A major argument against the First Republic parties is

1. Analyze the question The question asks about the main criticism of political parties in Nigeria's First Republic (1960-1966). The major parties were the Northern People's Congress (NPC), the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) and the Action Group (AG).

2. Explain the concept Nigerian parties in the First Republic did not begin as national movements. They grew out of ethnic and regional cultural groups:

• NPC grew from Jam'iyyar Mutanen Arewa and was dominated by the Hausa-Fulani of the North.
• AG grew from Egbe Omo Oduduwa and was dominated by the Yoruba of the West.
• NCNC was more national in outlook but was dominated by the Igbo of the East.

Because of this, the parties campaigned on ethnic and regional loyalty rather than on national programmes. This is the most commonly cited criticism in Nigerian Government textbooks. It deepened mistrust between regions and contributed to the census crisis, the 1962 Western Region crisis, the disputed 1964 federal election, and eventually the 1966 coup and the civil war.

3. Evaluate the options

• A. Corrupt practices: This did exist, but it was not the defining argument against the parties themselves.
• B. Poor funding: Parties were funded by regional governments and marketing boards, so this was not a major criticism.
• C. Regional sentiment: This is correct. The parties were regionally based and ethnically driven, so they could not build national unity.
• D. Weak ideologies: The parties did have weak ideologies, but this was a result of their regional focus rather than the main argument against them.

4. Answer The correct option is C. regional sentiment.

5. Exam tip Remember the phrase "First Republic parties = regional parties." Whenever a question asks about the weakness of these parties, think of regionalism and ethnicity first. Corruption and weak ideology are secondary points.