Is Nigeria's Democracy in Shambles?

Is Nigeria's Democracy in shambles?

Democracy as practised among the Greeks in form of direct representation has come a long way. However, the advent of the state, population expansion and the evolving capitalist industrial revolution all paved the way for territorial advancement which in the long run gave birth to the current indirect representative form of democracy as practised among some countries around the world.

Although democracy as a concept has defied a universal conceptualization. This is because democracy is what countries make out of it. Abraham Lincoln once remarked that it is the government of the people, for the people and by the people. Others see it as a political situation in which the majority rules while at the same time protecting minority interests. These conceptual views about democracy are ironic when compared to the practicability of democracy in Nigeria's nascent democratic dispensation.

The Nigerian version of democracy is highly characterized by power-grabbing, promoting and preserving elites' interests to the detriment of the betterment of the masses. Democracy to the Nigerian leaders entails the government of the few wealthy and old folks, for the old and by the old, geared towards promoting the elitist rule while securing the interest of the elites as against majority rule while protecting minority interest.

The above democratic configuration and continuous application in Nigeria account for the retrogressive nature of the state in all ramifications. Chinua Achebe's famous thesis which centred around the lack of accountable and responsible leaders in Nigeria remains one of the greatest challenges facing the Nigerian state.

Freedom House has continuously ranked Nigeria to be among states that are partially free when it comes to upholding and preserving the pillars of democracy 😱😱😱😱😱. I know you must be surprised to hear the word pillars of democracy. Yes, no house can stand without solid pillars the same thing goes with democracy.

Pillars of democracy are those ethos, principles and rules guiding the effective and efficient application of democracy in action. They constitute actions and inactions that we can see, feel and perceive in order to be convinced that indeed democracy is in action and not in documents only.

Pillars of democracy includes the rule of law, principles of separation of powers, checks and balances, press freedom, periodic free, fair and credible election, fundamental human rights, and independence of the judiciary among others.  From the foregoing, it is obvious that Nigeria is lagging behind in preserving and protecting these pillars of democracy from constant abuse and misuse.

I still remain your Virtual Political Science/Government Tutor, Peer Reviewer, and  Academic and ResearchAssistant.

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