De-Democratization and the Paradox of State Fragility: Can Nigeria’s Democracy Survive?

Abstract

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the discourse of De-democratization and the paradox of State fragility with special attention to Nigeria. While employing content analytical methods and structural-functionalism theory, the paper argued that Nigerian democracy is bedeviled with enormity of challenges ranging from hollow electoral process, economic conundrum, inequality and marginalization, corruption, ethnic chauvinism among others, which has weakened the country’s democratization effort. Even though the country has existed for a century, it has failed to imbibe the democratic ethos. The discourse critically ventured into proffering possible ways that could ensure the survivability of Nigeria’s democracy with a post – colonial state formation