Nigeria

INSTABILITY IN NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY
Nigeria's political and economic state has suffered immensely from the legacies of colonialism. Up until 1960, Nigeria had been governed for decades by the British colonial regime. This colonial administration established an authoritarian rule in Nigeria, with the goal of extracting as many resources as possible from the land. After the British withdrew in 1960, Nigeria's turbulent period of independence began. Successive military coups, ethnic tensions, and economic and political corruption have undermined Nigerian attempts at democracy. Many of the problems with attempts to establish a legitimate democracy stemmed from the colonial rule of the British. Most recently in 1999, former military leader Olusegun Obasanjo was elected president in Nigeria's recent effort to institute democracy. However there are many questions about whether the new democracy will survive, given the military dominance, ethnic tensions, and economic and political corru...