Presidential Power Rotation and Unflinching Role of Ethnicity in Nigeria "Fourth Republic”

Abstract

The domineering influence of presidential power by a particular ethnic extraction over other regions has remained unabated since independence. Thus, the drive to deliberately reverse the presidential slot for the region of the nation perceived to be most politically marginalized arose. Such domination and alienation got to its climax in the June 12, 1993 Presidential election. Rotational principle was adopted to shore up the affirmative action (federal character principle) earlier devised to manage inter-ethnic rivalry. Despite that, ethnicity was regurgitated in 1999, 2010 when late Umaru Musa Yaradua died, 2011 and 2015. The Northerners perceived the death as an interruption of their turn. The fear of mistrust and hate among the ethnic groups created a vacuum. The aim of the study was to find out the contributions of presidential power rotation to the unflinching role of ethnicity in Nigeria "fourth republic”. The research adopted the analytical, prescriptive and speculative methods. Group theory was the theoretical prism used. The paper recommends a president who will unite Nigeria and play the role of a father to all, equal number of states assigned to every zone and equal representation in appointments.