DEMOCRACY, ELITISM AND DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: EXAMPLES FROM NIGERIA

Abstract

The public sphere inPost-colonial Africa has arguably, been dominated by the elite class. This left management of government, governance frameworks and running of the public realm, interests and initiatives, entirely in the hands of the elites, especially the politically exposed elite class. It is, therefore, near impossible, to run informed commentary on governance, democracy and societal governance in Africa without mentioning the pivotal role of both democracy and the elite class especially as a plethora of studies, linked the former, to development. Unfortunately, the embrace of democracy in post-colonial Africa literarily supervised by the elite class, is yet to birth expected development while leaving an unpleasant phase of political reality in its wake. From alleged elite state capture, and rapacious dominance of the public sphere to daring and malignant corruption that continues to undermine development in post-colonial Africa; tongues continue to wag on the very essence of democracy in Africa in the absence of needed development. Relying on quantitative data, this chapter explored the roles of the elite class in the management of democracy in Africa and how that fuels the development is tortion in the continent. The chapter discovered that elite dominance of the political sphere in Africa and Nigeria to be precise, impugns the political process to undermine the inclusive political atmosphere that democracy preaches and needs to drive the development al process. It was further discovered that rather than the pursuit of a united front that requires the collapse of primordial fault lines towards nation-building, consolidation of democracy and achievement of national development, the emergent elite class used and continues to use primordial ties to divide the people while plundering the commonwealth to satiate narrowly conceived economic and political interest. The chapter recommends strengthening vital state institutions and intentional overhaul of democratic principles to conform to peculiar Africans scenarios to achieve that democracy-development’ situation in Africa.