Al-Hikmah University Journal

Since the beginning of the Fourth Republic on May 29 1999, Nigeria had continued to struggle with the delivery of democratic governance and democracy dividend – social welfare, justice, equity, and equal access to resources and power. Often times, it seems as if the transition from military to civilian rule has been simply cosmetic due to the not too impressive scorecard of civil governance thus prompting scholars to aver that Nigeria is yet to attain the status of a democracy. After a decade of the current epoch, there is the need to identify concrete challenges to democratic governance in Nigeria with a view to contextualizing the core factors that continues to obfuscate democratic governance. While not attempting to approximate all likely denigrating factors; this paper adopts the UNDP’s standard characteristics of democratic governance in measuring the Nigerian scenario. It illuminates the critical governance challenges facing Nigeria and recommended accountability and ethical principles for democracy to blossom.