Introduction

The end of the Cold War between the United States and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1989 ended communism and established liberal democracy as a legitimate global political structure (Adebayo, Onigu, Egwu, Amuwo, Eteng, Kawonise, et al., 1997). By 1990, countries in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia politically aspired for democracy and transited from authoritarian to democratic forms of government throughout the decade (Schraeder, 2000). For Nigeria, 1990 to 1999 marked a turning point in various ways. Politically, the wave of democratization led to a movement by Nigerians to free Nigeria from military rule that had existed for 29 of its 41 years as an independent nation (Ojo, 2000).