The State of Politics, Governance and Democracy in Nigeria (original) (raw)

Politics, governance and security: Reflections on the Nigerian State

2013

Elements of Nigerian politics are widely recognized as contributing factors to instability and insecurity, which destroy human societies and impede nation building. At the same time, Governance which is the totality of the processes that constitute a government should serve as the organ that calm the nerves of a people facing instability and insecurity. The history of the Nigerian State shows glaringly the failure of these concepts that factor of insecurity to wit: corruption, assassinations and political vices as power rotation, revenue allocation, state creation, religious/ethnic violence reign supreme. The paper analyses these vices as impediment to state building many years after political independence. It equally holds the political class responsible for state failure so far, giving the spate of violence, insecurity and nauseating feelings of the generality of the citizens.

POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA: MYTHS AND REALITY

Nigerians, having been subjected to different forms of exploitation and misrule, from the mercantilist era to the present era of neoliberalism, appear justified in assessing every form of government including democracy, merely from the point of economic emancipation. Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has undergone repeated cycles of democratic and authoritarian rule, with the military governing for a total of 29 years in the post-colonial era. There was much expression of hope for a 'democracy dividend' that would bring economic revitalization, a restoration of political liberties, inclusion for marginalized groups, and the attenuation of official wrongdoing when democracy returned in 1999. Unfortunately, Nigeria's eighteen-year democracy is yet to significantly fulfill the hope and aspirations of the generality of the citizens. In fact, it seems to have created more anxieties in such areas as security of life and property, electoral violence, and the national economy. It is important to note also that, achieving sustained socioeconomic development will demand solving some of Nigeria's political problems (like fiscal federalism, state police etc) which economists and even politicians pretend have been solved.

Government, Democracy and Dysfunctional Governance in Nigeria

IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2017

This study is a critical analysis of Nigerian democratic experiment and crisis of governance. It is axiomatic to state that Nigeria is naturally endowed with both human and material resources that can trigger off national development and growth but still grope with unbridled failures, weak economy and high debt profile. The main reasons for the undemocratic practice and socio economic stagnation are the leadership crises; bad policies, poor moral and ethical standards, undemocratic selection process (imposition pattern), political corruption which have weakened the system of governance. The study focused to establish how the governors of Nigerian States handled the affairs of the people they govern and reasons for the underdevelopment especially in the rural areas. The study adopted elite and anomic theories considered relevant to this study as theoretical framework of analysis. The study established that; selection and imposition of candidates as our leaders, corruption of the democratic and electoral system by the ruling class have contributed in negating good governance and enthroning callousness among our elected leaders. The implication of the study is that if these ugly trends among our leaders are not checked especially at the state level, it could lead to lawlessness, mass poverty and sacrifice of moral rectitude at the altar of hooliganisms among the people. Recommendations were made that the government should be more sensitive to the plight of her citizens, by way of creating employment opportunities for the teaming unemployed youths, sustaining the payment of worker's salaries and provision of social amenities that will bring about improved living condition of the people.

A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE NIGERIAN STATE, AND CRISIS OF GOVERNANCE

A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE NIGERIA STATE, AND CRISIS OF GOVERNANCE

This study examined the Nigerian State and crisis of governance. This study was guided by the following objectives; to examine factors responsible for governance crisis in Nigeria, to assess how effective are Nigeria political elites in addressing the major crisis of governance, to investigate the roles performed by Nigeria leaders in curbing and to make recommendation for the way out of major crisis of governance in Nigeria. The study reemployed thematic analysis and historical design; in order to collect the necessary data. Secondary sources were used to collect the relevance data for this study, based on the findings from the study, the effort of Nigeria government to foster development in the country was found difficult due to the incessant spread of crisis in the country which includes: Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping, Farmer-Herdsmen crisis, Niger Delta crisis, corruption among the political leaders and the relationship between the political leaders and the citizens.

Democracy and National Development in Nigeria

Journal of Philosophy and Religion (IISTE) Vol.12 , 2015

This paper is a critical analysis of democratic practice in Nigeria. It identifies the disconnection between the electorates and the elected leaders as the major cause for the non-realization of the values of democracy in Nigeria. This disconnection results from the wrong interpretation of the concept of politics in the contemporary Nigerian society, which has also paved way for the wrong interpretation and practice of democracy as a political ideology. The paper argues that politics in the contemporary Nigeria is interpreted in the Machiavellian way thereby making politics not to achieve its true essence. For democracy to realize its values, the paper argues for the traditional conception of politics where the pursuit of public interest and social order is considered paramount to political practice.

The Crisis of Democracy in Nigeria: An Examination of Two Determining Factors

Journal of Power, Politics & Governance, 2016

When one reflects about Nigeria's democracy one cannot but wonder what is responsible for the inability of democracy to translate into development for the people. Why is democracy in Nigeria encountering so many troubles-insurgencies, corruption, ethnic rivalry, political assassination, among others? How come rather than solving so many social ills, it seems to be aggravating them? These are the major questions that provoked the reflections poured into this paper. Two factors are identified as being responsible for the inability of democracy to engender the promotion of the common good in Nigeria. The first is colonialism. The second is the nature of politics in Nigeria. The colonial contribution, it is argued, is that it shaped Nigeria into a country where, ultimately, politics is devoid of morality. It also made the Nigerian populace to perceive the government of the country as being alien in nature, and one that should be cheated. The nature of politics, as it is, is indicted as not creating an enabling environment for democracy to thrive. In the final analysis, what needs to be done, we conclude, is the re-examination of the principles informing governance and the relationship of the citizens with the state in order to provide a better footing for democracy in Nigeria.

Obstacles to Nigeria Political Development – A Critical Evaluation

Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 2012

Nigeria is one of the fast developing nations of the third world, but has many obstacles to her political development. The military ruled Nigeria between 1966Nigeria between to 1979Nigeria between and 1984Nigeria between to 1999 Military dominance in Nigeria Politics has in no small measure impacted negatively on the political development of Nigeria. Therefore political development of Nigeria has been going at a snail speed not only due to frequent military incursion in government but also due to many other impediments which include ethnicity, incumbency politics, tenure elongation, godfatherism and poor political 32 orientation . The paper which is theoretical and persuasive examined all these factors critically and recommended among other things that National Assembly should pass a law to make elective office a single tenure. The economy of Nigeria should be organized to make it more productive and also to devise a vision of society within which each person can reasonably perceive that equity and social justice are firmly on the national agenda. To eradicate ethnic politics in Nigeria efforts should be made towards equitable distribution of social, political and economic gains of the polity. Finally efforts should be made to enforce the section of the constitution that dwelt on the formation of political parties that are devoid of ethnicity.

Democracy and good governance: Nigerias dilemma

African Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 2010

Despite its enormous resources and huge potentialities, Nigeria remains grossly undeveloped. Consequently, political instability, abject poverty, acute youth unemployment, heightened crime rate, poor health prospects and widespread malnourishment have been the main features of Nigeria's political economy. The development tragedy in Nigeria fits into the trends of political instability for which Africa has become infamous for in the past three decades. This further lends credence to the arguments by some students of African politics that governance is one of the major problems in Africa. This paper argues that the problem of development in Nigeria is a problem of governance; when defined in term of the proper, fair and equitable allocation of resources for the achievement of the end or purposes of the state, which is the promotion of the common good. The paper submits that for good governance to be feasible in Nigeria, sound anti-corruption policies devoid of mere speeches must be put in place. Furthermore, the paper recommends a functional legislature, a viable and independent judiciary, and the attitudinal transformation on the part of the political elite, the absence of which good governance and development will continue to be a mirage.

THE STATE AND THE PROBLEMS OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA

The Nigerian state today is nothing more than a rentier state whose neo-colonial capitalist mode and social relations were not substantially modified by the rapid transfonnation from the production of agricultural commodities (palm oil, rubber, tin, cereals, etc.) to petroleum as the main source of capital accumulation. The unpredictability and volatility of the rentier economy has over the years been the central factor in all regime changes and democratic developments since independence. While in the core developed countries the. state historically evolved some measures of 'relative autonomy' from the economically dominant class and fractions, the state in Nigeria fuses class power and political power together. Thus the ongoing struggle for state power through the process ofdemocracy is simultaneously a struggle for the means of distribution and consumption which only power can confer. This paper therefore examines the structure of the Nigerian state and the attendant constraint it poses for the practice and sustainability of democracy and democratic institutions. The paper sums up the conclusion that the state in Nigeria is anti-thetical to the survival ofdemocracy since the,state has become politicised and instrumentalised into a partisan state that is at once the arena and object ofparticularist conflicts. .

Healthy Politics: An Imperative for Good Governance in Nigeria

Gayyata Designs, 2022

Since the return to democratic governance in Nigeria in 1999, so much has happened in the political space, and all have had significant consequences on the present status of the Nigerian state. Nigeria’s first republic was characterised by ethnic chauvinism, kleptocracy, and sheer nepotism. Political parties of that era were formed based on ethnic affiliations and parochialism, which significantly contributed to the implosion of the polity, birthing the military incursion that eventually plagued the Nigerian State. The second did not provide anything different. Unhealthy political jingoism took centre stage. Prebendal politics, large-scale corruption, and administrative ineptitude was the bane of that era. It again ended in another military coup that ended that republic. The height of unhealthy politics in Nigeria culminated in the aborted third republic in 1993. The military junta of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida annulled what was widely acclaimed as the fairest presidential election in Nigeria. The election that would have put an end to ethnoreligious politics further plunged the country into political darkness and despair. The present republic instituted by the general election of 1999 is not immune to the ills of the previous republics. While significant progress has been made in some areas, the landscape has generally remained dwarfed by unhealthy politics. This chapter assumes that, if genuinely deployed in the country's interest, politics would influence Nigeria's birth and institutionalisation of good governance. Therefore, to validate this position, it is pertinent to examine the concepts of healthy politics and good governance and attempt to establish a relationship between the two.