Chief Lamidi Adedibu and patronage politics in Nigeria

Abstract

Since the acceptance of multi-party democracy as the most viable alternative to autocracy and military rule in Africa, democratic rule has become the vogue. Nigeria's attempt at democracy was (and is) accompanied by patronage politics, whereby certain personalities exact great influence on the political process. This study spotlights Chief Lamidi Adedibu and his patronage style in Nigerian politics, and shows that Adedibu gained political ‘patronic’ prominence during Nigeria's Third Republic in the 1990s, through the provision of the survival needs of the poor majority who are, mostly, used as thugs for protection against challenges from opponents and for political leverage. Since then, he has remained a ‘valuable tool’ of ‘any government in power’ and politicians ready to provide the necessary goods for onward transmission to clients.

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