Abstract
Democratic consolidation in Nigeria seems to be undermined by a deepening crisis of institutional trust and civic disengagement. Turnout of voters in the 2023 presidential election fell to 26.72 per cent, the lowest recorded since the return to civil rule in 1999, reflecting a widening gap between the formal apparatus of democracy and the dispositions of ordinary citizens. This theoretical paper argues that civic education and political socialization are foundational to reversing this trend, and that the current failure of both is a structural problem rooted in curriculum inadequacy, pedagogical weakness, and institutional neglect. Drawing on Almond and Verba's Civic Culture Theory, Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, and Freire's Critical Pedagogy, this paper examines how Nigeria's formal civic education curriculum has failed to cultivate the democratic values, critical awareness, and participatory habits that a functioning democracy requires. It analyses how the hidden curriculum of the Nigerian school system decays and the dominance of passive instructional methods reproduces civic passivity rather than democratic agency, and how digital spaces have emerged as alternative sites of political socialization with both emancipatory and destabilizing dimensions. The paper recommends curriculum reform centered on critical civics, active-learning pedagogies, the integration of digital media literacy, and mandatory reforms to pre-service teacher education as the primary pathways for civic renewal.
Abstract
Democratic consolidation in Nigeria seems to be undermined by a deepening crisis of institutional trust and civic disengagement. Turnout of voters in the 2023 presidential election fell to 26.72 per cent, the lowest recorded since the return to civil rule in 1999, reflecting a widening gap between the formal apparatus of democracy and the dispositions of ordinary citizens. This theoretical paper argues that civic education and political socialization are foundational to reversing this trend, and that the current failure of both is a structural problem rooted in curriculum inadequacy, pedagogical weakness, and institutional neglect. Drawing on Almond and Verba's Civic Culture Theory, Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, and Freire's Critical Pedagogy, this paper examines how Nigeria's formal civic education curriculum has failed to cultivate the democratic values, critical awareness, and participatory habits that a functioning democracy requires. It analyses how the hidden curriculum of the Nigerian school system decays and the dominance of passive instructional methods reproduces civic passivity rather than democratic agency, and how digital spaces have emerged as alternative sites of political socialization with both emancipatory and destabilizing dimensions. The paper recommends curriculum reform centered on critical civics, active-learning pedagogies, the integration of digital media literacy, and mandatory reforms to pre-service teacher education as the primary pathways for civic renewal.
Keywords
civic education, democratic culture, institutional distrust, Nigeria, political socialization
Paper Information
- Author(s): NEZIANYA, Patrick Onochie & NWOSU, J Oluchi & Erondu, C Chimezie
- Journal: Journal of Education, the Teacher and Professional Practices
- Publisher: Journal of Education, the Teacher and Professional Practices
- Publication Date: 2026-06-08
- DOI: 10.0000/hont.2026.teaching-democracy-amid-political-distrust-civic-education-and-political-socialization-in-nigeria
- Pages: 1-15
- Keywords: civic education, democratic culture, institutional distrust, Nigeria, political socialization
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Recommended Citation
NEZIANYA, Patrick Onochie & NWOSU, J Oluchi & Erondu, C Chimezie (2026). Teaching Democracy amid Political Distrust Civic Education and Political Socialization in Nigeria. Journal of Education, the Teacher and Professional Practices. 2, 1 - 15. https://doi.org/10.0000/hont.2026.teaching-democracy-amid-political-distrust-civic-education-and-political-socialization-in-nigeria
Read Abstract
Democratic consolidation in Nigeria seems to be undermined by a deepening crisis of institutional trust and civic disengagement. Turnout of voters in the 2023 presidential election fell to 26.72 per cent, the lowest recorded since the return to civil rule in 1999, reflecting a widening gap between the formal apparatus of democracy and the dispositions of ordinary citizens. This theoretical paper argues that civic education and political socialization are foundational to reversing this trend, and that the current failure of both is a structural problem rooted in curriculum inadequacy, pedagogical weakness, and institutional neglect. Drawing on Almond and Verba's Civic Culture Theory, Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory, and Freire's Critical Pedagogy, this paper examines how Nigeria's formal civic education curriculum has failed to cultivate the democratic values, critical awareness, and participatory habits that a functioning democracy requires. It analyses how the hidden curriculum of the Nigerian school system decays and the dominance of passive instructional methods reproduces civic passivity rather than democratic agency, and how digital spaces have emerged as alternative sites of political socialization with both emancipatory and destabilizing dimensions. The paper recommends curriculum reform centered on critical civics, active-learning pedagogies, the integration of digital media literacy, and mandatory reforms to pre-service teacher education as the primary pathways for civic renewal.