A STUDY OF SUSTAINABLE DEMOCRATIC PROCESS IN NIGERIA

: Democracy in Nigeria has been marred with a lot of tribulations threatening continuity of this form of government despite what the nation underwent before changing from military regime to civil rule. These threats include rigging, victimization of voters, imposition of candidates, godfatherism, ethnic and religious hegemony with incidental crisis; lack of respect to due process, corruption, poverty and economic recession bred inter alia by bad governance. If the problems are not nip in the bud, it can lead to secession by an integral part of the economy; serious crisis or another civil war. These lingering problems threatening the sustainability of democratic form of government in Nigeria have triggered serious concern. Despite problems experienced in democracy in this nation and some developing countries, it is still patronised by many countries because of benefits derived from it which has made it to be embraced by them. This form of government which has fortified many developed nations has also triumphed and stable in those nations that had developed good legal frameworks and system of conducting hitch free elections. The contrary is the case of Nigeria where it is wrongly practiced. It has been discovered that the crux of the matter is that constitutional provisions and other legal frameworks are often breached and wrongly executed in Nigeria and many developing countries. These have inter alia been adduced in the past as justification for aborting democracy through military incursion. This paper has considered relevant local statutes, the international standard and the legal framework of countries that have been practicing democracy successfully for a very long time. This has assisted tremendously to reinforce the legal framework with strong antidote against the venom threatening the peace, sustainability of democracy and progress of the nation.