THE EFFORTS OF NIGERIAN ARMY ON NASCENT DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY

Gulvi S. Yakubu and Mohammed Garba

Department of Political Science

University of Maiduguri, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

In spite of the efforts made by successive military regimes towards entrenching democratic political culture, the nature of party formation and political participation by the citizens is still not ripe for the consolidation of democratic political culture.  Military government or regimes are characterize with different problems ranging from suspension of the constitution, centralized administration, intolerance to opposition and criticism, they are not elected and therefore, they are not representatives of the people.  The army may feel compelled to intervene in order to implement unpopular austerity policies that political elites have been unable or unwilling to undertake or to correct politically or ideologically inspired fiscal imbalances that have led the economy to the brink of collapse. The objectives of the research are to examine the nature of party formation between 1985 to 1999, and to examine the level of political participation by the citizens in consolidating democracy in Nigeria.  The work seeks to answer questions on the nature of party formation from 1985 to 1999.  Also, to examine possible solutions to military intervention in politics in Nigeria, the use of secondary data as sources of information for this research work was adopted. The work recommends that there should be good leadership to enhance respect for the rule of law, determination to attain and maintain self-reliance and sustainable development in Nigeria.

Keyword:  Nascent, Democracy, Efforts, Army