Paper short abstract:

The paper argues that the decline of aggressive and sincere activities of Civil Rights groups have been responsible for the prominence of ethnic politics in Africa. This issue threatens the development of democracy and human rights in the region.

Paper long abstract:

The decline in democracy advocacy and human rights protection constitute a threat to the emergence of true democracy in Africa. For over a decade, seemingly business of government has been conducted democratically in most African countries. The sad news however that is this new found system is under threat. This threat is from ethnic chauvinists that see and interpret politics from self and myopic interest. Thus, the trend, for instance in Nigeria is that every Nigerian wants the President to come from his/her ethnic background. The clamor and agitation for this has reached unpleasant level. The situation has poisoned the polity; it has led to violence and the militarization of the country. Civil rights groups seem to have lost focus on the need to stress competence and progress for the region. We are now left with such acronyms as power shift to the North or power remaining in the South. Zoning has therefore become an issue in our political lexicon. This trend is overheating the polity.

Only very few people are concerned with competence and ability to perform. This development if not checked promptly could lead to violence and disaster. It can also lead to civil war at the extreme. This paper focuses on this issue and I am of the opinion that it is not healthy for the evolution of democracy in Africa.