IDEAL INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

The system of governance in West Africa, Particularly Nigeria and Ghana can best be described as civil rule code-named democracy. To achieve Democracy, a society must first democratize. To democratize, nongovernmental organizations like civil society organizations (CSOs) must play active yet defining roles like the role of a watchdog, advocacy for inclusiveness and promoting political participation, holding governments at all levels to account for their actions and inactions, and raising an army of critical citizens amongst others. To carry out this study, the researcher adopted the descriptive research design. Data for the study were collected using the secondary instruments of data collection and content analysis used to analyze the data generated. The study adopted the structuralfunctional theory as its framework for analysis. The major findings of the study is that despite the presence of many CSOs(both local and international) in west Africa in general and Nigeria and Ghana in particular, they have had little impact on Democratization as democracy appears to be under existential threats especially with the resurgence of military coup and counter coup in the past seven years, widespread poverty, decline in democratic norms and ideals, insecurity exacerbated by terrorism and terrorist related activities, banditry and kidnapping, farmers-herders crisis amongst others. The study was also able to discover that CSOs are relatively making more significant impact in Ghana than Nigeria as a result of the enabling environment created for it to thrive. Amongst other recommendations, the study recommends that national governments within the sub-region should assign statutory responsibilities to CSOs, make funds available, provide more enabling environment by tolerating and accommodating dissenting views. With these and many more, CSOs will make significant contribution to reverse the pace at which democracy may go into oblivion in West Africa.

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