University of Nigeria Virtual Library

Serial No

Author 1 EZEANI, Emmanuel Onyebuchi

Author 2

Author 3

Title The Poor and Democratic Experiments in Nigeria: A

Theoretical and Empirical Analysis Keywords

Description The Poor and Democratic Experiments in Nigeria: A

Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

Category Social Sciences

Publisher Nigeria Journal of Public Administration and local

Government

Publication Date January, 1998

Signature

Januarv 1998

PUBLISHED BI-A NNUA L L Y 8 Y THE SUB-DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA.

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NIGERIAK JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ADMfNISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Voi. 9 No ! January 1998

ARTICLES -2s;ruption as a Constraint on Local Government effectiveness: -he case of Jema' a L w a l authority in Nigeria

(By Dr. C.E. fmezi)

=actors affecting human resources Management in the -ocal Government s %1en in Nigeria

(By Dr. h. C. Nwank wo)

-egisia;~ve process at the Local Government Level (By Dr. A .E. Daves, Ph.D.1

The Poor and Dernocratlc Experiment in Nigeria: A Theoretical and Empmcal Analysis

(By Dr. Ezeani O.E.)

3 ~ 1 o g e : ~ n ~ In ihk ' \ I I C J ? I ~ ~ ~ I Local yovernrrls-11 Syslcrr Facts and Issues

(By Dr Roseline Onah)

E c o n o m ~ ~ Cond~tions and Industrial Conflicts III Nigcr~a: A Comparative Study of Pre and Structural Adjuslmcnt Period (1981 92)

(By Anugwom. E. E. and Ulcacgh C. i'/

hki ti., 1967, A b k s ~ ~ ~ ) # o f P a t i l i c s , lodon, London, and Unwin. I

Ogun State Govornment, 1991 MkWy of Justice, CiMdu O. 121T.lllD12.

Oluyod#, P. 1988 N & d Ad&s&ut;ve Lsw, Ibadan; University hrt.

This. Article is a critical assessment of tha role of the poor in -democratic expe&nts in Nigeria. This subject matter is of special intersst 'to political scientists in view of the relationship between economic and pohtidd power. In other words, some minimum economic conditions'mlist exisf for effective participation of the citizenry in the political process. This- trti$e starts t - with .,., >a .a t.- conceptual ... T.he c/aJf@tion of poverty and the poor. It tr?ce;"the,root$'of poverty . n *. Nig!?a .-

a r M i fuhher reiews somi eht ing thioretical hteratureon democrhy and~hg~oor. Finally, the role of the poor in democratic experiments in Nigeria w u examined: The centd argument of this article is that tl. poor have been ma& d udllded from any meaningful participation in democratic experiments in Nw qd this will remain so as long as the current hardships and mi& impowri$m&t r amba ted by SAP . ,..,. remain unabated.

Democracy under mpitalism irdovnd to r*ain r e d r b t d b.rrY f o b and hpocritical; . . ,4. a pwadke for the rich. and a r n m 8.1 *((I(*I . - for the exploited, for the poor (Leiin. 1976: 3'4-85).

34 . . .. . -. . . . . . .. . . . - . . ,Tlk Porr nd OenwuaZc E ; ( ~ c n ~ p & h Ni& . ,. ' .

C . . - .~ . .; . ' . : ; , - . I- Imbdu~ion :. .":: ,-!. .: ..:, , , ; , .-* . . . _ . . _ . . : ._,

, . . , . , . . "9 c - I .I .7 -I - ;. ,,r-..--i -I..,7. _ he 'role of the Pior in represintaiiva d e k c k c y has bean a subject of interest

to political scientists (Parkin, 1971; WiKiams, 1965, 34; Duddley 1980: 160-181; Assobie, 1988; Muo, 1988 among others).- Can the poor play any significant role or make any significant impact in democratic experiments especially as obtainable peripheral capitalist nations? What has been the role of the poor -in democratic experiments in Nigerie? Have they participated effectively in democratic experiments in Nigeria? How can the poor be made to play greater role in democratic experiment in Nigeria? These questions become 'pertinent in view of therelationship between economic power and political power which has been amphasised by Marx (1977). More importantly, as the country prepares for another democratic experiment, it becomes necessary and appropriate to revisit this important issue in our national political life in order to proffer some useful advice.

The purposes of this article therefore are:

1. To raise some theoretical questions about the poor and representative democracy.

2. To examine the role of the poor in democratic experiments in Nigeria. 3. To proffw some advice towards further enhancing the role of the poor in

democratic experiment in Nigeria.

The Notion of Poverty and the Poor Poverty is more easily racognised than defined. As Edozian (1975: 36) rightly

points out: As the antaesis of growth and wealth, povem deals w2h the absence of something, thereby making quentficatbn dflficuft. It thus presents difficulties of defin2ion and of measurement. ft is emotive i b hp8Ct. It conjures diffrent iinages for different people- It tends to. lack the precision and even the objectivi?y needed for scientific communication.

There is an agreement by most scholars that poverty is a relative thing and that the popul'trtion that would be regarded as poor in America may have a level and pattern of living that would compare most favourably with that of the people who would be regarded as materially well-off in meny of the least developed countries LDC's. However, as Akeredolu.Ale 11975: 44-45] rightly notes:

?' :t TY l h h t in i r t concspbG,n of povraty can and often has bum WM too far ; ;? f 'and that its rdwance to the stu* of poverty as s socriJptvHm has h : : 1';:. pawj. rxoggersfed.. . f k any partr'cular sociw, poverty end the poor are ! ~ e 2*C vuy cmmte phmomeno and can be eady identified There m y not be

i c 'r; . \ 8 tnivusd'y end quantitath* sophisicated definttion of poverty but the t ree r-a ' po# m any given society usudy stand out sufficiindy cham in tenns of

thk rcononuk, cIdtursl, socd and oftm psychdogicd con&ions. ~ P F ' ! .

t ;.For tha p u ~ o s u s of this article, povarty refers to (and the poor wherever thay are found G v a in) '-.I a condition involving those savare deprivations and adverse occumnces that are closely (but not necessarily exclusively) associated with inadaquata econdc resources" (Beratz and Grisgby, 1872: 119.134). The poor in Nigeria ihdude the paupers,. beggars, disabled and informed with no visible means of sustained livelihood, the single unemployed, the homeless vagrent families who subsist precariously on the edge of society. Also included are the low income working people of Nigeria, peasants and jotty-traders; artisans et cetere. Poverty in Nigeria as in other developing countries is basically income determined. It is also seen as the result of deprivation and lack of access to basic services (eg. household, food, security, safe drinking water,,bealth care, education and housing). Understanding the different perceptions of poverty is therefore important in evolving solutions to the problem (FRN, 1996:O). ' For instance, in the ~ r a l communities poverty is often seen as a lack of

community resources manifested in inadequate infrastructure and basic social amenities, limited employment and income-earning opportunities, inadequate access to agricultural inputs and a degraded environment that has low soil fertility, fuel- wood scarcity, water problems and not enough usable land. In the urban areas poverty is often seen as lack of security, limited employment and income generating opportunitias and inadequate infrastructure (FRN, 1996:7).

At the individual level poverty is often seen as a tack of access to basic nqssities (e.g. food, safe drinking watbr, cloth, heelth care, education, housing etc.), inadnquate assets, inability to meet social and cultural obligations or lack of gainful employment. Similarly, ignorance, lack of authority and respect in the community and lack of self-esteem are all key indicators of poverty.

h u t y Situation In Nigdr The poverty situation in Nigeria varies between urban and rural areas. The rural

h a s , often denied the basic necessities of life which are usually aveilable in tha urban centres, are most impoverished than the later. Table 1 shows accessibility to

A survey of Nigerian household by tk W d O h of Statistics m the national poverty"piofib provides a vivid pict th af the current povsrty.&ation, us follows:

. I 4 , - 4: - . . ,. . . _ . , I

(i) by defining the poverty lihe ss a per capita income of F53964 par year in 1986186 constant N a i 9 t h . .32 rmion Nigerians ere poor. Of this number 24.5 million reside in rural .ereas;

e

(i) the gap in /ncomqs in Ni@ris L m'dsning ttwnumber of poor may have ' decnbd marginally in son* iu66s. those wk m poor a n getting poorer; and

~verty shows a district regional, age and education disparity.. It tends to c r e k northwards where most of t h e ' ~ r e l areas ere located, and it is tncentrated in the 36-85 year agigroup and among the uneducatad. (FAN,

p,.: ..-., - 0;. I..

~nalyse$ o f ~igeria's social indicators reveelthat they are low and are sti! far &.;. . - ..w* * . . levels that are necessary for human-centred 'development.

i

one m f i e cMdm born b Ngenb bes before the age of f ie. nis undw- f i e mortaIRy rate has VrituIy remained the same over the pest ten yean, whfe lerge declb~es have occurred in simdar country situations. Other social indicators such as malnutrition h chfdren, gross enrolment ratios in primary endsecondary education, Meracy rates are higher then they should be given the wealth of resources of the country. Almost half of Nigeria?

" popltion are stdl not lderate IFRg 1996:lO)

=. In the rural areas for instance, 71 percent of heads of households have no formal education. While 68 percent attend primary school in urban areas. Primary school completion rate in Nigeria is 61 percent and the quality of education has been falling over the years (FRN, 199630). Many fectors have accounted for these features ranging from culture1 t o physical access, the dearth of learning and teaching materials, poor remuneration and conditions of service.

TABLE 2: NATIONAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE AND DISTRIBUTION 1892 - 1996

Source: Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) Lagos.

As regards unemployment, the labour force sample survey conducted by the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) in June, 1996, showed that the composite unemployment rates stood at 3.8 percent compared with 1.8 percent in June 1995. The urban and rural unemployment rates, respectively, rose from 3.9 and 1.6 percent in June 1995 to 5.9 and 3.5 percent in June 1996 (Federal Office of Statistics, 19961. The composite unemployment rate was estimated to be 3.5 percent in

to $1.0 respectively, and.' 1 Qg6.

and X19.75 97 ti $1.0; k22.088 to $1b ind'k22.0'6 $1.0 and liM2.0 as at tho &d8bf d h b b ! W921.9Q3, 1 W . l W6 ' . .

(1) contra1 Bank of 1BB0, p.83.

- -

Nparia: Annull kporl m d S t a t m n t ' of Accounts

Ta#a,G shows that the total outstanding external debt of Nigeria rote from Us $27.644.1 l d b n or WM1,284.1 M i o n i" 1982 ,ti ;$qs'86.8 ' & - r N718,775.8 -- + --- maCon ---- .. in 1995. A d k a r d trend to $28,~0.0 dl& M ~17,320.0 million was recorded in-1998. 'It k - a d froni table 5 that the total external debt &&i-faymCe.nts fell from $2,393.3 million in 1992 to $1,820.6 million in 1905 and rose slightly to $1,876.6 d o n in 1996. - - - - - . . . .

. . . , , >

Tabla 5: Total Extwarl Dabt Service Paymonts (US $d 1892-1 896.

Source: Central Bank of Nigeria: Annual Report and Statement of Accounts -1 998:83.

Debt repayment ratio is as high as 67 percent of total export ear& (FRN, 1996:8). The debt burden has bacome a very serious limiting factor on domestic investment while it discourages capital flow.

Successive Nigerian governments have initiated at various times, sector-specific multi.dimensional and multi-faceted programmes aimed at poverty aleviation. These programmes were focused on employment creation to increase opportunities for the poor, self-reliance and increased productivity and also to improve their welfare. Howper, these programmes apart from being highly centrali;ed,'were a h marred by corruption and bureaucratic bottlenecks. -.

The Poor and Raprmentativ~ D m o c k y : A Theorrtical An- Before we delve into a theoretical analyses of the role of the poor in

representative democracy, it is germane to define the concept democracy. Democracy has no settled meaning. It connotes image as well as reality of politics

, for different political systenis, rulers, citizens, actors and scholars. In spite of lack of basic agreement among scholars over the definition of

democracy, (Savtori, 1965: 19; Appnradai, 1976: 1975: 137; Dahl 1968:3), we shall for the purposes of this article,define hnocracy as a system of government in which the eligible people in a polity participate actively not only in determining the kind of people that govern them, but dso participate actively in shaping the policy output of

6 .

t~"governrnent. , &f&&ciic$ i i bi&';n%rtai'n fundamental uni"e6al pnnciplis.. The first is && s&ereigtity. This principle is captured by the popularsaying'that, "power bdongs-to the people". In other words, the power of a state is normally vested in the pedple and not in any particular class or classes, ethnic,:'religious or interest groups v;ithin7Xthaociety. The second in political equality. This simply means that &i;y el i$ibleihnbeiof the community must have equal chance to partichate in the ,;.. . . poitichl 'drociss:' Th'e third is popular consultation. In a democracy, government htit 'af 'alf ' t i@6if ind but the popular desire and p r i c e d t i pursue it. @~t i i ffouith is. Majority Rule and Minority Rights. The actions and decisions of government in a derno'craiy must be based on majority Ginion. The fifth is the Rule oftL &.., This implies equality before the law, due process of law and absence of ~ibifri$;rule'~~~~tie'~ixth i s respect for certain fundamental human rights and basic

& ; , V S & C ~ ~ ~ heedom~;.e.~?r i~lk . . . . , to life, freedbm of association, freedom of ipiech;'ek.lt is iti ix&uting the& piinciples that a sharp contrast'aries between theory end practice. .,. . . hbther woids,:an impotiant question arose as to whether domestic ideals can be fulfilled under iperipheral capitalist system? Put in another way, what is the'impact of clnss on political life and democracy in a peripheral capitalist system? Can the poor play a h active or meaningful role in modern democracy especially as obtainable in'rnany peripheral capitalist states that are dominated by the external bourgeoisie and its internal allies? ! These questions arose due to obvious link between economic and political power. K: Marx (1977) notes, as long as a few are in control of the apparatus of state, whkh contrd is principally gained end sustained by control of the economy, dsmocrlcy will continue to be democracy of the propertied and ruling class, with occasional circulation of the control of the state among itself. Similarly, Lenin 11849:83) aptly observed:

In cap1alist society, provided I? develops under the most favoumle ' ,' :

. . condittons, we have a more or less complete democrecy C the democratic , <..> . . , .. republic. But this democracy is always .hemmed C b6y. the narrow limits set

by capitslist exploitation, end consequently always remains, in effect, a democracy for the minority, only for the propertied classes, only for the

. r . : rich. Freedom in capitalist society always remais about the same 8s 1 was . . in the ancient Greek Repubhics: Freedom for the slave-owners. Owing to

the conditions of capitalit exploitatioi, the modern wage slave are so + . . . 'crushed by want and poverty that, "they cannot be bothered-wi?h

democracy': "cannot be bothered with poliiics." In the ordnary peacefd

-: .In',run. -' ; participati0n:of. the: pooi in representative democracy Y an iIi;don under :a situdtion of gross imjuefity as obtainable in especially, peripherd c a p i t a nations: . . .-.:.. . . . ... .. :

.. ',' . _. - . , . . . .- . : * .. ' . . ."" . : . , . . . : . ., . ! ! i.:: -

. . . . Tk Pm and Rlprnntotiva Dunoency in Nigeria .. -; . .

:. C d o ~ d rule did not provide Nigeria and Nigerians, the oppommity for the dsvdopnrant and sustenance of a national democratic cultura~. British inpelidrm may sometimes appear t o have allowed electoral participation as the smoke-stma to cover their exploiiative motives but, the fact remains that elections ware far fran being fair. They were not based on the principle of universal adult suffrage' and there was no uniform electoral system throughe~t the country as that depended upon the regions . ...

A t Nigeria's Independence in 1960, the British handed over the manda of badanhip to a minority of organised powerful and rich elites who wielded the decisionmaking power for themelves and their erstwhile colonial mentors while,. the masses wen politicdy fragmented, marginarid and therefore powerless end politically passive. Thw, since independence, democracy in Nigeria has come to mean a civilian g o 6 m n t manned by a handful of paople picked from among the rich and we! placed, ruling class (Williams, 1965:34).

It ia worthy of note that the nature of Nigerian politics manatas from the wntr&y of Nigeria State as the major instrument of class fo rm lon and consdidation. Therefore, if the control of tb state was the basis of dart formation and co~didation, then dominant class elements had to oontrol tha stat8 at my pries. In an important theoreticel statement, Sklar (1878: 5320-37) argw, that this is. characteristics of a1 developing class systems - that 'dominant class formation' is a consequence of the exercise of power and that 'class relations, at bottan, are determined by relations of power, not production. Similarly, CWkendu (1882: 2251 notex

7Ee ppenbd between 19611. when M g h ettamed pd&d swm&V, to tho end of 1983 when the present miitery reghe assumed power, codd bghdy be regarhd as the era of commwcrbhiathn of pdttkd lmdc*sli@. Poltticel leadership was seen not 8s e weepon for buiding the Ngerien nation, or for providing for the masses, mobihhg the citkens end directi?g them towards higher goals and values, but 8s e vehicle to personal w d h and lifemore abundant.' The ExecutlLe brench of government was used .to engage in IIleptocrecy~ stealing, embentement, and contract kck.beck (known 8s 10 percent).

. . . . . . . . . . ._. . .

. . . points'out: . , . i - . .

. . . . , .

Tho modem, wage-slaves, m vith ,+ the- cm&m of capitalist ', ex@'oitat&n, rmh to such ur extint crushed by'wet hnid that

they "cannot be bothered wiFd d&twry: have "no t h e f i r poi~?iirt", that, b @e ordinary peacefd come of events, the haJ0r2~ of the popukytion ti debarred from partic$ation b puMc p&d life.

The poor turn out of l o t e a duriq'the Oubernaorid rlectian in Nigeria in ' 1~01

.. - r - $..l z .. , +,.-;: ,.-&. . . . \ - . , . and July 4, 1992 ~outs.!f. ~ e ~ r e s e n t t & i f k ..and $"ate blikijfjni. confiin.thd _ . , . . : 61. of political. aparty t have ,developed,; among. ,~ig'erians+ "... because- . o f .mass impoverishment and u&id.hardship.impossd by Structural Adjustment ~ & r a - & e s

. . . .. . (SAPS). . J .: - ;.*::>:~y~ 5- i. 5.:: ..: . - -~.y13;;! ,13v:..qp- ; - I r lm .)..., . ir,, ..-.

U'.-.J. .... ,. -....,... _,. .. . . . It is important t d mention tha t during the various phaes;of. implementation .. .:... ,of.

Babangida's transition t o civil ruleprogrammes,,nearly:a~, the,mkdeads.of . . - .- the past- electoral malpractices, political thuggery and:violence reared their ugly. heads again. All these ugly'incidents were perpetuated not by the poor who .. _ . , _ had not the,means

. . . - . or resources t o do so, but, by .the-rich;,. ~onse~uentl-~,,~he,poor . . were . . .., virtualli: .

excluded from participating meaningfully i n ,the , democratization, _.. _ , . . -u process.. ,Few examples of electoral malpractices and politikalthuguery and violence are cited below.'

A convenient starting point is to take a cursory loo'k,at the gubernatorial of the NRC and the SOP in 1991. Immediately,.after, the primaries,.newspapers . . - . . . were replete with accusations and counteraccusations o f electoral malpractices ii"d falsifications of results. . For.example,-Alhaji Abdulkadir Sani, an NRC governorship candidate in Bauchi.State. alleged- that: ,-, .; .: :- .i2,,:i, . , .,, Jq ,.:.- ,

file election was not wkhout ir/egdanik and ngdng. So.many abuses, hcludhg open lobbyhg and buying people over with money a t the p d h g centres which was agahst electoralregula tlbn, people. were not left to theri freewdl to choose their candidate. [quoted in Oyadare, 19W: 2077

A newspaper assessment of the gubernatorial primaries of October, 1991 hod this tosay: . r

The psrfypnharies were not entirely peacefid, neitner were they completdy fai. It was all allegations of questhble absence of returnhg officers

. from thek beats, inexplicable loss of election mateds, mult@le voters' registers, abrupt cancellation of vothg, delayedsubmhsion of results. to the party's secretan'at on flhsy assault on returning officek.' Worsi o f aff were clslins of submission of fake or,,mantjuhted resdts. by retumhg officers, sudden disappearances of' results from the cdection centre, manbuhtrbn of results by the state retumhg officer and unhterally announcement of results yet to, be screened by the represontath of contestants - c l i m i ~ d all the abuses (Vanguard 29 October, 1991).

. - The massive electoral malpractices that occurred during October, 1991,

gubernatorial primaries was even acknowledge by the then vice-president of Nigeria, Rear Admiral Augustus Aikhomu. Among the malpractices at the primaries enumerated by Aikhomu at a meeting with party leaders on November 13, 1991 were "open",

l r -4 ;&* -*A,.,-

~ p k t from the'gubernatorial primary election which was used as an iiustration, cases of electoral malpractices were also prevalent in the local government elections, @$e, k&e&& E~%~oI$ deho i s into Ph6 National Assembly and m n the aborted pi'esif 7 . F nti&&tioP 7> - Ode. that . wbidondticted duriM Babaqida's transition p roprme.

P d t ~ d d$ggery and i d ' o l i b iwin dw ' k y r~pant';ddngl.~abangida's '-. :- - - t r m u o n pmgr&e. As usual; it manifested i t d f through b h h i d r i pa r t y as w d u intei-party feuds. An attempt w t ~ made b y one Mr. l l i vnnee k n - t o compile a list of sbme fo~cafl~moiiv'afed'acts of thuggery and hlertcd during Babangida's transition programme (See Ovadare' 1994: 200).. According to' hirn, prominent politicians in Taraba and Adamawa States were thrown into fear in June 1991 fdowing the invasion of a gang'of w'er ten suspkted h h d ' a d n s d presidential houses of tdo governorship aspiranti, kikng a private guard and bbating an aspirant into state of comma. In another incident, Professor, David Oke, an SDOP gubernatorid'aspirant was attack04 by thugs at night in L p t i b e r 1081. One Mr. Eze Samuel Ajaelu was not that lucky. He was murdered by assassins. He was a witnessin a case before an electioa appeal tribunal.

The National flectoral Commission offiee in Nembe in Brass Councl Area of Rivers

............. State was bombed on, July 10, 1991,~only.two days-to tb byedection of.*-12.; Itcwas beliaved.that.the,bgmbing wascarried o u t . ~ , d i s g ~ t l e d members of,thm two:: political parties, as; a ,result p f the,.primeq dections.of:.the . . counci l ;chirm~ (Sea : 0yadare;,l9~,:209).?6 !!iy4i BQ,ZWO$Z'.Z::~::.~ES .~: i j ;c !T. $~EJ:L~..cI ;i%i ;i:wi<d

- I n another incident whichroccurrad:on.September 17;i1991~violem.eroptsd at:{ the premises of the NRC in Lagos 4s a ,result of a dsegreement among. the NRCli governorship aspirants and state executives in Ogun State-branch of.the.psrty;; In. the fracas, two people .lost. their lives. leaving. four. other party. members:criticdly:i woilnded::;Tha~ intra-partyicfeud.: had:centred. onithe :.alleged::disappe&an#l: of: N50.000.00 giff t o the party in the state by-an Ibadan-based businessman (0yadare.i: 1994: 2101.~~ - i . .-:* . - 1 . .,.:-L--. ,.... ..,:.:i . :ri .d:iii.ca ;rl:::L -cfi

In an inter-party conflict w k h occurrid onJuly 12, 1991; two people died while< three others ware injured as a-result, o f politicaldash.between laembers of ~ ~ S D P G and t'he NRC iri.Mashi;.KetsinaState. The inciderit:.took placeat a gathering-where- a popular Hausa musician.was singing. pohical soqs&r a particular party.; What., followed was an exchange of angry words, thereby leading to violence (The Nigerian.

- 1 U . .' Tnbune;25:May;'1992).; . asi: : : . ; ;-+:.- : ::-:y-:. . ,~ : st! y s &! :52:I;:.i ;...

The transition to the Third Republic was brought'to avabrupt end s a result- of-: a: militarycoup d'etat led by General.Sani Abachs. On assmption of office on* November 17, 1993,- Geneial Sani Abacha, said thrtask of his government was neither to seek "ad hoc" nor "temporary" solutions but to "lay a very solid. foundation for the growth of democracy inNigetia," As the Abacha government prepares for a hand.over to cidian and democratic govemnent, the question remains:: Can the poor. play any significant role in the current-tramition,to democratic

, . . - .. . government in Nigeria; ;. .: . . . . . . ./. - . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 ,.,;.> -.,: .:,,. - .., . . . : , 1 . .

Williams (1980:. 69) haveasserted that::- - ..: ; : , , z - - ' r ..-q.,.;.:.,: . . . . . . . . . . . .

I - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; . ' . . . . . 9 ;..;-.-,?-:..,9-";l:, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - . .'.. .. Desph the abrupt changes h reghat that N ~ ' B ~ S whessed smce the : second world war, there k such a degree of cvnt%dy of ideas, proIrrmns,

even of polifical personages throughout thk pen04 thet each new regime seems to mark a new phase in an on-ghg experiment.

This article contends that given that Abacha's transition to civil-rule programme is not basically different from that of his predecessor, lbrahim Babangida. the worsening economic condition of the country and tha resultant impoverishment of tha great majority-of Nigerians, there is no hope for the poor in the OR-going transition to democracy in Nigeria. The current econoniic climate in Nigeria which is characterised by mass poverty and discontent is a natural breeding ground for

---4t . . ql& - 1 I . . ..

NI$rri Jounsl of A1Sc & Local Govcmmmt - t.+.,n: "... r3 '-e>-i ?sff-- --*~:r? ..s q.; *.

5 1 j:, . -

became vulnerable to manipulation of the rich through bribery of the poor voters, buying1 of their vetingTcards; et cetera. The poor cannot form and register political parties nor can they contest elections'dua to prohibitive fees placed on these by government. !n addition!,they,do.,not havefhe financiai resources or means to organise or cope with political thuggery end violence organised by the rich, using ihe

-same poor. Therefore, for active participation of the poor in democratic politics in Nigeria, the problem of abject poverty and want among the Nigerian masses must be quickly addressed. This is because, i t is only when the masses have economic power that they can afford to participate actively in politics. -, For the problem, of-gross inequality and abject poverty to be solved or at least ameliorated in Nigeria, the present social order which is capiialist, neocolonial end exploitative has to be rejected. What is called for is a more humane and welfare oriented socio-economic system. Such a system more than any other encourages democratic practice. ;

_I.. ' ' ' 5 - . , - , , ', .'.'.. 6,- . ' . .

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AkaedobAh. LO. t19751, "Poverty as a social i rsuc A theon t iu l note' in Poverty nit Nigm'u, Proceedings of thw

Annual Conference of Nigerian Economic Society. - . . - Amir S. (1973), Neo-Colonialism in West Africa, New York Monthly Review Press.

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Anifowose, J. and Ofondu, N.C. (1990). "Gnuroots demand for political participation: The critical issues," Paper pretsn?ed at the National Conference on Grassroots Democracy in Nigeria, Abookutr Ogun State Hotels, 23rd - 25th July. - .

Appadorial. A. (19751, 7h Substance of Politics. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.

Asobio, HA. (1988). "Tho economy, the Structriral Adjustment Programme and Democratic Mobilization in Nigeria". Paper presented at the 15th Annual Conference of tho Nigerian Political Sciencs Association. Ibadan; University of lbodan.

Balogun, T. (1966), Tlir E C ~ I of Pww. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Bvotr, M.S., and Grirgby. W.O. [1972), "Thought on povtrty and i ts elimination." J d of S o d Pdicy, 1.2.

/ Onimodo, B& 11975). 7111 lirkctict of upl*lit#n Povwty Ind P o w in & h Awrlyk

PmcMqa of $ Anorl ConhrrPcr af Esolorn* Society. . , . I . I , ._

Oyldvr, eA, 119941 7hr l+iaa Politi#l Chtr nuod to hrt'Tnndtiol DW~OQICY- h Omonryi r t d I ~ l k s o c n i r b r t b m ~ ~ ~ & # ~ H i r m a n d H L P r . . . - . . oyovarin; S.E nsgn centur of [k~wcncy in ~iglrn- In opvbaim id h NQwi: kapfh tkryJ Benin: h a p Rlbbrrr Ltd :- t.,crcr

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