Democracy And Ethnic Diversity In Nigeria

This book describes Nigeria's past and present political, social, and economic history as it relates to tribalism, colonialism, lack of political leadership and other dysfunctional behavior in society preventing Nigeria's democracy. It presents vital proposals for future Nigerian democracy and economic prosperity. The book advocates a two-party federalism, tribal nationalism and economic prosperity based on a participatory instead of rotational presidency. The study recommends an economic diversification in Nigeria's revenue sharing, tax systems, domestic economy and agriculture instead of the dependence on oil revenues. Lastly, the book defines the role of the military in the future of Nigeria's democracy.

An introduction to the politics and society of post-colonial Nigeria, highlighting the key themes of ethnicity, democracy, and development.

The politics of identity and ethnicity will remain a fundamental characteristic of African modernity. For this reason, historians and anthropologists have joined political scientists in a discussion about the ways in which democracy can develop in multicultural societies. In Ethnicity and Democracy in Africa, the contributors address why ethnicity represents a political problem, how the problem manifests itself, and which institutional models offer ways of ameliorating the challenges that ethnicity poses to democratic nation-building.

This book is more than just a study of ethnic politics in Kenya and Nigeria. The two countries are a microcosm of the entire continent: the problems it faces, its successes and failures, and the hope and despair of hundreds of millions of its people whose aspirations have been frustrated by decades of corrupt leadership that has skilfully exploited one of Africa's biggest weaknesses -- tribalism. But the people themselves are also responsible for that. They have allowed tribalism to flourish and destroy the countries. And they have allowed unscrupulous politicians to use and abuse them -- without storming the Bastille. What they are not responsible for is dictatorship African leaders instituted to perpetuate themselves in office by exploiting tribalism. These despots have been so good at it, and have done it for so long since independence, that many African countries are now on the brink of collapse, with the people at war against themselves.