Colonialism and the Emergence of Nigerian Political Parties, 1920 to 1960

This study traces the historical emergence and evolution of Nigerian political parties from the founding of the Nigerian National Democratic Party in 1923 to the achievement of independence in 1960, examining how colonial political structures shaped the character, ethnic bases, and ideological orientations of early Nigerian political organisations. The development of political parties in Nigeria occurred within the constraints and opportunities provided by the Clifford Constitution of 1922, the Richards Constitution of 1946, and the MacPherson Constitution of 1951, each of which altered the electoral framework and incentive structures facing political organisers. Using a descriptive historical design, the study reviews party manifestos, colonial government gazette publications, Legislative Council records, and secondary literature published between 2020 and 2024. The Elite Theory of Political Mobilisation and the Colonial State Theory provide the analytical framework. Findings reveal that the regionalisation of Nigerian politics, associated with the NCNC, Action Group, and NPC tripartite structure, was partly a product of colonial administrative regionalism that incentivised ethnic mobilisation over pan-Nigerian political organisation. The study identifies Herbert Macaulay, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, and Ahmadu Bello as the principal architects of a party system whose ethnic foundations still shape Nigerian politics today. Keywords: Nigerian political parties, colonial politics, NCNC, NPC, independence movement.