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. Therefore, no matter the level of difficulties nigeria experience in the process of democratic practiceand god knows nigeria has been through a lotdemocratic governance. Despite the different military governments that governed the nation, and the difficulties experienced by civilian governments, nigerians believe that democratic governance based on election of political leaders is preferable to unelected. Challenges to governance and democratic stability in nigeria i. Challenges facing democracy in nigeria and solutions. The challenges of democratic governance in nigerias fourth republic. 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. Constitutionalism and the challenges of democratic. Constitutionalism and the challenges of democratic governance in nigeria. Corruption and the challenges of good governance in. 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. Abstract after 55 years of political independence, nigeria. Nigeria s democracy is, therefore, at the crossroads pending when a serious effort is made to reengineer the sociopolitical and economic.
Governance also has an important regional dimension relating to the institutional structures and norms that guide a regions approach to challenges and that help shape its political culture. Although, democracy may not be strange to an overwhelming percentage of nigerians. 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. One of the impediment to the democratisation process and the institution of democratic governance on the continent, of which. The paper discusses some of the impediments to the institutionalisation of democracy in nigeria after more. The challenges of leadership and governance in africa. Summary infrastructure development is the basis of measuring the performance of democratic leaders and it is.
Contemporary perspectives from subsaharan africa published by. Challenges of democratic governance and nation building. Click download or read online button to get corruption and the challenges of good governance in nigeria book now. Good governance encourages inclusion in all aspects and bridges the gap between the leaders and the led. The idea that every single person should be treated equally before the law is a very noble one. In true democracy, political connections and nepotism would not count and all people have the same chance to be judged fairly.
International peace institute to collaborate on the publication of this important analytical report on effective governance in challenging environments. 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, ojo, lagos state, nigeria. Prospects and challenges by pastor tunde bakare protocols. Leadership and the challenges of good governance in nigeria. Democracy in nigeria problems and prospects information. The citizenry must be carried along in the various stages of policy planning, decisionmaking and implementation processes. Conflicttriggered by political competition and communal, ethnic, religious or resource allocation rivalriesposes a major threat to democracy.
The study discovered that political leadership has been seriously constrained by corruption, electoral fraud, mismanagement of resources and poor infrastructural development. 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. Nigeriaworld feature article nigeriaworld all about nigeria. The fourth republic is the current republican government of nigeria. In democracy, all citizens are equal before the law. Challenges of democratic governance in nigeria 1 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. Democratic governance has the potential to guarantee the citizens the rights and privileges the citizens desire as a people. The challenges of infrastructure development in democratic governance olufemi adedamola oyedele, nigeria key words. May 31, 2015 despite the fact that nigeria has experienced about sixteen years of uninterrupted democracy practice the are various challenges confronting democratic consolidation and good governance in the nigeria.
Nigeria needs to tackle the challenge its infrastructure problems by providing the proper funding and cracking down on the embezzlement of public funds earmarked for infrastructure. 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. Democratic consolidation in nigeria papers in the ssrn. Democracy, good governance and development in nigeria.
Challenges of good governance and sustainable development in. The paper insisted that governance collapse in nigeria is reflexive of the perfunctory role of. See the challenges facing democracy in nigeria and solutions. Request pdf problems of democratic governance in nigeria. Democracy and governance in africa democratization in. The challenge of democratic governance in the african. 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. Challenges in nigerias democratic institutions global journals. After the death of the military dictator, general sani abacha in 1998, general abdusalami abubakar who took over governance from him is known to have worked out nigeria s return to democracy or democratic rule. Problems and prospects of democracy in nigeria infoguideng. Through the process of governance, the essential link between the civil society and state is established, giving a shape to. Challenges of democratic governance in nigeria s fourth repulic.
The challenges of infrastructure development in democratic. Challenges of good governance and leadership in nigeria under. 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. These identified challenges have made it impossible to attain consolidated democracy that can, in turn, facilitate good governance. Challenges of good governance and leadership in nigeria under the current democracy 2 on december 5, 2012 12. The issue of governance has gained universal currency as nations and. Most importantly, the study concludes that nigeria, though under democratic governance, is yet to. Part six analyses the incumbency factor, local government elections and the challenges of democratic governance in nigeria while part seven takes care. The government of a democracy is accountable to the people. Democracy is defined by the wordnet dictionary as a political system in which supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them. In the earlier article, we had highlighted some of the challenges to governance and stability in nigeria. The paper therefore focuses on the education sector and human capital development, using secondary sources of data.
It was abraham lincoln that gave the world the simplest and the most concise definition of democracy. While not attempting to approximate all likely denigrating factors. Leadership challenges, corruption, lack of transparency, constitutional and electoral reforms, rising civil strife, poverty, unemployment, godfatherism, lack. It examines the level of state participation in provision of basic amenities for the citizenry. The report draws on the findings and recommendations of a joint seminar on effective and inclusive governance in africa. There is, however, little argument over the administrations creditable performance in managing the transition from military to democratic civilian governance. It is argued that democracy cannot engender good governance in a state where it is yet to make. Achieving a consolidated democracy requires good governance by. Democratic governance, infrastructure challenges, infrastructure development, project finance, third world countries. The return of multiparty democracy raised hope as to the arrival of the solution of nigeria s crisis of governance good governance, the rule of law.
The study is significant because it exposed the various pitfalls of democratic governance in nigeria. Challenges of good governance and leadership in nigeria. The institute for democratic governance ideg has released a statement as part of its civic forum initiative warning that ghana. Pretoria university law press pulp the pretoria university law press pulp is a publisher at the faculty of law, university of pretoria, south africa. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. 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. Confronting the challenges of leadership and governance in nigeria today rests on our preparedness to bring to bear on our public conduct the principles of equity, justice and fairness, as well as. 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. Enduring lessons and opportunities for youth in africa 1. The successful civiliantocivilian transition in 2003 represented a positive step toward the consolidation of democracy in nigeria, but the challenges remain. Request pdf the challenges of democratic governance in nigerias fourth republic this paper examined the nature and dimension of such challenges as.
Pdf challenges of democratic governance in nigerias fourth. 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. A qualitative research method of gathering data through secondary source was adopted. 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. Democracy is a catalyst for accountability, transparency and responsive government which brings about good governance.
Challenges of democracy and good governance in nigeria democracy has emerged as the best accepted form of government in the contemporary world. To challenges of civil society organi sa tio ns csos in influencing democratic governance in. Pdf the challenges of infrastructure development in. After a decade of the current epoch, there is the need to identify concrete challenges to democratic governance in nigeria with a view to contextualizing the core factors that continues to obfuscate democratic governance. Civil society, democratic governance and development in. The challenges of democratic government in nigeria. Corruption in its multidimensional levels have continued to manifest in the level. Background in the last 25 years following the collapse of communism in eastern europe, the challenges of. Abraham lincoln rightly defined democracy as government of the people by the people and for the people igbokwe, 2012.
Challenges of democratic governance in nigeria 3 the. The study looks at the challenges and prospects associated with leadership and good governance in nigeria within the first decade of the fourth republic. In the view of srilatha 2003 governance meansthe act and manner of managing public affairs. Democracy, political participation and good governance in.
Evidence and the way forward for democratisation in nigeria much as africa has recorded progress in efforts at evolving a stable democratic societies, there remains daunting challenges. The challenges are nume rous and include finance, technology for development, maintenance and design. Democratic governance, infrastructure challenges, infrastructure development. Issues and challenges theophilus olumuyiwa agboola department of public administration, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, nigeria and kazeem oyedele lamidi department of local government studies, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, nigeria.
Nigeria today is in desperate need of democratic solutions and consolidation while facing a serious crisis in the form of an overall absence, deterioration or breakdown of social, economic and political institutions of governance. Idachaba federal university abstractthis paper looked at the challenges facing nigerias democratic institutions with particular reference to accountability which has been regarded as the alpha and omega in democratic governance. Since the beginning of the fourth republic on may 29 1999, nigeria had continued to struggle with the delivery of democratic governance and democracy. They have argued that democracy is yet to be fully entrenched in the hearts and minds of politicians and average citizens alike. 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. Since 1999 it has governed the country according to the fourth republican constitution. Analysing the democracy and democratic practise in nigeria. In this post, we consider the remainder and further make recommendations towards achieving good governance and democratic stability ans sustainability in nigeria. Democracy, political participation and good governance in nigeria. By doing so, the king acknowledged he was bound by law, like others, and granted his subjects legal rights.
Corruption and the challenges of good governance in nigeria. Any engineer or contractor that fails to do his work well should be taken to task. Challenges to governance and democratic stability in nigeria. Possible solutions to challenges in nigeria today soapboxie. Leadership challenges, corruption, lack of transparency, constitutional and electoral reforms, rising civil strife. Most importantly, the study concludes that nigeria, though under democratic governance, is yet to develop democratic cultures that can effectively checkmate the excesses of governmental operations. It argues that aside from economic challenges, corruption, ignorance and illiteracy remain the major hindrances to welfarism and consequently democratic governance in africa in general and nigeria. There are roadblocks to a strong democracy in nigeria at all levels of government. Challenges of democratic governance in nigeria 1 the.
Problems of democratic transition and consolidation in. It also gives the appraisal of democracy and development in nigeria. The challenges facing democratic governance in nigeria were shown to be mostly from constitutional oscillations and weak constitutionalism. A historical discourse on local government election is the fourth part while part five is devoted to the discussion of the local government election in nigeria s fourth republic 1999todate. Challenges to governance and democratic stability in nigeria the challenges to governance and democratic stability in nigeria are many, but we shall consider only a few which we identify to be the crux of the of the nations governance crisis. Many government institutions do not adequately engage with citizens or the private sector and lack the capacity to. Democracy took a completely different turn in nigeria from 1999 till date. In conclusion, the research offers education and human capital development as the key remedies to the challenges of good governance and sustainable development in a democratic nigeria.
After the introduction, the paper makes some conceptual clarifications and delves into some models of e governance, and there after took a cursory look at the challenges of implementing e governance in nigeria before making some recommendations. Strengthening democratic governance in terms of the building of democratic institutions and the capacity of the state to manage the political and economic processes of society for developmental purposes remains a major challenge for. Corruption constitutes one of the greatest challenges and threats to the democrat consolidation in nigeria fourth republic. But democratic structures and processes in nigeria s. Challenges of democratic governance in nigeria 1 the sun.
Based on the above, it is concluded that the present democratic process in nigeria is yet to produce good governance. Pdf challenges of democratic governance in nigeria. This article is a continuation of challenges to governance and democratic stability in nigeria. They have resolved to use governance as the vehicle for development and nation building.
Mailafia department of political science university of jos, nigeria. The country is beset with excessive corruption, acute unemployment, poverty, ethnoreligious conflicts and lack of infrastructural facilities. This article examines the state of governance in nigeria and assesses the. Constitutionalism and democratic governance in africa. A reflection on the above calls to question certain issues that stands as challenges to democratic governance in nigeria.
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. Infrastructure development in democratic governance involves identifying the right project, carrying out feasibi lity and viability studies and carrying out physica l development of the project. 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. See the problems and prospects of democracy in nigeria.
232 592 235 90 1136 1171 1035 1324 50 848 240 911 1567 568 1628 1523 1067 41 696 363 1524 70 727 503 812 564 1203 1213 1439 772 939 756 1385 548 542 716