Introduction : the impossible necessity of participatory democracy in Nigeria / V. Adefemi Isumonah -- Borno : fitting the designs of the political elite / Isaac Olawale Albert and Nathaniel Dominic Danjibo -- Continuity and discontinuity in the politics of Kano / V. Adefemi Isumonah and Michael Kehinde -- The myth and reality of popular participation in Lagos State / Isaac Olawale Albert -- Social cleavages and participatory democracy in Plateau State / Antonia T. Simbine -- Centrist party politics of Rivers State / V. Adefemi Isumonah -- Oyo State : the emptiness of national policy relevance / Antonia T. Simbine -- Conclusion : political participation as a preserve of the political class / V. Adefemi Isumonah.