JOHN LOCKE’S LIBERAL THEORY OF REPRESENTATION: A CHALLENGE TO NIGERIAN DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATION.

Abstract

The subject of representation in democracy is a fundamental issue because it helps to define the success of the government in the society. When the leaders do not represent the interests and the will of the people as the case of Nigerian system, things do not augur well. Democracy as a system of government has enjoyed popular acceptance because of its inherent principles. It is people oriented and the rule of the majority. The people’s will as the majority is the subject of representation in a representative democracy. However, contrary to this idea and the known tenets of democratic practice; in Nigeria, the representatives (leaders) lord it over the people. The representatives which constitute a minute percentage of the population rule over the majority will. This situation is a clear case and unless there is a reverse in this trend, the future for sustaining democratic culture in Nigeria will remain murky, to say the least. This paper therefore critically analyses the Nigerian democratic representation and further challenges this situation with John Locke Liberal theory of representation. It also presents this theory as an imperative for a proper democratic representation in Nigeria.