A Compendium of Controversial Pairings

Nigeria has a long history with the religious affiliations of political figures playing pivotal roles in the choice of flag-bearing/running mate pairings for political parties—as old as the post-independent evolution of the country. This practice usually means that elective office candidacy pairings for political party tickets and the eventual public office race must be either Muslim/Christian or Christian/Muslim or face eventual defeat at the polls—the botched 1993 elections were a remarkable exception. Such is the peculiarity of this Nigerian political feature, just like decamping or zoning. Even quantitative social science research provides empirical evidence, through regression analysis, on the importance of the religious affiliation of political actors seeking elective public office being a decisive factor behind voter choice, particularly in the country’s fourth republic (1999-present). But what utility does this age-old practice pose for electioneering in the Nigerian way?