There are different kinds of democracy in the world. Even dictatorial or autocratic regimes claim some if not all, the indicators of ‘democracy’. The concern of this paper is liberal democracy. It is democracies that guarantee for citizens much broader spectrum of social and economic rights. Today, countries all over the world including Nigeria are claiming that they are practicing liberal democracy. This paper evaluates the practice of this form of democracy and its conformity with the tenets of liberal democracy. The paper argued that, issues like corruption, mediocrity, thieving, election rigging, ill-preparedness, etc, etc have become the major hallmarks of socio-economic transformation in Nigeria under the Goodluck Jonathans administration. To fulfill the tenets of liberal democracy, it is recommended that Nigeria needs a democracy capable of addressing the overwhelming material poverty of the people. We need the type of democracy that promotes the equality of all the sociolinguistic groups. We need matured and strong political parties. Let the masses be empowered. The hopes and ideas of all our people should not be distorted.

There are different kinds of democracy in the world. Even dictatorial or autocratic regimes claim some if not all, the indicators of ‘democracy’. The concern of this paper is liberal democracy. It is democracies that guarantee for citizens much broader spectrum of social and economic rights. Toda...