Civil Rule Research Articles

Armed Political Conflict Between Supporters of a Civil Rule System and Supporters of a Religious Imamate System in the Sultanate of Oman - Secret British Documents - Oman Encyclopedia Source (1954 - 1971)

Armed Political Conflict Between Supporters of a Civil Rule System and Supporters of a Religious Imamate System in the Sultanate of Oman - Secret British Documents - Oman Encyclopedia Source (1954 - 1971)

Military legitimacy question in democratic transitions of Zimbabwe and Algeria

Nation-building is intertwined with certain political agency interactions in conflict-prone regions of the world. Within these conflagrations comes the question of legitimacy in transition processes. It is more so when the military is the main actor. The military variable in these processes, and civilians in the uprisings that led to the fall of the long-term leaders of Zimbabwe and Algeria highlight the vulnerability of the state in search of a sustainable nation-state. The problem under assessment in this paper is interwoven with the following questions: why is the military institution a challenge to democracy or civil rule in both countries (by extension Africa)? Could military coups be associated with civilian misrule? Could it be a case of poor civilian-military relationship? All these questions remain a sub to the question of military legitimacy in Democratic transitions of both countries and by extension Africa. The political leaderships in Zimbabwe and Algeria claim to draw their political legitimacy from the liberation histories of their countries that make them a stakeholder in democratic processes. The establishment of this claim to legitimacy remains a question when viewed from the prism of mass engagement in protest and uprisings. The conclusion here is that the two countries were similar in terms of their prevailing situations and have compromised efforts to legitimize governments in both countries. This paper employs the comparative content analysis of the relations between the military and the civilians in the two countries. It relies on the qualitative research approach and the desk research methodology which are effective in analyzing electronic and non-electronic documentary evidence. The paper recommends that the mechanism that guarantees the restriction of the military to their traditional assignment of defending the state and dissuading them from intruding into politics needs to be instituted in both countries.

Contending Weltanschauungen and the Shrinking of Democratic Spaces An Appraisals of Nigeria Democratic Practices-2015-2022

Ivan Krastev said “we are all living in Vladimir Putin’s world now”, where sheer force tramples over democratic rights. However, the travails of the liberal order is not only Putin’s Russia, China waits on the wings….Even the bastions of democracy like United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) are not left out. In them have arisen Rightwings populist in the guise of ‘America First’, which cumulated to the January 6, 2021 ‘insurrection’ in Washington and the Brexit brouhaha in UK. Nigeria being a member of the comity of nations is not antipathetic to this trend. Of the twelve largest democratic decline in the world, seven are in Sub-Saharan Africa and Nigeria is number five. It had been noted that Democratic practise in Nigeria is a hybrid: civil rule, militarism, and ethnic jingoism. In a recent poll by Statista, 77.2% of Nigerians agree that Nigeria democracy is flawed. This paper interrogates the democratic reversal in Nigeria using the Realist Balance of Power (BoP) Framework in the midst of contending Weltanschauungen. The paper argues that Russia and China’s contrary worldview to democratic norms has given countries democratic trade-offs, which have engendered democratic reversal worldwide, Nigeria inclusive. The paper recommends continuous vigilance by Nigerian’s civil societies and others, to insist that democratic tenets are upheld always, as exemplified by their insistence for the signing of the 2022 Electoral Law. Data were collated through documentary methods; these qualitative data were transcribed, interpreted, and analysed through systematic logical deductions.

Causas de nulidad procesal: una revisión de la teoría de las identidades en el orden contencioso-administrativo

Several cases causing invalidity of procedural acts, both acts of the parties and judicial proceedings, refer to the triple-identity rule required for the claim as the object of the litigation: either in order not to repeat a second identical proceeding (confirmatory act, lis pendens and res judicata, depending on whether the first proceeding was not initiated by consenting to the act, is in process or has concluded with a finaljudgment on the merits), or in order not to alter that object within the same proceeding (procedural inconsistency with respect to the administrative review, throughout the proceeding or by an inconsistent judgment). The triple-identity civil rule establishes the scope of such identity for all these institutions connected by case law, alsotaking into account the singularities of the contentious-administrative object. But the extension of the procedural object still needs to be clarified jointly and individually, so that the cases of invalidity of procedural acts, in addition to responding to their specific objectives against duplicity and inconsistency, do not harm effective judicial protection or the results of material justice.

Cyber상의 위험과 재난으로부터 자유와 안전을 보장할 제어국가의 법적 규제

The 4th industrial revolution is changing the way of life of individuals, the shape of freedom, and the structure of the market and society, which were identified in the national law, constitution, and administrative law. Internet of Things, big data, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicle, drones, smart cities, smart factories, Fintech, cloud computing, 5G, etc. are making the cyber world and the real world work through various connections and convergence. Therefore, cyber risks and disasters seriously and continuously bring new violations of fundamental rights and market disturbances in a hyper-connected society. Technologies such as cyber hacking, which disrupt the market and infringe on citizens' fundamental rights, continue to develop. The enemies of freedom and society who carry out cyber attacks are wide and diverse in the form, scope, and aspect of the violation to the extent that the state or local governments cannot easily respond and overcome. Cyber dangers and disasters are instilling a common and widespread anxiety among citizens. This threatens freedom, which is the premise of a civil rule of law state. It also infringes on credibility, which is the premise of a communicative civil society. It undermines safety, which is the condition for the fusion of science and the humanities. The list of fundamental rights infringed by this includes the general freedom of action, freedom of expression, right to privacy and self-determination of personal information, basic IT rights, freedom and safety of life and body, freedom of residence, freedom of communication, property rights, and the right to be rescued from criminal damage, the right to claim protection from risks and disasters. Unlike fundamental rights in the offline society, the list of basic rights in cyberspace such as housing and freedom of telecommunication is not strictly separated but has a complex and overlapping nature. In this article, the author subdivides the basic IT rights that have recently been recognized by the German Federal Constitutional Court and presents them as the right to demand confidentiality, the right to demand integrity, and the right to demand availability. The subject of national laws that will guarantee freedom and safety against cyber risks and disasters should no longer be unilaterally limited to the state. Local governments as well as markets in which businesses and individuals participate should be included. This is because reliance on the conventional liberal view of the state, an social state view, and the privatized state view will lead to market failure and government failure again. Now, the state, local governments, and the market should work together to share responsibility for cyber risks and disasters and cooperate. The State shall ensure that it fulfills its guarantee responsibilities based on the guarantee state(Gewährleistungsstaat) view. The state should respect the autonomy of the market from the point of view of the Steering State(Steuerungsstaat) and, can only exceptionally, closely regulate the market to intervene when it cannot solve the problem on its own. When the market goes well autonomously, Government should step back again. As an Active State, the Government should smartly carry out deregulation and soft regulation in parallel with existing commanding regulations. The existing traditional commanding regulations, such as various administrative actions and administrative penalties, should be reduced, and the legal basis for those should be clearly placed in the laws and regulations rather than relying on guidelines or administrative inner rules. According to the public law, the proportion of non-powerful means such as contracts and administrative guidance, as well as new means of securing effectiveness such as charges and the publication of lists (Naming and Shaming) should be increased.

Sycophantic Culture and the Sustainability of Democracy in Nigeria

Since the return to democratic or civil rule in Nigeria in 1999, we have had the opportunity to take our cherished democracy through successful successive rebirths. Our democracy has been a major factor for the changes, development and growth which we share today. This democracy has also taught us to checkmate people placed in positions in our bid to fight poverty, ensure social cohesion, facilitate the development of our social services, deepen political participation and awareness, and above all, sustain the peace of one Nigeria. However, it is observed with great concern and urgency that there is this dangerous cancerous enigmatic culture which if not tackled, has the propensity to derail and crumble our gigantic efforts to build a better Nigerian democratic culture. This cancer is what I call “sycophantic culture” which is more dangerous than the coup makers. Hence, this paper argues that this sycophantic culture in our socio-economic and political lives is one of the biggest threats we face even as we shape our democracy. Using analytic, historical and expository stencils, the paper identifies the various shades and forms this culture has hindered the making of our national rebirth where merit strives, mediocrity is shunned, ethnic cleavages are integrated at a higher level and cheap religious sentiments down played. The paper concludes using Tiv system of moral justice which reveres the pride of truth telling as a strong panacea towards building an integrative Nigerian democratic variable culture.

Media Watchdogging and the Crisis of Governance in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

There is an issue that most scholars would reach consensus on: the significance of the media for democracy and good governance. This paper’s point of departure is that the media provides the basis for popular participation in democratic politics, and that democracy loses its essence without a vibrant and independent media. Unarguably, the media provides access to information in a democracy, and provides a check on elected state/public officials. Without an independent and robust media, democracy would be an endangered project. In Nigeria, the media is the watchdog on both the government and the society. Section 22 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) details the responsibility of the media to hold the government accountable to the citizens of Nigeria. The media is generally considered the fourth estate of the realm, imbued with omnibus responsibilities to inform and educate citizens with a view to engendering democratic inclusion and accountability of the government to the people. Therefore, a free and incorruptible media would enable informed citizenship and engender good governance. However, this paper contends that the environment in which the Nigerian media operates circumscribes it from delivering its optimal responsibilities to the society and the government. The paper further identifies the factors that constrain and incapacitate the media from being an efficient and effective watchdog on both the government and society. The paper posits that despite the fact that the return to civil rule in 1999 was expected to facilitate the independence of the media and a greater freedom of expression than Nigerians had experienced under military rule, the reality is that the media was more effective during military rule in its watchdog functions on both the government and the society. Thus, the paper contends that the media have performed less creditably under a civil rule than it did under a military regime that had governed Nigeria, prior to 1999. Conclusively, the paper argues that without a strong and independent media, good governance and an inclusive society would remain elusive.

Tax obligation and state legitimacy: A critique of the disconnect between state demands and people’s desiderata

The payment of taxes is one of the obligations recognised under any civil rule system. This informs why Nigeria, in its practice of constitutional democracy, emphasises prompt payment of tax as a basic duty of citizens to foster development, economic growth, and building. There is a fiscal contract through which citizens accept and comply with taxes in exchange for government’s effective services, the rule of law and accountability. It is a mutually beneficial process whereby citizens will receive improved governance while the government receives larger, more predictable, and more easily collected tax revenues. However, there is an obvious reversal of the fundamental obligations of the government, resulting in the sharp contrast between the state demands and people’s needs. This work, using doctrinal and survey sampling methods, critically examines the accountability and responsiveness of the government in its fiscal contract with the people, by embarking on a review of the correlation between the government’s obligations of good governance and the citizens’ civic duties of prompt payment of taxes. The review finds that the Nigerian tax system does not have a positive effect on nation-building as there is an apparent infrastructural deficit that impugns the taxpayers’ and investors’ confidence in the integrity of the tax system. Besides, there is no state machinery for an effective inclusive tax dialogue. Consequently, the initiation of the process of constructive engagements with the government is suggested to achieve an inclusive tax bargain which it is hoped will usher in a regime of responsive governance for sustainable development.

Ecowas and the management of the post-2016 presidential electoral conflict in Gambia

This study explores the role of ECOWA in the management of the post-2016 presidential electoral conflict in Gambia. The 2016 election was surprisingly won by the leader of an opposition coalition; Adama Barrow. Barrow defeated Yayha Jammeh, who had already won consecutively four previous presidential elections. This marked the terminal point of Jammeh’s 20-years rule of Gambia, marred with human rights abuses. Jammeh initially conceded defeat but later changed his mind after a week, thus triggering a major political conflict. For months, he made incessant desperate attempts to cling to power, before finally leaving the country on 21 January 2017, when it appeared he would be removed by force. Indeed, different stakeholders including the ECOWAS played a vital role for ensuring peace in Gambia. In this connection, this study discusses exclusively the roles of ECOWAS in mitigating the conflict under consideration. With extant literature and oral sources backed with the realist conflict theory, the paper traces the historical foundations of the ECOWAS and electoral conflict in Gambia. It emphasizes the roles the organization has played in mitigating the post-2016 electoral conflict in the Country. The study reveals that ECOWAS was able to restore civil rule and peace in the country by threatening the use of force. ECOWAS enjoyed the support of both African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN). The two organizations gave ECOWAS the much needed support. This conflict resolution in the Gambia was termed the African solution to African problems. Hence this study recommends among others that ECOWAS should continue to act as the regional defender because the numerous conflicts in the region are indeed African problems and should therefore be tackled by Africans themselves.

The political economy of Biafra separatism and post-war Igbo nationalism in Nigeria

Abstract The past two decades that coincide with the return of civil rule in most African countries have witnessed the reinforcement of ethnic nationalism and separatist agitations. While scholarly attention has focused on ethnicity to explain the revival of ethnic nationalism, how ethnic and class discourses conflate in the pursuit of ethnic nationalism remains understudied. Using a qualitative-dominant approach, this article interrogates how the Igbo petty bourgeoisie use ethnicity to mask the underlying differences in their material conditions in relation to the alienated masses. It also examines how these differences shape post-war Igbo nationalism. In the main, this article argues that the intersection of ethnic and class discourses is underpinned by unequal distribution of rights and powers accruing from productive resources. This unequal distribution of rights and powers results in differential material well-being and gives rise to conflicts between the dominant and subordinate classes. This explains the divergent approaches of the different factions of Igbo petty bourgeoisie to Igbo nationalism in Nigeria. The article concludes that understanding the political economy of the intersection of ethnic and class discourses is relevant for resolving the nationality question and the Biafra secessionist agitations in Nigeria and others across Africa.

A Cycle of Elections without Democracy?: Nigeria’s Troubled Democratisation in Perspective

Elections are the lifeblood of democracy which avail voters the opportunity of choosing and legitimising a government. While the holding of elections marks a good feature of democracy, the quality of such elections determines whether they conform to acceptable standard in terms of meeting the democratic aspirations and the needs of the people. Although research on democratization in Africa has grown in recent years, democratization itself has been slow to take hold in most African countries. Countries that appeared to be making a transition to democracy in the mid-1990s have stalled or reversed their transition in recent years. In Nigeria, since 1999, with the passing of a new federal constitution, elections have become more regular as witnessed in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. Diligent observation however, would confirm that these elections were flawed as a result of malpractices and improper electoral administration such that the political experiment is usually referred to as civil rule rather than democracy. Findings gleaned from the five rounds of elections in the country since 1999, in spite of the staggered successes, show the limitations of elections in consolidating democracy in divided societies.

“I Thought She Was Ordinary, I Only Saw Her Body”: Sex and Celebrity Advocacy in Nigerian Popular Culture

ABSTRACT The twenty-first century ushered in a new era in African popular culture. Hip hop, a popular genre of musical expression, which borrowed extensively from Western and African idioms and iconography of power and social relations, took a decisive turn. The themes and narratives of twenty-first century African hip hop mirror similar global forms in their conception and glorification of fandom, stardom, commodification and sexualization of women’s bodies, violence, and superfluous display of wealth. In this article, I examine some of the rare instances in which Nigerian male hip hop artists have used their talent and poetic license to call attention of the public to the economic and socio-political disenfranchisement of women. This article goes beyond a content analysis of the songs to underscore how core transformations in Nigeria’s democratic process since 1999, when civil rule was reintroduced, have shaped the circumstances under which hip hop artists rethink their sexualization and commodification of women’s bodies.

A win-win situation for both managers and shareholders

PurposeTo examine the impact of corporate governance on Cost of Capital (COC) and financial distress in the ASEAN countries.Design/methodology/approachWe compiled a list of the 50 largest publicly listed firms by market capitalization in each of the following five East Asian countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Furthermore, we then divided the five countries into two distinctive categories – (i) Malaysia and Singapore (Common Law/strong legal protection countries) and (ii) Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia (Civil Law/weak legal protection countries). The annual data is collected for the time period ranging from 2006 to 2015, allowing a total observation of 1,317 firm years.FindingsOverall, the paper supports the findings of many researchers that Board independence, promulgating good corporate governance, leads to better access to capital at lower cost, thus providing growth opportunities for ASEAN region. Taking lead from Simpson and Gleason (1999) and similar, we emphasize that during financial distress CEO duality will strengthen control systems and reduce internal discord in ASEAN firms.Originality/valueThe paper is one of the niche studies that has incorporated the difference between civil and common law rule in the study of corporate governance and its impact on financial measures of firms' in the ASEAN countries.

Room At The Table

Judicial opinions in structural reform litigation regarding unconstitutional police practices have largely truncated the Federal Civil Rule 24 analysis when evaluating the interests of impacted communities. No decision in police reform consent decree cases has ever granted a community organization’s motion to intervene as a matter of right. The most success achieved by a small few has been permissive intervention or amici status. Input from affected communities is an essential component of the reform process aimed at remedying the effects of unconstitutional policing. The model used by the Department of Justice to elicit the community perspective through newly created hybrid Commissions has largely been frustrating and unable to have a voice with equal weight and authority in the process. This articles seeks to identify a uniform standard for courts to utilize in public law cases when community organizations seek intervention and to propose an alternative approach to the composition and structure of organization(s) so that the voices and input of those affected by police brutality are included in a meaningful way. Section I discusses the standard set forth for intervention under Federal Rule 24, its purpose generally, and the motivation behind the 1966 amendment to the rule. This section also addresses normative questions as to community input in the creation of laws and litigation generally. Section II summarizes community organization attempts to engage in police-related structural reform litigation initiated by the Department of Justice since the enactment of 12601 as well as discuss the basis for which the respective courts’ denied community organizations the intervention as a matter of right. Section III explores the evolution of previous attempts by the Department of Justice to integrate community voice and perspectives into police consent decrees and why those efforts have been less than optimal. Section IV will explore the relevant cases and the courts’ application of the intervention standard. The Article concludes by offering a solution that provides community organizations the right to intervene as a party in DOJ-initiated reform efforts while addressing the practical and representative concerns articulated by the judiciary in prior cases.

Introduction: Nigeria – Twenty years of civil rule

Ebenezer Obadare (obadare@ku.edu) is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Kansas and Research Fellow at the Research Institute for Theology and Religion, University of South Africa. His latest book is Pentecostal republic: Religion and the struggle for state power in Nigeria (Zed Books, London, 2018). December is typically a month of fevered agitation in Nigeria. It is, for one thing, a month motorists have come to associate with fuel shortages, owing to industrial action by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), bottlenecks integral to the structure of oil distribution in the country, or sometimes a combination of both. December 2018 was different. Absent the usual petro-agony, the public was held in thrall by the allegation levelled by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a group claiming to champion self-determination for the Igbo, that the man Nigerians have been ‘looking at on the television’ is not President Muhammadu Buhari, but his genetically modified doppelganger, one ‘Jubril al Sudaniya from Sudan’.1 Mr Kanu, who has been a thorn in the Buhari administration’s flesh since its inauguration in May 2015, first made this bizarre claim in September 2017, and the fact that it did not gain traction until a year later – and even so only following multiple reaffirmations – may be attributed in part to its sheer outlandishness. Be that as it may, such was the speed at which the rumour had gained ground that President Buhari, addressing a gathering of Nigerians in Poland, had to categorically affirm that he was not dead and had not been replaced by a Sudanese look-alike. The statement later released by his aides titled: ‘It’s the real me, President Buhari responds to cloning allegation’ merely added a touch of farce to a bizarre episode.2

Aspirations and Realities in Africa: IV. Nigeria's Emerging Two-Party System?

This article reviews Nigeria's recently concluded 2019 general elections, which mark twenty years of unbroken civil rule. It considers the impact of the election-management body's technological solutions to vote fraud and concludes that notwithstanding logistical challenges, a low turnout, vote-buying and pockets of violence, the era of wholesale election-rigging in Nigeria appears to be over. Despite attempts at creating a "third force" in Nigerian politics, a two-party system seems to be evolving. The article examines the main opposition's better-than-expected performance, and factors that may affect the ruling party in its efforts to retain the upper hand.

Warband Cohesion in Thirteenth-Century Korea: Northeast Asian Influences on Sinitic Military Models*

The medieval state of Koryŏ (918-1392) relied on a heavily sinicized military structure to protect the peninsula from its foes across the border.But with the collapse of civil rule and the ascent to the highest offices of the state by the military in 1170, this system also collapsed, giving way to highly personalized and often improvised army structures. Northeast Asian influences combined with the spreading popularity of the warriors from the north (such as the Mongol), coalescing into the import of the warband to the Korean peninsula. It quickly established itself as the preferred way of organizing it soldiers in the military administration. The adoption of the warband is historically important, because of the political power it came to possess in the 13thcentury. As important is the fact that an important element of a larger Northeast Asian cultural complex entered Koryŏ through the northern. The warband was a Northeast Asian inflection in terms of warfare, but also in terms of the exercise of political power. Evidence showing the popularity of Northeast Asian models and ideals of warriorship among Koryŏ warriors did not stop at the individual level of clothing, armor, and weaponry or at the purely tactical level of fighting techniques and strategies. Strategic and organizational changes were added to what had been a military organization in the Sinitic mold. As such, the warband became the most important and prevalent military organisational principle in 13th-century Korea, ultimately becoming the institute that would decide the fate of the country – and certainly the life and death of its rulers – until the Mongols took over the governing of Koryŏ in the second half of the 13thcentury.

AN ETHICAL INVESTIGATION INTO THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL OF SECURITY AGENCIES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CRIMES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY: NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY

The nature and character of Post-Colonial states in Africa has remained in a state of vague. This is because of the contradictions between the bequeathed functions of the state and the systematic arrangements of actualizing its fundamental objectives. It is based on this premise that the objective of study sets out to ethically assess the performances of Nigeria’s security agencies in the management of Nigeria’s security challenges between 1999 and 2017.The study is necessitated by the debate in theoretical literature on the relationship between democracy and security. It is against this backdrop that the study sets to ethically investigate whether the re-introduction of democratic rule in Nigeria in 1999 has enhanced the security of lives and property of Nigerian citizens between 1999 and 2017.Data for the study were gathered and analyzed using the descriptive method. The Marxist theory of post- colonial state formed the framework of its analysis. The finding of the study is that the re-introduction of civil rule in Nigeria has not enhanced the security of lives and properties of Nigerian citizens as expected. The study therefore recommends among other things the need for forensic training and future studies on the organization of Nigeria’s security intelligence to ethically assess the management and performances of the nation’s security out fits.

TRANSITION TO CIVIL RULE PROGRAMMES IN NIGERIA 1966-1999: HOW SINCERE AND COMMITTED WERE THE MILITARY RULERS?

Within the period of thirty-nine years, 1960-1999, the Nigerian military ruled the country for twenty nine years in a series of coups and counter coup. These coups brought one military government to replace another. These replacements did not convince anyone that the military was sincere to hand over power to the civilians, even when some military governments promised or began the process of transition. Ironsi government promised but was not even allowed to draw up a transition programme before it was overthrown. Another military, Gowon, promised to hand over government but later postponed indefinitely the transition programme. This shows lack of commitment and insincerity. Mohammed learnt a big lesson from Gowon's failure. He overthrew Gowon and started in earnest the process of transition, but again the Nigerian military over threw him and punctuated the transition. Obasanjo derived so many lessons from all of these occurrences and pursued with vigour his transition programme and handed over to a civil rule even though he was not sincere about transition. Again the military over threw the Shagari government. Buhari did not commit himself to hand over power before Babangida over threw him. Babangida tried to transform into civilian president. His attempt failed. But Abacha was not wise enough. After pushing out Shonekan, his attempt to transform into a civilian President was brought to an end by death. Abdulsalami like Obasanjo got the lesson and in a show of determination to prevent another coup, quickly proceeded with transition which brought into power Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as a civilian President under PDP. Thus, circumstances and not sincerity compelled Obasanjo and Abdulsalami to hand over power in 1979 and 1999 respectively. Article visualizations:

Civil Society Organisations and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria

The 2015 general election was without doubt marred by violence in some areas, as reports in Rivers, Delta, Akwa-Ibom, and Benue states among others suggested. The general outcome of the election however revealed that the alleged incidences of violence were not enough to compromise the credible and transparent nature of the 2015 polls. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was given a pat on the back for organising an election that was largely adjudged free, fair and credible. However, interest groups such as the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have been playing significant role since the reintroduction of civil rule in Nigeria to ensure that the nascent democracy is sustained. The CSOs ensure that there is peaceful conduct of the electorates before and during elections, which is mainly achieved through voters’ education across the country, and monitoring of election at polling units on election days. This paper is an attempt to highlight the key roles played by the CSOs in sustaining Nigeria nascent democracy. Employing the functionalist perspective, the paper highlights the role played by these organizations towards consolidating the Nigerian democracy. The research relied on secondary data and concluded that the CSOs play an important role in ensuring violent free elections in Nigeria; hence democratic consolidation. The paper therefore recommends that government should partner more with CSOs to sustain the ethos of democracy in Nigeria.