Political Science

Competitive elections happen and the electorate chooses their representatives in a fair manner. The results of the democratization process are enjoyed by the citizens, some of which include a growing economy, improved infrastructure, better health facilities and improved international relations. As defined by Abraham Lincoln, a former US President, democracy is a government of the people, by the people and for the people (Febebebo, par.2) .Promotion of democracy is an important process in countries which are subjected to suffering due to lack of freedom from its government. Promotion of democracy in Nigeria and Zimbabwe will be compared and contrasted in regard to the different strategies that they use.

Democracy Promotion in Nigeria
In the 1970s, Nigeria led in re-democratization in Africa. Two decades later, autocracy and political violence emerged. A country that was known of having a strong liberation voice changed and became violent and corrupt in its form of leadership (Joseph 360). When the renowned Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of Nigeria in 1999, the citizens had hope in promotion of democracy and an end to a corrupt military rule. However, there was a sharp rise in political violence including riots that occurred to protest the proposal to hold the Miss Universe Beauty pageant in the Nigerias northern region (Hauss, par.10).

President Olusegun Obasanjo at one time in a seminar ordered one of his aides to silence a social critic, Bala Usman, for expressing opinions which are contrary to the state opinions. Obasanjo also sacked a national chairman of the ruling party for giving unpopular views about the government. This showed how the president disregarded democracy (Offor 1).

Critics have described the electoral process in Nigeria as defective.  The elections held in April 14 2007 were characterized by rigging, manipulation of the electorate and several acts of violence which led to the election of President Alhaji Umaru YarAdua. Since Nigerias independence in 1960, there was handing over of a civilian government to another, and not through a military coup for the first time. Consequently he set up the Uwais Electoral Reform Commission in a bid to discard the system that brought him in, as he claimed it was flawed and characterized by electoral offences. This act clearly shows there is lack of democracy in Nigeria (Febebebo, par.8).

The ruling party of Nigeria, PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) has been dismissed as a podium for gangsters. A well known Barrister in Nigeria who is the head of the Senatorial party Ogun, Adegbuyi, stated that the nation has been pushed into a situation which is unavoidable. According to him, the Nigerian constitution is faulty in that there is no time span given to the government leaders on the period they should be away from leadership. This is demonstrated by the situation of the president who is currently bedridden in the hospital. He dismisses the fact that a large country such as Nigeria cannot be ruled from the hospital by whatever means. (Amodu, par.1-4).

Despite of the fact that Nigeria has oil resources and exports about two million barrels each day, poverty still exists at a high percentage. This is because ninety three percent of the revenue gotten from oil is directly transferred to the government, and there lacks fair distribution of the oil revenue. As far as economy is concerned, Nigeria is the second largest in the African continent. However, seventy percent of the Nigerian citizens live below the poverty line. They lack proper education, electricity, generators and clean water. It is also ironical that there are poor areas near the compounds of the oil companies (Reihing, par.5-6)

Focus on the political components in Nigerias democracy promotion
Democracy helps a nation to prevent cruel leadership by autocrats, ensures great freedom, provides the citizens with the freedom to choose their own rules and provides an opportunity for determination (McFaul 148). Nigeria has focused more on its political components in a bid to promote the democratization process. There has been a remarkable improvement in promotion of democracy and accountability to the target community in the past. (Khakhee 1).

Prior to the 2007 Nigerian elections, the Nigerian citizens were hopeful for the arrival of democracy and a government of the people. (Buhari, par.3). During the 2007 general election, President Yaradua was sworn in. However, his victory was as a result of rigging, which evoked mild violence in Nigeria. Therefore, what the Nigerians hoped that it would pave way for democracy was not achieved (Febebebo, par 8).

The Nigerian citizens believed that if there was an effective constitutional procedure whish scrutinized the manner in which the state power operated democracy would set in (Buhari, par.3). They were hopeful that under the leadership of President Yaradua, the constitution would be changed. Their dreams came true, but it was through hypocrisy. This is because after he rigged the elections and was sworn in, he ridiculed the constitution that brought him into power and formed another one. (Febebebo, par 8).
 
The Nigerians wanted an environment which would make business and investment in foreign countries an easy task. Nigeria has always had strong ties with Europe (Buhari par.3). The European Union realized that democracy promotion was not something that was advocated for by the Nigerian government. Oil is regarded as important followed by relations in trade. The European Union was also concerned over the issue of migration, the countrys fragile internal balance and delay in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the country .It underlines that progress in the protection of human rights, good governance and democratization is fundamental for poverty reduction and sustainable development (Khakhee 2)

Zimbabwe and the coercion strategy
Zimbabwe is a country which has been talked of by every other news channel in the world due to its unstable economy and the far-reaching effects it has had on the people. Compared to Nigeria, it has adopted the policy of coercion so as to stir up the Mugabe leadership into positive action. The coercion in Zimbabwe is of a greater extent compared to Nigeria. Unlike Nigeria, Zimbabwe has not focused on political components of democracy so as to improve its democratization process.

Zimbabwe is a county which has demonstrated misuse of power at the expense of the economy of the country. There has been no democratization at all under the leadership of Robert Mugabe. Several parties are opposing the leadership of Robert Mugabe. One of those parties is the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which is led by Morgan Tsvangirai. It is the largest opposition group in the Southern Africa region. The MDC has been a great challenge to Mugabe and his party, Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU PF). Morgan advocated for mild coercion so as to put to a halt President Mugabes dictatorial regime. He stated that America should help the nation so that it can escape the grip of dictatorship. According to him, his party follows the American democratic principles and their democratic fight is universal. That is why he states that other countries should be involved so as to have a global solidarity in fighting dictatorship (Tsvangirai, par.1-17).

Due to the dictatorial regime of Mugabe, the country has been facing an economic crisis due to the foreign currency debt and fiscal crisis. Morgan states that the presence of the MDC in parliament is representing democracy in the country (Tsvangirai, par.1-17).There is need for the formation of a people driven constitution. According to him, America will help in the democratization process by helping in the developing of the civic movement which aids in any democracy. In the US, there exists a perception that the whites are hated by the people of Zimbabwe and it can lead to racial violence. This was instigated by Mugabe in a bid to justify land reforms (Themba, par.1-3).

Recently, the constitution amendment bill passed the ZANU party majority in parliament after Mugabe was sworn in. This was a high disregard of democratic rights and processes. A constitution is a national consensus symbol. Therefore, a consensus would only be established if the people are fully consulted .The ZANU party however never considered this so as to ensure that the political objectives of the political elite are preserved at the expense of the Zimbabwes citizens interests (Themba,par.1-3).
President Mugabe has contributed a great deal to the once hopeful and a rising economic power to one of Africas pathetic cases. The ordinary citizens, community workers, lawyers, and churches called on intervention of other super power states to help them resolve their humanitarian, economic and political crisis. The political deterioration resulted to civil and human rights repression and almost a collapse in the economy. There was also a cholera outbreak, poverty and hunger (Themba, par.1-3).

Another form of mild coercion which has been advocated is that intelligence agencies should take a new look on how they can pressurize Mugabe and his close allies. The UN will be very instrumental in assisting in the process. The world body has its policy that incase any national government does not protect its own citizens the national sovereignty has a duty to intervene. The UN secretary general went ahead and sent international observers so as to always be monitoring any election (Themba, par.1-3).
 China has for a long time had a crafty policy on Zimbabwe. China has always been behind Mugabe and has supported him as a political leader. Mugabe even requested ammunition from China which resulted to unrest of the trade unions and South Africa civic groups. China should therefore be stopped in supporting Mugabes dictatorial behaviors. It should also be subjected to coercion from the United Nations so that the Mugabe allies would not cause any war in Zimbabwe (Themba, par.1-3).

Conclusion
Though coercion has been used in Zimbabwe as a strategy, democracy has not been achieved because President Mugabe still maintains his dictatorial behavior. There still exists poverty, outbreak of diseases and an economic crisis in Zimbabwe. Democracy can only be seen if the country gets new leaders through fresh elections and strong coercion from the other states on President Mugabe. There is no hope for democracy for Zimbabwe in the near future. This is because he is still in leadership and will remain there for the next five years.

On the other hand, the strong tie that exists between the Nigerians and the European Union is seen as the only method of promoting democracy that has succeeded. This is because despite the corruption in the Nigerian state, Europe still trades with Nigeria. However, democracy has not yet been fully achieved in Nigeria. This is because the constitution does not cater for the needs of the Nigerian citizens. The Nigerians therefore are living on empty promises. Unless a new leader is chosen, and a new constitution is drafted, democracy in Nigeria has a long way to go.