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Abstract

The desire to transform a nation's political system through organized political parties forms the bedrock of a genuine patriotism to move the country forward. When such patriotism becomes pseudo in nature through factions which produce strife leading to stresses and strains and other discord of malfunctioning organizations, the grand political edifice constructed through a genuine patriotism begins to crumble, and in a poetical manner, things will begin to fall apart and the center will no longer hold. This in a nutshell describes the Nigerian party system from inception. Thus, the enthusiasm that metamorphosed into the creation of political parties in Nigeria by the elite to fight against the colonial rule divided and disappeared after the struggle against the colonial rule as the colonialists could no longer come up with vibrant nationalist parties.

The crave to intensify party politics by these same people after independence degenerated into intense ethnic rivalries. In the same vein, party politics among the intellectuals who traveled abroad in search of more knowledge also took an ethnic dimension. They failed to come together. It was not therefore surprising to see the Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa students in their mushroom gatherings with ethnic leanings. Obviously, this is a carry over of what transpired at home (Nigeria) among the founding fathers of Nigerian political parties.

This paper shows that Nigerian politicians have not eschewed the politics of bitterness and acrimony, which have hitherto led to factions in many of the country's political parties. It further argues that such a development would endanger the politics of the fourth republic.

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