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ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRATIC DEFICITS
IN NIGERIA’S FOURTH REPUBLIC:
A COMMENTARY
Al-Chukwuma Okoli1
Chigozie Joseph Nebeife2
Markus Arum Izang3
Introduction
The modern world’s appreciation of peoples’ participation in the determination of who governs the affairs of the state in the overall interests is observably the underpinning factor for the global celebration of democracy as a system
of government (Igbokwe-Ibeto, Osakede, Nkomah & Kinge 2016). Cardinal to all
democracies is public participation, at least at the leadership selection level by the
instrumentality of election. This is, essentially, because democracy is a government designed to serve the interests of the public. Political scientists associate
elections with democratic governance by arguing that election is the machinery
that provides the avenue for the emergence of a constituted government. Also,
elections have become an acceptable mode of legitimate political succession.
Separating election from democracy is nearly impossible due to their
organic functional relationship. Extant scholarship recognizes this nexus by
affirming that it is through elections that formal transfer of power occurs
in all democracies. Besides, it is also through the medium of election that
legitimacy is conferred on a government. Election depicts the social contract
between representatives and the represented. This is to the effect that the
electorate reserves the right to vote in or vote out a government at any instance
of election (David, Manu & Musa 2014).
1 Department of Political Science, Federal University Lafia. Lafia, Nigeria. E-mail:
okochu007@yahoo.com
2 Department of Political Science, Federal University Lafia. Lafia, Nigeria. E-mail:
arummarkus@gmail.com
3 Department of Political Science, Federal University Wukari. Wukari, Nigeria. E-mail:
cjnebeife@gmail.com
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Elections and democratic deficits in Nigeria’s fourth republic: a commentary
In effect, election has remained indispensable to the practice of
democracy. It also constitutes a yardstick for determining and measuring
democratic consolidation and progress (Powell 2000; Berouk 2008). Incidentally, while election is universally acclaimed as the quintessence of democracy, Nigeria’s experience with election has been rather disheartening. In
fact, elections in Nigeria have passed for a veritable de-democratizing factor
in her democratic experience. First, rather than providing an avenue for
smooth and legitimate transfer of power, elections have been associated with
untoward occurrences that have often vitiated the prospect of a seamless
transition. Second, instead of bridging the gap between the electorate and
their elected representatives, elections in Nigeria have largely lost its essential
democratic essence and ingredients: (i) they are often compromised to the
extent that the outcome does not reflect the will or wishes of the electorate
(ii) even when they are credible, the elected representatives do not feel that
they hold their mandate at the instance of the electorate; (iii) there is hardly
any meaningful synergy between the electorate and their representatives in
the aftermath of the election; (iv) elected representatives conduct themselves
in government with little or no regards to the yearnings and aspirations of
the electoral populace.
It is in the light of this that this study examines elections and democratic deficit in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. The essence is to interrogate the
seemingly ironic reversals of democratic tenets in the processes of politics
and governance, even as the country democratizes. The paper contends that
Nigeria’s experience with democracy has largely amounted to nominal civilianizing, in view of the fact that what is on course has not fulfilled minimal
requirements of the democratic order.
Conceptualizing democracy, democratic deficit, election
The term democracy is derived from the Greek word “democratia”,
basically designating “a political arrangement in which political power is
vested in the majority of the citizen” (Adejumobi 2004, 5). It is a form of
government in which people willingly and freely choose their leaders through
free and fair direct or indirect election process (Osabiya 2014). In this system
of government, the people enjoy the fundamental freedoms of speech, association, assembly, conscience etc. In it also are such institutions as an independent judiciary, free press, competitive party system and an active civil society.
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Al-Chukwuma Okoli, Chigozie Joseph Nebeife, Markus Arum Izang
Democracy could be used to describe a government that is based on
the ideas of majoritarian rule and popular representation of the true interests
of the public. It has its essence in a free and open society, where individuals
are free to develop themselves and where those in power are kept in check by
a combination of civil institutions and procedures. Some of the fundamental
attributes of democracy include the rule of law, periodic election, and civic
political culture. A popular expectation is that democracy is a prerequisite for
good governance: it should provide the material conditions for the improvement of society in terms of literacy, security of life and property, better health,
employment, food security, potable water and rural development, as well as
ensure political stability. The inability of a democratic system to guarantee
the above is herewith conceived as democratic deficit.
To be sure, democratic deficit has to do with the inadequacies of the
democratic practice comparative to the ideals of democracy. Deficit means a
shortage or a lack of/in something. Lack of democratic institutions in terms
of existence and poor capacity for the existing ones to optimally discharge
legitimate responsibilities translate into failures and hinder democratic efficiency. Democratic deficit implies that the values of democracy are lacking in
a democratic society (Dahl 1999). Democratic deficit entails the disparities
between the perceived democratic performance and public aspirations (Russell
2004). Roller (2005) states that democratic deficit can be the consequence
of a regime whose rules, procedures, and institutions are unable to provide
what citizens look for and aspire to.
Also, Norris (2011) notes that democratic deficit depicts a situation
where the electoral system fails to satisfactorily channel the preferences of
the voters. It has to do with instances where democratic institutions are
falling short of the principles of responsiveness and accountability in their
operations. It is this lack of responsiveness to the popular preferences and
democratic oversight that is known as the democratic deficit (Dahl 1999).
Democratic deficit may be linked to democratic illegitimacy or irresponsibility occasioned by distorted flow of influence from citizens to government
through popular mandate mediated by periodic elections.
The concept of election refers to the process through which qualified
citizens are allowed to participate in determining who pilots the affairs of a
particular state or organization either by voting or standing as candidates. It
is a process that begins from political campaign and ends at the emergence of
an individual or group to represent the public in government. Ibeanu (2007)
states that election entails the process by which citizens choose preferred
candidates to run their government at all levels in an episodic framework
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Elections and democratic deficits in Nigeria’s fourth republic: a commentary
for a specific tenure of office. It entails the process of selecting the people
who would be saddled with the responsibility of determining who gets what,
when and how in a polity through balloting, which entails making choice
between alternatives (Lasswell 1936). This is to say, therefore, that election is
a formal group decision making process by which a population chooses an
individual or group to hold public office in their collective interests. Election
is a major ingredient of modern democracies in the world.
Theoretical premise: from elite control to elite capture
This study derives it theoretical anchor from the elite capture theory.
The earlier versions of the theory emphasized personal attributes of leaders,
which aided their hold or dominance in power positions while the new versions dwelt more on the institutional framework of society. The political elites
are usually located within the mainstream power structures of any nation-state and are responsible for managing the political and administrative affairs
(Platteau 2004). The elite capture theory is anchored on the assumption that
most societies are dominated by elites that are free from popular control and
pursue their peculiar interest defined in terms of power and self-aggrandizement. It entails a situation where a fraction of the society has the power
to take decisions which affect society and these decisions usually reflect the
interest of the elites rather than the wishes of the majority. General elite theory argues that the elite possess some qualities necessary for their accession
to political power, such as consciousness, coherence, conspiracy and organisation. Members of the elite are thus not only aware of their status, but work
determinedly to protect it with the use of exclusionary factors in leadership.
Platteau (2004) notes that elites perpetuate their dominance through
land holding practices, family networks, employment status, wealth, political
and religious affiliation, as well as personal history and personality. This suggests that what makes elite capture so powerful and dominant is that elites
exert their influence less often by coercion, and more by moral claims and
symbolic power (Dasgupta and Beard 2007). The dynamics of elite domination and manipulation is sustained and reproduced via the process of elite
circulation. This mechanism ensures elite continuity, transformation and
replacement through which elites cooperate, compete and reconcile their
differences from time to time (Higley & Burton 2006).
The elites in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic tend to have kept virtually all
the state apparatus at hostage through skewed electoral process and undemocratic governance. Democratic institutions in Nigeria such as the legislature,
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Al-Chukwuma Okoli, Chigozie Joseph Nebeife, Markus Arum Izang
executive, judiciary, and regulatory agencies have been captured by the elites
thereby weakening the capacity of the state to ensure rule of law. This has
resulted to lack of accountability, unprecedented abuse of power for selfish
pursuit and personal aggrandizement, as well as crass misrule. The elites
focus on control of political and state power for protecting and promoting
the interests of members at the expense of the masses. The consequence is
antithetical to democracy for it negates the salient attributes thereof, such as
accountability, responsiveness and transparency. This is a threat to democratic
consolidation in Nigeria.
Election and democratic representation/consolidation
in Nigeria: an overview
Election depicts a social contract between representatives and the
represented and also provides opportunity for transition from particular sets
of representatives and office holders to another (David, Manu & Musa 2014).
Ayoade (2006) describes election as the process of actualizing representative
democracy. It is a method of selecting a few people from a large group such
that the few people become a representative of the large group. Nnadozie
(2004) posits that election is a medium through which individuals or groups
are chosen in order to represent their constituencies in the context of governance.
Scholars such as Schumpeter (1942), Linz and Stepan (1996), Przeworski (1997) and Omotola (2014) have separately noted that elections are
the first and most basic indicator of democracy because of their presumed
capacity to guarantee political participation, competition and legitimacy
which, in turn, are pivotal to democratic consolidation. This implies that
competitive elections provide a framework quintessential to organizing democratic uncertainty in order to produce legitimate change, rebirth, renewal
and power alternation (Przeworski 1997).
Since the democratic transition heralding the Fourth Republic in
Nigeria in 1999, Elections have been aggressively contested. This is owing
to its strategic place a means to gaining access to the control of state power
which is considered to be the prime source and/or sustainer of material
wealth and livelihood security (Fadakinte 2013). This thinking has, over the
years, informed a pattern of politicking that involves desperate competition
for power, making pursuit of state power a matter of ‘a do or die affair’ where
the winner takes all and the loser loses all.
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This situation is complicated by the character of Nigeria’s political class
which is not in tune with the ideology of liberal democracy. To be sure, the
dominant political class does not possess the requisite democratic ethos, such
as tolerance, discipline and democratic temper to engage in credible elections
(Fadakinte 2013). Due to the desperate desire by politicians to win elections at
all costs in order to enjoy the perquisites of power, elections in Nigeria have
often been characterised by violent confrontations, bringing about outcomes
that negate democratic consolidation and sustainability. In the process, the
country at every turn of election becomes crisis ridden and prone to instability.
The crisis of electoral democracy in Nigeria is endemic. Over the
years, it has manifested in the forms of excessive manipulation, monetization and structural emasculation of the electoral processes, with widespread
irregularities and violence (Ademola & Adenuga 2015). This tendency has
persisted across all elections in the Fourth Republic and has taken the form
of widespread illegitimate use of state power (abusive incumbency advantage)
as well as money (vote-buying/selling) to influence a preferred outcome in an
election. This has found expression in heavy monetization and militarization
of the electoral process whereby the electioneering experience assumes the
complexion of a ‘market’ as well as a ‘war’ scenario.
Furthermore, election in Nigeria appears to have been characterised
with poor administration, often defined by a seemingly weak and inefficient
electoral umpire. The Nigerian 1999 Constitution as amended and the 2010
Electoral Act as amended has empowered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the electoral umpire to organize and conduct elections into
various political offices in the country. However, each elections conducted by
INEC have always been flawed by INEC’s poor organization, lack of accountability and transparency (Edet 2015). The weakness of election-mediating institutions such as Police, INEC, the courts etc. has effectively reduced Nigeria’s
elections to mere periodic rituals, yielding little or no meaningful democratic
outcomes. This affirms the position of Dudley (1982) to the effect that Nigeria
parades weakly institutionalized political institutions which are incapable of
handling pressures from the political system. Hence, successive elections in
Nigeria have been generally poor as the electoral umpire (INEC) seems to have
been heavily influenced and manacled by the vested interests of the powers
that be (the forces of incumbency). This has vitiated the prospect of delivering
on the task of conducting free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.
By the above indices, election in Nigeria can be said to have amounted
to a contradiction of the traditional theoretical postulations that election is the
fulcrum of democracy which carries a premium of political representation
as well as legitimizing a government through popular mandate. This gross
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negation of the cardinal democratic principles in relation to electioneering in
Nigeria holds critical implications for the country’s democratic representation
and consolidation. Thus, achieving the essence of democratic representation
and consolidation seem to have remained utopian. As observed by Nwanegbo
(2015), that the manipulative nature of electioneering instantiated by massive riggings, diabolic politicking, violent electioneering, vote selling/buying
among many irregularities, explain why elections seem not have resulted to
true democratic representation and consequent consolidation in Nigeria.
Elections in a democracy are not a simple transfer of decision-making
powers onto the political representatives. This is because a mere possession of
political autonomy and subjectivity by a voter does not always determine his
or her credible participation in the elections. By this token, Democratic representation entails peoples’ government or popular rule. Popular rule entails
a governmental process of defining, collecting, harmonizing, promoting and
protecting the general interests of the people for the betterment of life in the
entire society. Here, it is the general concern and responsibility of all to manage
the affairs of their society to bring about improvement in the quality of life
by increased general access to the basic needs of life. But since people cannot
do this all together at once, they do it through a freely ‘democratically’ elected
few called the representatives. Democratic representation can be regarded as
a system of government that is underpinned by the perception that people in
any society should be free to determine their own political, economic, social,
and cultural systems. Therefore, democratic representation simply refers to a
political system where governance is rooted in the basic principles of democracy
and carried out by individuals who are willingly and freely chosen by the people.
The system of government in a democracy is one under which the
people exercise the governing power either directly or through representatives periodically elected by them (Appadorai 2004). Thus, representation is
widely seen as the pillar of contemporary democratic leadership. The implication is that the only government which can fully satisfy all the exigencies
of collective civic life is one in which majority of the citizens take active part.
However, direct inclusive participation is only achievable in a small populated community and not in a highly populated and complex modern society,
hence, the necessity for representation in government. Simply put therefore,
representation implies the indirect presence of people in the management
of their public or state affairs.
The above corroborates the assertion of Fairlie (1940), that democratic representation depicts that system of government where the powers are
delegated to elected representatives, who exercise them for the benefit of the
whole nation. Suggestively, democratic representation is the activity of making
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citizens’ voices, opinions and perspectives ‘present’ in public policy making
processes. It occurs when political actors speak, advocate, symbolize and act
on behalf of their electorates in the political arena. Laying the philosophical
foundation of representative governments, renowned political philosophers
and theorists as Hobbes in his Leviathan, Plato in The Republic and Machiavelli in The Prince, observably advanced that public decision making should
be left as a responsibility of a few members of the community.
According to Lincoln’s famous perspective that democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people, democratic regime provides a platform for selected individuals to represent their people because it is
only by courtesy of such an arrangement that government can hope to attain
the status of people’s rule. It is to be observed that the essence of democratic
representation is to enable the people have not only a say in the management
of their society, but that they can also control effectively how the state is run
and what policy is implemented for their general good. Incidentally, there
are indications that electorates have not been able to determine the quality of
their lives as well as the fate of their state through democratic representation
in the Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
The idea of democratic consolidation means an identifiable phase in
the process of transition from authoritarian to democratic systems that are
critical to the establishment of a stable, institutional and lasting democracy.
Democratic consolidation entails strengthening, entrenching and institutionalizing democratic ideals, values and virtues in a political system. It has to
do with the avoidance of authoritarian regression; particularly, through the
institutionalization of a credible electoral administration process. This is in
tune with the assertion Linz and Stepan (1996, 10) that “democracy is consolidated when under given political and economic conditions, a democratic
system expressed in periodic and regular elections becomes the only game
in town; when no one can imagine acting outside the democratic norms
and values”. Democratic consolidation, therefore, involves strengthening of
certain institutions, such as the electoral system, revitalized or newly created
parties, judicial independence and respect for human rights, which have been
created or recreated during the course of the transition (Carothers 2007).
Thus, Democratic consolidation revolves around making new democracies
secure and extending their life expectancy beyond the short term by creating
immune against the threat of authoritarian regression and building dams
against eventual reverse to authoritarianism (Carothers 2007; Fawole 2005;
Przeworski 1997; Zakaria 1997). The implication of this is that election serves
as a critical framework for democratic consolidation with ultimate regard for
the rule of law (Frempog 2006; Sha 2005).
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According to Diamond (1999) creating a stable, democratic, effectively governed politics is an enormous challenge for any developing country
that has experienced predominantly political instability, democratic failures
and institutional decay since independence. It implies series of continuous
actions and changes geared toward the replacement of an existing system of
authoritarian and undemocratic rule (Yagboyaju 2007). Some other scholars view democratic consolidation as the process by which a new democracy matures in a way that means it is unlikely to revert to authoritarianism
without an external shock or a process of democratization that resist the
tendencies of reversing or regressing back to the dark days of authoritarian
military regime (Linz & Stepan 1996; Asiwaju 2000; Mortiar 2002; Jega
2007; Yagboyaju 2007). More specifically, democratic consolidation, “implies
the internalization of democratic culture and the institutionalization of democratic best process” by a polity that has successfully embarked on a democratic
transition (Asiwaju 2000, 4). Thus, consolidating democracy means reducing
the probability of breaking to a point where they can feel reasonably confident
that democracy will persist in the near future (Schedler, in Egbegbulem 2011).
Thus, Schedler as cited in Egbegbulem (2011, 67) contends that:
[…] consolidating democracy may involve the positive tasks of deepening a fully liberal democracy or completing a semi democracy or it
may respond to the “negative” challenges of impeding the erosion of
a liberal democracy or else avoiding the breakdown of whatever minimal kind of democracy we have in place [...] (Egbegbulem, 2011, 67).
Linz and Stepan (1996) posit that the key indicators of democratic
consolidation include credible elections, and the rule of law, free and active
civil society, relatively autonomous and valued political society, functional
bureaucracy as well as institutionalized economy. Democratic consolidation
prevails in societies where many of the prominent democratic principles
largely constitute positive political culture. According to Przeworski as cited
in Mortiar (2002) democracy is consolidated when under given political and
economic conditions a particular system of institutions become the only
game in town. It is when no one can imagine acting outside the democratic
institutions, when all losers want to do is to try again within the same institutions under which they lost (Mottier 2002).
In his view, Jega (2007, 297) argues that democratic consolidation is
a term which describes “a vital political goal for new democracies”. Diamond
cited in Jega (2006, 6) stated that “Democratic consolidation has to with
overlapping behavioural, attitudinal and constitutional dimensions, through
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which democracy becomes routinized and deeply internalized in social, institutional, and even in psychological life, as well as in political calculations for
achieving success” (Jega 2007, 6). Linz and Stepan (1996) earlier provided
further explanation on behavioral, attitudinal and constitutional aspects of
democratic consolidation. They explained that behaviorally, a democracy
is consolidated when no significant national, social, economic, political or
institutional actors spend significant resources attempting to achieve their
objectives by creating a non-democratic regime or by seceding from the state.
Democratic consolidation could also be viewed from the standpoint
of stability of the democratic processes with emphasis on regular and credible elections (Igbuzor 2005; Akinsanya 2006). Thus, it is important to state
that elections are the foundation for any successful democracy and indeed its
consolidation. However, emphasis on elections as a stepping stone towards
consolidating democracy seems to be questionable especially when taken
into cognizance Nigeria’s experience, mainly characterized so far by electoral
malfeasance and structural infractions that detract from the merit of electoral democracy. And besides the question of electioneering, the outcome
of the electoral processes in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic has left much to be
desired of the essence of the social contract between the electorate and their
elected representatives which is serviced by way of routine elections. The
question then is whether successive electoral dispensations in that context
have engendered substantive outcomes that leverage democratic dividends.
The following subsections attempt to proffer relevant insights in that regard.
Contexts and indicators of democratic deficits in Nigeria’s
Fourth Republic
Nigerian democracy is running on weak foundations (Adeniyi 2018).
This is because the enabling structures and culture required to effectuate
and consolidate the practice are either nonexistent or inefficient. In effect,
therefore, the practice has been characterized by both structural and functional deficits. For the purpose of our discourse in this paper, democratic
deficits could be seen in three different dimensions: normative, empirical
and functional perspective (Ogbonna 2012). From the normative perspective,
democratic deficit occurs when political arrangements and institutions fail
to satisfy public expectation and aspiration; this defies the expectation that
popular political participation (mostly through election) makes government
responsive to the needs and aspirations of the people. On the other hand, the
empirical perspective sees democratic deficit in a government in terms of
citizens ability or otherwise to utilise their civic stake in governance to make
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Al-Chukwuma Okoli, Chigozie Joseph Nebeife, Markus Arum Izang
their government amenable to their wishes or interests. In the functional
perspective, a government is democratically deficient when it is unable to generate appreciable popular legitimacy from the people. These three dimensions
of democratic deficit have generally manifested in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.
The ruling elites and democratic institutions have failed to provide
the enabling civil infrastructure for sustainable and profitable democratization. Instead, cycles of civilian governments have been characterised by
false starts, failed transitions, and recurring challenges to stable rule. Elected
regimes have faltered over precarious institutions, factionalism among elites
and pervasive corruption (Peter, Alemika & Michael 2002; Osaghae & Larry
1995). With reference to Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, democratic deficits have
been variously made manifest by virtue of the indicators considered hereunder.
Alarming poverty rate
The trajectory of Nigeria’s poverty level from 1999 has maintained
an unfortunate increase. In 2018, the World Poverty Clock ranked Nigeria
topmost in terms of countries of the world with the largest concentration of
people living under extreme poverty as captured below in Figure 1:
Figure 1: Nigeria’s poverty level, 2018
Source: Sahara Reporters, 2019. https://qz-com.cdn.ampproject.org
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The above indicates that about 46.5 per cent of the country’s population reportedly lives below poverty line of a dollar per day (Sahara Reporters
2019). This is unfortunate when considered against the backdrop of the country’s huge material and human endowments. It only explains the inability of
the various democratic governments in the country over the years to improve
the general living conditions by way of proper needs-based authoritative
allocation of values/resources.
Security debacle
Burton (2019) having empirically studied incidences of security threats
across the globe, placed Nigeria as the fifth most threatened/dangerous country in the world in terms of safety and security indices. Table 1 is instructive
in this regard.
Table 1: Most dangerous countries in the world
Rank
Country
Ranking
2018
Rank
1
Central African Republic
149
11
Cameroon
139
2
D.R. Congo
148
12
Libya
138
3
Iraq
147
13
Kenya
137
4
Afghanistan
146
14
Burundi
136
5
Nigeria
145
15
India
135
6
Sudan
144
16
Ukraine
134
7
Pakistan
143
17
Mexico
133
8
Colombia
142
18
Uganda
132
9
Philippines
141
19
Chad
133
10
Yemen
140
20
Mali
134
Country
Ranking
2018
Source: Burton (2019)
This is also a glaring indicator of democratic deficit in Nigeria’s
Fourth Republic. Ensuring the safety and security of the people is the essence
of government generally, but more fundamentally in a democracy being
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people’s government. However, the democratic institutions in control of the
state’s coercive apparatuses have by-and-large failed to secure maximally,
human lives and resources and hence the prevalence of insecurity in the
country. This is instantiated by the incidences of Boko Haram insurgency,
armed banditry, militancy and a host of other security threats in the country.
Infrastructural and industrial deficits
Infrastructural deficits include collapse of basic amenities and public
facilities in the country. This is amply exemplified in the near extinction of
railways, as well as the colossal dilapidation of road networks, public schools,
health and water facilities. Public power has been at its lowest ebb, with less
than 5.000 MW generation capacity alongside intractable distribution and
transmission challenges. Allied to the problem of infrastructure is that of
poor industrial base.
The Nigerian industrial sector is in virtual comatose. The Nigerian
textile industry, steel rolling mill, rubber, woods, cement, fertilizer, ceramics
and publishing industries were vibrant and internationally competitive in the
1970s and 1980s. Currently, there operational capacities are being dwarfed
by high cost of production caused by epileptic power supply, high interest
and exchange rates, influx of inferior and substandard products, multiplicity
of taxes and levies, poor sales partly as a result of low purchasing power of
the consumers, delay in clearing consignments due to existence of multiple
inspection agencies at the ports etc. The national refineries are struggling
to maintain nominal serviceability while the mega Ajaokuta iron and steel
project has suffered a generational neglect.
Heightened unemployment
Nigeria’s unemployment records are colossal (Figure 2). The situation
holds critical implications for human security in Nigeria. An integral facet
of Nigeria’s unemployment palaver is the issue of youth unemployment and
unemployability. More than a half of the unemployed population of Nigeria
is youth, most of whom are educated at the tertiary level.
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Figure 2: Unemployment rate in Nigeria, 2016-2018
Source: Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, 2018
The non-engagement of the magnitude of the country’s youth in
gainful employment has led to dire collateral consequences, including youth
bulge, youth restiveness, and associated vices and crimes. The prevalence of
these existential situations in the country speaks ill of success of democratic
governance in Nigeria.
Brain-drain/Human capital depreciation
There has been a persistent exodus of Nigerian best brain for better
livelihood opportunities (Figure 3) outside the shores of the country. This
brain-drain syndrome critically affects the country’s human resource development index as Nigerian professionals in diverse fields especially health
and education sectors daily exit the country for Europe, America and Canada
among other developed countries in search of greener pasture. About 5,405
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Nigerian trained doctors and nurses currently work with the British National
Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom. This has aggravated Nigeria’s
physician-patient ratio from 1:4000 to 1:5000, negating the W.H.O’s recommended 1:600. The irony of the situation is that Nigeria incidentally ranks
so highly in terms of patronage of international medical and educational
tourism.
Figure 3: Reasons for brain-drain in Nigeria
Source: https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/Africa/2018-09-05-a-third-of-nigerians-want-to-emigrate-but-not-to-south-africa
Allied to the issue of brain-drain is the crisis of the education sector.
The sector has suffered enormous neglect, yielding therefore dysfunctional
outcomes. This has pushed many Nigerians into the option of seeking to
study abroad. Hence, the number of Nigerians schooling in universities in
the West has been alarming (Table 2).
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Elections and democratic deficits in Nigeria’s fourth republic: a commentary
Table 2: Number of Nigerian students in America, 2005-2016
Undergraduate
Graduate
OPT4
Other
Total
2015/16
5,424
3,803
1,231
216
10,674
2014/15
4,770
3,339
1,198
187
9,494
2013/14
4,030
2,771
997
115
7,921
2012/13
3,707
2,551
953
105
7,316
2011/12
3,577
2,522
819
110
7,028
2010/11
3,772
2,454
799
123
7,148
2009/10
3,490
2,327
646
97
6,566
2008/09
3,513
2,153
516
74
6,256
2007/08
3,745
1,968
438
71
6,222
2006/07
3,569
1,820
483
71
5,943
2005/06
4,102
1,819
N/A
271
6,192
Year
Source: wenr.wes.org.google.com
Corruption incidence and prevalence
Corruption has remained a prominent issue in Nigeria’s national
question. Several rankings have placed the country among the topmost in
terms of global corruption incidence especially within the Fourth Republic.
Transparency International (Figure 4) indicates how corruption has persistently threatened to endanger the collective destiny of the nation from
2010 to 2018.
4 Optional Practical Training.
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Al-Chukwuma Okoli, Chigozie Joseph Nebeife, Markus Arum Izang
Figure 4: Level of corruption in Nigeria, 2010-2018
Source: Transparency International, 2018. tradingeconomics.com
From the foregoing, it is evident that years of democratic practice
in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic have not really translated into much prospect
of good governance. Concrete dividends of democracy appear not to have
been sustainably realized. It should be pointed out that the whole essence of
democracy is to determine and implement the will of the citizens in governance. The government is contracted through election to carry out the functions of authoritative allocation of resources at the instance of the people.
Fulfilling this mandate requires the government to not only harness but
generate resources to bringing about the greatest happiness for the greatest
number of the citizenry. Where this is not feasible, democracy can be said
to be non-existent, or at best, deficient.
Democratic deficits in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic:
sundry implications
Democracy is a system of popular control over governmental policies
and decisions. For this to happen, a government needs to be responsive and
accountable to popular control (Dahl 1989). However, there are instances
where democratic institutions are falling short of fulfilling the principles of
responsiveness and accountability in their practice or operations. This lack of
responsiveness to the popular preferences and democratic oversight is known
as ‘the democratic deficit’ (Dahl 1989). Democratic deficit is a great big gap
where public engagement with political processes should be. To reiterate, a
democratic deficit occurs when ostensibly democratic organizations or institutions (particularly governments) fall short of fulfilling the principles of
democracy in their practices or operations (Rohrschneider 2002).
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The return to democratic governance on May 29, 1999 to most Nigerians provided the opportunity to overturn the widespread developmental
and political problems associated with prolonged military rule and at the
same time a hope of great expectations of improved quality of wellbeing and
governance. However, many years after the return to democratic rule, the
huge expectations of many Nigerians have been largely undermined by poor
governance, with its attendant socio-economic and political challenges. For
instance, the Nigerian economy is currently characterized by the problems of
poverty, widening income inequality between the rich and the poor, disinvestment, inflation, deindustrialization, mass unemployment and debt crisis. The
Transparency International in its annual rating made Nigeria third, fourth and
fifth most corrupt nation in the world in 2003, 2004 and 2005 respectively.
Thus corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation and has shaken
it to its foundation and tends to turn the efforts at democratic consolidation
into a mere mirage. There has always been the use of violence or the threat
of violence in the context of party politics (Jega 2014). The ultimate prize is
the capture and retention of political power at all costs.
More worrisome is the trajectory of party politics which has been
associated with syndromes such as the phenomenon of godfatherism. Godfatherism is one of the biggest dangers to democracy today and paradoxically it
only survives with government support (Gambo 2006). It has come to assume
a dangerous dimension as a consequence of the systematic entrenchment of
money politics in the country. It produces an unresponsive leadership and
tends to negate all tenets of democratic process by obstructing candidate
selection and even executive selection once government is installed. The
activities of godfather tend to reduce the legitimacy of government and void
the electoral value of the citizens (Edet 2016; Odigbo 2015). In addition, the
inordinate culture of profligacy arising from the low level of accountability characterizing governmental processes, leading to abysmal economic
performances and culminating in serious developmental misfortunes. The
country’s road, rail, electricity, water infrastructure, health and education
institutions have been in a state of decay and total collapse.
Other signifiers of democratic deficits in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic
include over politicization of governance and insecurity, securitization and
militarization of electioneering, electoral malfeasance, political impunity
that smacks of disregard for the constitution and the rule of law, violation of
human rights, emasculation of the civil society and the judiciary, to mention
but a few. These indicators point to a bleak future for the country especially
as it relates to democratic survival and consolidation.
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Al-Chukwuma Okoli, Chigozie Joseph Nebeife, Markus Arum Izang
Closing the gaps: mitigating democratic deficits in Nigeria
Contemporary scholarly contestations about democracy and election
are perceptibly not more on establishing the superiority of democracy on
other forms of government or election as a means to achieving representative democratic leadership but on how best a society would vis-à-vis its
peculiarities utilize the merits of election to achieve democratic value. To this
end, mitigating democratic deficit in any polity fundamentally requires an
all-inclusive approach bourgeoning from individual character re-orientation
to institutional re-structuring based on the earnest determination to have
a functional democracy where the greatest good of the greatest number is
sacrosanct.
Going forward, elections should be free and fair in order that the
public is enabled to select in or out the candidates of their choice into the
country’s leadership. People should determine who occupies what position
and who does not through the power of the ballot so that through same, they
can hold nonperforming leaders accountable. This is because the essence
of democracy is the joint participation of the members of society in selecting, usually through free, fair and competitive elections, those whom they
wish to have as their representatives in government. In this regard, political
accountability and popular participation are promoted to the extent that the
public feel a sense of an inclusive polity where their views and opinions are
respected and their interests protected.
Furthermore, there should be adherence to democratic principles of
rule of law and checks and balances. A state is democratic if there is devolution of governmental powers such that no single individual or institution has
the opportunity to abuse power. It is therefore recommended here that rule
of law alongside the supremacy of the constitution be upheld at all times in
order to avoid abuse of power and all forms of impunity.
Additionally, empowerment of anticorruption agencies such as
Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is also recommended. This will curb
corrupt anti-democratic practices in the country. Similarly, a public reorientation on the ills of corruption is necessary so as to breed from the Nigerian
homes, a people grounded in patriotism. By the same token, the leadership
and followership arms of the polity should be given some civic orientation
designed to inculcate a progressive political culture capable of breeding up
a viable and consolidated democratic entity.
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Conclusion
Election remains the cornerstone of democracy due to its strategic
importance as a framework for democratic transition as well as a critical indicator of democratic representation and consolidation. However, it appears that
Nigeria has been witnessing voting without ‘choosing’, because the process
of electing our political leaders is horrendously flawed. The manifestations
of democratic deficits are evident in poor governance, blurred leadership
resulting to incongruencies and policy summersault. Political and economic
instability, flawed electoral process, rampant disregard to the rule of law and
disobedience to court rulings as well as mortgaged judicial system amongst
other colossal failures of democratic ideals seem to have made electoral democracy a mere caricature in the Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. Democratic deficits
are the consequence of structural inefficiencies inherent in the democratic
framework due to poor design and the malfunctioning of the institutions
resulting to a crisis of democracy.
The scorching persistent poverty, unemployment, poor economic
management, widespread corruption, infrastructural deficits, low investor’s
confidence, debt overhang, inefficient public institutions, and lack of social
trust and confidence in government are some of the indicators of democratic deficits in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic. In fact, this has led to widespread
collapse of social values and infrastructure, as well as the prevalence of illiteracy, insecurity of lives and properties, political corruption, authoritarianism,
electoral malpractice, political violence and general governance failures. In
order to entrench, sustain and consolidate democracy, there is a need for a
strategic reformation of the key institutional frameworks of democracy. In
other words, INEC, the legislature, the judiciary, the police, the constitution
and the civil society should be reconfigured in line with the global democratic best practices to ensure credible elections as well as effective democratic
representation and consolidation.
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Elections and democratic deficits in Nigeria’s fourth republic: a commentary
ABSTRACT
This paper is a commentary interrogating the phenomenon of democratic deficits
in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic based on an exploratory analysis of secondary sources.
The essence of government is the fulfillment of public good. Democratic government is acclaimed to be most suited to determine and implement such a mandate.
Incidentally, this has not been a general experience across the world’s democracies.
Successive democratic administrations in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic have left a lot to
be desired in relation to fulfilling their democratic mandate through proper representation and good governance. Series of elections have produced different crops
of supposed people’s representatives. Yet the existential conditions of the people
have not been touched in a manner that justifies that these representatives rule at
the instance of the people, let alone represent their interests and aspirations. The
gaping deficits of democracy in that regard has warranted the submission of this
paper to the effect that electoral democracy in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic has not
brought about the needed democratic dividends in terms of efficient governance
and effective representation.
KEYWORDS
Democracy; Democratic deficits; Democratic representation; Election; Fourth Republic (Nigeria).
Received on February 2, 2020
Accepted on April 4, 2020
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