Bernard Nwosu - Civil Society and Democracy in Nigeria: A Theoretical Approach

This book examines the complex relationship between the state and civil society and the impact that this has had on democratisation processes in Nigeria from colonial times to the present.

Expanding notions of democracy, the author builds a theoretical understanding of civil society to show how it can be both antithetical to and an ally of the state in the struggle for democratisation. Combining the neo-Gramscian framework with discursive perspectives from Habermas and Foucault, the book takes a dialectical approach that traces the incarnations of the state and civil society and relates the mutual connections of the two spaces.

This book will be of interest to scholars of African politics, democratisation and civil society.

Bernard Nwosu is a political scientist. He obtained a PhD in Political Science from the University of Waikato New Zealand. He currently teaches Development Studies and Political Science at the University of Nigeria in Enugu state. His previous work on democratisation had been listed by Taylor and Francis as one of the leading works in African studies.

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First published 2021

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2021 Bernard Nwosu

The right of Bernard Nwosu to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Nwosu, Bernard, author. Title: Civil society and democracy in Nigeria : a theoretical approach / Bernard Nwosu. Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, N.Y. : Routledge, 2021. | Series: African governance | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Subjects: LCSH: Civil societyNigeria. | Civil societyPhilosophy. | DemocratizationNigeria. | DemocracyNigeria. | NigeriaPolitics and government1960- Classification: LCC JQ3096 .N96 2021 (print) | LCC JQ3096 (ebook) | DDC 320.9669dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020050456LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020050457

ISBN: 978-0-367-63808-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-0-367-74491-5 (pbk)

ISBN: 978-1-003-15815-8 (ebk)

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Dedication

Witnessing the Nigerian public shows some relief at the end of 1983 when some military officers removed an elected government through a coup, did not mean more than a political event to me at the time. The general election held earlier that year was fraught with irregularities. In the four years which the elected regime had been in power, corruption was rife among the political elite, while the economy was declining. The intervening military regime was quick to become repressive and had no agenda of democratisation. Thus, another forceful change of power by military coup took place in less than two years. Once more, mass expectations were raised by a practice of power change that was becoming a vicious circle. Like its predecessor, the new military regime eventually became dictatorial. It turned repressive on the press, ignored a popular consensus on borrowing, took an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan and implemented its neoliberal principles of economic management. The unfolding struggle led to tensions when the Structural Adjustment Programme caused increasing economic hardship and led to mass demonstrations in several parts of Nigeria. The need to return the country to an elective democracy became urgent. As a result, some sections of the press became highly critical of the military government. In turn, the government became more repressive against the opposition.

Democracy activist groups also began to emerge. As a young boy then, I recall being drawn to both the opinions of critical adults who read publications of the oppositional press and the readership of such materials. While it was obvious to me at the time that the overall struggles of the opposition were aimed at achieving a government that provides better lives for the people, I hardly had the maturity to think about the process in terms of the theoretical principles underpinning the engagements between forces in the sites of government and civil society. In this study, I aim at a theoretical interpretation of the struggles between social forces for Nigerias democratisation.

Demands for return to an elective civil rule involved struggles between democratic rights groups and undemocratic forces in the military and civil society. Ultimately, a transition to civil rule process took place and ended with a presidential election which the ruling forces nullified. The outcome of this election nullification was an increased tension in the political terrain. Rights groups, activist press, organized labour groups, ethnic associations, environmental and other social movements became part of the struggles for democracy. Nigerias return to an elective civil rule was followed by an increasing growth of various interest groups as civil society organizations including service-based NGOs.