'Lai Olurode Though, rich in human and material resources, the people of Africa remains poor for reasons of weak, unconscionable and indefensible ethical judgements(see Olurode, 2005). One reason for this debilitating state of affairs in Africa is to be placed at the doorstep of its leaders. In a very cogent editorial on 15th December, 1992, a leading Nigeria's newspaper, The Guardian elegantly posed the challenge thus: What is perhaps the greatest cause of Nigeria's underdevelopment is the character of the Nigerian governing classes. For as has been realized worldwide, no nation can engineer its transformation without a clear­headed, determined and hardworking modernizing elite. The Nigerian misfortune has been the rulership of the nation for most of the last 32 years by an idiotic ruling class. This ruling class is not only greedy, corrupt and short sighted; it is rapacious in the extreme. Its members have been and remain the ruin of the nation. Let us also hear out a leading commentator on the subject of leadership in Africa. Attahiru Jega's account goes thus: Our crop of leaders have essentially been self-serving rulers, some even despots, and not leaders in the true sense of the word. They have generally lacked vision, focus and selflessness and even enlightened self-interest. Many in leadership positions are unimaginably corrupt; they are greedy, they are vindictive, they are reckless and in many fundamental respects, senseless. Virtually, whoever has access to power attempts to abuse it; the exceptions are very few, indeed(see Jega, 2010: 3-4). 10 Introduction: Electoral Reforms and Election Security The scenario in the preceding paragraphs explains why agitations for political and electoral reforms have been unrelenting. In response to these agitations for reforms, most countries in Africa now operate multipartism, separation of power are now enshrined in the constitution, electoral bodies are now established with legal backing, procedure for appointing members clearly stipulated, political parties are now a reality in most of the countries, they operate constitutions for running their affairs and arbitrary tenure elongation by elected officials is now a remote possibility, as elections are now regularly held. Generally, people not only talk about probity and accountability in public offices, they also demand for them and could even seek legal redress. The proliferation of non­governmental organizations is unprecedented. Apart from bridging the void between state and society, they often give representations to the voiceless by demanding for good governance and social justice from state actors at all levels. There has been an upsurge in platforms for civic engagements including the revolution in the use of social media. Though, the people of Africa, in their world views prefer democracy to dictatorship and are pushing hard for it, but they are becoming impatient with democratization that travels at a snail speed and one that is making life better for a few but not for the majority. This is creating some scepticism and cynicism about the democratic project not just in Africa but also in other newly democratizing countries of Asia and Latin America that had come under the third wave of democratization. Thus instead of consolidating on the gains of democratization, there are fears and anxieties of the possibility of democratic reversals and recession. Fukuyama(2011, pp. 4-6) had articulated the basis for these political agonies which he termed as political anxieties and malaise in the democratic world. 11