Identity and space in Ibadan politics, western Nigeria

Abstract

The democratic consolidation in Nigeria is threatened by ethnic politics in which Nigerians struggle to contest and win elections outside their ethnic domains. This situation aggravates political marginalization and exacerbates ethnic conflicts and exclusionary politics in Nigeria. Through qualitative methods of study, this paper examines the construction of political identity from ethnic nationalism and legitimization of space, by explaining how space and identity influence Ibadan politics. The study establishes that the Ibadan indigenes, that is, the bona fide|indigenes of Ibadan, employ their civic nationalism and municipal consciousness as strategies for politicization, while the non-indigenes in the city perceive themselves as being in an unfavorable position with regard to having equal and equitable access to political powers in the city.