Article Sidebar
Published:
Sep 15, 2025Keywords:
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright to submitted papers when accepted is transferred to the journal, together with the associated reproduction rights. The Publisher reserves the right to alter the text to suit the journal style, particularly in terms of punctuation, spelling and usage. If submitted article contains any material whose copyright (s) are held by other parties, then the author is required to have obtained all the necessary clearances or permissions and show evidence of having done so. Such permission must be sought for citations of text more than fifty words in length, figures/illustrations and/or tables originating or derived (adapted) from other sources.
Main Article Content
The Nightmare of Democratization and Elections in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: A Discursive Analysis
Abstract
The Fourth Republic in Nigeria’s journey into a true democratic identity is undoubtedly replete
with a number of unresolved fundamental issues by which the nation’s recourse at
democratization will remain nightmarish. This article revolves around a major focus which is the
fact that the grab at democracy in 1999 caught us unawares as the country lacked the true
requisites for democracy. Given an interpretivist analytical tone, the study contends that the
nature of the Nigerian state and the frustrating tendencies of the country’s politicians constitute
the major stumbling block to the actualization of the country’s democratic yearnings. Inferably,
the elections conducted so far have never lived up to the aspirations of the Nigerian populace. By
employing a qualitative research approach laden within-country research design with relevant
case-studies drawn from the country’s different electoral epochs, the study undertakes to
establish that democratic backsliding that the country grapples with is not unconnected with its
inherited systemic problems exacerbated by contentious electoral transition, political interference
and lack of democratic credibility. Mindful of the possibility of an attitude of wholesome change,
it ends with a number of suggestions with a view to ushering in a more sincere democratic
desideratum.
