THE RETURN OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE AND THE RISE OF KLEPTOCRATIC RULING ELITES IN NIGERIA: THE IMPLICATION TO THE ELECTORATES

The people of Nigeria overwhelmingly supported and embraced the return of democratic governance to the country in 1999 after a long period of military rule. This was due to the perceived potentials of the system in ensuring transparent governance through the principles of democratic governance. However, more than a decade into the democratic experiment in the country, this paper argues that corruption within the ruling political elites has rendered the application of democratic principles elusive. The diversions of public wealth to private pockets have prevented the dividends of democracy from trickling down to the general populace. In the realm of corruption, the only major difference between the various military regimes and the ruling elites in the democratic era is that, the military ventured into governance through coups, while the people elected the civilian governments