INTRODUCTION

The project of party formation in Nigeria started in the colonial days. This was when there was strident agitation by the nationalists in the country for decolonisation, and greater participant of Nigeria in the political system.

This quest was satisfied when Clifford constitution of 1922 introduce the elective principle, which was armed at widening the political space, albeit-little, to accommodate for Nigerians in the legislative council while the executive council still remained a British dominated sphere.

This view was shared by Adejumobi (1998:46) when he noted that political decolonisation process in Nigeria was marked “ by the extension of the franchise and scope of representative institution”. To Olayiwola (1998:10) it was towards the end of British Colonial rule in Nigeria, on the platform of the early political parties that emerged in the 1950s that the struggle for the country’s independence was expressly articulated and achieved Abdulhammid ujo classified the development of parties into four generations.

The first generation political parties were glorified interest group concerned with how to influence the colonial government.

The second-generation parties “were instrument of nationalist struggle. Their objective was to take control of political power from the colonial powers”. However, they were weak in their efforts at nation building. The third generation parties were modifies by the military and this introduces a phenomenon where parties were controlled in their formation and operations. This reduced them to what he called “quasi-formal institutions of government”. The political parties of fourth generation, still situated within a military context, completed the control measure exercised by the government over these organizations. At this time, the objectives, modes of production, finding and programmes of those parties were designed and decided by government. The Babangida and Abacha regimes fall into this fourth generation classification of political parties in Nigeria.

Nigeria cannot forget how the Babangida regime wasted over forty billion naira and eight years of fruitless rule in executing a boggy transition programme which ended in the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election, presumably won by the late chief M.K.O Abiola. IBB manipulate the third republic when he asked politicians to form parties on their own, but subsequently imposed the defunct National Republican convention (NRC) and Social Democratic party (SDP) on the party. This was after politicians had spent huge sums of money to lift these parties off the ground.

Abacha, on the other hand, obviously like his predecessor, never introduced a level playing field for the five political parties registered in his time. Only those sycophants and praise singers of his Machiavellian rule got the green light to participate Abacha created a suffocating environment in which the parties of era operated. It was a regime that was blinkered, repressive and coercive in its approach, ruthless in execution and people- averse, turning the Nigerian state into a personal estate.

Analyst argues that while “ the two political parties under the Babangida transition were mere extension of government, the five political parties under the Abacha transition were largely five fingers of the same leprous hand.

The project of transiting Nigeria to a democratic political was embarked upon in the fourth Republic, by General Abubakar after the demise of Abacha on June 8,1998. The leitmotif and critically the obvious and devious intention of the Abubakar administration concerning the formation and registration of parties under it, and how he ran the transition to completion.

In a highlyvoltile global system, the dominance of the liberal democratic ideology though not without its flaws, raises an imperatives for all countries in the world to democratize. This view is acknowledged by Adejumobi, add that in the context of declining economic fortunes and several material poverty of the people, authoritarian and one party rule appeared to have squandered their social capital and political legitimacy. Thus, raising the need for an alternative political choice in competitive multi-party elections and democratic politics.

As Powell has argued, “a strong system of political parties is essential for democracy. The military has frustrated effort as democratization in Nigeria. The nature of the transition to civil rule in Nigeria his been one where the government creates parties for the people, designs and plans their manifestoes for them, funds them, foist certain candidates on these organization and invites the people to join them so as to Crystallize their democratic quest. Thus, a climate of political exclusion, alienation and robbery of the fundamental right of the Nigeria peoples are evidenced.

This research project will therefore examine at the parties created and registered in the fourth Republic with the view to analyzing the process of party formation and how this could give vent to the pursuit of genuine democracy in Nigeria.