More recent analysis, however, has called into question much of the conventional wisdom on the impact of family on political learning. R.W Connell (1972) has raised several mythological question about the research on which this practice rested. Among other things, many studies misconstrued agreement across generational lines with agreement between parent and child. (Stanley A Renshon 1977 p46).
When children and their parents are measured independently and agreements in political views are established, it supports the inference that family transmits politics to the children. Furthermore, the degree of such influence can be established, and by proper comparison these correlation’s under varied conditions. Example, for children of different ages, one can establish subtle features of the socialisation process.
(Herbert H Hyman1969, pp51-52). While influence might conceivable flow from child to parent, is much likely that parents are the agents who transmit politically relevant attitudes to their children. (Ibid, 55).
The Michigan study seems to argue the stability of adult politics starting from roots in family life. But, certainly there something paradoxical involved which is political change as consequence of voting behaviours. Lubell has suggested on such factor, that granted the children mirror families’ politics. (Ibid, 73). The parental influence is essential to make child have a certain preference, and thiese preference transformed into over activity of voting. Consequently political change may come about through different patterns of turn – out in particular elections.
Polygamy accepted in various ethnic groups in Nigeria. Extended family as a means of social security and dominance through family extension and makes their views and decision collectively. School’s has expanded and last twenty years have seen large rises in enrolment. Reduce of number of parochial in society. And also English has the instruction language for the part of Nigeria State. Media are very active in Nigeria, although there is constant threat of government punishment and censorship and religion as a mobilising political force in northern part of Nigeria.
According to Aspin (1992,14) there are many different phases of the socialisation process, and each take place at different stages of one’s life. The process of socialisation begins at birth, and continues until we die. During early childhood, primary socialisation takes place, which occur mostly within the family. Secondary socialisation occurs during mid-late childhood, during the child’s school years, whereas socialisation that occurred within the family is reinforced and strengthened. Tertiary socialisation occurs mainly within adults, and is an ongoing process because individuals are constantly encountered new social situations.
There are certain institutions within society that enable political socialisation to take place. According to Juredini, Kenny and Poole (1997, pp168-176), Newman (2000, pp111-121), and McKee (1969, pp98-103) they all argued that the institutions are the family, school and mass media. Other agent of political socialisation includes peer group, religion and work place. Each of these institutions contributes to the type of person we become. It evident that children socialised into certain ways of thinking and behaving by their families and the schools they attend and also by media especially television. (J, K and Poole1997 p173). I would like to discuss some agent of political socialisation. Family normally the most important influence which they use over their children’s political attitudes. Research shows most children imitate their parent and family’s party identification. School is the pledge of allegiance and patrotricrituals are learned in school. These important symbols are taught in civics and other courses and are important in establishing legitimacy in government and society. Peers can influencechildren political attitudes because politics is not the most important topic to many teenagers.
The family is the main agent of political socialisation; in fact many cultures the primary socialisation agent is family initial bond that may form between a baby and its primary giver can viewed as the first and the intense part of the political socialisation process. (J,R and Poole 1997 p169). Families can socialise children in many different ways both intentionally and unintentionally. Nigeria family system sometime have their ethnicity law that guide each members of tribal abide to the rules and if any of the family go against this rules it may result to a severe punishment. Generally, in being a part of the family, the child is able to observe the behaviour of those around them, and is able to learn right from wrong, and what behaviour is considered appropriate for certain situations.
Research by sociologists, and vast body of psychology theory shows that in case whereby parents are completely successful in controlling the socialisation of their children offspring, they may not want to replicate their own values. A good example in Nigeria politically, parent consciously rearing their children to a different set of political values than themselves due to civilisation. A comparable example is in case immigrants wanting their children to grow up as well educated person, whereas the parent has no or little education, and sometime they change their lifestyle to the culture of the country they reside. (Stanley A Renshon 1977 p48).
The importance of family in Nigeria political socialisation is ethnicity, which formed different ethnic association by distance family. Association came to constitute the basic social units of political interestrepresentation and activity. Initially founded as kingship unions to help to help family members in multi-tribal areas to fund work, pay for burial or naming ceremonies, or deal with employers, for example Middle Belts Association, Odua People and Niger-Delta Youth Movement. These groups grew during the 1930s and 1940s into a great cultural section of Igbo or Yoruba. Yoruba’s and Igbo’s were now made aware, for the first time, of their respective common cultural and family ties; previously their reference group had been primarily clan or kinship groups.
These communal associations assumed a number of important functions like wages negotiations, articulation of demands for welfare, interest representation of occupational groups. But the latter forms of interest organisation were stifled in Nigeria by the effects of the colonial system. Worker were few in the number and thoroughly integrated into wage labour economy. Most farmer remain formerly outside capitalist agriculture, and indigenous business was relatively powerless since most large and medium business concern are foreign owned and staffed, while almost three quarter of all firms with a capital over ($70000) were owned by non Nigerians (Nafziger 1977:56).
In view of clearly visible absence countervailing interest groups, then ethnic and cultural association emerged as principal organisation bases of new political parties during the period of decolonization and political party formation. The ethnic socialisation of Igbo’s is one the example in which they formed grouping around. Herbert Macauley’s Nigerian national democratic party, and Nigeria Youth Movement from which all their leaders are Igbo’s such as H.O Davies, Ernest Okoli and Nnadi Azikiwe, they has no real organisational or mass social base outside Lagos. Thus, as decolonozation was affected within regional perimeters during the late 1940s and throughout 1950s, The Nigeria Youth Movement distingrated along communal lines and was transformed into Pan- Yoruba Organisation, while Azikwe and the other Igbo members left and constituted their own party. (WD Graff 1988:31),
The family provides the major means of transforming the mentally naked infant organism into an adult, fully clothed in its own personality and most of the individual personality his tendency to think and act politically in particular ways. (Dawson P Dawson1977 p118). We had observed that parental influence to be stronger in transmission of party loyalty than in the transmission of logically congruent areas of ideology. Finally, the studies show that small portions of children still deviate from the views of their parents but nevertheless most children still consider their parent political idea. (Herbert H Hyman1969, p75).
Conclusion, family was singly the most important agent in political learning, It was as paramount institution through which political information and outlooks were transmitted from one generation to another, and it provided the context in political outlook.