A century and a half ago, Western democracy was unknown in many parts of
the world. Towards the end of colonialism this form of government began to
emerge in the non-Western world. As time went by, this form of government
became canonised and the West adjudged that it was a form of government
suitable for the rest of mankind. This paper acknowledges that Western democracy is good, even for Third World nations. But can Africa adopt Western
democracy without any form of alteration or adaptation? If Africa cannot practice Western Democracy without adaptation, what contemporary real-life factor or factors could be responsible for this? To contribute in providing answers to these questions, the paper explores the contemporary political history and current affairs of the Tiv of Benue State in order to examine aspects of real-life democratic practice in Tivland. To this end, the writer employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of research. To obtain the data necessary for evaluating the role of clan elders in Benue politics questionnaires were used. Historical method was also used for gathering information. To obtain information from oral sources, the interviewees were deliberately selected and open-ended questions were used. Using the aforementioned methodologies, the paper claims that neo-gerontocracy (an aspect of Tiv traditional culture) has, to some extent, influenced the practice of Western democracy in Benue State. The paper looks in the direction of citizenship policy in Nigeria and the theory of cultural diffusion to explain why neo-gerontocracy is a factor in the current political calculations of Benue State. Drawing from the interface of neogerontocracy and Western democracy in Tivland and from the theory of cultural diffusion, the paper concludes that Western democracy can be adapted in non-Western cultures.
