Democratisation and Political Development in Nigeria under the Fourth Republic

Abstract

This article explores the rationale for democratisation and political development under the Fourth Republic of Nigeria. In the process of this underlying process, Nigeria is the largest democracy in Africa which experiences unending transition from the military regimes to democratic rules after the cessation of the British rule in 1960. However, the success of the founding election in 1999 was a sine qua non for the national unity of the country as well as for the interest of dispersed territory. Thus, the process of democratisation often assorted to political challenges which have threatened the national unity of the country. The performance has provoked the intervention of the scholars to wonder about the sustainability of the country in the face of the current challenges. The assessment of the first and second wave of democratisation have witnessed this situation between 1974 and 1991, of course, there is hope and fortune for the Nigeria democratic process to establish political arrangements in line with the principles of procedural legitimacy and triangular politics as the major criteria for sustainability of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria.