DEMOCRACY AND AFRICAN POLITICAL DEVELOPMENT: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

This paper on “Democracy and African Political Development: Problems and Prospects” is an attempt to assess the level of growth, acceptability, challenges and the future of democracy in Africa. It identifies major problems or challenges facing the practice and entrenchment of democracy in Africa, including: military incursion in politics, sit-tight syndrome, illiteracy, poverty, weak institutions, the challenge of communication, violence, imposition of candidates in elections, negative influence of religion and endemic corruption. Using analytic method, the paper discovers that these problems are artificial and remains due to inherent selfishness of African leaders; but are surmountable when inclusiveness is encouraged in the politics of African States. The work also establishes that African democracy ought to be modelled and influenced by African ideology of communalism, which entails egalitarianism. The work concludes that democracy ought to be the best alternative in contemporary Africa and a veritable source of development. It recommends amongst other things that internal democracy should be entrenched in the political parties and education of citizens as a panacea to solving the problem of political underdevelopment that is militating against democracy.