RULE OF LAW AS A CATALYST TO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE: NIGERIA AS A CASE STUDY

Abstract

Human society is founded on law which promoted democratic governance. This expose relied on how rule of law stood to promote democratic governance. The objective of this study is to confirm that rule of law stood as catalyst to democratic governance in Nigeria. Doctrinal methodology was adopted and it relied heavily on the pronouncements of Courts, judicial precedents, law reports, relevant provisions of the constitution and other relevant legal materials. It found that in the absence of rule of law, the human society became an anachronistic phenomenon. Rule of law therefore, remained a condition sine qua non to preservation of democratic governance in the world order, and without rule of law, human co-existence has remained unthinkable. The research found that, in Nigeria the grundnorm is faulty and so created loopholes that gave room for corruption, bad leadership and executive lawlessness, laxity in the judiciary and legislature. The paper concluded that the principles of rule of law must be promoted and preserved to ensure dividends of democracy in any human society and in Nigeria in particular. To this end, the paper suggested some measures to control the constraints mentioned herein. Finally it is recommended that overhauling the instrument that preserves the principle of rule of law among others is a panacea for the promotion of democratic governance in Nigeria.