Elite Transformation Towards Good Governance in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Understanding the scope of elite transformation towards good governance in developing countries’ polities is no doubt fastidious amid attendant context fluidity, institutional instabilities, and literature paucity. Nigeria’s post-colonial polity has witnessed various structural changes, especially in political regime and economic resources. Since the 1999 transition to democracy, no regime breakdown occurred. Curiously, the Nigerian polity has been experiencing spasmodic ethnic clashes, the onslaught of the menacing Boko Haram terror group, the economy disruptive Niger Delta insurgencies, and acute youth discontent with protests often countered with violence by state security agents. Moreover, social infrastructure provision for economic growth and development remains extensively precarious or non-existent. Most vexingly, systematic knowledge about the transformability of the policy decisive and often-critiqued political elite is deficient or sparsely jumbled. Much has been extolled about governance per se, yet context-relative and data-oriented knowledge remain scanty. To what extent is the Nigerian political executive elite composition transforming towards good governance since 1999? The article focuses on the Nigerian political elite transformability through good governance lenses and practices. It draws from relevant elite theories and governance approaches that underscore the methodology. It contends that the political elite innovation remains stagnant, despite relevant structural changes. The findings reveal insignificant elite dynamics towards good governance.

Keywords:

• Political elites
• transformation
• democracy
• good governance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 World Atlas (2021). Accessed 13/03/2022. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/african-countries-by-population.html.

2 ‘no date’ provided.

3 Electoral patrons are usually moneybags and powerful actors from the private sector that sponsor contenders to high public offices, while staking on post-electoral larger paybacks from state coffers.

4 See “Opinion, Politics: Rule of Law? What Rule of Law?” Mail & Guardian, 22 November 2019.

5 The community was said to constitute the refuge for some youth gangsters that killed certain security officers who went on inquiry about the ganǵs nefarious activities. For more details see Human Rights Watch (2000).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Henry Ani Kifordu

Henry Ani Kifordu is a PhD holder in Political Science (Politics of Development and International Relations) from the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and master’s degree in Political Science from University of Brasilia (UnB), Brasilia, Federal District, Brazil. He lectured Public Policies and African Regional Politics at the Political Science and International Relations Department, University of Brasilia, Brasilia-DF. He was Assistant Lecturer (Tutorials), Training and Research Assistant in Global Politics of Development: Democracy, Conflict and Rights (2008–2009) at the International Institute of social Studies, Erasmus University, The Hague, The Netherlands. He is a Professor and Researcher under the Political Science master’s degree program, Euro-American University Centre, Brasilia-DF. He also lectures Political Theory and has taught Human Rights and Citizenship at the Law Department, University Centre – ICESP, Brasilia-DF. He has various publications in acclaimed journals and publishing companies, mostly articles, book and book chapters related to political institutions, democracy, governance, state–society, and elite–mass relations.