DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2015.v03i04.019

Pages: 946-952

The return to civil rule in 1999 in Nigeria has resulted in the transformation of inter-community relations. It has also set in motion new forms of competition for prestige, power and positions among communities, as well as new forms of co-operation. Such relations have generally tended to contradict the demands of modern global principles contained in the nation building project. This has led to a crisis of modernization as local communities try to grapple with the demands of a modern setting, while living their essential communal substance. This has become evident in the political arena with the competition over scarce resources, positions of pre-eminence and the delineation of political sphere of influence. Coming after decades of military suzerainty, including the centralization of power and resources that accompanied it, groups and communities that hitherto felt excluded and marginalized are seeking to be accommodated. The liberalization of the political process and expansion of the political space appear to have provided additional impetus to their demands. This paper examines issues of power sharing as mechanisms of promoting inter-community relations and stability beyond the framework offered by constitutional democracy which has stymied national development. It is concluded that taint government cannot be a substitute for the traditional requirements that engender national development.