NIGERIA AND THE CHALLENGES OF GOVERNANCE AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

Uptil the 21st century, Nigeria has continued to be faced with myriads of challenges over her governance. This development has negatively affected her bid towards national development. The hope of most Nigerians on the use of state power for a sustained socio-economic transformation in the 21st century has continued to be dashed. This study therefore focuses on the challenges of governance and national development in Nigeria in the 21st century. The methodology is both descriptive and analytical. The study reveals that bad governance in Nigeria has remained a bane on national development. The paper argues that much of government’s development initiatives have remained elitist, unfocused and have failed to significantly impact positively on the people who are the main target of development. The paper recommends a fundamental change in the country’s governance in order to arrest the bottlenecks that have militated against national development in Nigeria.