The nature of democracy and good governance in nigeria pdf

The nature of this paper is primarily descriptive in the sense that it provides a detailed account of legislative oversight and good governance in nigeria national assembly, analyzing it in obasanjo and jonathans administration. Thus, even if the specific design for democracy may fail, the democratic project in these west african states may nevertheless be progressing. Be that as it may, democracy has been accepted as a model of governance, particularly, in developing societies including nigeria. The above is a classical case of what we have in nigeria. 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.

Introduction democracy is the most acceptable form of government that guarantees the nations growth and development zekeri, 2007. Although the major aim of these transformations was directed at displacing the nature and character of political leadership, there was also the equally important. Good governance theory and the quest for good governance in nigeria woleola j. Good governance, democracy and leadership styles in africa. Good governance enhances democracy as well as efficiency in the economy. Since democracy means rule of, for and by the people, the electorate are able to choose politicians they want to represent their interest in government through elections. Abstract this paper is based on good governance theory and its implications for good governance in nigeria it elucidates. Colonial rule divided nigeria into north and south with different land tenure systems, local government administration, educational systems, and judicial systems. Munshis work was created in order to revive good governance. Democracy and good governance african journals online. Good governance theory and the quest for good governance.

Democracy, good governance and development in nigeria. Linking peace, governance, economic growth and global interdependence. Linking peace, governance, economic growth and global. The crisis of democracy and good governance in nigeria. It is argued that democracy cannot engender good governance in a state where it is yet to make sense of, most especially the contending political elites. Many individuals tend to either wave away and be bored with the idea of governance. When democracy is abused, good governance becomes elusive and evasive. Challenges and prospects is a descriptive analysis that has relied on the use of secondary data as its source of information. Conflicttriggered by political competition and communal, ethnic, religious or resource allocation rivalriesposes a major threat to democracy.

Good governance the concept in the last twenty years, the concepts of governance and good governance have become widely used in both the academic and donor communities. The erosion of good governance by the practice of democracy has deepened the crisis of democracy. The missing link in nigeria article pdf available in mediterranean journal of social sciences 516 july 2014 with 5,207 reads how we measure reads. Is there link between democracy, national security and good governance that can be harnessed for a better future for nigeria. 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. However, today, nigeria has recorded seventeen straight years of unbroken democracy.

The model of democracy that is popular in this age of globalization is liberal democracy, democracy is a descriptive term that is synonymous with majority rule, it associated with democratic consolidation and good governance. Democracy and good governance in nigeria global journals. Modern democratic government offers the best prospects of good governance. Pdf on may 4, 2009, erunke canice esidene and others published. 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. Democracy provides a conducive and stimulating environment for the rule of law to thrive, while the rule of law sustains democracy. Therefore, the major point of this thesis is that the failure of governance in nigeria is a function of the nature and character of the political elite.

Ghana and nigeria are in the midst of governmentinitiated democratization programs. Problems and prospects of democracy in nigeria infoguideng. African indigenous religion and sustainable democracy. Democracy in nigeria is the form of government that is least likely to make huge mistakes in a hurry.

Global journal of political science and administration vol. However, in spite of the ubiquitous nature of civil society in contemporary nigeria s democratic governance, there still exist, immense lacunae in the nations current democratic governance. Democracy, good governance and sustainable development in nigeria. Nigeria, today, runs a democratic system of government that is expected to promote democratic values of public accountability. The paper discusses some of the impediments to the institutionalisation of democracy in nigeria after more. For democratic governance to thrive in nigeria, the people must be vigilant and demand accountability from the leaders. However, good governance is a much recent and novel idea of democratic governance that found expression in the detailed provisions of the 1979 constitution that contained the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy. By doing so, the king acknowledged he was bound by law, like others, and granted his subjects legal rights. However, in nigeria, effort to attained the high level of democratic consolidation and good governance have been made. In international development, good governance is a way of measuring how public institutions.

This unsavory scenario has snowballed in the lamentable decline in the roles of civil society in contemporary democratic governance in nigeria. International journal of public administration and. Asian barometer a comparative survey of democracy, governance and development working paper series jointly published by globalbarometer the asian barometer abs is an applied research program on public opinion on political values, democracy, and. Global journal of political science and administration. The world has become a global village where every nation including nigeria is striving to. Nigeria, but in practice, good governance still eludes the country. Democracy, good governance, reforms, participation, decision making i. The need to theorise about the nature of control and the role of leadership in democracy and good governance occasions the study of elites by vilfredo pareto.

This study, democracy and good governance in nigeria. This paper compares the different settings, reasons, strategies, procedures. For nigeria to achieve sustainable democracy towards the realization of the importance of democratic good governance, indigenous religion must be involved in order to achieve the national goals. Good governance, on the other hand, promotes and strengthens both democracy and the rule of. 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. It therefore uses secondary sources of data such as text books, journals, magazines. In the modern world, democracy has developed from the american and french revolutions. Pdf on may 4, 2009, erunke canice esidene and others published democracy and good.

It is stated that the afdb has decided to give due recognition to good governance because, in its opinion, governance is central to creating and sustaining an enabling environment for development, and sound development including good governance is inextricably linked to. Enduring lessons and opportunities for youth in africa a discussion paper prepared by professor amadu sesay, centre for peace and strategic studies, university of ilorin, nigeria for the mandela institute for development studies, johannesburg, south africa july 11 2014. It is exploratory because the paper attempts the nature of. These two traditions have dissimilar conceptualisations.

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 is the thrust of this paper, that is, the state of nigeria in terms of these triple concepts democracy, national security and good governance. 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. These principles can be stated as participation, transparency, accountability, effectiveness, consistency, fairness and rule of law. Third, nigerian democracy is plagued by hydraheaded and pathological corruption that ensures that the impact of any seeming good policy is either extremely negligible or almost exactly nil. From political transitions to good governance in africa dialnet. An additional source of good governance criticism is the intelligent persons guide to good governance, written by surendra munshi. This study therefore examined legislature and good governance in nigeria s democratic system and its implication on delivering the dividends of democracy. While political parties play a key role in wellfunctioning democracies, elsewhere political parties. However, there is lack of credible leadership to enforce these characteristics of democracy and good governance. Indeed, this is a variant of sociological and political knowledge that would revolutionalize democracy, good governance and nation building in nigeria and africa. Conformity to the latter manifests in good governance, infrastructural development and consequently national development.

Democracy in nigeria is alien and its practice has proved difficult. It identified the problems that have militated against nigeria s democratic sustainability in the past to include lack of proper democratic institutions. Analysing the democracy and democratic practise in nigeria. Pdf at the minimum, democracy refers to a political system that guarantees.

International journal of business and social science vol. These assertions give a clue to the importance of good and healthy electoral system in a country. This paper examines the issues of corruption, political accountability and the challenges of governance with emphasis on the fourth republic of nigeria that is 1999 2016. The historical legacies of colonial rule create some challenges for nationbuilding in nigeria. Democracy and governance in africa democratization in.

Democracy and governance in nigeria s fourth republic. Abstract emerging trends point to good governance as a panacea towards. The note then goes on to assess some key causal linkages between democracy and development in section iii, discussing in particular modernisation theory and the emergence of democracy. The study observed some deficits of some vital ingredients in the nature and practice of democracy in nigeria. With the analysis of secondary data, the paper examines democracy, democratic institutions and good governance in nigeria.

African governance systems in the pre and postindependence periods. Ekundayo department of administration faculty of management sciences national open university of nigeria jabi, abuja, fct, nigeria. Democracy, good governance, election, electoral management. The course of policy in a democracy cannot generally be changed radically and quickly, thus, democracies are not as likely to make terrible mistakes.

The paper however concludes that while the balance sheet of democracy in nigeria may be less than satisfactory. Africa, democracy, good governance, nigeria, welfare. Democracy, political participation and good governance in. Nwabuiro ideyi, leadership and nigeria s question for good governance. Good governance is a new approach that includes all the principles necessary for the consolidation of democratic management. Unfortunately, the growth of democracy in nigeria has remained stunted ajayi, 1998. While large british colonies like india and the sudan had a single administrative. This seminar is aimed at evaluating democracy in nigerian leadership, both the problems and prospects in this contemporary and future political instability. But with good governance, nothing can stop nigeria. Dickson 2011 said that good governance in relation to a popular democracy ought to be. Democracy and governance in nigeria s fourth republic pp. Democratisation, political transition, governance, democracy and inse. Therefore, the major point of this thesis is that the failure of governance in nigeria is a function of the nature and. In greek demos means the community and kratos means sovereign power i.

Pdf good governance, democracy and leadership styles in. 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. First, the paper defines democracy and its nature, explores the. There are roadblocks to a strong democracy in nigeria at all levels of government.