STATISM, ETHNICITY AND POWER POLITICS AS THREATS TO THE RULE OF LAW IN AFRICA’S SOCIAL ORDER

Abstract

There is an acute problem of the rule of law in Africa, as seen in the need for methodologically reintegrating and re-theorizing the ethical elements underlying the values of power, justice and responsibility as core democratic imperatives. Presently, there is a manifest systematic disempowerment and de-legitimisation of democracy that generates negative consequences for moral and material life. The crisis of the rule of law in democracy in African states has become life threatening due to the our multiethnic community where the shighly diverse difficulties and contradictions of societal life are usually reflected in the form of friction leading to oppression, deprivation, injustice, conflicts and insecurity. The concerns about life, values and society imply the need for a critical evaluation of Africa’s institutions for human well-being, rule-following and progress.

Key words:  rule of law, democracy, power, Africa, Nigeria.