Democracy as a system of government that recognizes the power of the people to rule is practiced in Nigeria by adults that are constitutionally defined as those who are 18 years of age and above. This paper observes that the people who should be in control of power have not recognized themselves as true power-holders who should be actively involved in democratic processes but are rather used by perceived “power-holders” in distorting democratic processes which bestowed power on them. This is attributed to lack of knowledge of the power bestowed on them by democracy to elect and remove any official who fails to protect their interests, welfare and aspirations. The paper establishes that this lack of knowledge stems from lack of quality information on democracy and its nexus and hence the bedrock of the prevailing democratic situations in Nigeria characterised by various negative democratic manoeuverings (such as electoral malpractices, denial of right to choose leaders or representatives, lack of freedom of speech, etc) leading to inability to deliver dividends of good governance to the people. This according to the paper leads to social ills and problems such as crimes, poverty, unemployment, etc. The paper proffers solution to this problem by proposing ways through which information and communication technology (ICT) could be used as a vehicle through which a large proportion of adults could be conscientized on the strength and power bestowed on them through democratic processes. The paper concludes that when people (adults) exercise their democratic powers and strength, dividends of good governance would be delivered while social vices and problems would be averted.
Keywords: Adult Education, Democracy, Democratic Values, Information and Communication Technology
