Abstract
The development of any democratic system depends largely on the effectiveness of its civil society. The civil society has been known to have performed fundamental roles in the development and advancement of democratic governance across nations, including Nigeria. These roles include national orientation, mobilization of the masses, provision of certain social amenities for the people and engagement with those in power among, others. The story is not different with Nigeria pre- and post-independence. However, in the light of current realities of poor engagement by civil society, partly occasioned by the refusal of government officials to engage with the civil society, democratic setbacks, and violation of human rights by government agencies among others, it becomes important to interrogate the role of civil society in deepening democratic governance in Nigeria. The study examines the meaning, history and roles of civil society in Nigeria. It concludes that the role of civil society in democratic governance of Nigeria, just like that of any other nation cannot be over-emphasised. The study found among others that no democracy is ever better than its civil society. The study recommended enhanced engagement of the civil society with the legislature and law-making process of the nation towards ensuring people-oriented legislations. It further recommended that civil society should be more involved in the orientation of citizens. This way, the citizens including law enforcement agencies would know their rights and duties and by so doing, stem the tide of growing violation of human rights by law enforcement agents in Nigeria.
Keywords:Civil Education, Civil Rule, Civil Society; Democratic governance; Judicial Independence; Socio-economic Services