Leadership–followership disconnect and democratic decline in Nigeria

Abstract

Leadership dispositions in politics determine, to a large extent, the direction, nature and character of democracy and electoral politics. For a long time, Nigeria has had power-mongering leadership, whose dispositions have redefined followership behaviour. Leadership–followership disconnect has impacted on democracy. Consequently, democracy in Nigeria operates in breach of its tenets. Most elections in Nigeria are synonymous with insidious violence, which have attracted the attention of scholars with insightful analyses. However, there has to date been little systematic evaluation of the primary factors accounting for democratic decline in Nigeria with particular regard to leadership– followership dialectic. This article interrogates the relationship between leadership dispositions and followership behaviour and the effect on democracy. Using content analysis, this article finds evidence that leadership–followership disconnect is the most important factor accounting for democratic decline in Nigeria. The findings are relevant both for understanding the dynamics of leadership–followership disconnect and its impact on democracy in Nigeria.