Political Party’s Conflict Drivers in the Niger Delta: The Implications for the Nigeria State Security Architecture and Remedial Measures Used by the Police to Manage Conflicts in the Region

Abstract

Political parties are the vehicles politicians use to secure power, where a group of persons bonded in policy and opinion in support of a general political cause, go in the pursuit, capture and retention of power for as long as is democratically feasible. Political parties’ conflicts in the Niger Delta are of two types, intraparty and interparty and have been dominant features in the region since the fourth republic, with all the major parties having their fair share. The study examined the conflict drivers and the ways the Nigeria Police, a key member of the state security architecture, manages conflicts of political parties in the region. The study adopted a qualitative approach of data gathering through focused group discussions and structured interviews in a population of 40 individuals comprising of members of the state security architecture like the Nigeria Police and political leaders/politicians, traditional rulers, religious and civil society organisations, who are directly or indirectly involved in the management of political party conflict in the Niger Delta. The analyzed data showed four subthemes as main drivers of conflicts namely selfish interests and excessive greed, lack of internal democracy, corruption and the quest to remain in power at all costs, and power struggles and the quest to dominate opponents. The measures to strengthen the Nigeria Police in the effective management of conflicts also yielded four subthemes which are discouraging inter-agency rivalry, sensitization of political leaders against violence, mediation by elders of the party and reformation of the laws guiding elections in Nigeria.