The lessons of exemplary models for democratic governance sanghan choi. This is so because the judiciary is the only organ that deals with the administration and dispensation of justice in any democratic nation. Testing democracy political violence in nigeria hrw. Download fulltext pdf download fulltext pdf the impact of military rule on democracy in nigeria article pdf available december 2012 with 50,890 reads. The population pyramids illustrate the age and sex structure of chinas and nigeria s populations.
Some cornerstones of these issues are freedom of assembly and speech, inclusiveness and equality, membership. Abstract community oriented policing is a proactive philosophy that promotes solving problems that are either. The third wave of democracy meant a global diffusion of democratic norms and ideas in hitherto authoritarian states. The role of parliament in promoting good governance 3 executive summary in the 21st century, there is growing interest more than ever before in issues related to democracy and good governance around the world. He forms and lives in a society with his fellow men and he wants to rule and be ruled. In true democracy, political connections and nepotism would not count and all people have the same chance to be judged fairly. Mudiare department of sociology ahmadu bello university zaria, nigeria.
Man, according to aristotle, is by nature a political animal. This is what darl 1989 describes as ovirtual democracy o, democracy that shares resemblance with true democracy but lacks basic tenets of democracy. The idea that every single person should be treated equally before the law is a very noble one. Thomas chukwuma ijere democracy and development in nigeria.
In this paper i make instead a limited observation of africas democratic process by focusing on the role of the media as a way of taking the body temperature of africas democracy in the 1990s. Some of the issues that will be discussed in this article are the concept of rule of law, democracy and development, shortcomings of democracy and development in nigeria. This unsavory scenario has snowballed in the lamentable decline in the roles of civil society in contemporary democratic governance in nigeria. Since 1999 when civil politics was restored to nigeria, discourse on the appropriate electoral system for the country has been put firmly on the national democratic agenda. Nigeria s democratic setbacks may not yet entitle us to reject democracy altogether or to be receptive to military rule. Military and politics in nigeria the group of army officers involved in the military take over of janua ry 15, 1966, consisted of mostly southeastern igbo officers including major chukuma kaduna. Munshis work was created in order to revive good governance. This is after a period of military rule in the past. Though it is obvious that the country still have many hurdles to scale through, nigerians at large are envisaging a bright and prosperous future with better economy, improved standard of living, and security. Judiciary and democracy, issues in contemporary nigerian society aver, tyavwase theophilus department of sociology, kwararafa university wukari, pmb 1019 wukari, taraba state, nigeria orban, wanger justin department of political science federal university wukari, taraba state, nigeria abstract. Democracy and the performance of the nigerian economy aminu umaru lecturer department of economics school of management and information technology modibbo adama university of technology yola, adamawa state nigeria gbenga adeyemi lecturer department of social science economics college of social and management sciences. Nigerias present democratization, which culminated in the countrys fourth republic on may 29, 1999, started amidst great hope and expectations. By doing so, the king acknowledged he was bound by law, like others, and granted his subjects legal rights. Democracy, political participation and good governance in nigeria.
The chapters on globalization, environment, human rights, quest for peace, masculinity, conflict resolution, and a few others are written from the. Platos criticisms of democracy in the republic volume 24 issue 2 gerasimos santas skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Conflicttriggered by political competition and communal, ethnic, religious or resource allocation rivalriesposes a major threat to democracy. Review of the 1999 constitution, nigerian democracy 1. It must therefore be sustained to evolve and ensure sustainable development. Pdf the impact of military rule on democracy in nigeria. The results of the study may contribute to a wider understanding of challenges in the area of development policies. Political violence poses a serious threat to the legitimacy of the state and federal elections that will take place in nigeria from april 12 to may 3, 2003. Democracy, good govemance, development, nigerian state, human rights. In democracy, all citizens are equal before the law. Within the nigerian context, the article posits that as presently constituted, the nigerian mass media cannot fulfil the mandate of this westerninspired theory. They assume erroneously that democracy is its own justification that simply being baptised with the moniker of democracy is sufficient. Democracy has been generally acclaimed as the best protector of human rights amongst all forms of government. Problems and prospects of democracy in nigeria infoguideng.
Until june 6, 2018, it was held annually on may 29. These leaders have the right to appoint whom they wish to political institutions, the judiciary and public services. Olu awofeso, phd department of political science,obafemi awolowo university, ileife, nigeria abstract. Ethnoreligious conflicts and the dilemma of democratic. Thus, there is constant need to preface any discourse involving these concepts by a definition keyed in a chosen context. Criticism and the growth of democracy in nigeria 2 criticism and the growth of democracy in nigeria 2. The nascent democracy in nigeria is plagued with myriad of intrigues. The crisis of democracy in nigeria journal of psychology. Another marker of african style democracy is that the leader is all powerful and cannot be questioned or challenged. This is a reflectionof the increasing acceptance of the fact. Democracy and the future of the nigerian state daniel eseme.
Since then, the nature of the democratic project has been the subject of debate in various circles. Democracy and the performance of the nigerian economy. In simple terms, the objective of the paper is to identify and discuss the challenges to democracy and good governance in the country and proffer suggestions for a better democratic nigeria. Democratic breakthroughs in the balance results for 2012.
Despite obasanjos efforts, nigeria was still beset by a variety of problems. But a political system crippled by corruption and dogged by ethnic tensions threatens to. An appraisal of mass media role in consolidating democracy. Meaning of democracy democracy may be defined as a system of government in which the exercise of political power and authority is vested in the people through their elected representatives. Political culture, democracy and development in nigeria.
Post democracy has become a standard term in contemporary political theory see crouch 2004 and prominent global authors do not shy away from presenting. Many government institutions do not adequately engage with citizens or the private sector and lack the capacity to. An additional source of good governance criticism is the intelligent persons guide to good governance, written by surendra munshi. Obasanjo saw debt relief as essential to the relief of hunger and the future of democracy in nigeria and the rest of africa. Though, it remains the overarching explanation of framework, its inadequacies became more glaring if we consider the sociohistorical context of journalism practice in nigeria. Nigeria freedom of information act 2011 and its implication for records and office security management ayuba a.
Key words, democracy, politics, dissent, mass media, democratization process. Criticism and the growth of democracy in nigeria 2. When one reflects about nigerias democracy one cannot but wonder what is responsible for the. Democracy is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament. Corruption, democracy, and insecurity in nigeria africaplus. Home columns sunday perspectives criticism and the growth of democracy in nigeria 2 criticism and the growth of democracy in nigeria 2. Finally, the paper would proffer possible solutions and make necessary recommendations that would help deepen true democratic culture in nigeria. Introduction may 29, 1999 marked a watershed in nigeria s political annals. The media, development communication, and governance in. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative means of data collection.
Idris ahmed jamo department of public administration, ahmadu bello university zaria abstract nigeria is the fourth world largest democracy with a population of over 160 million and world sixth largest oil supplier and blessed with economic potentials, but majority of the nigerian. Nigerias creaky political system council on foreign relations. It also identifies particular criticisms of democracy in the parliamentary and presidential systems of government. The number of countries designated by freedom in the world as free in 2012 stood at 90, representing 46 percent of the worlds 195 polities and 3,046,158,000 people43.
Nigeria in the last decade has been characterized by crisis of ethnic and religious dimensions. Criticism of capitalism comes from various political and philosophical approaches, including anarchist, socialist, religious and nationalist viewpoints. The nature of the nigerian state seems to be not only responsible for the regrettably deepening ethnoreligious crisis that have become endemic, pervasive and unfortunate, but also is increasingly proving incapable of evolving credible and competent strategies that should address this ugly. Nigeria s present democratization, which culminated in the countrys fourth republic on may 29, 1999, started amidst great hope and expectations. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Criticism of capitalism ranges from expressing disagreement with the principles of capitalism in its entirety to expressing disagreement with particular outcomes of capitalism. With the promises which democracy seemed to hold for the people of nigeria, the system was, popularly embraced and from 1999 till date, there have been hopes of a better nigeria. In nigeria today, there is a seeming danger in our democracy as the will of the people is always manipulated in favour of few select comprador bourgeois class. Alessandro ferrara time and again, today, the word democracy is heard in association with the word crisis. Democratizing nigeria polity through poppers critical philosophy. The purpose of this paper is to attempt a critical appraisal of the pace, practise, pattern, priorities, problems and. Democracy, good governance, corruption, human rights, electoral reform. It was the dawn of the fourth republic, a return to. Nigeria has made progress since its return to democracy in 1999. Poll mechanisms also come under unparalleled scrutiny and criticism in this study. The role of parliament in promoting good governance.
As a part of a forum series on democracy and insecurity in africa, professor wale adebanwi made a presentation on march 7, 2017 on african labyrinths. In 1215, english nobles pressured king john of england to sign a document known as the magna carta, a key step on the road to constitutional democracy. Introduction i democracy social concepts such as democracy are characteristically fluid. The role of various actors in their endeavors to promote democratic change will also be discussed. On october 1 nigeria added to its list of vital statistics a new status as the worlds fourth largest democracy. See the problems and prospects of democracy in nigeria. The paper discovers that the dynamics inherent in the nigeria state and its brand of democracy tends to stymied, and inhibit the growth and effective functioning of civil society. Over years, nigeria has been wallowing in the coffin of poverty, underdevelopment, unemployment, power instability, securities menace, and political hullabaloos, all this has been a problem combating a nation that was once giant of africa, democracy in nigeria. For the sake of this paper however, we are concerned with liberal democracy otherwise known as representative democracy and how it is aided or impeded by ethnic politics in nigeria. Judiciary, democracy, contemporary nigerian society introduction the judiciary is the foundation upon which democracy grows and develops.
The general objective of the paper therefore is to examine the relationships among political culture, democracy and development in contemporary nigeria. We suggest that you spend approximately 40 minutes 20 minutes each on questions 7 and 8. He is the noted author of several books on this topic. It is also the worlds eighth largest producer of crude oil and has been the united states second largest supplier for six. This the media did through their critical criticism of the military juntas, mobilization of the citizens to participate in entrenching democratic values, exposing cases of corruption, and making public officers accountable to the people. Who people are and how authority is shared among them are core issues for democratic theory, development and constitution. Democracy and electoral process in nigeria politics essay. Herskovits 1979, nigeria rejected britains parliamentary form of democracy which they had continued after independence in 1960 and chose the first wholly nigerianmade constitution, to follow the american model instead. An examination of two determining factors temidayo. Regime character, electoral crisis, and prospects of electoral reform in nigeria adekunle animashaun. As a result, the federal character principle is criticized as being ineffective. A study of some selected local government areas in ondo state, nigeria.
While it remains true that nigeria is governed by democratically elected leaders at the federal and state levels, nigeria is yet to institutionalise democracy after a century of existence as a political entity. Democracy in nigeria problems and prospects information. In an african democracy, if you win an election and become president, the government and its property become yours. It confers undue advantages and improperly alters available choice to electorates. Foreign assistance congressional research service r44858 version 5 updated 2 congress has used a similar if somewhat more detailed definition in annual appropriations legislation, in which it frequently includes directives related to democracy assistance. The judiciary has come under a severe criticism in. In a democracy, government is only one thread in the social fabric of many and varied public and private institutions, legal forums, political parties, organizations, characteristics of democracy an educated citizenry is the best guarantee for a thriving democracy. The paper adopted content analysis approach to source its data and concluded that democracy is an ingredient of development. However, how democracy has driven the much needed development. The new civil war broke in 1967 and lasted til 1970. Presently in nigeria, democracy is been celebrated yearly on may 29 th.
And that nigerians, dispossessed they may be, will be satisfied with a political concept that, as currently practiced in nigeria, stands empty of its substantive content. We reiterate that democracy and development cohabit and inactivity of the former destroys the later. Ethnic politics and its implications for the survival of. A critical inquiry ozoigbo, bonaventure ikechukwu directorate of general studies, federal university of technology, owerri. It was a bold effort for one who had no special training in government, or in the study of political economy, but he had the example of lafayette in establishing the military foundation of these liberties, and of. Democracy is distinguished from laissezfaire, however, by the fact that a democratic leader is. Democracy day marks the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999, marking the beginning of the longest continuous civilian rule since nigeria s independence from colonial rule in 1960. Many individuals tend to either wave away and be bored with the idea of. Criticism of democracy is grounded in democracy s purpose, process and outcomes.
The paper highlights the principles of islam and that of democracy and argues that both are incompatible in a multireligious country like nigeria. Since classical antiquity and through the modern era, democracy has been associated with rule of the people, rule of the majority, and free selection or election either through direct participation or elected representation respectively, but has not been linked to a particular outcome. An appraisal of mass media role in consolidating democracy in. Nigeria 3 country reports on human rights practices for 2019 united states department of state bureau of democracy, human rights and labor as of september there were no reports of the federal government further. This paper is a contribution to the debate on democratization and development in nigeria. After independence in 1960, that year nigerians became the citizens of the 4th biggest democratic country in the word nigeria experienced its first military coup in 1966. The imf and the world bank in africa conditionality, impact and alternatives edited by seminar proceedings no 18. Democracy in nigeria has three unique features which include. In africa and nigeria in particular, the last one and half decade have been most commendable as we have witnessed the consolidation of democracy.
It is argued that democracy cannot engender good governance in a state where it is yet to. There are roadblocks to a strong democracy in nigeria at all levels of government. History of democracy in nigeria and when did nigeria. Malgwi2, bulama kagu3 and ibrahim danjuma4 1 department of business management, university of maiduguri nigeria 2 bursary department, university of maiduguri, 3department of education, university of maiduguri, 4faculty of management and human resource. In nigeria, the 1999 constitution as amended of the federal republic of nigeria specified in section 225 16 conditions and scrutiny of the sources of funds and expenses of political parties. Abstract this paper examined the extent to which the citizens are involved in political activities. Democracy day is june 12, a national public bank holiday in nigeria.