Abstract
Increasing inequality in Nigeria has been of growing interest to scholars, international political observers and the Nigerian public since the creation of the country in 1914 by the British colonial masters. The focus of this paper is on the extent to which the practice of democracy in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic has contributed to the reduction of inequality. The paper begins with the dimensions of inequality in Nigeria. The study shows that democratic governance has not adequately bridged the inequality gap in country. The paper further identifies reasons for the failure of democratic governance to address the problem of inequality successfully. It also discusses reactions of Nigerians to widespread inequality.
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In spite of efforts over the years, women still lag far behind men in most indicators of socio-economic development and political participation. Women constitute the majority of the poor, the unemployed and the socially disadvantaged (Ngeri-Nwagha, 1996). The tables below illustrate the state of gender inequality in Nigeria.
Table 5: Proportion of women and men employed in the public sector, 2001-2004. Nigeria.
Year Women % Men %
2001 28.5 71.5
2002 28.7 71.3
2003 30.7 69.3
2004 29.5 70.5 Source: Fatile et al. (2011: 115). British Council, 2009.
It can be observed in table 4 that gender inequality is a characteristic of the public service in Nigeria. This is very worrisome because the public sector which is often perceived to be more progressive since it is mainly the area where direct public policy intervention can effect changes in gender composition) does not fare any better.
Table 6: Distribution of Land Ownership by Gender, 2006
Geopolitical Zone Female Male
South-South 10.9 28.3
South-East 10.6 38.1
South-West 5.9 22.5
North- Central 7.9 41.2
North-East 4.0 52.2
North-West 4.7 50.1
Source: Fatile et al. (2011: 115); British Council,