ABSTRACT Leadership dispositions in politics determine, to a large extent, the direction, nature and character of democracy and electoral politics. For a long time, Nigeria has had power-mongering leadership, whose dispositions have redefined followership behaviour. Leadership–followership disconnect has impacted on democracy. Consequently, democracy in Nigeria operates in breach of its tenets. Most elections in Nigeria are synonymous with insidious violence, which have attracted the attention of scholars with insightful analyses. However, there has to date been little systematic evaluation of the primary factors accounting for democratic decline in Nigeria with particular regard to leadership–followership dialectic. This article interrogates the relationship between leadership dispositions and followership behaviour and the effect on democracy. Using content analysis, this article finds evidence that leadership–followership disconnect is the most important factor accounting for democratic decline in Nigeria. The findings are relevant both for understanding the dynamics of leadership–followership disconnect and its impact on democracy in Nigeria.

中文翻译：

---

尼日利亚的领导权与跟随权脱节和民主衰落

摘要政治中的领导者倾向在很大程度上决定着民主和选举政治的方向，性质和性质。长期以来，尼日利亚一直具有权力集结的领导层，其性格重新定义了追随者的行为。领导者与跟随者的脱节对民主产生了影响。因此，尼日利亚的民主违背了其宗旨。尼日利亚的大多数选举都是阴险暴力的代名词，通过深刻的分析吸引了学者的注意力。但是，迄今为止，几乎没有系统地评估尼日利亚的民主衰落的主要因素，特别是关于领导权和跟随权的辩证法。本文探讨了领导者的性格与追随者行为之间的关系以及对民主的影响。通过内容分析，本文发现了证据表明，领导与从属关系的断开是尼日利亚民主衰落的最重要因素。这些发现对于理解领导权与跟随权脱节的动态及其对尼日利亚民主的影响都具有重要意义。