POLITICAL ENTREPRENEURS: THE BANE OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper looks at the concept of political entrepreneurship, its features and impact on
democracy in Nigeria. The problem statement is what effect political entrepreneurs have on
efficient delivery of dividends of democracy in Nigeria. Much of politicking and party
manifestoes abound during campaigns for political elections but not much of the dividends of
democracy flow down to the average Nigerian after elections because of the activities of
political entrepreneurs. The paper holds that most Nigerian politicians strive for elective
positions and political appointments only for selfish economic benefits and those that sponsor
them do so only for personal gains. Poverty and gullibility of both those aspiring to political
elective or appointed positions and the electorate have been given as major reasons for the
prevailing situation. The paper traces and links much of the inefficiency of democracy in
Nigeria to the impact of these political entrepreneurs and ends with some recommendations
such as legislatively restricting the amount of money political parties and their individual
contestants can spend on electoral campaigns, ban of former Chief Executives of the three
tiers of government from further contests into political positions and ban on internal and
external financial sponsorship of political office aspirants as a way of sanitizing the political
terrain. The paper concludes that except for political providence such suggestions as ban on
certain category of political office holders would be a Herculean task, understandably as the
same political elites who should be banned would be the ones to take the decisions on behalf
of the citizenry.