Democracy in Nigeria: The Journey So Far

Three years after Nigeria gained independence on 1^st October 1960, Nigeria formally became a republic. Prior to 1963, when Nigeria was declared a republic, it remained a 'Commonwealth Realm with Queen Elizabeth II as the titular head of state'. Sir Tafawa Balewa became the prime minister and head of government, while Dr. Nmamdi Azikwe was the president. The country was divided into regions- Western; Northern and Eastern regions- headed by a premier. This was the structure of government until January 1966, when the nation experienced the first coup de’tat carried out by young army officers led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu. This ugly incident led to the collapse of the first republic as the prime minister, premiers of the Western and Northern regions and some top government functionaries were gruesomely murdered.

Consequently, the first military government was constituted with the most senior military officer, Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi as the head. In June of the same year, the military struck again. The Head of State was killed and the then Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Yakubu Gowon became the Head of state. After over 9 years in the saddle, Gowon was ousted out of office in a bloodless coup. Gen. Murtala Ramat Muhammed became the new head of the Federal Military Government. Consequent upon Gen. Murtala muhammed’s assassination in 1976, his deputy and ally, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became the Military President. In his inauguration speech, Obasanjo promised to return the country to civilian rule. Indeed, he fulfilled his promise, becoming the first military head of state to willingly hand over power to a civilian. A new constitution was drafted, political parties were formed and national election was held with Alhaji Shehu Shagari of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) becoming the president.

The civilian government of 1979 marked the beginning of what was described as the third republic. This republic was brought to an abrupt end in 1985. The military struck again! They said perverse corruption in the system supervised by the Shagari-led government is the reason why they struck.

The military ruled from Dec. 1983 to May 1999. Power continued to change hands in the military through different kinds of coup- bloodless and later palace coup - with Gen. Muhammadu Buhari as the head of State from 1983 to 1986; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, 1986 to 1993; Gen Sanni Abacha 1993 to 1998 and Gen. Abdul-Salami Abubakar, 1998-1999. In 1993, there was an interim government headed by a technocrat, Chief Earnest Shonekan. Nigerians had prevailed on IBB to step down after he had annulled the freest and fairest election in the history of the country. The presumed winner of that historic election was Chief MKO Abiola. The interim government only lasted for 3 months. With the transition from military rule to civilian rule on May 29, 1999. Gen. Abdul-Salami Abubakar became the second head of State to willingly hand over power to a civilian, thereby putting an end to the third republic. Ban on political parties were lifted, a new constitution- 1999 constitution- was written and a general election was conducted through-out the federation. Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military ruler won on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), defeating Olu Falae of Alliance for Democracy (AD).

On May 29, 1999, Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn-in as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It was a watershed in the history of Nigeria. It marked the beginning of the fourth republic. Expectations were high as the new president is expected to embark on a mission to rebuild the country, initiate policies that will make up for those wasteful years of military rule.

 After 8 years in the saddle, he handed over to Musa yar’adua who won the 2007 presidential election. Following the death of President Yar'Adua on 5th May, 2010, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, the then Vice-President was sworn-in as the president. He contested and won the 2011 general elections which was largely believed to be ‘freer and fairer than all the previous elections’ – 1999, 2003 & 2007. In 2015, Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler won the general elections held on 28 March 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), thus ending the PDP’s 16- year rule  (1999–2015).

Today, we celebrate 18 years of the country’s return to democracy. Political analysts believed that democracy has come to stay in Nigeria, as military system of government is no longer fashionable.
Democracy was defined by Abraham Lincoln as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Defining Nigeria’s democracy in the context of this definition, we can conveniently say that we have not embrace democracy fully. Our democratic institutions are weak. It is not to say that our democracy is not growing, but the growth is relatively slow. Our electoral system is still susceptible to manipulations. But considering the reformations that it undergone in the last 6 years, we can say that there are better days ahead. Away from the electoral institution, other democratic institutions like the judiciary, the investigative umpires, the police and the military should be strengthened. For us to have a strong and enduring democracy both the leaders and the governed should respect the rule of law and apply the rule of law no matter whose ox is gored.