A SOCIO-PHILOSOPHICAL APPRAISAL OF THE CHALLENGES OF DEMOCRACY AND IT’S PROSPECTS FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

Phillips   Olubiyi

General Studies Department,

Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, Nigeria

Email: telcomasl@yahoo.co.uk

Abstract: After 55 years of political independence, Nigeria continues to grapple with the challenges of democratic transformation and good governance. All efforts by successive civilian governments to entrench true democracy and good governance in the country seem to have met brick walls in which for every gained step: two are lost. The generality of Nigerians had expected that the return of democratic rule to the country in 1999 will usher in a new dawn. These optimism, hope and great expectations were regrettably misplaced. The paper interrogates this state of affair and sheds light on those critical elements in the country’s democratic experiment that tend to frustrate the enthronement of true democracy and good governance. Worried about the future prospects of democracy in Nigeria, the paper concludes with suggestions on the way forward towards the domestication of true democracy and good governance in the country, stressing that the time to act is now.