THEME: THE HUMANITIES AND NIGERIA’S DEMOCRATIC EXPERIENCE

Nigeria’s democratic journey since independence has been fraught with diverse challenges. Even with the seeming blossoming of democratic ideals at the dawn of the 21^st century to date and after over two decades of democratic governance, democracy as an indispensable factor for development is still contested. Democratic structures and processes are either slow in building or have become ineffectual. It has become, therefore, obvious that the lack of continuity and of strong democratic processes and institutions is inimical to development and democratic consolidation. It is worrisome that the political and democratic stability of many democracies in sub-Saharan Africa easily become threatened with the rise of military incursions in governance. Consequently, shivers have been created in our democratic collars, mostly facilitated by contestable and faulty electoral systems as well as weak judicial system. How can the humanistic studies intervene in the current state of affairs? What has been the role of humanities scholarship in the development of our democratic system? What role can humanities scholarship play in democratic consolidation and development in Nigeria? These questions and more have inspired the theme for 2^nd Biennial Conference of the Nigerian Academy of Letters.