The Elite and the Weakening Capacities of the Nigerian State

Abstract

Negative epithets have been used to describe the Nigerian state since independence due to the problems the state has been confronted with. Some of these problems had been traced to the way and manner the state was created, developed and nurtured on the one hand. On the other hand, some scholars attribute them to post-colonial elite leadership failure. However, many of the said problems are persistent and recurrent thereby making it difficult for the state to develop the capacity to withstand the pressure of global capitalism and centrifugal forces arising from the prevailing elite politics. The seeming weakening capacities of the state to deliver the goods of effective governance exude in all that is wrong with the Nigerian state with overall impact on all spectra of the nation's life. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the linkage between elite activities and the incapacities of the state. It is within the analysis of these two but interwoven spheres that one can come up with strategies and policy options for enhancing the capacity of the Nigerian state. The central argument of this paper is that the elite by their actions and inactions tend to weaken the capacities of the state which demonstrates in concrete terms the inability of the Nigerian state to provide security and other basic needs of life for its citizenry. The paper concludes by suggesting possible and practical ways the capacity of the state could be enhanced.