Democratic Governance in Nigeria and the Maicibi’s Formula for Fighting Crime

Abstract

The study assesses the democratic governance of Nigeria and questions the operationalisation of the democratic tenets of free and fair election, respect for the rule of law, accountability, transparency and control of corruption in the country’s governance structure. The study also offers insights into and adapts Maicibi’s (2015) generic formula for fighting crime (B1-4<C1-4) to the democratic governance of Nigeria; while revealing the motivation for undemocratic behaviours by public officeholders and offering strategic - preventive and combative - measures for electoral malpractice, corruption, political violence, mismanagement of funds and unaccountability in governance. Adam Smith’s (1776) Rational Choice theory provides the theoretical base for the study. Geared towards strengthening democratic governance in Nigeria, the recommendations in the study are twofold: first, to address institutional loopholes that motivate actors’ undemocratic actions in governance, and second, to strengthen the rule of law and the independence of institutions that prosecute offenders.