God-fatherism in the Politics of Nigeria: Continuity and Change

The concept of god-fatherism in other words clientelism; patron-client relationship in Nigerian politics is not a new phenomenon. It has been in existence right from the inception of party politics in the country. Thus, it is a phenomenon in continuity but with changes. This concept – god-fatherism in politics implies a dominant individual in the politics of an area or geo-political zone who is capable either by her/his influence/past record or current political power of determining who win elections in that area or zone. What is new or change however in theory and practice of god-fatherism in Nigerian politics is that, it has taken a different posture from the earlier posture which was based on ideology, charisma, contribution and achievement of the individual god-father to the current posture based on thuggery, money and coercion among others. This paper therefore tries to unravel the previous and current postures of god-fatherism in Nigerian politics and proffers suggestions for improvement.