NIGERIA'S EXPERIMENT WITH DEMOCRACY

This comprehensive analysis examines Nigeria's experiment with democratic governance during the early 1980s, focusing on the Second Republic (1979-1983) and the subsequent return to military rule. The article explores the historical context of Nigeria's democratic transition, analyzing the constitutional framework, party system development, and electoral processes that characterized the Second Republic. The research investigates the performance of democratic institutions during this period, assessing the functioning of executive-legislative relations, federal-state dynamics, and judicial independence. The study examines the socio-economic challenges that confronted Nigerian democracy, including oil dependency, economic management issues, and corruption concerns. The article also analyzes the factors that led to the collapse of the Second Republic and the return to military government in December 1983. Furthermore, the assessment considers the lessons from Nigeria's democratic experiment for other African countries undergoing political transitions.

Nigeria's Second Republic represented one of the most significant experiments with democratic governance in post-colonial Africa, with this article providing a comprehensive analysis of its achievements and failures during the early 1980s. The research begins by examining the historical context of Nigeria's democratic transition, analyzing how the experience of the First Republic and subsequent military rule informed the design of the Second Republic's constitutional framework. The analysis explores the institutional architecture of the Second Republic, examining the presidential system, federal structure, and party regulations established by the 1979 constitution. The article investigates the party system that emerged during the Second Republic, analyzing how the requirement for national spread influenced party organization and electoral competition. The study examines the performance of democratic institutions, assessing executive-legislative relations, federal-state dynamics, and the role of the judiciary in constitutional interpretation and rights protection. The research evaluates economic management during the democratic period, analyzing how oil revenue fluctuations, debt accumulation, and structural adjustment pressures affected governance and political stability. Based on the comprehensive assessment, the article identifies both institutional and structural factors that contributed to the collapse of the Second Republic and analyzes the implications for future democratic experiments in Nigeria and other African countries. The findings provide valuable insights into the challenges of democratic consolidation in ethnically diverse, resource-dependent states and contribute to understanding the conditions necessary for sustainable democratic governance in post-colonial African contexts.