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| Reflections On Governance And Presidential Elections In Nigeria (2015) And Ghana (2016) |
Iloelunachi Chinedu, Nnamani Desmond & Onyebuchi Johnpaul Nduba
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Abstract:
Elections in both developing and western democracies portend an eye opener to the electorates. Empirically most of what was bargained by the electorate after elections were least expected in governance. The wave of surprises and similarities between what metamorphosed and transpired in Nigeria and Ghana was a grave shock to many political 'seers'. Following the same suit was the unpredictable hurricane blizzard and thunderbolt of uncertainty that beclouded America in their just concluded election which made many sure pundits to be astounded. The switcheroo scenario of the deaths of Presidents of both countries (Nigeria (Umaru Musa Yar'Adua) /Ghana Prof. Attah Mills) and the constitutional takeover of power by their Vice Presidents coupled with the manner in which they were bootlicked through the barrel of ballot box in their prime calls for a wakeup. Elite theory which offers a society centered account of the capitalist nation- state was adopted as the magical tincture of our theoretical framework. It denies the plural nature of the society and the contradictory pressures generated by it as the basis for a neutral state. Instead, it argued that there exists a tendency throughout human history for the elites as opposed to the mass to monopolize public power, resources and authority. Our method of data collection was secondary sources of data. The findings of the study presage that elections in African countries henceforth are capricious and impetuous. Africans have started utilizing the power of their votes to attract changes in their domain. That power has slipped from the hands of the aristocratic elites to gerontocratic elites is irrefutable. The youths in both nations must rise to the occasion by winning the minds of the electorate in other to carve out a niche for themselves in the society. Admittedly the current new wave political tsunami blowing across the length and breadth of many nations globally may swallow sit-tight African leaders that are dialectically opposed to the wishes and aspirations of the people.
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