DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIA FROM 2007-2014

This study is on “Democracy and Development: A case study of Nigeria between 2007 and 2014. With the popularity of democracy in modern states, it becomes imperative to examine deeply, how significant this has affected the populace. In 1998, UNESCO established the International Panel on Democracy and Development (IPDD), to probe in depth into the relationship between democracy and development. Against this background, the objectives of this study seeks to analyse the relationship between democracy and development; Examine the impact of the interaction of democracy and development in Nigeria between 2007 and 2014; Highlight the challenges militating against effective democracy and development in Nigeria; Identify the strategies that could be adopted to achieve a positive effect on the interaction between democracy and development in Nigeria. The descriptive approach is used to assist in understanding the trend of events in how democracy has or has not affected development within Nigeria’s democratic set up. Using the structural functionalist theory, it was discovered that there is a connection between the two concepts. This is because basic tenets of democracy must lead or not lead to economic development. This study probes into the background of democracy in Nigeria and how it has maintained it by the necessary characteristics of the rule of law, respect for human rights and recognition of the intrinsic dignity of all human beings. In conclusion, it was submitted that, for change to occur in any society, it requires the presence of objective and subjective conditions. Objective conditions exist when situations are evidently abnormal with huge contradictions which can only be resolved by change. The subjective conditions are the organizational preparations required to bring about change. In our view, the objective condition is ripe in Nigeria. There is poverty in the midst of plenty. There are huge contradictions and gap between the poor and the rich. The country cannot continue in the way it is presently being run. Unfortunately, the subjective conditions are absent. There is no virile political party or movement that is committed to change neither is there a vanguard revolutionary organization to guide that change. Following from the foregoing, it is recommended that emphases be placed on social development research, women development and empowerment, improvement of the content and process of the constitution making. Also “empowerment” defined as control over material assets, intellectual resources, and ideology is crucial in development as it leads to redistribution of power and transformation of structures and institutions and lastly the encouragement of popular participation in the democratic process will help reduce apathy and engender accountability.