Inequality of income distribution and hopes for democratic consolidation in Nigeria

Given the experiences of many countries seemingly stuck between authoritarian and democratic systems, momentary success proved transient and failed to achieve consolidation (Tonta 2016). While factors such as legitimacy crisis, the rise of militant sub-nationalist agitations, ethnoreligious and identity conflicts, corruption, institutional failure, electoral crime and violence, insecurity, injustice, and political apathy pose challenges to the formation of political culture and have been heavily researched, the role of income inequality in the processes of democratic consolidation remains under-researched. This begs the question: Does income inequality expressed in weak economic growth, rising inflation, and high unemployment, especially among young people, have far-reaching implications for the survival of Nigeria’s democratic system? Using this West African country as a case study, the author argues that income inequality threatens democratic consolidation and tends to a regression into an authoritarian regime. The choice of Nigeria is informed by doubts which have repeatedly crystallized into debates on the likelihood of consolidation since its democratic transition in 1999.