Problems of democratic governance in nigeria pdf

I believe i have said enough to emphasize that the major issues and challenges facing governance in nigeria at all levels is largely structural and derive from the military government wanting a. Looking at leadership and good governance as defined above, it will therefore means that fostering positive change for the good of the whole, based on inherently acceptable values as outlined in the characteristics of good governance presents us with the desired leadership for attaining governance that is participatory, accountable, transparent. Problems of democratic transition and consolidation in nigeria. Without good governance, no amount of oil or no amount of aid, no amount of effort can guarantee nigerias success. They have argued that democracy is yet to be fully entrenched in the hearts and minds of politicians and average citizens alike. Nevertheless, the democracy story in nigeria can be traced to the year 1960. The implication of this position is that where good governance is absent, accountability of governmental agencies and development in such a society is likely to be affected negatively. Questions about public policy are partly normative. Request pdf the challenges of democratic governance in nigerias fourth republic this paper examined the nature and dimension of such challenges as.

Without good governance, no amount of oil or no amount of aid, no amount of effort can guarantee nigeria s success. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract. If a strong system of government can be essential to economic development in the african context where democratic culture is flickering, can development be achieved without democracy in presence of the complexity. It was in on the 1 st of october 1960, when nigeria publicly announced her independence from great britain, and it officially became a republic. Abstract after 55 years of political independence, nigeria. Popular precedents, popular practice\ud and popular culture, university or the witwatersrand,\ud johannesburg, july 16. The advent of democratic governance in 1999 was a turning point for democratic governance in nigeria. Problems and prospects of democracy in nigeria infoguideng. There is no more critical variable than governance, for it is governance that determines whether there are durable links between the state and the society it purports to govern. A governance approach highlights issues of state responsiveness and accountability, and the. The lessons of exemplary models for democratic governance sanghan choi florida atlantic university since leadership plays a vital role in democratic movements, understanding the nature of democratic leadership is essential. The challenges of democratic governance in nigerias fourth republic. Nigerias democratic setbacks may not yet entitle us to reject democracy altogether or to be receptive to military rule.

This paper explains some contemporary problems of democrcy in nigeria in the light of nigeria s precolonial and colonial past. Pdf challenges of democratic governance in nigeria. Good democratic governance can therefore be acknowledged as the term that symbolizes the paradigm shift of the role of governments. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. 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. The paper concludes that for democracy to achieve its. The theoretical framework for the study is cultural relativism. The idea that every single person should be treated equally before the law is a very noble one. Challenges in nigerias democratic institutions global journals. Democratic governance and political participation in nigeria 19992014 is a detailed, exhaustive, deep, stimulating and captivating narrative of the nigerian situation.

Nigeria has embraced variants of the philosophy of administration broadly called new public management npm in an effort to improve administrative efficiency and the provision of public services the politicisation of the public service has been a subject of author interest. Political leadership and challenges of national integration. It was in many ways a revival of the second republic, which was in place between 1979 and 1983 and suffers many of the same problems, such as multiple ministries which made policy planning difficult citation needed. However, despite the 16 years of consistent democratic rule in nigeria and with the existence of federal character. The development advisory committee of the organization for economic cooperation and development is on record in support of participatory development, which includes democratization, improved governance, and human rights. Democracy is usually associated with elected officials making policies, which public servants. This paper argues that the problem of development in nigeria is a problem of governance. There are roadblocks to a strong democracy in nigeria at all levels of government.

In africa, as in every region, it is the quality and characteristics of governance that shape the level of peace and stability and the prospects for economic development. Democratic governance in nigeria the late music maestro and activist, fela, criticized democracy in his 1986 album, teacher, dont teach me nonsense, when he. Nelson mandela nigeria is africas most populous country with an estimated population of about 150 million and a land mass of 923,768 square. The country is beset with excessive corruption, acute unemployment, poverty, ethnoreligious conflicts and lack of infrastructural facilities. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa afegbua, salami issa department of public administration, faculty of management sciences, lagos state university, ojo, lagos state, nigeria adejuwon, kehinde david department of public administration, faculty of management sciences, lagos state university. The beacon, a journal of the tai solarin college of. 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. However, the definition of democratic leadership is unclear gastil, 1994. Conflicttriggered by political competition and communal, ethnic, religious or resource allocation rivalriesposes a major threat to democracy. While it remains true that nigeria is governed by democratically elected. Democratic governance in the first republic was largely plagued. Challenges facing democracy in nigeria and solutions.

Norad was requested to undertake the study by the norwegian embassy in nigeria. The study makes recommendations for norways strategic approach to governance in nigeria based on a political economy analysis. Challenges of democratic governance in nigeria 1 the sun. Democratic governance before the nigerian fourth republic the character of the state and its politics is core to understanding the performance of the political leadership and democratic governance in nigeria. Therefore, the quest for good leadership is a sinequanon for governance and sustainable development. Practice, problems and prospects adeyinka theresa ajayi1 and emmanuel oladipo ojo2 1. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract the purpose of this paper is to attempt a critical appraisal of the pace, practise, pattern, priorities, problems and prospects of nigerian democracy. With the analysis of secondary data, the paper examines the challenges of good governance, accountability of governmental agencies and development in nigeria. Causes and remedy money wont create success, the freedom to make it will. The effect of corruption in south africa has seriously constrained development of the national economy and has significantly inhibited good governance in the country. A qualitative research method of gathering data through secondary source was adopted.

In nigeria, the primary goal of assuming leadership. The fourth republic is the current republican government of nigeria. It identified the problems that have militated against nigerias democratic sustainability in the past to include lack of proper democratic institutions. A reflection on the above calls to question certain issues that stands as challenges to democratic governance in nigeria. The challenges of infrastructure development in democratic governance fig working week 2012 knowing to manage the territory, protect the environment, evaluate the cultural heritage rome, italy, 610 may 2012 the challenges of infrastructure development in democratic governance olufemi adedamola oyedele, nigeria. Leadership and the challenges of good governance in nigeria. The fourth republic evolved in 1999 in nigeria and since its inception manifest inadequate good governance while, lack of political accountability and systemic corruption are its hallmark and pose greater challenges to democratic consolidation and governance in nigeria more than any other factors. Were the colonial masters truely democrats when they introduced western democracy.

See the problems and prospects of democracy in nigeria. Freedom houses ratings see a pattern of decline since 2005 and note that 10 out of 25 countries worldwide with declining ratings are in africa. In democracy, all citizens are equal before the law. Request pdf problems of democratic governance in nigeria. It identified the problems that have militated against nigeria s democratic sustainability in the past to include lack of proper democratic institutions. Nigeria, having gone through 18 years of uninterrupted. In this light, the paper concludes that for there to be significant improvement in the democratic processes, amongst others, nigerian political. The media, development communication, and governance in. However, the new governance raises specific problems for our democratic practices.

Leadership challenges, corruption, lack of transparency, constitutional and electoral reforms, rising civil strife, poverty, unemployment, godfatherism, lack. The way forward this paper looks at the problems of democratic governance in nigeria and. With the analysis of secondary data, the paper examines democracy, democratic institutions and good governance in nigeria. Against this broad picture, what is striking is the more recent downward trend in democratic governance in africa and the relative position of african governance when viewed on a global basis. This paper looks at the problems of democratic governance in nigeria and the manners these problems which constitute fundamental challenges to the nigerian fledging democracy can be surmounted.

Civil society, democratic governance and development in. The political sytems of the precolonial kingdoms is considered and how democratic they were. Abstractthis paper looks at the problems of democratic governance in nigeria and the manners these problems which constitute fundamental challenges to the. These are all demanding problems that need concerted action. Prior to talking about the challenges facing democracy in nigeria and solutions to them, let us take a quick look into the postcolonial democratic history of nigeria. Policy processes should ideally reflect the values of the citizenry. The paper examined the changes in public sector reforms in nigeria over the last several decades. Challenges of democratic governance in nigeria 1 the. Paper prepared for presentation at the triennial history\ud workshop on democracy. The challenges of good governance, accountability of governmental agencies and development in nigeria article pdf available february 2014 with 10,426 reads how we measure reads. Political leadership and corruption in nigeria since 1960.

Leadership challenges, corruption, lack of transparency, constitutional and electoral reforms, rising civil strife. The challenges of infrastructure development in democratic. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa. The paper concluded that until and unless nigerian leaders see accountability to the citizens as an important factor in the governance of the nation, nigeria will. One of the most daunting problems which have stunted the growth of nigeria democratically and advance its stability is the lack of adherence to ethos, rule of law and constitutionality. Based on the above, it is concluded that the present democratic process in nigeria is yet to produce good governance. But with good governance, nothing can stop nigeria. Over the past two decades, subsaharan simply africa has been partly transformed by the winds of democratic change diamond, 2010, sequel to the collapse of soviet unions in the 20th century.

In true democracy, political connections and nepotism would not count and all people have the same chance to be judged fairly. Nigerias democratic process can be described as nascent when compared to other countries based on our achievements on the key features of democracy. Democracy, good governance and development in nigeria. Problems of democratic governance in nigeria semantic scholar. South africas complex political design is a contributing factor to the rise of corruption, which has adversely affected stability and trust and which has damaged the ethos of democratic values and principles. Assessing democratic governance in the nigerian fourth. The paper concludes that for nigeria to experience sustainable socioeconomic.

But democratic structures and processes in nigeria s. Pdf the challenges of good governance, accountability of. Justine department of public administration, faculty of management sciences nnamdi azikiwe university, p. Many government institutions do not adequately engage with citizens or the private sector and lack the capacity to. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria 2. Civil society, democratic governance and development in nigeria, 19992012 daniel eseme gberevbie abstract it has been argued by scholars that no nation can fully achieve its development potentials without democratic governance as engendered and supported by vibrant civil society. Since 1999 it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. Nelson mandela nigeria is africas most populous country with an estimated population of about 150 million and a land mass of 923,768 square kilometers which is more than twice the. Even though nigeria has experienced about sixteen years of uninterrupted democracy practice there are various challenges confronting democratic practice, consolidation and good governance in nigeria. The human problem itself finds expression in the many development challenges that have made it increasingly difficult for individual and group selfactualization.

Again, to refer to president obamas speech, what africa needs is not more strong men, it needs more strong democratic institutions that will stand the test of time. But we are at a crossroads, and if we continue with this charade, a nigerlike scenario of democratic disillusionment may be in the horizon. The democratic system in nigeria is riddled with corruption, bribery, human rights abuses, electoral frauds, godfatherism, violence, economic injustice and the rise in ethnic militia movements that tend to make mockery of nigeria claim to democratic governance. Democratic governance and political participation in nigeria. Democracy and governance in africa democratization in. Democratic governance in nigeria the late music maestro and activist, fela, criticized democracy in his 1986 album, teacher, dont teach me nonsense, when he sang, that democracy is a crazy and.

It is enthusiastically recommended for those who wish to know more about contemporary nigerian history. Newfound consensus that emerged in the form of the concepts of democratization or governance was about the minimalist form of liberal democracy, namely. Ethnic minority conflicts and governance in nigeria. History of democracy in nigeria and when did nigeria. Recommendations proffered towards curbing the problems in the paper include. After independence, nigeria has practiced different forms of government until it eventually became a democratic nation.