The political economy of a country is pivotal to its economic dynamics as well as its social
system. While politics and the process of politicking do not necessarily give rise to the social
structure of a people, the institutional framework, process and outcome of this exercise do infl uence
the course and outcome of achievable socio-economic status of the nation and its people.
Inasmuch as the primary expectation of electorates is to reap the benefi ts of democracy
through their improved standard of living and sustainable socio-economic prosperity, failure to
deliver on these measurable indicators are bound to be unsettling. Although these obligations
are always seen as the benchmark for every political leadership (including in Nigeria), the
practical reality of events has been one-dimensional. As the second-largest economy and the
most populous country on the African continent, the prospect of economic advancement and
social prosperity are largely evident and supported by the regulatory environment. However,
the prospect of their realisation in a country that was beleaguered by a chequered history of
political imbalance, including a thirty-month civil war, thirty years of military rule, and highly
diverse and polarised ethnic and religious groupings that are perennially at friction with one
another, appears to be challenging.