INTEREST GROUPS

Nigeria Table of Contents

Organized interest groups played a crucial role in national politics, especially under
military regimes when other forms of direct political participation were prohibited.

Professional Associations
These associations were the most established interest groups in the country and included
the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the
Nigerian Society of Engineers, the Nigerian Economic Society, and the Nigerian Political
Science Association. Many of these associations were mainly concerned with matters
relating to the professional interests of their members. In pursuing professional concerns,
however, they articulated and demanded important political actions. Between 1983 and
1985, for example, the NMA called a strike of medical doctors to demand an improvement
in health care delivery. Its leaders were detained and the union banned until 1986. The
NBA has been at the forefront of the movement for the observance of the rule of law and
human rights in Nigeria. Most other associations held annual conferences at which
positions were taken on national issues. The most distinguishing characteristics of
professional associations were their elitist and urban base, and the nonviolent pursuit of
their interests.

Trade Unions

The central trade union in the country was the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), which
was formed in 1975 as the umbrella trade union and recognized by Decree Number 44 of
1976 as the sole representative of all trade unions in the country. The NLC had a national
executive and secretariat, as well as state councils in all states. It had more than 100
affiliated unions. Although most labor matters were channeled through the NLC, the
affiliate unions had engaged individually in union activities, such as strikes and lockouts.
In the 1980s, the NLC was torn apart by leadership struggles, ideological differences, and
ethnoregional conflicts. The NLC nearly broke up in 1988 after disagreements over
elections of its leadership, resulting in the federal government's appointing an administrator
for several months. The NLC organized a nationwide workers' strike in 1986 to demand the
retention of government subsidies on petroleum products and continued to articulate
workers' demands on matters such as minimum wages and improved welfare conditions.
Several other trade unions were also active. A few, such as the Academic Staff Union of
Universities, were proscribed for alleged antigovernment activities.

The Media
The press was a specialized interest group in Nigeria. As the fourth estate or the "societal
watchdog," it was the most vocal and effective interest group in the country, especially
because other interest groups channeled their demands and support through the press. The
media could act as a watchdog because of the large number of newspapers and radio and
television stations, and because of the wide degree of press freedom.

In the 19__s, Nigeria had more than thirty national and provincial newspapers, more than
twenty general magazines and journals, and more than twenty television and radio stations.
Although the radio and television stations were owned by the federal and state
governments, most of the newspapers and magazines were privately owned and were, in
general, seen as instruments of partisan political interests. Thus, the latter could afford to
be critical of the government. At some points, newspapers and magazines have been
proscribed, as happened to Newbreed in 1977, the Tribune in 1984, and Newswatch in
1988. Individual journalists have been harassed and intimidated by government security
agents. In 1971 Minere Amakiri, a Nigerian Observer correspondent, was detained and his
hair shaved. Since then, numerous editors and reporters have been detained.

The organized interest groups representing the press included the Nigeria Union of
Journalists, the Newspaper Proprietors Association, and the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
These associations mainly pursued the professional interests of their members but also
played active roles on broader social issues.

Student Associations

Since 1962, when students prevented the government from signing the Anglo-Nigerian
Defense Pact, they have played an active role in influencing government actions. From the
1970s on, they have engaged in violent protests and riots that have sometimes resulted in
fatalities. The grounds for these riots have ranged from narrow concerns, such as
unacceptable dining facilities and boarding conditions, to broader national issues, such as
the removal of government subsidies on petroleum products, the SAP, and repressive
government. Since 1977 no year has passed without one university or other institution of
higher learning being closed because of violent student protests. The most dramatic were
the 1978 "Ali must go" riots, in which all universities in the country protested a rise in the
costs of university education; and the 1989 anti-SAP riots, which claimed many lives.

Student activities were coordinated nationally by the National Association of Nigerian

Students (NANS), which has operated underground since its proscription in 1986. Every
institution of higher learning had a student union. Until 1986, when the Justice Mohammad
panel recommended voluntary membership as a way to check student protests, membership
in student unions was compulsory. There were several other student associations, such as
voluntary groups and religious associations, which also articulated students' interests.

Women's Organizations
 Nigeria had several women's organizations, most of them professional and social clubs.
The umbrella organization, recognized as the voice of women on national issues, was the
National Council of Women's Societies (NCWS). Many of the women's groups were
affiliated with the NCWS, which tended to be elitist in organization, membership, and
orientation. Another major women's association was Women in Nigeria, composed
primarily of university women and inclined toward Western feminist views. Conservative
Nigerian Muslim women in the late 1970s began to indicate discontent with the liberal
trends of these two organizations and in the mid-1980s created the Federation of Muslim
Women's Associations of Nigeria, which had about 400 member bodies throughout the
country. In the 1980s, women from lower social strata in the towns, represented mainly by
the market women's associations, became militant and organized mass protests and
demonstrations in several states. Their major grievances ranged from narrow concerns such
as allocation of market stalls to broader issues such as increased school fees.

Other Interest Groups

Other notable interest groups included social clubs and fraternities, old boys' and alumni
associations, and various voluntary associations. On the whole, the activities of interest
groups and the roles they played in national politics depended on how narrow or broad the
group's interests were, the resources available to it, its ties with those in authority, its
affiliation with other groups, and the ideological character of its membership. The major
interest groups were elitist, but other groups were also active at times.

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Source: U.S. Library of Congress

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