Foreign Democratic Assistance to Nigeria (1999-2015): The Nexus between Strategy and Election Result (Published)
This study examined “Foreign Democratic Assistance to Nigeria 1999-2015: The Nexus Between Strategy and Election Results. The study employed survey method. This method enable the authors to gather data from representative of sampled institutions: civil societies, political parties, election umpire (INEC), security institutions, Donor Agencies and opinion leaders 252 respondents were drawn from these institutions. Data were obtained using interview instrument (participants’ perspective). The realistic theory of change by Anderson, a modification of carol (1972) change model theory was used as the framework of analysis. Analysis of data gathered shows the following results. (1) That Nigeria received democratic assistance between 1999-2015 from US, UK, EU and other major international partners engaging in democratic promotion. (2) That Nigerians need such gesture to strengthening her democracy. (3) That Donor’s emphasis on civil society have little influence on state institutions that control electoral process in Nigeria. (4) Donor’s impact is not felt in the area of party primary – selection of party candidates. Lastly the result shows that Nigeria’s democracy exists within the context of particular mode of production that link set of values preferred by the political elite. This provides the context for electoral misbehavior. Thus, election violence, rigging, manipulation and imposition of candidates that characterized Nigerian elections do not in any way relate or correlate with foreign democratic assistance objectives. Based on these, the study suggests modification of Donor’s strategy (inclusive strategy) that will not only strengthen civil society but also regulate the excessive use of state power by power mongers to cause electoral fraud and violence just to remain in power.
Keywords: Democratic Assistance, Elections, Foreign
Governance, Corruption and the Democratic Order in Africa: The Case of Nigeria (Published)
The triumph of the democratic order in Africa will depend to a large extent on the capacity of stakeholders to tackle the ravages of corruption. Across the continent, the quest for economic and political development had been hampered by corruption on the part of the leaders and followers, thus making the democratic enterprise appear as condemned to being subverted, as it turns out, from within. The scourge appears intractable due to its prevalence, thus, encumbering most States in the continent. For decades, Nigeria’s has been performing below average in the transparency international index of corruption. At some point, Nigeria was oscillating between the first and second most corrupt nation in the world. This unenviable status continues to assert negatively on the State and the growth of democracy despite the several strategies put in place by past and previous regimes to combat the scourge. This paper therefore considers the hindrances of corruption to the development of the democratic order and explores the imperative of good governance in remedying the malaise.
Keywords: Corruption, Democracy, Elections, Good Governance, Leadership