Interrogating Stateness-Democratization Nexus in Nigeria: Issues and Contentions

Abstract

Surely, many answers would be given to the question of why Africa is not democratizing: neo-colonialism, non-civic political culture, pervasive authoritarianism, weak constitutional base etc. Specifically, these answers are not completely irrelevant to the crisis of democratization in Africa. Alone or in combination, they could be serious impediments but this article, drawing inspiration from notable statist theorists and using Nigeria as a research backdrop, contends that statelessness is at the root of the democratization crisis in Africa. Like its colonial predecessor, the post-colonial state in Africa does not have the wherewithal to support genuine democracy. The article recommends that changing the tide in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular, must entail the restructuring and the re-legitimization of the state.