A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF NIGERIA DEMOCRACY VIS-A-VIS KARL POPPER’S CONCEPT OF OPEN SOCIETY

Abstract

Democracy suggests that government is actually the ‘will of the people,’ since all those who occupy the positions of State authority are freely chosen by the people periodically through free and fair elections. Democracy can, however, become an albatross leading to bad governance if elected political actors renege and disregard the consent and interests of the citizens. In such abusive cases, democracy becomes undemocratic and tyrannical. What is the sociopolitical atmosphere required in the society for democracy to succeed? What should be the response of citizens when democratically elected persons become totalitarian? Is violent response permitted in such a situation? What is Karl Popper’s standpoint on this issue? Put simply, therefore, the problem studied in this article is the tendency in democracy for elected leaders to become undemocratic and totalitarian; what are the conditions that predispose this possibility? Karl Popper tackled this problem by proposing the notion of open society in his work The Open Society and Its Enemies. This article exposes Popper’s notion of open society. The research applies Popper’s claims to exposing and tackling the myriad of challenges besetting the practice of democracy in Nigeria. The method of analysis is employed. The research finds out that Nigeria society is more closed than open due to the effects of ethno-religious chauvinism which has led to identity politics, weak institutions and political corruption. It suggests that despite this challenges democracy should not be sidelined in Nigeria. Popper’s idea of ‘Piecemeal social engineering’ is thus posited as panacea for the challenges of democracy in Nigeria.