Numerous ancient african civilizations settled in the region that is today nigeria, such as the kingdom of nri, the benin empire, and the oyo empire. The origin of democracy destroyed, leaving the country battle wrecked. Even though nigeria acquired republican status in 1963, the first republic in nigeria began on the 1st of october, 1960 and came to an end on the 15th of january, 1966. We can say government is a system that exercises sovereign authority over a society. The mass media and the struggle for democracy in africa. Hence, they have a right to elect a representative to wield the mandate of power in government for a definite period of time, in nigeria, it is for four years. History of democracy in nigeria and when did nigeria. The society could be as small as a family clan and as large as a superpower. Hassan 2 1department of sociology, university of ilorin, ilorin, nigeria. Democracy day marks the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999, marking the beginning of the longest continuous civilian rule since nigeria s independence from colonial rule in 1960.
Democracy day is june 12, a national public bank holiday in nigeria. Before venturing fully into the history of democracy in nigeria, we need to know what a government is and who the government is. Yet the power of the democratic idea has prevailed through a long and turbulent history, and democratic government, despite continuing challenges, continues to evolve and flourish throughout the world. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university, adoekiti, ekiti state, nigeria abstract. Demo people and kratia government types of democracy. Democracy day marks the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999, marking the beginning of the longest continuous civilian rule since nigerias. Democracy and development in nigeria international society for. Some of the history of these countries, however, is naturally mentioned in this history of the rest of africa but is kept to the minimum needed to make the rest comprehensible. Democracy term was first mentioned about 2500 years ago in greece cities. The modern type of democracy was developed in the 19 th an 20 th centuries. This paper examines democracy and democratic experiment using the. Nation of the world have different system of government that is being practiced which ranges from monarchy, aristocracy, democracy just to mention in few, but history will never be completely written if the system of government was not included in the history of the nation.
The coup was led by major chukwuma nzeogwu and other majors in the army. This is so because the judiciary is the only organ that deals with the administration and dispensation of justice in any democratic nation. The history of nigeria can be traced to prehistoric settlers nigerians living in the area as early as 1100 bc. Introduction nigeria and nigerians have been caught in the frenzy of centenary celebration. There are roadblocks to a strong democracy in nigeria at all levels of government. The major donors have been meeting frequently in order to discuss development and debt problems and to devise aid strategies for african governments. In nigeria today, there is a striking difference between the poor and the rich and everywhere you go. Its scholars also wrote the textbooks that were used at all levels of the nigerian education system for many years. Political parties and democratic consolidation in nigeria s fourth republic akubo, a. History of political parties in nigeria nigerian finder. This is a major step towards stabilizing and entrenching democracy in nigeria. Nigeria party politic has been polluted by ethnic chauvinism. Brief history of democracy in nigeria after nigeria gained independence in 1960, the country was ranked as the citizens of the 4th biggest democratic country the world over.
The university of ibadan was the first university to open in nigeria, and its scholars set up the history departments at most of nigeria s other universities, spreading the ibadan historiography. The history of mass communications is relatively short in the scope of world history. Nigeria is the fourth world largest democracy with a population of over 160 million and world sixth largest oil supplier and blessed with economic potentials, but majority of the nigerian population is poor due bad governance. Democracy in nigeria has been a mere political desideratum hanging on a limping utopia adewusi, 2011. There are four basic principles of democracy, which are also commonly called pillars of democracy. Democracy may be defined as a system of government in which the exercise of political power and authority is vested in the people through their elected representatives. Nigeria, however, had experienced the first military coup in the year, 1966, while its civil war actually broke out in the year, 1967, and lasted up till 1970.
Democracy refers to government of the people by the people and for the people. If any conclusion can be drawn from the political history of post colonial africa, it is that multiparty democracy has been as unsuccessful, as the military coup d etat. Practice, problems and prospects adeyinka theresa ajayi1 and emmanuel oladipo ojo2 1. Aside discussing the political parties in nigeria, this write up will equally discuss about the political history of nigeria. Pdf democracy and democratic experiment the nigerian. Back then, it was the opposite to aristocracy form of government. This problem is one of the major qualms confronting the progress of liberal democracy in nigeria since 1960, to the extent that ethnic sentiment has gradually crept in to find a place in every faced of nigerian political activity.
Accepted 19 august, 2010 nigeria is a multiethnic nation with cultural differences between its component ethnic groups. Introduction mainstream rhetoric in nigeria media and popular discourses of the polity is often centred on the claim that nigeria is consolidating its democracy. Some cornerstones of these issues are freedom of assembly and speech, inclusiveness and equality, membership, consent. Everyone expected the return of nigeria to democratic rule will bring about development. Until june 6, 2018, it was held annually on may 29. Nowadays, democracy is a common practice in most of the countries of the world, and there are plenty of different ways to implement democracy. Apart from the celebrated 1976 reforms, state government officials have also introduced various manipulations. However, over the years the two groups joined and the terms americo liberian and congo were used interchangeably. Conclusion concepts of democracy and legislature in nigeria.
Pdf mass media, freedom of expression and democracy. History of democracy in nigeria what a government is. However the history of democracy, economic development and welfare for citizens in nigeria has been that of disappointment kalu, 2004. This disease has been in the system for far too long and so many have given up trying to eradicate it. Some of the issues that will be discussed in this article are the concept of rule of law, democracy and development. The first military coup in nigeria took place on january 15, 1966.
This means that under a democracy the participation of the people in government is an indispensable factor. 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. The historical evolution of legislative functions in nigerian constitutions the legislature and the development of democracy in nigeria. History of military rule in nigeria school mattazz. One of the many factors shaping it is the history of the country in question. Department of history and international studies, ekiti state university. Democracy, which derives from the greek word demos, or people, is defined, basically, as government in which. Key words, democracy, politics, dissent, mass media, democratization process. History of political parties in nigeria will never be complete if mention is not made of the various political bigwigs in the history of this country. Thomas chukwuma ijere democracy and development in nigeria. Islam reached nigeria through the borno empire between 1068 bc and hausa states around 85 ad during the 11th century, while.
Between 1966 and 1999, the army held power in nigeria without interruption apart from a shortlived return to democracy from 19791983. The nascent democracy in nigeria is plagued with myriad of intrigues, discordant. Aside fighting to win democracy, the nigerian press has been at the forefront of sustaining nigeria s nascent democracy. This is a system of government whereby everyone is involved in the affairs of the country. This system has been around since the ancient greek times. For much of liberias early history, the congos were classed below the americo liberians. Modern democracies are characterized by two capabilities that differentiate them fundamentally from earlier forms of government. A lot of countries across the world has been benefiting from these type of government, and nigeria is not an exception in that list. The nation celebrates may 29th as the official public holiday democracy day.
Wogu1 corresponding author,muyiwa adeniyi sholarin2, fadeke e. 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. Introduction democracy is a vital instrument that propels political proficiency, economic development and social stability of any nation state. Tough words, but those who know ikhide know that he can be unapologetically melodramatic and. A democracy is a political system, or a system of decisionmaking within an institution or organization or a country, in which all members have an equal share of power. The paper discovers that the dynamics inherent in the nigeria state and its brand of democracy tends to stymied, and inhibit the growth and effective functioning of civil society. An analysis grace malachi brown, phd department of history and diplomatic studies faculty of humanities rivers state university of education pmb 5047, rumuolumeni port harcourt, rivers state nigeria.
This unsavory scenario has snowballed in the lamentable decline in the roles of civil society in contemporary democratic governance in nigeria. Almost all successive administrations in nigeria introduce one administrative change or another. We reiterate that democracy and development cohabit and inactivity of the former destroys the later. Democracy and governance in africa africas continuing reliance on foreign aid has increased the opportunities for bilateral and multilateral aid agencies to influence policy making in the region. It entails process in the social, economic, cultural and other facets of life. Throughout history, people have sought to increase their ability to conquer the. Still, the democratic start point really began in 1960. All things considered, democracy is a pretty decent system of government, especially when compared to types like dictatorships, absolute monarchies and totalitarian regimes. They came not from any doctrine that the people, all free members of the clan, have a right to rule when they became elders an elder was sworn into office by popular vote, but from the feeling that an end. This is a short history of africa excluding egypt, ethiopia and dutch and british south africa, which are the subjects of separate histories. Ethnic politics and its implications for the survival of. Usaid has a long and proud history of assistance to nigeria that dates back to 1960, the year that nigeria became the 26th african nation to gain independence. Judiciary, democracy, contemporary nigerian society introduction the judiciary is the foundation upon which democracy grows and develops.
In a democracy, people have the power to make the decisions that affect their daily lives, as opposed to other governing strategies where power is concentrated in the hands of a few. Transitions from democracy in nigeria msu libraries michigan. Finally, the paper would proffer possible solutions and make necessary recommendations that would help deepen true democratic culture in nigeria. In this paper i make instead a limited observation of africas democratic process by focusing on the role of the media as a way of taking the body temperature of africas democracy in the 1990s. Conflicttriggered by political competition and communal, ethnic, religious or resource allocation rivalriesposes a major threat to democracy. Democracy and governance in africa democratization in. Aside the print media, the television stations have also played their part in the fight against corruption and in the defense of democracy. Democratic form of government has been the latest trend across the world since the 1970s. The beginning of democracy in nigeria can be traced to the early years of independent nigeria, particularly, the first republic. Democracy in nigeria problems and prospects information. These exemplary steps towards democracy in west africa were not secluded to the region, nor were they the first in africas long history. Who people are and how authority is shared among them are core issues for democratic development and constitution.