The State and Er The State and Erosion of the Civic Space in Nigeria osion of the Civic Space in Nigeria’s Democr s Democracy, 1999–2023

Abstract

Nigeria’s experience with democratic rule since 1999 has been somewhat contradictory. Rather than a widening of the civic space for robust citizen participation, there have been sustained attempts by the state to suffocate the civic space by stifling differing viewpoints. The government has led the process by securitizing the civic space, criminalizing civil dissent, and politicizing civil society platforms. Although there appears to have been a global trend towards the shrinking of the civic space, the situation in Nigeria has been typically enervating for fostering the democratic culture. Sequel to this, this paper examined the state of the civic space and civil society in Nigeria vis-à-vis the continued onslaught by the state since the country’s Fourth Republic began in 1999. This is with a view to ascertaining their robustness and capacity to provide a bulwark against excessive state intrusion and ensure a deepening of democracy. Through analysis of primary and secondary data, we demonstrated how the civic space in Nigeria has been embattled as a result of the restrictive policies and legislations by which the government aimed at usurping, suppressing, infiltrating and controlling it during the focal period. We further demonstrated that government’s erosion of the civic space has led to a widening of the activities of uncivil society groupings resulting in the ambience of insecurity that presently pervades the country.