Marketing Strategies of Nigerian Political Parties: a Comparative Analysis

This work examines the marketing strategies ofdominant political parties in Nigeria with focus on2003 General Elections. The broad objective of theresearch is to examine whether contemporary politicalparties in Nigeria are market-oriented organizations;and whether marketing offers a solution to thecurrent democratic challenges in Nigeria. The study employed the survey method of research in which thedata required for the study were generated throughthe instruments of questionnaire, and in-depthinterviews . Four dominant political parties wereselected out of thirty political parties thatparticipated in the 2003 General Elections, and theirelectorates. Quota and stratified sampling techniqueswere mostly used in their selection; and a sample of800 respondents was considered. The answers to thereturned questionnaire formed the data which wereanalyzed with tables, frequencies, percentages, ANOVAand chi-square to crystallize the findings. Thefindings indicate that 52% of electoral success inNigeria is determined by marketing strategies whilethe remaining 48% is ascribable to anti-democraticforces like state power, godfatherism, etc.