Ben Elugbe

Nigerian Elections In Historical Perspective Ben Elugbe

The Academy chose to deliberate on the subject of elections because elections are a crucial means of choosing individuals who could legitimately be Society's representatives in the processes of managing the affairs of the nation. Democratic governance is an arrangement in which Society or the people own the government of the nation- state and in which the government acts on behalf of, and for the people. Democracy is people-centred. In Nigeria, as in many other parts of Africa, democracy has had a chequered history, and remains fragile. Part of the explanation has been that dominant political forces constantly undermine the effective involvement of the people as key players in the processes of governance. 'Nigerian Elections in Historical Perspective' seeks to find explanations to the problems of unrepresentative governments resulting in poor governance and retardation of economic and social development. Of the three papers commissioned for presentation, only Professor Akinjide Osuntokun's Convocation Lecture is available. The balanced picture that the Academy had hoped for could therefore not be achieved. The introduction, "Weighing Issues of Governance through Nigerian Elections in Historical Perspectives" is aimed at providing some balance in the treatment of the subject. Professor Segun Odunuga's speech is published to give members of the Academy and other readers a valuable insight into the stages of development of the Academy so far. B. Olatunji Oloruntimehin, FHSN, FNAL General Editor