SEPARATION OF POWERS IN A POST-COLONIAL STATE: A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF MONTESQUIEU AND NIGERIA

Since 1999, when Nigeria made the transition from military rule to civil rule, pundits and careful observers have attributed the poor implementation of the country's democratic process mainly to the breach of separation of powers. The claim is that so much power is vested on the executive arm of government so much so that the other two arms: the legislature and the judiciary are just used as appendages or mere rubber stamps by the executive. The outcome of this state of affairs is an outright recklessness and abuse of power by the executive. It's widely believed that the lack of progress in the country's political and economic systems is occasioned by this executive usurpation since there is an intrinsic link between politics and the economy. Using the method of philosophical analysis, this study applies Baron de Montesquieu's doctrine of the separation of powers to investigate how this ill in the body of Nigerian polity can be remedied. Montesquieu in his Magnus Opus, The Spirit of laws argues that the best way to overcome the dictatorial leadership of antiquity and promote individual's liberty within the state is by ensuring that the powers to make, execute and interpret the laws do not subsist in one person or group of persons. As such, Montesquieu is the first scholar to formally call for and work out the justifications and consequences of the principle of separation of powers which has become the hallmark of modern liberal democracy. To this end, the study discovered that Nigerian democracy because of the over power exercised by the executive does not cohere with the recommendations of The Spirt of Laws. The study also found that the inability of the legislative and judicial to assert their autonomy from the executive is the reason why Nigeria has not been able to make any headway both politically and economically. Based on this, the study recommends the adoption and adaptation of Montesquieu's principle of separation of powers to Nigeria's political system as prerequisites for peace, political and economic developments in the country.