EXAMINING THE ROLE OF POLITICAL GODFATHERISM IN SHAPING DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Political godfatherism remains a pervasive and deleterious phenomenon within Nigerian politics, posing significant challenges to democratic consolidation and political development. This paper interrogates the multifaceted roles of political godfathers, who exert undue influence over elected officials through financial patronage and sponsorship. Such influence undermines electoral integrity and governance. Utilizing a documentary review methodology, the study synthesizes historical records, contemporary analyses, and academic literature, selected based on relevance and credibility, for the period 2015-2024, to contextualize the entrenchment of godfatherism in Nigerian politics. Systematic content analysis was applied to these documents, enabling the identification of key themes and patterns. The analysis is anchored on the theory of neopatrimonialism, which demonstrates how personalistic power relations, clientelism, and informal patronage networks within formal bureaucratic structures subvert democratic institutions. Findings reveal that political godfatherism restricts electoral competitiveness, debilitates civic culture, exacerbates socio-economic inequalities, and perpetuates elite dominance in governance. Godfathers manipulate candidate selection, influence policy decisions, and foster political violence, thereby eroding public accountability and cultivating widespread apathy towards political participation. These dynamics significantly hinder Nigeria’s progress towards democratic maturity. The study recommends enhancing civic engagement and political participation, promoting public interest journalism, reforming electoral laws to facilitate the emergence of alternative political platforms, and revising internal party regulations as antidotes to elite manipulation. Such interventions will serve to recalibrate political structures toward inclusive and accountable governance.