EFFECT OF SECTORIAL DIVIDES IN THE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Nigeria's democracy has been fragile and fluctuating since independence. Successive governments have struggled to create a sense of national unity in a complex country whose borders were drawn by British colonialists, incorporating about 250 ethnic groups. There are three major ethnic groups in the country: the Hausa–Fulani, the Yoruba, and the Igbos. The British granted Nigeria independence in 1960, they left behind a paradoxical legacy of colonial rule. The paper argues the effect pre- independence regional and religious divides have had on the development of democracy in Nigeria. It traces the evolution of the country from precolonial times to the present day and how the colonial divides have affected democracy in post-independence Nigeria due to religious /ethnic influences on politics in postindependence Nigeria.