The Democratization Process in Nigeria: The Factors behind the Incomplete Transition

The purpose of this study is to examine on the democratization process in Nigeria by employing Rustow dynamic model of democratic transition on the basis of the following hypothesis: Transition to democracy in Nigeria is incomplete because of the existence of unsupportive socio-political circumstances, namely the weaknesses in the sense of national unity, the lack of prolonged political struggle, the lack of conscious action by the political elite to adopt democratic rule and the lack of a consensus among the political elite on the rules of the game (democratic principles). This study argues that although there was a transfer of political power from military to civilians in 1999, democratic transition process has not been consolidated, thus it is incomplete. The study argues that although the military has never attempted to control political power after 1999 democratic standards remained poor. After transition to civilian rule, regime characteristics emerged till today demonstrate a semi-democratic system in which a democratic and authoritarian elements continued to exist with a stable combination. A number of un-democratic regime characteristic such as corruption, god-fatherism, election irregularities, patron-client relations and ethno-centrism blocked the transition process. The study shows that since Nigeria has experienced long years of military rule before transition to civilian rule the attempt towards transforming the political regime in 1999 encountered several challenges such as ethno-religious conflicts, underdevelopment, poverty, secessionism, nepotism and Boko Haram terrorism. As a general conclusion, the study shows that these challenges need to be overcome and non-democratic practices should be eliminated to ensure consolidation of democratic transition in the country. Keywords: Democracy, Transition to Democracy, Phases of Democratic Transition, Incomplete Transition, Nigeria.