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. This study, democracy and good governance in nigeria. Practice, problems and prospects adeyinka theresa ajayi1 and emmanuel oladipo ojo2 1. Liquid democracy combines elements of these two basic types. In nigeria for instance, our constitution provides for democracy, but it is apparent that some of the pillars of democracy are not present in our. The pillars of democracy are those theoriesprinciples a state must practice to foster democracy. Some people say media is the pillar of democracy because the main rule of democracy is to think about people. 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. According to the oxford advanced learners dictionary, tenet means. Democracy is a form of government in which the people exercise the authority of government. Democracy can be exercised in by citizens or through elected agents.
Law, representation, and knowledge aals president vicki c. First, free and fair elections lend legitimacy to democracy by preventing one person or a small group in. Seven pillars of democratic governance by mel gill. Here the citizenry are allowed to choose the people that would represent their interests in government.
Pdf ethics, accountability and democracy as pillars of. The people are ultimately the ones who are in charge in a democracy. Democracy in nigeria is being starved of the basic tools for survival. Challenges and prospects is a descriptive analysis that has relied on the use of secondary data as its source of information. Civic education pillars of democracy and the constitution. One of the most important contributions to politicalsocial philosophythe theory of the. The president is the head of both state and government and holds ffice for a fixed period example usa in order for the democracy to stand in any society the following are some of the essential pillars of the architecture of democracy. The cover story argues that new threats to national security represent fundamental changes in the ecology of conflict. The paper adopted content analysis approach to source its data and concluded that democracy is an ingredient of development. Related stories characterize terrorist leaders as corporate ceos and suggest how the west could promote an islamic reformation. Methodologically, data for this paper were generated mainly from secondary sources of recorded human documents. See the reasons for adopting federalism in nigeria. Two decades after the west african countrys army handed power to a civilian leader, many question if life has improved.
The federal executive is headed by the president of the country. However, today, as in the past, the most common form of democracy, whether for a town of 50,000 or a nation of 50 million, is representative democracy, in which citizens some local jurisdictions in the united states. There is the dearth of vertical and horizontal compositions of unified interests in terms of. We have been able o examine the history of democracy from the root, the forms it existed the and also history of democracy in nigeria from the first to the fourth republic, issues has been raised, different personalities who played a major roles in different republic were briefly discussed too. Democracy in nigeria problems and prospects information. Pdf in contemporary time while some scholars are of the view that democratization is the only panacea for national. The pillars of sustainable democracy as analyzed below are by no means exclusive. The four pillars of democracy are justice, equality, freedom and representation. From the second year of nigeria s independence, there was massive instability and unrest that lasted till the th of january 1966 when a military coup led by major chukwuma nzeogwu toppled and overthrew the democratically elected government and thus, ending the first republic of nigeria. The right to vote and the rise of democracy, 17871828 pdf. The challenges of democracy and democratisation in africa. One of the most important contributions to politicalsocial p hilosophythe theory of the. Democracies fall into two basic categories, direct and.
Democracy consists of four main pillars that ensure the freedoms and rights of people who live in the democratic society. The nigerian constitution also shows the basic duties and rights of the countrys leaders and her citizens and it is superior to all its other laws within its geographical scope. Use adobe acrobat reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. Though it is obvious that the country still have many hurdles to scale through, nigerians at large are envisaging a bright and prosperous future with better economy, improved standard of living, and security. Presently in nigeria, democracy is been celebrated yearly on may 29 th. Therefore, this paper examines democratic consolidation and challenges of legislative politics in nigeria from 19992011.
Nigeriaworld feature article pillars for a sustainable. Indeed, it is the basics, and the central role of a theory or beliefs. It was abraham lincoln that gave the world the simplest and the most concise definition of democracy. The definition of governance and the seven pillars of democratic governance offered here draw from common themes that emerge from governance documents of major organizations such as the oecd, world bank, southeast asian development bank, united nations development agency, commonwealth association of corporate. The major pillars of democracy in nigeria i the constitution. Now, lets have a look at these principles and find out. There are roadblocks to a strong democracy in nigeria at all levels of government. It must therefore be sustained to evolve and ensure sustainable development.
Conflicttriggered by political competition and communal, ethnic, religious or resource allocation rivalriesposes a major threat to democracy. The constitution of a country spells out the dos and donts of the citizenry of a state. These are sometimes referred to as the pillars, tenets, or principles of democratic rule. It is also through elections that peaceful change of. Equity is the concept of justice and fairness between society and individual, which foresees the equal. The four pillars of democracy in canada are representative, justice, equity and freedom. These pillars were established to ensure the rights and freedoms of all citizens governed by a democracy. Prospects and challenges by pastor tunde bakare protocols. Some of the pillars of democracy in nigeria include the nigerian constitution, political parties and the arms of government.
Ethics, accountability and democracy as pillars of governance. Many government institutions do not adequately engage with citizens or the private sector and lack the capacity to. Seven pillars of democratic governance charityvillage. Pdf political thuggery is an aspect of social violence which is devastating in nigerian democracy. Constitution involves written or unwritten rules, customs, norms. What are the four pillars of democracy of nigeria answers. The federal executive is headed by the president of the country, the state executive is headed by the state. This is to be understood within the context of the socalled democracy revolution or third wave. First, free and fair elections lend legitimacy to democracy by preventing one person or a small group in society from imposing certain. Five pillars are the five main objectivesgoals of islam. The essence of these pillars is to ensure the rights and freedoms of all citizens. Obasanjo saw debt relief as essential to the relief of hunger and the future of democracy in nigeria and the rest of africa.
Factors that necessitated the federalism in nigeria. Pillars of democracy as in the previous years, nimds strength in carrying out its given mandate lies in its specific and unique focus on the three closely interwoven main objectives. Democracy consists of four main pillars that ensure the freedoms and rights of. Democracy invlovles people participation and for that, we have four pillars of.
In order for the democracy to stand in any society the following are some of the essential pillars of the architecture of democracy. Jackson, harvard law school legal education plays essential roles in sustaining the pillars of constitutional democracy. An appraisal of the peoples democratic party pdp sixteen years 2 international journal of research in humanities and social studies v2 i9 september 2015 democracy in the literature is contested and for political science the theorization of the concept of. Pillars of democracy assignment you will be creating a miniposter on which you will explain, in detail, the role and importance of the 3 pillars of athenian democracy the assembly, the council of 500, and the court. One of the principles or beliefs that a theory or larger sets of beliefs is based on. Wizitup is a cloud based learning management system aimed at providing world class education online the major pillars of democracy civic education wizitup elearning platform, your preferred learning management system. Asked in nigeria, africa, democracy what are the pillars of democracy in nigeria. The basic purpose of this study is to xray the relationship between good governance and democracy and to identify those factors that militate against good. Some people say media is the pillar of democracy because the main rule of. History of democracy in nigeria and when did nigeria. The four powerful pillars of democracy are meant to keep the democratic society in order.
The major pillars of democracy civic education wizitup. History of political parties in nigeria since 1960. They bridge three distinct practitioner communities that emerged from this new directionthose focusing on governance, on democracy, and on human rights. A constitution can be defined as a book or document that contains the rules and principles by which a state is governed. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria 2. Justice is a theory of fairness, which focuses on the needs of those who suffered from various wrongdoings and punishing those who.
Nigeria 2 country reports on human rights practices for 2018 united states department of state bureau of democracy, human rights and labor the government took steps to investigate alleged abuses but fewer steps to prosecute officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. Democracy is undoubtedly defined even by a kid as a form of government by the people for the people of the people. The principles of democracy the word democracy comes from two greek words. Having mentioned the major pillars of democracy, it is evident that they are provided for in the constitution of nigeria, but they are not practically seen in the country. Thus, more has to be done by the government to actualized a true democracy in nigeria. These were to summarise the belief in 5 major points. In every constitutional democracy, the judiciary is one of the major pillars that sustain its principles and tenets. In nigeria for instance, we claim that we practice democracy to the core, but it is apparent that some of the pillars of democracy are not present in our government. Frankly speaking, no state can be said to be democratic until the pillars of democracy are taking seriously. The ten modern tenets of democracy nigeria homepage.
Democracy, democratisation, political corruption, dictatorship, hegemony, subordination, elite politics, africa, middle east introduction for some time, democracy has been in vogue in the global south. Despite obasanjos efforts, nigeria was still beset by a variety of problems. In some areas where major communal or other social antagonism cuts across territorial boundaries, ranging through all the federating units, communities or classes have been. It also establishes the basic structure of government. Democracy, derived from the greek term demos or people, is a system of government that gives power to the people. Democracy invlovles people participation and for that, we have four pillars of democracy. Accordingly, democracy in nigeria cannot be consolidated amidst high level.
The major challenge of democratic governance in nigeria lies in the process for electing. What are the major problems of democracy in nigeria. Pillars of democracy are the major arms of government the arms of government in nigeria are also known as the organs of government. The paper discusses some of the impediments to the institutionalisation of democracy in nigeria after more. In fact, there is no democracy without its pillars. Accountability, transparency, participation, and inclusion represent vital embodiments of the opening to politics that occurred in development work in the 1990s. From the fore going paragraph, it is therefore a nobrainer to state that the people are the heart and soul of democracy and hence a major pillar for its sustenance. Thomas chukwuma ijere democracy and development in nigeria. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract.
The definition of governance and the seven pillars of democratic. In nigeria the each level of government federal, state and local government has its own executive. These represent one of the major features of democracy. In a democracy such as ours, or in fact in any democracy at all, the people can be a major force in ensuring good governance, improved welfare and the optimisation of policies for the public good. It shows the relationship between the government and the people.
501 614 752 427 38 1 1415 70 790 637 1276 1053 240 1124 371 87 99 485 1132 775 562 375 1116 565 22 1505 52 369 1056 661 1640 268 300 28 883 1610 557 571 122 379 249 129 1033 933 1204