ABSTRACT

This thesis  examines  the marketing strategies of dominant political parties in Nigeria with
focus on 2003 General Elections. The broad objective of the research is to examine whether
contemporary political parties in Nigeria are market-oriented organisations; and whether
marketing offers a solution to the current democratic challenges in Nigeria. The  study
employed  the survey method  of research in which the data required for the study were
generated through the instruments of questionnaire, and in-depth interviews. Four dominant
political parties were selected out of thirty political parties that participated in the 2003
General Elections, and their electorates. Quota and stratified sampling techniques were
mostly used in their selection; and a sample of 800 respondents was considered. In other
words, eight hundred (800) copies of questionnaire were administered and six hundred and
twenty six (626) were returned; out of which five hundred and ninety eight (598) were found
to be usable.  The answers to the returned questionnaire formed the data which were
analyzed with tables, frequencies, percentages, ANOVA and chi-square to crystallize the
findings. The  findings indicate that 52% of electoral success in Nigeria is determined by
marketing strategies while the remaining 48% is ascribable to anti-democratic forces like
state power, godfatherism, etc. This is largely due to poor perception of the role of marketing
strategies in politics. It was further found that Nigerian political parties are product and
sales oriented in their  marketing strategies as against the market-  oriented approach of
advanced  democracies (e.g U.S.A). This accounts for ineffectiveness  of parties,  leading to
waning interest and sporadic hostilities in Nigerian politics. Based on these findings, it is
recommended, among other things, that parties should be voter-focused and responsive to
the needs of the electorates.