Threats and challenges to Nigeria's nascent democracy

Terry Andrews Odisu

• Publisher: GRIN Verlag
• Edition: 1
• Year: 2016
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Diplomacy & Treaties
• eBook ISBN:
  9783668252721
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The paper looks at some of the problems negating the democratization efforts in Nigeria. Using the descriptive method of data gathering, the paper identifies Corruption, Partisan umpire and security agencies, Electoral Violence and Malpractices, Poverty, High cost of governance/Jumbo pay for public officers, etc as the threats and challenges facing the nascent democracy. It is recommended that citizenship education be made a compulsory subject in all the schools as well as strengthening the National Orientation Agency to change the avaricious attitude of Nigerians. Across the globe, many countries want to be seen as being democratic. It is a political arrangement that builds or consolidates an egalitarian society with the full participation of all the adult citizens in a free and fair periodic election, with at least two political parties. This has been seamlessly achieved in civilized climes like the USA, UK, France and even Ghana of yesterday. There are several impediments to this noble concept in Nigeria, hence many political analysts are of the view that some countries in Africa are practicing civilian rule which is far away from democracy. Poverty is one of them. A hungry person can mortgage his or her future for a token commonly referred to as stomach infrastructure to do what is inimical to democracy. Some staff of the electoral umpire can declare a loser of an election as a winner after receiving gratification. Security agencies who are supposed to maintain law and order during elections are now ominously partisan. The jumbo pay for the executive and the legislature in Nigeria has dwarfed the benefits of democracy. Poor justice delivery due to compromise on the part of judges leads to the rule of men rather than the rule of law. There can never be democracy without the rule of law. Electoral violence in some African States, because of the desire to have an undue share of the national cake is a serious impediment to democracy. Claude Ake (1996) wondered if the region was democratizing. He noted that politicians are "like mafias, waging a violent struggle for a lucrative turf''.