The West and Elections in Nigeria

Abstract

The end of the cold war has made democratization, and its barest essential component elections, imperative for all nondemocratic forms of government. This is to be expected, given the dismal failure of the socialist alternative even in the first socialist country, the former Soviet Union. The United States, which is not only the foremost democracy in the world but also the only superpower, has been in the vanguard of democracy salesmanship. Africa, the continent with the least democratic space, has not been left out, as witnessed by President Bill Clinton’s unprecedented tour of the continent in March 1998.Understandably, Nigeria, arguably the most important country in Africa, was left out of the tour, since it was then under the obnoxious, undemocratic, and oppressive military regime of the late General Sani Abacha.

Any Prospect for Trade Union Revitalisation in Nigeria through Democratisation and Democratic Leadership?

“…The annulment of the election result could hardly be comprehended by the Yorubas, as this was their first clear chance to break the northern hegemony. The annulement thus led to unrest in many parts of the country (Sesay and Ukeje, 1999). The disagreement and unrest paved the way for the military to hang on to power.…”

“…General Abacha became both the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the Head of State. Due to pressure from internal and external sources, especially the sanction from the Commonwealth, the Abacha junta announced a three-year programme for transition to civilian rule in 1995 (Sesay and Ukeje, 1999). The transition programme was similar to that of his predecessor.…”

Impact of Macroeconomic Conditions on Government Popularity: An Ecowas Investigation

“…Bierschenk and de Sardan (2003) hence proposed that Benin has often been cited as a model democracy in the African context, because it has fair and free presidential and parliamentary elections. 5 Adejumobi (2000) showed that economic fortunes and the shift in international political economies should account for the changing political scene in some countries like Niger, Gambia, Ghana, Togo, Kenya, Zambia, Cote d'Ivoire, and the Nigeria (Sesay and Ukeje, 1999). Looking at the successful democratic transitions in Senegal, Vengroff and Magala (2001) studied the 2000 Senegalese presidential election and showed that economic security and regime performance play a critical role in changing the political culture movement towards the transition.…”