International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: The Nigerian political historyexhibited contrary trendsto development-oriented democracy. Hence, there is a need to introduce a new dimension in search for development in democracy.
Objectives: The goal of the study is to investigate the historical trends of Nigerian democracy, and the impact on development to assess the relationshipbetween democracy and economic development.
Method: Qualitative and historical methods adopted to analyse data from secondary and primary sources like books, journal articles, electronic sources, and person-to-person interactions with some politicians/political office holders.
Result: That democracy was not alien to Nigeria; colonial Administrators intended to exploit the colonies’ economy; contemporary democracy is yet to relate positively with development, and there was no institutionalization of democratic ideals that can foster transformations.
Unique Contribution: Improvement on the conduct of political officeholders, meaningful relationship between political activities and economic policy development, if indigenous ideals can be incorporated.Nigeria as one of the heavily populated countries in Africa has the tendency to influence other African countries towards development-oriented democracy.
Key Recommendation: Institutionalization of democracy, re- orientation of the Leaders and the followers, economic emancipation through effective database and youth empowerment.