International records / OpenAlex research

Elitist politics and constitutionalism in Nigeria

This article deals with the elite and their role in democratic state building in Nigeria between 1999 and 2007. Employing the rational choice approach, it shows how elite interests, especially the governing elite engender antidemocratic behaviour manifest in flagrant violations of the rule of law. The consequence, it argues, is the reproduction of weak democratic institutions, such as the executive, legislator, and judiciary. This situation is not helped by the prevalence of a weak civil society. It concludes with a clarion call on the elite to be more attuned to developmental politics to enha…