Popular participation

POPULAR PARTICIPATION

It is the willingness of a large percentage of the populace to participate in major decision, political affair and on politics of their country. It is the un-restricted opportunities of the majorities of the citizenry in respective of the social economy status to make their opinion and interest known in national issues.

It is very vital in the policy of a state as it is one of the factors exposing the legitimacy of the government or any democracy. These underscores while democracy has been criticised by some scholars as a system of ignorance giving precedency to “quantity” rather than “quantity” rather than “quality” However, democracy is still the best form of government world-wide.

Issues in popular participation include, election, economic. Issues like privatisation and commercialization policies, educational issues like the 6-3-3-4 system of education. All classes of people irrespective of their economic status or political affinity should actively participate as this will affect them and their children.

According to shaeuffer  { 1992} popular participation enables people to:

1. Gain knowledge, awareness and democratic experience.
2. Take action to solve their own problem
3. Gain social and political power.

Reason why people don’t participate in politics

1. Economic obstacles: only party big wigs and see successful business men takes up the sensitive and powerful post in the party. As these reserved for them. This dissuades the poor citizen qualified for such offices to ordinary votes.
2. Violence: Nigeria politics which is characterized with political assassinations, violence, electoral malpractices which are tools of God fatherism to intimidate, victimize and silence the innocent.
3. Illiteracy: this is the inability to read and write a simple sentence in any language especially in an adult or school aged person.

Someone with this blight will shy away from politics even when he/she has ideas and charisma to lead, hence a society high level of illiteracy will have large percentage of it’s citizenry not participating actively in politics.

4. Poor performance of leaders in power.
5. Religious practices
6. Cultural practices.
7. Physical disabilities.

How popular organisation are formed.

Political parties are examples of popular organisation formed based on different factors like ethnicity and profession etc. some of the basis of forming them includes

1. Social cultural associates: some parties started as social cultural organisation, e.g. AG cacition group formed Obafemi Awolowo in 1950 as EgbeOmo- Oodua. Also the northern people’s congress started as Jamiya Mutaten Arewa. The Action group later transformed into unity party of Nigerian which consulted in 1979 and 1983 general elections through labour union.
2. Through labour union: labour union could form political parties to contest for position, Indonesia had four labour base PP –political parties, and they include:
3. Workers solidarity party
4. National labour party (NLP)

• All Indonesia party.

1. Indonesia workers party {IWP}.

In Nigerian, the labour party was re-elected in Ondo state at the 2012 gubernatorial (state governor candidates).