Democracy, Violent Conflict and National Development in Nigeria

There seems to be a debate on the validity of democratic peace theory. Whilst, some scholars and schools of thought have argued that democracy engenders peace, others have argued exactly the opposite. In the Nigerian context, democracy appears to have been characterized by violence, this paper examines democracy and violent conflicts and in origins and its implications for development with a particular focus on the Nigeria’s Fourth Republic violent ridden. This paper therefore concludes that the nature of competition for political power, multi-ethnic nature of the polity as well as corruption, unemployment and poverty are some of the factors which make democracy in Nigeria Fourth Republic violent ridden. The researcher therefore, recommends among others the need to cut down on remuneration/ allowances of political office holders and emphasize the re-orientation of political elites towards shunning divisive politics.