The-quarters of about 187 independent nation states of the world lay claim to practicing one form of democracy or the other. Yet the defining features of the bulk of these nation-states are turbulence and political instability, which are in the main explained in terms of the yawning democratic deficits of the regimes that hold forth therein. Beyond doubt, Nigeria falls under the category of states that assume stupendous cost and great pains in her spirited efforts to present an immaculate façade of democratic cultural while in reality anti-democratic forces bestride her political landscape like colossus. This paper takes a hard look at the democratic experiments thus far in Nigeria. It dismisses the illusion that the democratic culture is already a defining feature of our nationhood. Hence it is somewhat a misnomer to speak of consolidating democracy. Marshalling historical and contemporary facts and figures, the paper argues that the primary task before the country is to entrench the values of democracy and through some sustaining measures, advance towards the consolidation f the democratic ethos. By the same token, the paper doubts the possibility that an already indulged political class could be a willing instrument for achieving this illustrious objective. By and large, the paper envisages the prospects of democracy consolidation if the will and commitment to achieve this are exercised for the umpteenth time by the civil society.

Keywords: Colonial, State, Democratization, Nigeria, Performance

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