Full Length Research Paper
Abstract
This paper critically examines the multifarious and multi-dimensional violence that have continuously threatened the Nigerian state, its democratization and the people’s well-being especially in the past ten years. The framework of analysis is eclectic in nature. It is a combination of Peter Ekeh's two publics, the different adaptations of Max Weber's patrimonialism, the World Bank's "state capture”, and Claude Ake's (1996) opinions on political contestations in the country. In essence, the focus is the abuse and manipulation of state powers and public offices. The paper discovers that the practice, which manifests in political corruption, personal rule and general maladministration, is at the core of the polymorphous violence confronting the country and its people. It concludes that more enlightened people should engage in public affairs in the country, while it also suggests the practice of true federalism and consociational democracy.
Key words: Polymorphous violence, alienation, state incapacitation, democratization.
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