A sociological analysis of political elite recruitment in Nigeria, 1959-1966, 1986
Fogam, Margaret H.
1986-12-01
This descriptive study examines the process of political elite recruitment in Nigeria during the period, 1959 through 1966. This study seeks to determine if there are regional differences in the recruitment process of political elite across regional boundaries. For this purpose, three factors; age, education and occupation are employed to determine the extent to which they influenced political recruitment process. Four main concepts are used in the study�political recruitment, political elite, First Republic and political socialization. Theoretically, it is argued that the process of political elite recruitment in Nigeria during 1959 through 1966 was initiated by the "puli'* and "push" forces. Data were obtained from both primary and secondary sources by the use of content analysis. The analysis shows that age and occupation were not factors in the recruitment process. Southern regional representatives had more education than their Northern colleagues. Like age and occupation, education does not provide valuable insight into the process whereby Nigeria's political elites were selected during the period 1959 through 1966. It is concluded that while the family, the school, the church and the mass media may be political socializations agents, other factors can motivate people who have not had the benefits of these agents to become political elites. In this case, one such factor was the colonial political environment. Further study on the process of political elite recruitment in Nigeria's subsequent civilian administration is suggested.
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application/pdf
Master of Arts (MA)
Atlanta University
Department of Sociology
Opolot, James S.E.
Clark Atlanta University
Georgia--Atlanta
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:1986_fogam_margaret_h
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
