Democracy as Disempowerment: Insurgent Publics and the Political Economy of Post-1999 Nigeria
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
- Virtual event
- Zoom meeting link
- Cost: Free
- Contact
- Institute of African Studies, africanstudies@cunet.carleton.ca
Speaker: Professor Adelaja Odutola Odukoya
Department of Political Science, University of Lagos, Nigeria
What happens when democracy expands political rights but deepens economic hardship?
In this compelling seminar, Professor Odukoya critically examines Nigeria’s post-1999 democratic trajectory, challenging the assumption that electoral democracy automatically delivers empowerment and improved living conditions. He argues that while formal political freedoms have grown, neoliberal restructuring and elite alliances with transnational capital have produced economic authoritarianism, mass dispossession, and widening inequality.
The talk introduces the concept of “insurgent publics”—emerging but fragmented movements such as #EndSARS and #EndBadGovernance—highlighting both their transformative potential and structural limitations. Ultimately, the seminar reflects on the unresolved tension between political democracy and economic justice and what this means for the future of popular empowerment in Nigeria.