Politics and Responsibility: The Post Military Management Of The Nation

Abstract

Democratic governance constitutes an enduring challenge for Africa’s most population nation, Nigeria. Despite the symbolic physical return to the barracks by the military since May, 1999 for elected civilian government in the country, politics in Nigeria is yet to be well rooted. Politics has become a form of Military warfare with no “khaki’ but with the entire lethal weapon found in military armoury. The political class is yet to imbibe the real tenets and principles of democracy. This poses a mortal danger to the embryonic political institutions. Nigerian democracy therefore, remains fragile, conflict sensitive and possibly reversible as the legacy of praetorianism and illiberal political culture constrain the progress and opportunities for democratic growth and consolidation in the country. Progress and expectations are widely disconnected. This paper reflects on the form, trajectory and content of democratic governance in post military Nigeria from 1999 to 2012.

Keyword: Politics, Responsibility, Management and Nation