AfricaBib 
bibliographic database
| Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
 WorldCat |
| Title: | Demilitarisation and democratic re-orientation in Nigeria: issues, problems and prospects |
| Author: | Adejumobi, Said |
| Year: | 2000 |
| Periodical: | Verfassung und Recht in Übersee |
| Volume: | 33 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Pages: | 26-42 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Nigeria |
| Subjects: | democracy democratization |
| Abstract: | On May 29, 1999, Nigeria completed its military disengagement process or, officially, the Transition to Civil Rule Programme, with the handover of power to elected civilian leaders. It was the shortest disengagement plan in Nigeria's history and relatively free from political landmines and ambushes. The disengagement process authored by the military also produced a new phenomenon in Nigerian politics, up to the level of the presidency, namely the emergence of retired soldiers as a powerful political force. What occurred can best be described as 'army arrangement', a phrase popularized by the musician Fela Kuti, to denote the manipulations of military rulers. Others, however, would argue that this imperfect transition process may serve as a starting point in the democratic reconstruction of the country, and that in the post-military era, the struggle for democracy actually begins. This article discusses the project of democratization and the link with demilitarization and examines how civil society as well as the autonomy and institutional capacity of public institutions can be restored. Civil society is plagued by contradictions resulting from long years of military rule, notably a lack of internal democracy, external dependency for funding, and the use of tactics of violence and force as method and language of political expression. Civil society must shed the vestiges of authoritarianism and dictatorship. Achieving the goals of democratic reorientation requires resolving the military question, reclaiming public institutions, and empowering civil society. Notes, ref., sum. (p. 3-4). |
