ABSTRACT:

According to the Random  House College Dictionary, Democracy "is government by the people, a fonn of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system". This paper is an analysis of democracy, and its application thereof. It distinguishes three areas of meaning to include "of the people", "by the people" and "for the people" Democracies. The expression 'the people' which democracy emphasizes refers to the generality of the citizenry and not just to a handful of privileged exploiters and oppressors of the people. The paper identifies "by the people" democracy, which adopts as a criterion of demoaatic legitimacy the possibility of voting out, as the only authentic form of democracy. The paper argues that for Nigeria to develop socio-economically, it is necessary to inculcate into each and every individual. moral corms, attitudes, values, habits and beliefs that are consistent with genuine democratic principles. The paper maintains that democracy in Nigeria is struggling for survival, against many social problems created by those bent on exploiting others