Abstract

This paper examines democracy as a major and popular form of government which is finding ground across the African continent. The study also examines the degree to which political power is concentrated in the hands of elites while the ordinary citizens are relegated to voting alone when elections are due shortly after which they are soon forgotten in the governance of state affairs. Conducted with the use of secondary sources of data collection, the work examines some of the reasons responsible for the concentration of political power in the hands of few and the exclusion of the majority from the governance of state affairs. The article also explores some alternative solution to this type of political exclusion and concentration of power in the hands of the elites in sub-Saharan Africa since the end of colonialism in many countries in this region of the continent.

Key words: Elites, Sub-Saharan Africa, democracy, government, elections, colonialism.