"While we look at the screens of our televisions and mobile phones, others with agendas have their fingers in the pockets of our democracy, on the steering wheel of our democracy, on the keys to our democracy, on the credit cards of our democracy"-Professor A.C. Grayling.
Citizens embrace democracy with reasonable expectations that it will deliver a better quality of life. However, when it fails to deliver these benefits, people lose faith in democracy. The truth is in Nigeria, people are deprived of a voice in the government of their lives so its hard to describe what is happening in Nigeria as a workable democracy.
According to Professor A.C. Grayling; "the idea of democracy is that it is a political order in which government is chosen and given authority by the periodically, freely and fairly cast votes of the enfranchised members of the populace, who have a real choice as to whom to give their vote. A set of civil liberties is essential to the operation of democracy, such as freedom of expression, the right to assembly, and liberty in respect of political choices.
The mechanisms by which the government is thereafter constrained in what it can do, are highly important" He concluded that three further intimately connected essentials-'the proper operation of the democracy, the quality of the electorate, and the quality of the elected' would close the gap between aspiration and nearest thing to the ideal that humanity can achieve in this sphere. Thus, "it is in the breakdown of these further essentials that the crisis of contemporary democracy consists".
My first attempt to investigate democracy crisis in Nigeria which i described as 'bribe and bullet' endorsed above explanations without any iota of doubt. Failing democracy in Nigeria is as a result of the great disconnect among the three essentials-the political system, the political actors and the people-'capture, corruption, coercion'. My focus will be a brief explanation of what has transpired from the return to civil rule in 1999 till date and what can be done to reclaim democracy in Nigeria and make it achieve its purpose of liberty and freedom as in the words of Professor A.C.Grayling; "worked out by some of the best minds in the history of our civilization"(P.11).
*The Dubious Political System: Writing on NewYork Times; 'Lessons From Nigeria's Militarized Democratic Experiment' on October 9 2019, Professor Wole Soyinka has this to say about Nigeria's Political system ; "Nigeria's current Constitution, a parting gift from the military that ruled the nation for nearly four decades after its independence from Britain in 1960, was released to the public on May 29, 1999. The document was significant in one respect: Other than the conscripted drafting team, no one had previously set eyes on its contents.
As Rotimi Williams, one of Nigeria's most revered legal minds, once declared, even the Constitution's preamble began with an ergregious lie, with that ritual attribution "We the People..." It is no surprise then that the Constitution bequeathed by the Nigerian military 20 years ago marked a total repudiation of the less-centralised federalist structure that was the driving principle, agreed to after tough negotiations, of prior constitutional conferences in Nigeria and Britain. Ironically, one of the proclaimed justifications for a counter-coup in July 1966 was the aim of reversing the centralization decrees that had gathered the security arms, civil service, judiciary and other state structures under one command".
While Nigerian diarchy operates mostly in covert fashion, the military does not hesitate, when required, to declare openly where the real power lies", he concluded. The dubious constitution must be addressed by a constitutional settlement that has the will of the whole society.
Similarly, Professor Akin Oyebode, a Constitutional law expert described Nigeria's Political System as "very dysfunctional, counter -productive. Assessing the nation's democracy since 1999, Professor Oyebode said ; "I think this is a work in progress. The question of the Nigerian political system ; it's problematic, it's an ongoing issue" He concluded that the country needs a new constitution to enable a proper and transparent democracy. He mentioned that he was among the over 400 delegates who attended the 2014 National Conference(CONFAB) organised by former President Goodluck Jonathan. According to him; "the question of the nature of the polity and what needed to be done to ameliorate its dysfunctionality resonated very loudly at the event, but nothing has yet to be done six years later.
He said ; "The CONFAB came up with over 600 resolutions, but nothing has been done to date to effectuate those recommendations which would have made the Nigerian polity a little bit easier to understand to enhance its functionality. If you don't want to touch the recommendations of the CONFAB, then you need another forum, not the National Assembly. The National Assembly is to make laws for the peace, order, and good governance of Nigeria; it is not a constituent assembly. It is neither the place nor the role, or function of the National Assembly to give us a constitution. The word restructuring might be problematic to some people but to most objective observers, the system we are operating is very dysfunctional and counterproductive".
Furthermore; Dr Nina Nwodo, President General of Igbo Apex Organisation, Ohaneze Ndigbo reiterated the urgent need for a new constitution that can help grow democracy in Nigeria. In his own words; "our country is operating on an illegal constitution because the constitution lacks autochtony. We never made a constitution for Nigeria, the military gave it to the country. The composition of its legislative body was chosen by a parameter not known to anybody. They wrote a constitution and abandoned the agreement our forefathers had with the British government for a regional based government, in which every region had its own security, economic development and sovereignty over its natural resources and pay tax to the central government.
Ninety percent of the heads of security personnel in the South-East are non-indigenes. And we know all over the world that local policing is the trend today. You have to know your local territory and speak the language to the police chief. Those people don't speak the language and are not from there. They look like those posted to superintend over the colonial arrangement. This situation is threatening the very fabric of our nation." He therefore stressed that Nigeria must restructure the country and have a constitution that is autochthonous. "A constitution that is made by the people and backed by a plebiscite voted by the people" .
No doubt it would be very difficult to have a proper and transparent democracy in Nigeria without addressing the root cause of the problem. *The Political Actors-PDP vs APC: I described PDP vs APC political parties as 'putting a lipstick on a pig, its still a pig' ,whereas the PDP tried to solve the problem by changing the question rather than addressing the root cause of the problem, the APC was a 'Mistake of Destiny', a tragic story of the supreme power of politics to destroy collective life, economy and the society.
Rule by angry people, wrong hands, human hands, very bad tyranny; division, ethnic discrimination, exploitation and domination, terror, and economic violence, seeking to use state power to impose a particular ideology on the rest of the society. According Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo; "No Nigerian State is Safe, Secure Again. Now, no part of the country can claim to be safe from the menance and insecurity caused by terrorists, armed robbers, human traffickers, kidnappers of all sorts, cattle rustlers, insurgents, bandits and herders/farmers conflicts".
Similarly, the UK All -Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief has just published a report entitled 'Nigeria-Unfolding Genocide' accusing the Federal government of inaction in protecting Christians and Ethnic minorities in Nigeria. It's a big badge of shame the country finds itself in this situation.
This government dramatically demonstrate how anti-democratic elements that achieve power democratically can destroy the very democracy that empowered them. Under this government, the country has fulfilled all the requirements of state failure-lawlessness, failed elections, abuse of power and attack on civil liberties, tyranny, eroding democratic institutions and checks and balances including the judiciary, collapsed economy, endangered society, this is a very bad omen and mockery of democracy.
In another report, Ewelina U Ochab, writing for Forbes Magazine, reported that "Fulani militia continues to perpetrate mass atrocities in Nigeria's Middle-Belt and their crimes continue to go unreported. How will the Nigerian government explain the mass killings in Nigeria as recorded by several International organisations? What is the Nigerian government doing to ensure that the acts are investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted".
A government that has refused to call the enemy by its name cannot hide from history. What is the point of democracy if it cannot guarantee citizens security and prosperity. Dr Nina Nwodo described the political parties as 'companies owned by share holders'. "Our political parties are like companies owned by shareholders where there is no freedom to choose candidates, no transparency in nomination process. you need to have a god father to win a nomination to enter any legislative houses or executive office. Our electoral system is the most corrupt in the world. This is the only country in the world where you go for an election and the adjudication of the judiciary on the outcome of an election lasts up to one year. And in the process, our judiciary is corrupt. In the process, our police men break into a polling booth and cart away polling bags and papers in broad day light. It is recorded in cameras and nobody does anything about it.
It is very often noticed in Nigeria that people lose election and still win because their names are recorded as having won. The confidence of an average Nigerian in the electoral process is gone, to make matters worst and that is the kernel point".
*The People-Ignorant and Impotent Majority persuaded by identity and propaganda: Freedom is not freely given by the oppressors, freedom is taken. There is a popular saying; "Your rights will not be handed to you. You're going to have to request them by going out into the streets". There is Power in Protest. Pressure works. Again, in the words of Professor Paul Collier; Our politicians would only move beyond gestures once there is a critical mass of informed citizens".
Education is the only solution to the dilemma of democracy, all the philosophers say so and we are all stakeholders in this regard. This blog is an attempt to raise awareness to help inform and inspire people to demand change from the 'few'-wielding immeasurable wealth and power to deepen the mess we're in. At stake is whether, there will be democracy in the near future. There are several suggestions out there about the future of government in Nigeria, however, there is nothing to suggest that the government would let the peoples' voice count.
I think It's very imperative to conclude this little piece with Professor Wole Soyinka's final conclusion on the state of democracy in Nigeria; "Nigeria is now witnessing an illusive democracy hoisted by the tyrannical regime of President Buhari. The government is worst than any military junta we have ever seen in this country. It's high time progressive Nigerians rise up and vehemently resist this despotic and macabre government. The Ekiti and Osun jungle elections are a good pointer.
Nigeria belongs to all of us and we must protect this country and our democracy"
Democracy requires Committed Democrats, People of Expertise and experience and Educated Educated Electorate. Civic and Moral Education is very important for the health of democracy and The LEAD Project Foundation is actively involved in this regard.
Uche Okeke is the Founder of The LEAD Project Foundation. He lives in London.
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