CHAPTER ONE
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1.1. Introduction
Ethnicity and religion are two phenomenon that can hardly be divorced from a human being, while Ethnicity gives humans the sense of belonging to a group which fosters solidarity and unity, Religion plays a vital role in human lives by connecting them to the spiritual and giving them hope of a better life on earth and after death (Conroy, 2013). The two phenomenon are important in a human being as there is hardly an individual that doesn't belong to an ethnic group or practices one form of religion.
The two phenomenon though important can be very dangerous when taken to the extreme and brought to public life especially politics.  Politics is an activity that brings people together to relate with one another and provide solutions to problems affecting their society, when Ethnicity and Religion is brought into politics it leads to division based on sentimental feelings and cleavages.  As Horowitz (2013) explains that ethnicity and religion are non-evaluative variables and are ascriptive, more segmented, pilloried and rigid.
 Ethno/religious tendency has hindered the development of national parties, national identities and democratic culture.  This is because ethnic and religious groups while competing for political positions could easily manipulate them for compromise and bargain which could easily invoke ethnic-focused conflict with dire consequences for democratic stability and national survival (Branton, 2013).
In Nigeria, ethnic and religious politics, sentiments and cleavages had been nurtured since colonial era with new trends and dimensions taking place in the contemporary era (Nwachukwu, 2014). Political parties and candidates are easily perceived as representatives of a particular ethnic or religious group and voting pattern in Nigeria largely mirrors the various cleavages in the country – North-South, Christian-Muslim, among others.
 The dominant role of ethnicity in Nigerian democratic and partisan politics and the struggle for political power has been reflected through the results of previous elections from the First Republic to the recently concluded 2015 general elections. The first ever elections held in Nigeria (1959 General elections) was characterized by political parties which were mainly offshoots of ethnic and religious identities.
In the North there was the North Peoples Congress (NPC) which emerged from the Northern Group Jamia mutani arewa arewa organzation, in the   South there was the Action Group (AG) which emerged from the Yoruba Group Agbe Omo Oduduwa and finally in the East was The National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroon (NCNC) which was an ethnic group for the Igbos.  The three political parties failed to bring about unity and adopt a national coloration principle instead they leveraged on ethnic and religious factors to score political votes and win followers (Olukoshi, 2013).
 Thus, ethno-regional cleavages have continued to remain a major determinant of electoral outcome and related political issues with attendant implications for democratisation and nation building in Nigeria. The study of ethno-regional cleavages and voting behaviour in the 2015 general elections is significant, not just for analyzing political participation, but also for its potential consequences for democratization and nation building.  It is based on the above that this research intends to examine the impacts of Ethno-religious sentiments on voting patterns in Nigeria, a case study of the 2015 General elections.