 1950s sitcom Pleasantville. He doesnt necessarily demonstrate change to bear a positive result; rather, he addresses that change is essential to the development of society and self and that it is important to understand and accept change. Ross contrasts the ignorance and mindlessness of the unchanged people of Pleasantville with the hungerRead MorePleasantville961 Words   |  4 Pageshow Nineteen Eighty Four and Pleasantville imaginatively portray individuals who challenge the established values of their time. It is impossible for the individual who values freedom to be exultant in a society that is underpinned by rigid conformity. In the Novel â€Å"Nineteen Eighty Four† by George Orwell, a totalitarian future society is portrayed, through a man whose daily work is rewriting history and tries to rebel by falling in love. Whereas The film â€Å"Pleasantville† directed by Gary Ross, Two