ABSTRACT
This paper examines the effect of ethnicity in the 2015 elections in Nigeria. The phenomenon of ethnicity has taken an alarming dimension in Nigeria, such that elections had become ethnically oriented. Also, ethnicity has been elevated to dominate national discourse, controls how people think and talk and determines what they support or oppose. Therefore, the electorates were thus ethnically conscious during the 2015 electoral period in Nigeria. For instance, ethnicity became so pronounced in the core North-West, North-Central, North-East Geo-Political zones of Nigeria mostly by the Hausa/Fulani which was the stronghold of General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtd) of the All Peoples Progressive Party (APC) where the electorates vote cast turned-out was 92.8% to his favour. While, in the South–South Geo-political Zone most of the electorates voted massively for former President Good Ebele Jonathan of the People‟s Democratic Party (PDP). In addition the South-East Geo-political Zone was not left out for ethnic party system. For instance, the All Progressive Grand Alliance Party (APGA) that was rooted among the Ibos, was massively voted for by the Ibos. This paper examines the nature of ethnicity, how it has affected the electorates and elections, and how to manage consequence ones in view of concretizing oneness, though our tribes may differ. The paper which was based on secondary sources of data about the voting pattern reveals that majority of the Hausa/Fulani of the ethnic origins that lives in South-East, South-West and South–South Geo-Political Zones in Nigeria travelled home to cast their votes in support of General Muhammadu Buhari who they called “Sai Baba,” “Sai Buhari” which means “their own”. However, the paper concludes by making recommendations to Nigerians, if unity and oneness in the country is envisaged
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