This book addresses various issues that have arisen in the practice of democracy in Nigeria since 1999, focusing on the Obasanjo years (1999-2007). Nigeria's return to democratic rule has been marked by developments such as the implementation of reforms to address perceived economic problems and corruption. The introduction of democracy in the country has also witnessed many challenges, including the difficult relationship between some political chief executives and their deputies; intriguing intergovernmental relations; the rise and resurgence of sub-national groups that pose serious threat to the hegemony of the state; precarious inter-ethnic/inter-sectional relations; attempts to perpetuate the tenure of chief executives through constitutional amendments; and developments in electoral politics and conflicts. The book provides incisive analysis into these issues.
Elections and Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic is a book about Nigerian politics, governance and democracy. It at once encompasses Nigeria’s post-colonial character, its political economy, party formation since independence, the role of Electoral Commissions, as well as, indepth analyses of the 1999, 2003 and 2007 general elections that involved extensive fieldwork. It also presents aspects of the 2011 and 2015 general elections, while discussing the state of democratic consolidation, and lessons learned for achieving good governance in the country. It is indeed, a must read for students of politics, academics, politicians, statesmen and policy makers, and in fact, stakeholders in the Nigerian democracy project. The book stands out as a well-researched and rich documentary material about elections in Nigeria, and the efforts so far made in growing democracy.
This volume provides ways to tackle the political, economic, and social dilemmas in Nigeria's Fourth Republic to promote national cohesion, political stability, and peaceful coexistence.
Elections have been central to regime collapse in Nigeria because they neither passed the test of citizens' acceptability nor electoral neutrality. They always pushed the country to a dangerous brink which she has often survived after serious constitutional and political bruises. The general election of 1964 rocked the delicate balance of the country resulting in the military coup of January 15, 1966 and a thirty month civil war. The subsequent effort of the military at restructuring the country did not go far enough to win the civic confidence of the people. The military availed itself of another opportunity of tinkering with the system in 1993. However, it demonstrated that it was not immune to civic dishonesty when it annulled the widely acclaimed free and fair presidential election in June 12, 1993. By fits and starts, Nigeria held another election in 1999 which was tolerated only because of citizens' fatigue of military rule. The elections of 2003 and 2007 were classic examples of make-belief democracy. The feeding of inequity and, if you will, domination, persisted. A combination of fortune, trickery and arm twisting produced a power shift in favour of Dr. Goodluck Ebele Azikwe Jonathan in April 2011. The subsequent attempt by the north to create a strategic consensus did not save it from being pushed into fringe politics forcing some of its spokespersons to vow that they will make governance impossible. The election was better than the worst but much still remains to be done.
The year 1999 was a watershed in the history of Nigeria as it witnessed the peaceful transfer of power from the military to the political class. Given Nigerias tumultuous history of successive military interventions, this development was the first genuine transition that saw the military elite transferring political power to civilians without itching to stage a comeback. This edited volume, composed of 22 chapters discusses the form, trajectory and substance of democratic governance in post-military Nigeria between 1999 and 2014. It is a compilation of well researched essays and narratives on Nigerian government and politics. The book is a multi-disciplinary assessment of Nigerias democratic strides, including contributions from scholars in a broad range of disciplines such as history, sociology and anthropology, political science, economics, international relations, among others. The book examines the factors responsible for the resilience of the current democratic governance structures, in spite of centripetal and centrifugal forces frustrating democratic consolidation in the country. It equally interrogates these factors and makes appropriate recommendations for overcoming them. Key themes covered in the book in the Boko Haram insurgency, governance and corruption, militancy, sharia law, Islamic banking amongst others. It sheds light on contending issues affecting, afflicting and retarding the countrys progress. Issues like ethnicity, electoral corruption, human rights abuses, privatization of national assets, kidnapping and armed robbery, overbearing leadership personality and many more are critically discussed. Local government autonomy and the challenges of grassroots development and civil service administration are also thoroughly analysed. Democratic Governance and Political Participation in Nigeria 1999-2014 is a detailed, exhaustive, deep, stimulating and captivating narrative of the Nigerian situation. It is enthusiastically recommended for those who wish to know more about contemporary Nigerian history. As a collection of contemporary issues on the Nigerian government and politics, the book is recommended for courses in politics and governance in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. It is an invaluable companion for both graduate and undergraduate students as well as scholars of African politics.
Examines Nigeria's challenges with consolidating democracy and the crisis of governance arising from structural errors of the state and the fundamental contradictions of the society in Nigeria's Fourth Republic reflect a wider crisis of democracy globally. 'Today we are taking a decisive step on the path of democracy, ' the newly sworn-in President Olusegun Obasanjo told Nigerians on 27 May 1999. 'We will leave no stone unturned to ensure sustenance of democracy, because it is good for us, it is good for Africa, and it is good for the world.' Nigeria's Fourth Republic has survived longer than any of the previous three Republics, the most durable Republic in Nigeria's more than six decades of independence. At the same time, however, the country has witnessed sustained periods of violence, including violent clashes over the imposition of Sharia'h laws, insurgency in the Niger Delta, inter-ethnic clashes, and the Boko Haram insurgency. Despite these tensions of, and anxieties about, democratic viability and stability in Nigeria, has democratic rule come to stay in Africa's most populous country? Are the overall conditions of Nigerian politics, economy and socio-cultural dynamics now permanently amenable to uninterrupted democratic rule? Have all the social forces which, in the past, pressed Nigeria towards military intervention and autocratic rule resolved themselves in favour of unbroken representative government? If so, what are the factors and forces that produced this compromise and how can Nigeria's shallow democracy be sustained, deepened and strengthened? This book attempts to address these questions by exploring the various dimensions of Nigeria's Fourth Republic in a bid to understand the tensions and stresses of democratic rule in a deeply divided major African state. The contributors engage in comparative analysis of the political, economic, social challenges that Nigeria has faced in the more than two decades of the Fourth Republic and the ways in which these were resolved - or left unresolved - in a bid to ensure the survival of democratic rule. This key book that examines both the quality of Nigeria's democratic state and its international relations, and issues such as human rights and the peace infrastructure, will be invaluable in increasing our understanding of contemporary democratic experiences in the neo-liberal era in Africa.
A collection of essays, commissioned to honour one of Nigeria's and Africa's most outstanding political scientists of his generation, brings together twenty six contri-butions from scholars of all generations, who all have connections with the University of Ibadan. These include: Wale Adebanwi, Adigun Agbaje, LaRay Denzer, L. Adele Jinadu, Richard Sklar, Rotimi Suberu and Adebayo Williams. The essays are organised into four sections; the structure, history, processes and dynamics of Nigeria's federal system, governance issues, the formulations and transformations of identity politics and global contexts of the production and reproductions of the Nigerian state and society.
This book examines how modern Nigerian political institutions have grappled with the resurgence of traditional institutions of political leadership in the post-colonial era. The contributors examine the role and nature of traditional governance institutions in West Africa from pre-colonial times to the post-colonial era. Part I considers a range of traditional institutions including monarchies, Islamic institutions and the role of culture and arts such as masking and music in traditional leadership. Part II focuses on modern governance institutions, elites, political action, arts, and democracy in post-colonial Nigeria. Part III examines democratic institutions and processes in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, covering issues such as electoral reforms, women’s political participation, and democratic citizenship. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of African politics, governance, and democratization.
This book argues that the structure of the policy-making process in Nigeria explains variations in government performance better than other commonly cited factors.
