Chapter One: General Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

The topic “The Impact of Civil Society Organization

on Nigeria‟s Socio-Political Development: An Appraisal of

Civil Liberties Organization” was induced by the level in

which the various civil society organizations in the

country have strived to combat those issues that have

continued to undermine the country‟s bid to social and

political development over the years. George Soros in his

book: The Age of Fallibility Observes that society is

suspicious of those who claim to be virtuous and not

without justification. The claim of being virtuous is very

controversial and is a characteristic of most civil society

organizations. Whether they live up to this virtuous claim

or not is open to value judgment subjectivity and as

Soros argues that the burden of proof is certainly that of

the claimant. The implication is that it is misleading to

make a sweeping assessment of the civil society

organization and their activities. However it is very

necessary to check the extent to which they have made

impact to improve public welfare strengthened cultural

social economic and political life-wire of the society.

It is also right to say that since the dawn of

participatory democracy the rights of citizens such as

the freedoms of expression and of association are seen as

sacrosanct. Often these rights are provided in the

constitution and other extart laws of the country. When

people outside the corridors of power freely exercise these

rights by volunteering to pursue a valued course or by

protecting against a government policy they double and

are recognized as civil society group or organization. This

tends to lend credence to the assertion of Abbie Hoffman

who said many years ago that:

Democracy is not something you

believe in or a place to hang your

hat but its something you do you

participate. If you stop doing it

democracy crumbles (1963:30).

A significant problem in most developing countries

is over centralization of decision making and the lack of

stakeholders involvement that permit patronage of

powerful special interests and high levels of corruption.

Scholars are agreed that lack of stakeholder buy-in

attenuates the policy process decreases efficiency and

this in-turn affects economic growth. This is where civil

society can play a major role by contributing to greater

transparency and accountability.

Civil society is a “space” where function is to

mediate between the individual and the state while there

may not be a clear cut definition of civil society; they

more or less agree that it comprises institutions such as

religious organizations labour unions charity

organizations community groups non profits and the

media. In advanced and virile democratic systems these

institutions supplement formal processes such as voting

and help citizens shape the culture politics and

economies of their nation. Civil society organization tends

to strengthen and raise the capacity of citizens to address

social economic and political developmental challenges.

Hence in this study we attempt to expose or bring

to limelight the impact of these civil society organizations

on the socio-political development of Nigeria laying

emphasis on the civil liberties organization (CLO). The

Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) was established in

1987 as one of Nigeria‟s largest human rights

organization. Its formation and emergence can be

credited to a renowned Nigerian radical lawyer Olisa

Agbakoba (SAN). The civil liberties organization

investigates human rights abuses and campaigns

through litigation publications and communication with

the government on behalf of people whose rights have

been abused. It has published a number of reports on

police brutality military decrees government impunity

the death penalty and annual reports on the human

rights situation in Nigeria. Its legal aid project has

represented over 4000 indigent victims of human rights

abuses. The organization also undertakes human rights

education through its empowerment project conducting

clinics and seminars on rights issues. The government is

extremely active in lobbying the government through

dialogue and public censor and launching campaigns to

end specific government abuses hence providing an

avenue for socio-political development in Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of Problem

The Civil Society Organizations play prominent role

as the mouth-piece of the citizens on issues affecting the

people and the society at large especially in the case of

policies and ideas that might threaten the peaceful co-

existence of the citizens and hinder the socio-political

development of the society. In Nigeria the existence of

repressive and unpopular governments for more than 20

years serve as impetus for the emergence and

proliferation of organizations that seek to challenge the

legitimacy of policy programmes and ultimately the

existence of these government. No doubt the existence of

these organizations assisted considerably to open up

space for the expression of dissenting opinions and what

could be regarded as alternative voices. Unfortunately

this very character and attribute has come to serve as a

shield for some opportunistic and self-centered civil

society organizations.

Key assumptions that connotes legitimacy to the

existence of civil society organizations is that they are

expected to be knowledge driven which means that

actors or at least members have requisite skills to

investigate problems of society proffer solutions and

develop plans to facilitate buy on by other segment of

society and government. To this effect some questions

were raised in the course of this study questions as;

what is the problem prompting the study? Which ends up

seeking to find the solution to the questions below:

i. Is there any relationship between civil society

organizations and democracy?

ii. Is bad governance the driving force of civil society

organizations in Nigeria?

iii. To what extent has the civil liberties organization

influenced the socio-economic and political

development in Nigeria?

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The major objectives of this research is to assess the

impact of the civil society organizations on Nigeria‟s

development. The specific objectives of the study are:

i. To establish the relationship between civil society

organizations and democracy.

ii. To ascertain if bad governance is the driving force

of civil society organizations in Nigeria.

iii. To determine the extent the civil liberties

organization has influenced the socio-economic

and political development of Nigeria.

1.4 Literature Review

The activities of civil society organizations have over

the years engineered several forms of development in

Nigeria. Activities ranging from protecting against certain

government policies to the organization of seminars

conferences and enlightenment programmes to educate

the masses or citizens on the various human rights and

how to kick against abuse on such rights. Civil society

organizations through protest and campaigns have over

the years worked to bring about accountability in

government in the sense that the government has

become more accountable and responsible as a result of

the eye cast on it by the civil society organizations hence

bringing about people oriented policies that further bring

about development in the country.

Furthermore civil society organizations as it relates

to their impact on socio-political development have been

subjected to different scholarly views in an attempt to

ascertain the level of relationship or disparity that exist

between the activities of civil society organization and

Nigeria‟s socio-political development. On a plain or level

ground or better still in a layman‟s term socio-political

development can be seen or comprises of two factors;

social development and political development otherwise

known as socio-political development. Social development

on the one hand refers to a broad term that describes

actions that are taken to build positive outcomes and

prevent negative social outcomes that can adversely

affect a community. These outcomes includes issues

ranging from crime poverty gang activity school

disengagement teen pregnancy addictions and

substance abuse obesity poor health environmental

degradation etc. The aim of social development is to

improve the availability of support systems in the

community that prevent negative outcomes before they

occur or buffer (lessen) their impact. For example rather

than reacting to crime after it has already happened

measures are taken within the community that prevent

crime from ever occurring.

Good prevention starts with parents before they

have children and very directly once conception has

occurred. Evidence suggested that negative environments

not only affect pregnant mothers but can very directly

alter the architecture of the brain of the unborn child.

Social development is about creating environment that

enable children and youth to thrive and not merely

survive. In other words social development refers to the

ability to create an enabling environment or building a

conducive environment for man to survive while political

development on the other hand refers to a durable shift

in ideas or institutions that alters the feasible set of

options open to solving political problems. The study of

political development can also be understood as the

study of the evolution of the structures of the state in

correspondence with the changes occurring in the

economic and social dimensions of group life. Political

development has been defined in many ways that reflect

the passage of societies and analysts preoccupations.

One formulation dwells on the emergence of national

sovereignty and the integrity of the state demanding

respect and upholding commitments in the international

system. Others identify the domestic attributes of

constitutional order and political stability attained

through the formation of a settled framework of

government reliable procedures for leadership

succession and a consolidation of the territorial

administrative reach of government.

Political development enhances the states capacity

to mobilize and allocate values or resources to process

policy inputs into implementable outputs. This assists

with problem – solving and adaptation to environmental

changes and goals realization. The concemporary notion

of good governance also dwells on efficient effective and

non-corrupt administration. Social and political

development seems to work hand-in-hand hence this

research topic seeks to find out the impact of civil society

organization in the socio-political development of Nigeria

using the civil liberties organizations as an appraisal.

Bratton (1994:5) has warned of the dangers in

appropriating a venerable concept such as civil society

when trying to explain contemporary African politics. The

dangers arise not only from the fact that the concept

evolve on a distinctly European historical and cultural

Milliuex but also because its usage by political

philosophers has changed dramatically overtime.

This point was undermined by Pelcynske (1984:3)

when he opined that “few social and political concepts

have traveled so far in their life and changed their

meaning so much”. The practical dimensions of the

dangers are evident on the work of analysts such as

Mersha (1990:2) and Gold (1990:20) who tried to apply

the concept to non-western politics (Ethiopia and China)

and found it “unwieldy” and “complex” respectively.

Although there is some degree of elusiveness and

fugitility in the nature and meaning of civil society the

difficulty in application experienced by some scholars

may not be unconnected to the tendency to adopt a

“Eurocentric” mind set with its emphasis on

individualism and libertarianism when operationalising

the concept in non-western settings rather than conceive

of the concept as but one particular example of thinking

politically about conflict how it is carried out and who

has the „right‟ to engage in it” (Calaghy 1994:237) viewed

from this perspective civil society as we still see after

exploring the layers of perceived meanings with which

the term is burdened is a useful formula for analyzing

state – society relations not just because it embodies a

core of universal beliefs and practices about the

legitimation of and limits to state power but also because

“it provides a vantage point for the study of political

practices and social movements as well as establishing

the connections between power contestation and the

response of the state” (Chandhoke 1995:41).

Civil society organization is part of the approach

that appears in academic literatures today here it

regards the society as a certain arena or area of society

the public space between the state and the households

where groups constituted at a level beyond the family

engage in public political activity (Bryant 1990:6)

Bratton 1989:417). Although such political activity may

be motivated by the quest for private advantage it is not

“private in the sense of being confined to the domestic or

household arena. Instead it is considered „public‟ in two

senses. It entails collective action in which individuals

join to pursue shared goals; and it takes place in the

institutional commons that lie beyond the boundaries of

the household. A characteristic feature of this public

space is the normative notion of civility defined not just

in terms of simple courtsey and good manners but a

readiness to moderate particular individual and parochial

interests in consideration of some common good through

which other‟s basic rights and interest would be

protected. It is the acceptance of such collectivity and

responsibility to the common good and the positive value

of activities meant to safeguard it that are deemed to be

at the core of civility and form what Still (1991:13) calls

the fundamental virtue of civil society organizations. As

John Dewey might have it:

Only by participating in the common

intelligence and sharing the

common purpose as it works for the

common good can individual

human beings realize their true

individualities and become truly

free.

Since the dawn of participatory democracy the

rights of citizens such as the freedoms of expression and

of association are seen as sacrosanct as I further stated

this rights gives individuals and members of the society

the freewill to join any organization that represent their

interest. Hence in Nigeria there are so many civil society

organizations they include the following: The Alliance for

credible elections (ACE – Nigeria) Nigeria Labour

Congress (NLC) Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs

(SCIA) Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Trade

Union Congress (TUC) Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)

United Action for Democracy (UAD) Transition

Monitoring Group (TMG) Electoral Reform Network

(ERN) Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Civil Liberties

Organization (CLO) Movement for the Survival of the

Ogoni People (MOSOP) Movement for the Actualization of

the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) etc But this

research work will place more emphasis on its case

study The Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) in

subsequent chapters. All these organizations mentioned

above all perform various functions in making sure the

government is accountable and responsible to the people

by check-making their policies and acting as watch –dogs

on the government which will further bring about socio-

political development.

1.5 Significance of the Study

This research work will provide relevant answers to

the bothering thoughts of scholars who are interested in

this topic.

Moreso it will also provide guideline to policy

makers as regards to the kind of policies they make that

will match the desires of a society and subsequently the

various civil society organizations in Nigeria. If the

policies made or adopted by a particular government in

power does not go down well with the people it might

trigger reactions by the various civil society groups

whose impact can marr the government. But if the policy

is a good one then the government would receive the

applause and support of these groups.

Hence this research work would help enhance the

ideas and understanding of scholars and students alike

who are interested in this topic as the impact of civil

society organizations would be studied and then one

would know what kind of impact to expect from civil

society organizations when certain policies are made. It is

imperative therefore to note at this point that these

impacts could be negative or positive depending on the

goals objectives demand aspiration and modus

operandi (modes of operation) of these civil society

organizations or groups.

1.6 Theoretical Framework

There are several modes or theories used in the

analysis of the political system or phenomenon by

political scientists. But this study sees more appropriate

the use of Gabriel Almond‟ Structural Functional Model

as a tool for analysis. The structural functional model

primarily concerned itself with the maintenance of order

and stability in the society and the necessary

arrangement within the society which maintain the said

order and stability. Structural functional analysis

originated in the biological and mechanical sciences of

part of systems analysis. It was adopted and adapted as

a mode of analysis in sociology and anthropology as its

evident in the work of Emile Durkheim and Talcott

Parsons. It was developed in political science by Gabriel

Almond; S.P. Verma who stresses that structural

fucntionalism revolves around two main concepts;

functions and structures on the basis of which three

basic questions could be posed.

1. What basic functions are fulfilled in any given

political systems?

2. By what structures?

3. Under what conditions?

Functions have been defined by Merton Robert as

those observed consequences which make for the

adaptation or adjustment of a given system S.P. Verma

notes that while functions deal with the consequence

involving objectives as well as processes or patterns of

actions. Structures refer to the arrangement within the

system which performs the functions. The basic

assumption of the structures function framework is that

all system has structures which can be identified and

these structures perform functions within the system

necessary for existence. Thus it is perceived by Gabriel

Almond that all political system regardless of which they

are remains in existence. In various political systems

these functions may be performed by different kinds of

political structure and sometimes even by structures

which are of overtly recognizes as being primarily

political. Verma notes that there is no one

correspondence between functions and structures. A

particular function may be fulfilled by a complex

combination of structures just as structural arrangement

may perform functions which might have different kinds

of consequences for the structure in the analysis of the

political systems the analyst compare not simply the

political structures since these may not actually be the

mechanisms through which all the necessary functions

are being performed or they may not be performing the

functions originally allotted to them.

Structural functional analysis tries to shift the focus

of analysis away from the observable institutional

political mechanisms to any area where the actual

performances of the functional requirement of the system

are located. Political systems are therefore compared in

terms of the manner in which structures perform the

expected functions in the society. All political systems are

therefore perceived to perform two basic functions: Input

and Output functions.

There are four input functions which includes:

1. Political socialization and recruitment.

2. Interest articulation.

3. Interest aggregation.

4. Political Communication.

These are three output functions which includes:

1. Rule making

2. Rule application

3. Rule adjudication

All input functions are seen as being performed by

non-governmental organization or system of the society

such as: pressure groups interest groups schools

family political parties independent newspapers civil

society organization etc. The output functions are all

governmental and it is the governments and their

bureaucracies which make rules (Legislate) apply rules

(administer) and adjudicate between individuals and

groups (interpret) on the basic of rules. Political systems

can therefore be analyzed and compared in terms of the

degree to which their political structures are specialized

whether specific functions are performed through

particular structure can perform a number of functions.

In some political system such as those of the advanced

industrial nations of American and Europe structures

are specialized political roles differentiated and function

specific.

In summary it is to be noted that why the yard

stick by which systems are measured consist of the

functions which are performed by the political system the

units which being analyzed and compared are the

various structure which compose individual political

systems. The analyst should attempt to see which

structures or institutions fulfill the functions which are

ascribed to all political systems. Take interest

aggregation as an example it is defined as the way in

which demands are combined in the form of alternative

cause of action. In the combination various types of

structures can play a part. Civil society organizations are

perhaps the structures which usually attempt to combine

and process demand under liberal democracy. Moreover

other groups such as trade unions interest groups or

non – governmental organizations can also achieve the

same goal sometimes alone sometimes in collaboration

with one another. These civil society organizations

perform input functions as stated above placing demand

on the government in other to achieve the set goals or

objectives for which they were established.

1.7 Hypotheses

With references to the questions formulated at the

statement of problem the following hypotheses have

been derived.

i. There appears to be a strong relationship

between civil society organizations and

democracy

ii. Bad governance is the driving force of civil society

organizations in Nigeria.

iii. The civil liberties organization has influenced

socio-economic and political development of

Nigeria.

1.8 Method of Data Collection/Analysis

The method of data collection used in this work is

the secondary source of data. It implies the visitation to

libraries journals newspapers textbooks and articles

from the internet. Since the method of analysis is the

secondary mode the method of analysis is the qualitative

method which implies that it is more of explanatory

theories.

1.9 Scope and Limitations of the Study

The scope of this study covers the activities of civil

society organizations in Nigeria with particular attention

on the civil liberties organizations (CLO). Many of these

civil society organizations tend to have branches

nationwide of which civil liberties organization (CLO) is

an is not an exception but what helped in this research

work was that their activities are narrowed having one

founder and a narrowed ideology similar interest goal

and objective.

In the course of this research work I encountered a

lot of problems that limited the scope and idea of the

study because the author of this work is not an island of

knowledge he therefore depended on library works

where there where few books relating to the research

topic. Other activities in school made sure the author

had little time given to this work. But it is a thing to be

grateful to God for as this work turned out to be a

success.

1.10 Operationalization of Concepts

In the study some social political and societal

terms were adopted and applied in relation to the subject

matter. They include the following:

 Political Development: Broadly the development of

the institutions attitudes and values that form the

political system of a society.

 Society: The English word “society can be stretched

or narrowed to cover almost any form of association

of persons possessing any degree of common

interests values or goals.

 Democracy: The “government of the people by the

people for the people” based in a nation “conceived

in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all

men are created equal has had so many definitions

but none has been as simple yet comprehensive as

the one given above by one time. American

President the famous Abraham Lincoln (1809-65)

at Gettysburg in November 19 1863.

 Poverty: This is the state of one who lacks a certain

amount of material possessions or money.

 Human Rights: This is related to civil rights

natural rights people‟s right and civil liberties

insofar as all of them are concerned are concerned

with the rights and liberties of individuals and

groups within a free society.

 Good Governance: This is an indeterminate term

used in international development literature to

describe how public institutions and government

conduct public affairs and manage public resources

for the betterment of the entire society.

 Bad Governance: The opposite of good governance

involve the mismanagement and misconduct of

affairs that would enable development and positive

growth in the society.

 Development: The all-round inter-connected

progressive transformation of man society and

nature made possible by his incremental mastery

over them.