The Nation Newspaper

Tag: democracy

  • June 12 mandate, democracy and Nigeria’s unity

    Some members of the House of Representatives have challenged the legality of the declaration of June 12 as a public holiday on the grounds that the approval of the National Assembly was not sought and obtained by the President. It is undoubtedly clear that the attention of the legislators has not been drawn to Section 2 (1) of the Public Holidays Act,  which provides that in addition to the holidays mentioned in the Schedule to the Act, the President may appoint a special day to be kept as a public holiday either throughout Nigeria or in any part thereof. Therefore, the President is not required by the Public Holidays Act or any other law to seek and obtain the approval of the National Assembly before declaring a public holiday in the country. To that extent, the declaration of June 12 as a national holiday with effect from 2019 is well grounded in law.

    Lessons from the June 12 struggle

    It would be recalled that the Campaign for Democracy (CD) led by the late Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti had organised massive rallies in July 1993 to protest the annulment of the election. The late Dr Ransome-Kuti, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and I were captured in Lagos and taken to Abuja by security forces in a desperate bid to stop the demonstrations. We were charged with conspiracy, unlawful assembly, incitement etc. before a Wuse Magistrate Court.  Our application for bail was refused by the magistrate, who ordered our confinement at Kuje prison. Notwithstanding our incarceration, the protests and other forms of civil disobedience continued unabated.  Chima Ubani, Osagie Obayuwana, Debo Adeniran,  Odion Akhaine, Abiodun Aremu, Y.Z.  Yau, Chris Abashi, Shehu Sanni, Luke Aghanenu, Jiti Ogunye, Bello Aideloje, Gloria Kilanko, Joe Igbokwe, Joe Okey-Odumakin and several other comrades effectively co-ordinated the revolts until General Babangida was chased out of power on August 26, 1993.

    I have deliberately read out these names to emphasise the point that the struggle for the validation of the June 12 mandate was waged by progressive Nigerian citizens from all parts of the country. The role of the progressive extraction of the media deserves special mention. When the junta could not silence The Punch, National Concord, Sketch and Nigerian Observer it banned them. But the Tell, The News and TEMPO magazines resisted proscription as they resorted to guerilla journalism. They exposed the forces of annulment and their unpatriotic collaborators. In a suit filed against the proscription of the Concord newspapers the Lagos High Court set aside the illegal proscription of the Concord newspapers in October, 1993 while the Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan was declared illegal and unconstitutional on November 10, 1993. At that juncture the Campaign for Democracy called on  Chief Abiola to  proclaim himself President. But the call was rejected based on the false assurance given to Chief Abiola by Generals Sani Abacha and Oladipo Diya. A week later, both Generals rolled out the tanks to re-impose full-fledged military dictatorship on the nation.

    The CD asked Nigerians to reject the new impostors, but Chief Abiola pleaded for understanding as he remained convinced that the sanctity of his mandate would be respected by the Abacha junta. But in order to consolidate power the junta appointed Chief Abiola’s key lieutenants as ministers including the elected Vice President, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe. As martial law was not sufficient to silence Nigerians the junta established a killer squad called “Strike Force” to eliminate all leading opposition figures in the country. The Strike Force actually killed some pro-democracy and human rights defenders and subjected others to detention in dehumanising conditions for demanding for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate.

    When it dawned on Chief Abiola and his supporters in the political class that the Abacha junta had betrayed them they held a meeting in Lagos on May 18, 1994 and resolved to form the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) under the leadership of the late Chief Adekunle Ajasin. On June 12, 1994 Chief Abiola declared himself President and called on the Nigerian people to defend the mandate. He was arrested and charged with treasonable felony. Even though the Court of Appeal admitted him to bail in self recognisance, the junta refused to release him from military custody. For four years, he was held incommunicado in solitary confinement and denied access to his doctors and family members. On one occasion Dr. Ore Falomo, Bashorun Abiola’s personal physician got the approval of the junta to visit him in custody. However, not only was the doctor disallowed from visiting his patient, he was also arrested by security forces. It took the personal intervention of General Abacha to secure the release of Dr. Falomo from illegal custody.

    On June 4 1996, Chief Abiola’s wife, Mrs Kudirat Abiola was brutally assassinated in Lagos by Sergeant Rogers on orders from above. Chief Alfred Rewane, Bagauda Khalto, and many other people were gruesomely assassinated by the Strike Force. Unsuccessful attempts were made to murder the NADECO chief, Senator Abraham Adesanya, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa and the Guardian Publisher, Chief Alex Ibru. Political leaders and activists, who went on exile include Professor Wole Soyinka, Chief Tony Enahoro, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd), Chief Ralph Obiora, Commodore Dan Suleiman (retd), Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Nosa Igiebor, Dapo Olorunyomi and Bayo Onanuga went on exile.

    Some of the ardent supporters of the June 12 mandate, who remained in the country were the late Bala Usman, Col Umar Dangiwa and Balarabe Musa, Commodore Ndubusi Kanu (rtd), Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the late Chief Olanihun Ajayi, Chief Olu Falae, Hon. Wale Osun etc. For four years Comrade Frank Kokori was detained at Bama prison in Borno State. His detention conditions were horrible, but his spirit was unbroken. Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Aborisade and I were detained for about 19 months in ‘1996.

    In a desperate bid by General Abacha to metamorphose into a civilian president, he decided to cow the Nigerian people to complete submission. In 1995, former military Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy, General Shehu Yaradua and a host of other retired and serving army officers were roped into a phantom coup, tried by a military tribunal, which convicted and sentenced them to death. Some journalists like Chris Anyanwu, Kunle Ajibade, George Mbah and the CD Chairman and deputy, Dr Ransome- Kuti and Shehu Sanni respectively were sentenced to life imprisonment. For daring to expel Shell from Ogoniland the junta executed Ken Saro Wiwa and 8 leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).

    In 1997, General Oladipo Diya and other military officers, who had fallen out of favour with the murderous junta, were tried for treason, convicted and sentenced to death. They were awaiting the noose of the hangman when the maximum ruler was poisoned and killed in a palace coup on June 8, 1998. The junta’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Abdulsalami Abubakar succeeded General Abacha. When all efforts made by the Abubakar junta to persuade Chief Abiola to abandon his mandate failed he was reported to have died after taking a cup of tea served by a member of a United States delegation.

    • To be continued next week

  • June 12 mandate, democracy and Nigeria’s unity

    Being an address delivered by Femi Falana (SAN) at the 25th anniversary of the June 12 1993 presidential election won by the late Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola, organised by the Osun State government.

    • Continued from week

    Some members of the House of Representatives have challenged the legality of the declaration of June 12 as a public holiday on the grounds that the approval of the National Assembly was not sought and obtained by the President. It is undoubtedly clear that the attention of the legislators has not been drawn to Section 2 (1) of the Public Holidays Act,  which provides that in addition to the holidays mentioned in the Schedule to the Act, the President may appoint a special day to be kept as a public holiday either throughout Nigeria or in any part thereof. Therefore, the President is not required by the Public Holidays Act or any other law to seek and obtain the approval of the National Assembly before declaring a public holiday in the country. To that extent, the declaration of June 12 as a national holiday with effect from 2019 is well grounded in law.

    Lessons from the June 12 struggle

    It would be recalled that the Campaign for Democracy (CD) led by the late Dr Beko Ransome-Kuti had organised massive rallies in July 1993 to protest the annulment of the election. The late Dr Ransome-Kuti, the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and I were captured in Lagos and taken to Abuja by security forces in a desperate bid to stop the demonstrations. We were charged with conspiracy, unlawful assembly, incitement etc. before a Wuse Magistrate Court.  Our application for bail was refused by the magistrate, who ordered our confinement at Kuje prison. Notwithstanding our incarceration, the protests and other forms of civil disobedience continued unabated.  Chima Ubani, Osagie Obayuwana, Debo Adeniran,  Odion Akhaine, Abiodun Aremu, Y.Z.  Yau, Chris Abashi, Shehu Sanni, Luke Aghanenu, Jiti Ogunye, Bello Aideloje, Gloria Kilanko, Joe Igbokwe, Joe Okey-Odumakin and several other comrades effectively co-ordinated the revolts until General Babangida was chased out of power on August 26, 1993.

    I have deliberately read out these names to emphasise the point that the struggle for the validation of the June 12 mandate was waged by progressive Nigerian citizens from all parts of the country. The role of the progressive extraction of the media deserves special mention. When the junta could not silence The Punch, National Concord, Sketch and Nigerian Observer it banned them. But the Tell, The News and TEMPO magazines resisted proscription as they resorted to guerilla journalism. They exposed the forces of annulment and their unpatriotic collaborators. In a suit filed against the proscription of the Concord newspapers the Lagos High Court set aside the illegal proscription of the Concord newspapers in October, 1993 while the Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan was declared illegal and unconstitutional on November 10, 1993. At that juncture the Campaign for Democracy called on  Chief Abiola to  proclaim himself President. But the call was rejected based on the false assurance given to Chief Abiola by Generals Sani Abacha and Oladipo Diya. A week later, both Generals rolled out the tanks to re-impose full-fledged military dictatorship on the nation.

    The CD asked Nigerians to reject the new impostors, but Chief Abiola pleaded for understanding as he remained convinced that the sanctity of his mandate would be respected by the Abacha junta. But in order to consolidate power the junta appointed Chief Abiola’s key lieutenants as ministers including the elected Vice President, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe. As martial law was not sufficient to silence Nigerians the junta established a killer squad called “Strike Force” to eliminate all leading opposition figures in the country. The Strike Force actually killed some pro-democracy and human rights defenders and subjected others to detention in dehumanising conditions for demanding for the actualisation of the June 12 mandate.

    When it dawned on Chief Abiola and his supporters in the political class that the Abacha junta had betrayed them they held a meeting in Lagos on May 18, 1994 and resolved to form the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) under the leadership of the late Chief Adekunle Ajasin. On June 12, 1994 Chief Abiola declared himself President and called on the Nigerian people to defend the mandate. He was arrested and charged with treasonable felony. Even though the Court of Appeal admitted him to bail in self recognisance, the junta refused to release him from military custody. For four years, he was held incommunicado in solitary confinement and denied access to his doctors and family members. On one occasion Dr. Ore Falomo, Bashorun Abiola’s personal physician got the approval of the junta to visit him in custody. However, not only was the doctor disallowed from visiting his patient, he was also arrested by security forces. It took the personal intervention of General Abacha to secure the release of Dr. Falomo from illegal custody.

    On June 4 1996, Chief Abiola’s wife, Mrs Kudirat Abiola was brutally assassinated in Lagos by Sergeant Rogers on orders from above. Chief Alfred Rewane, Bagauda Khalto, and many other people were gruesomely assassinated by the Strike Force. Unsuccessful attempts were made to murder the NADECO chief, Senator Abraham Adesanya, Brigadier-General Buba Marwa and the Guardian Publisher, Chief Alex Ibru. Political leaders and activists, who went on exile include Professor Wole Soyinka, Chief Tony Enahoro, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd), Chief Ralph Obiora, Commodore Dan Suleiman (retd), Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Nosa Igiebor, Dapo Olorunyomi and Bayo Onanuga went on exile.

    Some of the ardent supporters of the June 12 mandate, who remained in the country were the late Bala Usman, Col Umar Dangiwa and Balarabe Musa, Commodore Ndubusi Kanu (rtd), Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the late Chief Olanihun Ajayi, Chief Olu Falae, Hon. Wale Osun etc. For four years Comrade Frank Kokori was detained at Bama prison in Borno State. His detention conditions were horrible, but his spirit was unbroken. Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Aborisade and I were detained for about 19 months in ‘1996.

    In a desperate bid by General Abacha to metamorphose into a civilian president, he decided to cow the Nigerian people to complete submission. In 1995, former military Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo and his former deputy, General Shehu Yaradua and a host of other retired and serving army officers were roped into a phantom coup, tried by a military tribunal, which convicted and sentenced them to death. Some journalists like Chris Anyanwu, Kunle Ajibade, George Mbah and the CD Chairman and deputy, Dr Ransome- Kuti and Shehu Sanni respectively were sentenced to life imprisonment. For daring to expel Shell from Ogoniland the junta executed Ken Saro Wiwa and 8 leaders of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP).

    In 1997, General Oladipo Diya and other military officers, who had fallen out of favour with the murderous junta, were tried for treason, convicted and sentenced to death. They were awaiting the noose of the hangman when the maximum ruler was poisoned and killed in a palace coup on June 8, 1998. The junta’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Abdulsalami Abubakar succeeded General Abacha. When all efforts made by the Abubakar junta to persuade Chief Abiola to abandon his mandate failed he was reported to have died after taking a cup of tea served by a member of a United States delegation. With the elimination of both General Abacha and Chief Abiola the Abubakar junta rolled out a political transition programme which was manipulated to produce the current rickety democratic process.

    • To be continued next week

     

     

  • June 12 mandate, democracy and Nigeria’s unity

    Being an address delivered by Femi Falana (SAN) at the 25th anniversary of the June 12 1993 presidential election won by the late Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola organised by the Osun State government.

    THE Muhammadu Buhari administration took the nation by surprise last week when it decided to confer the posthumous national awards of Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) on Chief M. K. O. Abiola, the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election and Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) on Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN for his huge contribution to the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria. By declaring June 12 Democracy Day the Federal Government has officially validated the integrity of the credible election that was criminally annulled by the Ibrahim Babangida junta. By recognizing June 12 as Democracy Day the Federal Government has put an end to the hypocrisy of May 29 which was proclaimed by the Olusegun Obasanjo regime.  This year’s celebration provides a golden opportunity to review the democratic journey with a view to strengthening the fragile democratic process. Before addressing the topic of our discourse permits me to respond to the attempts by certain persons to questioning the decision of the federal government to revisiting the monumental injustice that has lived with us for 25 years.

    Legal validity of posthumous awards conferred on Chief Abiola and Chief Fawehinmi and declaration of June 12 as a public holiday

    The Honourable Justice Alfa Belgore, a retired Chief Justice of Nigeria was reported to have questioned the legal validity of the decision of President Buhari to confer posthumous awards on Chief M. K. O. Abiola and Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN on the grounds that the advice of the National Honours Committee headed by his lordship was not sought. It was further contended by his lordship that it is illegal to confer national honours posthumously. Curiously, his lordship did not refer to any section of the National Honours Act or any other law that has been violated by the President. It is however pertinent to point out that the National Honours Committee is unknown to law. Hence, there is no reference to it in the National Honours Act.

    With profound respect to the Honourable Justice Alfa Belgore, the National Honours Act has not prohibited or restricted the powers of the President to confer national honours on deserving Nigerian citizens, dead or alive. No doubt, paragraph 2 of the Honours Warrant made pursuant to the National Honours Act provides that “a person shall be appointed to a particular rank of an Order when he receives from the President in person, at an investiture held for the purpose…” But paragraph 3 thereof has given the President the unqualified discretion “to dispense with the requirement of paragraph 2 in such manner as may be specified in the direction.” Therefore, since the national awards conferred on Chief Abiola and Chief Fawehinmi cannot be received by them in person the President has rightly invited their family members to receive same on their behalf.

    Senator Dino Melaye has equally questioned the national awards on the grounds that the two honourees are no longer citizens of Nigeria because they are deceased. I am compelled to draw the attention of the Senator to section 25 of the Constitution which provides that the citizenship of Nigeria can be acquired by birth by any person whose parent or grandparent is or was a member of a community indigenous to Nigeria. If a Nigerian can acquire his citizenship by tracing his roots to a dead parent or grandparent it is submitted that the death of Chief Abiola and Chief Fawehinmi has not robbed them of their rights as citizens of Nigeria. A few years ago, it was accepted in legal circles in Nigeria that the fundamental right of a dead person to life could not be enforced since he was no longer a citizen. But that erroneous contention was discarded by the Court of Appeal in the case of Mrs Precious Omonyahuh v Inspector-General of Police (2015) LPELR-25581, Adamu Augie J.C.A (as she then was) held that the fundamental right of Nigerian citizens to life guaranteed by section 33 of the Constitution can be enforced by relations of any person whose life has been illegally terminated.

    • To be continued next week

  • Democracy, leaders  and power

    Every  dog  has  its  day ‘ is a fine saying   to  oneself   urging restraint  when your  opponents get  the better  of you    on  any   issue ,  no  matter  how momentarily. It   is  a statement  that  is both consolatory and hopeful  that a different  solution to the  matter  at hand  may still  emerge  even  as the victors  of the moment  savor their  victory.   That  mood and attitude  had been  the mood  of  most  Nigerians since former Head of State  retired Gen Olusegun Obasanjo  in   1999   made    May  29, Democracy  Day   when    he was elected a civilian  president  of Nigeria, 20  years after he left office as a military  dictator  and handed  over government  to a democratically  elected government  of  Shehu  Shagari.  Nigerians  were tramautised  by that  use  of presidential  power as most thought that  June 12,  the date   of  the   June  12  election  that  brought in MKO Abiola  as president ‘ of the freest election in Nigeria’  should  without  doubt  have been  Nigeria’s  undoubted  Democracy  Day  given  the struggle  the Nigerian people embarked on with the Abacha  military  regime to  have the winner  of the election sworn  in as president to claim his mandate. Every  dog  had its day  for the Obasanjo’s  thinking  and   use  or  abuse   of  power  till  this week  when  Nigeria’s President Muhammadu  Buhari  used the same power  to annul  May  29  as  Nigeria’s  Democacy  Day  and install  June 12  as the new Democracy  Day  and Public Holiday  in  Nigeria.  Again,  you  can  bring  in  another  fine saying for  the occasion.  That  is the wise  saying  that  –  the mills  of justice may grind slowly  but they  grind exceedingly fine.  You  may  even   round that up  by  joining me in  doffing my  hat  to  our  president  and sage  indeed  on this matter    for  making  a reality  the wishes  of  millions  of  Nigerians  for  a long  time.  A  wish  deliberately  and contemptuously  ignored  with  impunity  by  the creator  of  May   29  Democracy  Day. A  leader   who  sees  himself   and no  other  as Nigeria’s   chosen  Messiah  even  though fate  gave  him  ample opportunity  to  turn  Nigeria  round so that  we have light at the end  of  the tunnel  of  Democracy. But  he blew  up  the rare  chance  of being our president twice and is  still  unrepentantly  blaming every  one but himself  for  the  sick  democracy   we  are  all  learning to  live with  today.  Even  as we do not know whether  or when  to cry  or  laugh     as  we  somewhat,     in very    vain   hope  await  the elusive  mirage  of  the dividends  of  democracy.

    All    the same  without  taking anything  away  from  the incumbent’s  President’s   responsive and welcome creation of a new Democracy Day   in  Nigeria,  we  look  at the travails  of Democracy  as a   global system  of  government and  the claims  being made  for  it or  on its behalf  by those  who  have  power  through  elections  and  believe  democracy under  their  leadership  or  guidance  is working. One  such  view  point  is  held by  no less  a body  than  Nigeria’s National  Assembly  which  in   a joint  session  this week called  on the Nigerian  president to perform  on security  and protect  Nigerians   and    stop  molesting  opponents  or else   be ready  for the Nigerian Legislature  to invoke  its power  to  take care of  Nigerians.  Which  is a form  of impeachment  threat  which  we  shall  look  at  in the appropriate  context  today.

    We  also  take  a look  at another  June  12  event  on  De -nuclearisation  taking place  hopefully  finally  in Singapore  and  involving   the highly  charged  meeting between  US President Donald  Trump  and N Korean leader  Kim  Jong  Un. It  is  a meeting  between two  leaders with  different  concepts  of  democracy that  are  at odds in  theory  and practice . In  fact  those Americans  who  hate Trump  would  put  him in the same dictatorial  mode  as Kim  and call  them  birds  of the same feather  in their  style  of  democratic  leadership. That  however  would be open  to  a virile debate involving the evolution  and history  of their  two  very  different political  systems  and the  institutions  of political  participation  and mobilization. What  is important  is that the  two  leaders have taught    the civilized  world  a lesson that  in diplomacy  at  what ever level  and what ever  the odds,  where  there is a will    there  is always   a  way.  The two  leaders  meet  on an Island in  Singapore on  Nigeria’s  new  Democracy  Day   and Nigerians cannot  but  wish  them  the best  in their  quest  to make the world  a safer  place  for  us  all. The  meeting   was  always  on a cliff  hanger in terms of it   ever  taking place given  the volatile  nature  of the two  very  powerful  leaders    who  have shown by  now  mutual  respect  for each other in making the June 12 possible  after  mutual  recriminations , suspicion  and   mistrust  of  their agents  and nations on the Denuclearisation issue. The  lesson  for global  leaders  here  is that power  and its exercise  should  not stand  in the way  of  national  and   global  issues and  political  systems  in what ever  mode    of democracy     can  relate, interact and have  rapprochement  to make  global   peace  in our  time.

    We  can now  go back  to  the National  Assembly’s   veiled impeachment threat  to the Nigerian president and its implications. It  is apparent  that the face off   between  the inspector  general of police and the  president of the senate  that  has  mushroomed  to the Offa  robbery   accusations   and  invitation  of the Senate  President   by  the Police on the robbery has been deemed an attack  on the independence of the Nigerian  legislature  and as such  an  assault on our  democracy. The  issue  here is that impeachment and criminal  allegations  are two  different  issues  and distinct  aspects of democracy  and  the rule  of  law. The  president  is in charge of the security  of the nation  and the  ball  is always  in his court  on  that  account  on which  he is accountable  to the Nigerian  people  now   and  especially   at election time. Similarly  the legislature  and its principal  officers are  not above the law  of  the land while policing is still  under  the IGP under  the rule of  law  and no  other.  These  are  the nitty  gritty  of  the matter  and the  workings of  our  democracy  must  be allowed  to play itself out  in  the correct,  legal  and legitimate  manner,  such  that  justice  is  not only  done  but must  be seen  to  have  been  done according  to our constitution.  Once again, long live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • It’s a boost for democracy, says Oshiomhole

    FORMER Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has described the post-humous award for the proclaimed winner of the June 12 Presidential election, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, as a boost for the nation’s democracy.

    Oshiomhole, who is an aspirant for the All Progressives Congress (APC) national chairmanship position said Democracy Day is not the day people hand over power to their successors.

    In a statement issued in Benin City, Oshiomhole said the decision to immortalise Abiola was what many Nigerians had yearned for.

    The statement reads: “I am glad with the decision of the President, especially by declaring June 12 Democracy Day because the real democracy is not the day that people hand over power to their successors, but the day to celebrate heroes of our democracy such as Chief Abiola and Gani Fawehinmi.

    “It was as a result of the struggle by Gani and Abiola that some persons came to benefit as leaders later on. That is why I commend Mr. President for this great wisdom. This is the best way to honour those that labour for this democracy.

    “We know some leaders, who even though they came from the same zone with Abiola and Gani were resolute in ensuring that June 12 was not declared as a day we celebrate as our democracy.

    The former governor said the “struggle for a better Nigeria and the blood of those who fought and died for this democracy has been atoned for” by Mr. President.

    “I congratulate the families of late MKO and Gani, I congratulate APC for making this happen. This was what some of us has yearned for over the years but I am glad that God has used Mr. President to achieve this and this will further strengthen our democracy and make us greater,” he stated.

     

     

  • There needs to be social reformation for democracy to survive

    Last week, we celebrated democracy day, and I must tell you that I had nothing to celebrate. Lately, I have been so drowned in depression that I did not realise the day was a public holiday until I had picked up my handbag to start for the door. It was the radio that brought me up short. It remembered me a cartoon I read a long time ago about a civil servant who was so used to going to work that he found he had become an automaton. It happened that one day, he woke up, and straight from bed he put on his hat, picked up his briefcase and went to work in his pyjamas, only to find out that it was a Saturday.

    Flat joke, right? Well, that was how flat the democracy day was for me – no zest, no bubbles, no chutzpah, just democracy on my empty plate. I guess that was what everyone was thinking too – the empty plates that have now come to define daily living in Nigeria. Everywhere you turn, sad long faces greet you while your own questioning one stares back at them. Behind the dull ache of it all, everyone has this one question: what the heck is going on? Why are we not hopping around in democratic ecstasy?

    One might say it’s probably because we still have not got this democracy thing pat down. Another might say that all we have done so far has been to threaten democracy. No one has really put his back to it to try and build it up or buffer it. Everyone has had his/her sticky little fingers around her neck to smother it. Some might even say that corruption is still alive and well in the country and smothering democracy. Others would say that the fingers throttling democracy are actually trying to throttle corruption.

    True. There have been all kinds of explanations to the ineffectuality of democratic dividends in the land. Is it corruption fighting back, as people are wont to say? Or is it that the government did not put its thinking cap on to ensure that something better than corruption was planted in the land before attempting to remove the famous corruption? I know, and I’m sure you do too, that one does not set out to tip out an evil force without first ensuring that something more positive would be used to replace it.

    According to some (I think the government will agree while many will disagree), Nigeria tipped out the evil force of corruption before replacing it with a more acceptable social ethos. I sort of think that the government especially hoped that all they needed to do was destroy corruption and Nigeria could breathe again. People would automatically find themselves doing something more socially acceptable, given that they are saints in the making and don’t even know it. Well, they were wrong.

    According to others, corruption is still alive and well, and laughing back at us. Some believe that it has so perfected its system and that it has so spread its tentacles and grip on every facet of living in Nigeria that it cannot be removed. It is in the petrol buying and selling. It is in the buying and selling of food items. It is in the awkward transportation system we have chosen to adopt in this country, the service sector, the private sector, the worship sector. Heck, it is in the very air we breathe. How then can any government claim to have eradicated it, especially as there is nothing better on ground?

    Sure, we can use productivity to replace corruption. We can use diversification. We can even use cottage industry or agricultural outputs. My take is that whatever might be used to replace something else ought to have been on ground before the something else is withdrawn to give room for the whatever.

    Well, corruption aside, I know that my hunger is threatening democracy. Boko haram once threatened democracy but you and I will now agree that we seem to have more to fear from Fulani herdsmen than boko haram. So yes, the Fulani herdsmen’s attacks are threatening democracy. Even the president’s failure to halt the attacks is a threat. The assemblymen’s over inflated earnings are threatening it. The failure to educate the people on the goals and processes of democracy is quite another. Heck, even I am threatening democracy, especially as I don’t know much about it either, given that I am expected to be a full and willing participant in the process, with me being hungry and all.

    Seriously though, the lack of knowledge is about the most damaging of all to the survival of democracy. To start with, the majority of Nigerians are still not educated. And the ones who are know nothing about democracy. More than half of the participants who stand for elections do not know or understand what is expected of them. So, clearly, we do not have the literate society that can translate the ideals of the democratic process into reality for all our benefits. For that, we must look to the ants.

    A study of nature will show us that one of the most organised societies is the colony of ants. In that kingdom, everyone knows his place. One is either a soldier (those are the ones that bite you when you are careless), or a worker (the ones that forage for food and generally find it in the cake you leave cooling on the table) or a queen (the one who makes the political decisions such as asking the soldiers to squash a dissident). There you are; can any society be more democratic than that? Everyone knows where he belongs, and that, to me, is literacy.

    Literacy, adult and juvenile, needs to be pursued relentlessly. The reason is simple and straightforward. No social reformation can take place without it; and social reformation is the oxidation, combustion and draught of the fires of democracy. Social reformation makes democracy burn like mad and dance the victory dance. Right now, the only social reformation we have seen has been the distribution of herdsmen around the country. I don’t know what for; please don’t ask me. All I know is that even if they kill off the entire country, they cannot replace the populace with cows.

    Seriously, there is still no electricity for all twenty-four hours, year round, for most people. There is still no pipe-borne water for all once you leave the precincts of your roof gutter that collects and transmits rain water. There is no good transportation system to speak of in the entire country. Tourists cannot make Nigeria a tourism destination because of stories of killings, kidnappings, frauds, bad roads and terrible-looking public vehicles that ply the roads. For tourists therefore, it would be too much of a descent into the jungle.

    What then do we do? We need a plan that will take social reformation very seriously. For starters, we need to get serious about fixing the society rather than just promoting individuals, groups, clans or villages. The jocular ‘it’s the Nigerian system’, used to explain every national failure, stems from the fact that the nation is not being built to be self-sustaining. A society that is not built will soon sink into depression and eventually disintegration.

    My democracy day blues actually came from not just my empty plate, but my empty pocket, heart and mind. We must earnestly begin to reform the social structures, so that everyone will know his place. And as they say, the rest will follow. Then, I’ll have my plate full again, I assure you.

     

     

  • The essence of democracy

    The dominance and prevalence of democracy as a popular form of government cannot be isolated from man’s inalienable right to freedom in its various ramifications which democracy espouses as a culture. Today, democracy in Nigeria is seriously taking a different dimension which is really becoming a source of worry. The essence of democracy and political governance including media being an agent of social change as well as how democracy should be practiced have been arrested over the years.

    As the country celebrates Democracy Day; it is imperative to ensure that the tenets that come with democracy are strikingly put into cognizance and not in the other way round. This is so because Nigeria is practising democracy but it is not willing to adhere to the tenets that come with it. Democracy is a system of government that enables people to have a say, it is a system of government that allows people to exercise their franchise without fear. It is not a system of government where people seize power through the barrel of guns the way it is in Nigeria. The country should not only advocate and celebrate Democracy Day, but should look towards inculcating the tenets of democracy.

    I think this is the more reason why a French philosopher Roseau articulated that democracy is based on social trust, a government and political system whose legitimacy is based on trust especially on the general well being of the electorate. In a democratic system of government, the power lies with the electorate but in Nigeria, the opposite seems to be the case. Democracy is a popular representation by a few, for participation by all, in the governance of state affairs. By and large, democracy should be seen in totality and naked practice.

    Truly speaking, Nigeria needs a participatory democracy, which thrives best in a climate where freedom creates room for dialogue and all voices-concordant and discordant. Where dialogue is enabled and enhanced through the media, the needs and desire of a diverse population are easily crystallized positively into a governing consensus that adds value. As gleaned above, freedom of speech is a precondition for true democracy and consensus which leads citizens into an open discussion of national issues without fear and intimidation.

    In short, freedom and true democracy is achieved when citizens are empowered in every sense, economically, politically and socially. With the continued deprivation and negligence of the citizen’s pride, democracy is misused. Without an ideal system of democracy in a country, independence can simply be a neo-colonialism, where few benefit while the rest of the masses are left in the home of penury.

    The media are indispensable agents of change in the democratic process given the expensive freedom and space embedded in the prevailing democratic culture. Nigeria’s transition from military rule to democracy has over the years remained chequered, with intermittent and often apocalyptic mostly occasioned by breakdown of dialogue. The media must also follow imperative ways for enabling of democratic dialogue. With this, the strength of democracy will fully be embraced without the question of whether the country is practicing democracy or not.

     

    • By Aondover Eric Msughter,

    Department of Mass Communication,

    Bayero University, Kano.

     

     

  • Constructive criticism good for democracy, says Ashafa

    Nigerians must unite to frustrate agent provocateur, Senator ‘Gbenga Ashafa, has said.

    The senator representing Lagos East gave the advice in his Democracy Day statement.

    He said: “We must, therefore, come together to ensure that there is no hiding place for criminals seeking to destabilise this country through bloodletting and violence.”

    The statement reads: “As we mark the 2018 Democracy Day of our dear country Nigeria and the third year anniversary of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, I would like to thank all Nigerians for your support this far.

    “Your constructive criticisms, your alternative opinions and your support for the institutions and policies of government have served as the needed impetus to those of us in government to do more.

    “In the past three years, the Buhari/Osinbajo-led government has reconstructed a foundation of socio-economic growth and development founded on the ideals of our constitution (Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress) and the ideals of our party.

    “We are gradually beginning to experience prudence and attitudinal change in public service, a stiff fight against corruption, massive infrastructural development particularly in the areas of rails, roads, power and housing.

    “There is also a sincere battle against insecurity and a commitment to creating a country that holds the promise of a secure future for our teeming young population.

    “In this final lap of this administration’s first term, I think it would be wise for Nigerians to realise that democracy is founded on people-representation and a balance of opinion on one hand as well as establishment of strong institutions on the other.

    “In essence, we must continue to engender the national conversation with a view to ensuring that our aggregate opinions are always represented and the sanctity our national institutions are always protected. The key to this is participation.

    “Consequently, as we gravitate towards the political season, I urge all Nigerians to participate actively in the entire process. Please, be reminded that participation is as much a duty as it is a right. We must, therefore, all be interested in ensuring that the solid foundations built by this administration are consolidated upon.

    “As I conclude, I urge all Nigerians to remember that sustainable development can only be achieved in an atmosphere of peace.”

  • May 29: Democracy still badly threatened

    THE Fourth Republic has lasted for about 19 years and endured longer than the last three republics, including the highly romanticised but doubtlessly more egalitarian and nostalgic First Republic. This longevity may have little to do with the people themselves, for they have changed little over the years despite the pains suffered at the hands of adventurist military rulers. The people have not always been model voters, having put so many undeserving leaders in office, but they will this time take consolation in the fact that at least a wobbly but imperial form of democracy seems to be taking root. Nigerians have not been model voters; but their leaders have even been worse models of leadership, refusing to take advantage of the opportunity to remodel and grow democracy into a formidable system.

    There is no reason to make May 29 Democracy Day, seeing that June 12 is more fittingly available, and even October 1, the Independence Day, is also more sensibly appropriate. But until a perceptive and forward-looking leader takes office and effects the right changes, operationally and structurally, May 29 will continue to serve as the symbol of Nigerian democracy, albeit an inappropriate one. The Fourth Republic may be turbulent, its institutions inchoate, and its operatives awkward and self-centred, but for whatever it is worth, 19 years of civil rule may yet lead to some dramatic changes down the road. Indeed, except Dr Jonathan who attempted a half-hearted reform of the democratic process, no president since 1999 has shown any interest or even understanding of what should be done to entrench democracy.

    Of the four presidents since 1999, Dr Obasanjo had the best opportunity to erect a solid foundation for democracy. Instead, he declined the historic opportunity, built on the conservatism and reactionary principles engendered by the 1999 constitution, subverted nearly all democratic institutions that war against his indulgent senses and elastic principles, and ruled almost as if he was still a military head of state. His successor, Umaru Yar’Adua, whom he foisted on the nation, did not indicate he had any revolutionary idea of how democracy could be fostered or what changes needed to be made to forge a nation and solidify constitutional rule. His brief reign was, however, too chaotic and ideologically uneventful to lend itself to something much grander. If Dr Jonathan appreciated the systemic weaknesses that undermined both the country and its constitution, he neither indicated it nor took steps to arrest the drift in the country and in his government.

    After the radical and unprecedented repudiation of the Jonathan government, Nigerians half hoped that President Buhari, notwithstanding his idiosyncratic and characteristic aversion to new things and deep ideas, would show a keener appreciation of the forces tearing the country apart, forces that began their corrosive work upon the constitution shortly after the republic was founded. But almost right from the beginning of the Buhari presidency, the country was shocked to discover that the best about their new president was his pell-mell puritanical zeal to symptomatically address a problem so deep-seated and fundamental as corruption. Not only has he shown himself as the most conservative of the lot that have ruled Nigeria, he has displayed a loathing for ideological and constitutional change that no one ever thought possible. Worse, there are now doubts about his patriotism and secularism.

    Dr Obasanjo, more out of habit than conviction, has spent the past few months trying to correct the harm his presidency and other presidencies that he cajoled the country into embracing, have done. His remorse is however skin deep, just as Dr Jonathan’s epiphanic appreciation of democracy fails to convince anyone. If President Buhari is not to leave office wishing he had done certain things in certain different ways, he will need to embrace the fundamental and structural changes the country needs to survive. But given his giddy and exultant submission to the vacuous Trumpism of the United States president, Donald Trump, not to talk of his insufferable liking for Gen Abacha, and his owning up to all his own retrogressive policies as a military ruler, there are doubts the Nigerian president possesses the capacity for the reflectiveness and introspection needed to conceive, enunciate and implement the stabilising restructuring the polity sorely needs.

    Nigeria will likely stumble on with their imperfect democracy for a few more years, carried on the wing of the people’s undying love for freedom and self-rule. But eventually, the weight of the contradictions in the system would prove too heavy and burdensome for the fragile 1999 constitution and inept elected representatives to sustain. Sadly, none of Nigeria’s living ex-presidents or President Buhari himself sees the cataclysm coming. If they suspect the danger at all, they, more gallingly, lack the understanding of what to do. If only someone can impress it on President Buhari that the status quo is not an option.

  • Democracy, justice and global security

    While  new  conflicts and squabbles  arise with   fury   around the world in recent times,  giving rising to  fearful  speculations that the  third World  War  is upon us, there is some comfort  in the fact that  some old quarrels are  being resolved in  unexpected  ways  that  redress  old political   injuries  in quite comforting  manner.  A  list  is not difficult  to  make. From   the  warm  welcome  Donald  Trump  gave to  three American  hostages  released  from N Korea as a precursor  to the   historic, meeting  between  the US  leader  and his N Korean  counterpart;  to the defeat  of the incumbent  PM  Najib  Razak of Asian Tiger  Malaysia  by his  godfather Manathir   Mohamad   aged   92,  who  switched  to  the opposition to win  a sweet  victory  against  a party  he led for 22 years;  to  the declaration of the Nigeria Police  boss as unfit  to hold  public  office;    and the  proxy  war  that suddenly  broke  out between  Israel  and Iran just  as the US president repudiated  the Iran  Nuclear  deal  signed  by his predecessor  and current members of the Security  Council  and Germany.

    The  first issue, which  is the release  of US  citizens  by the North  Korean leader  as  a friendly  diplomatic  gesture to the US and  its president,  is a personal diplomatic  victory  for the 45th  US president,  Donald   Trump     who  has   had    a    very  bad press in his nation.  No  one can  take that  victory  away  from  him.  This was  a leader  characterized  as a diplomatic  moron and war  monger in the way  he called  the bluff  of the N Korean leader in telling  him that he and his nation  would pay a huge price if  he continues his missile tests against International  law. The N Korean’s father  and grandfather  had always  threatened the world this way  only to be pacified  with  economic bounties  and  aid  once they  agreed  to relent on threatening   the civilized  world with  nuclear  annihilation. Previous  US  presidents from Reagan, through Bush  snr, Bill  Clinton, Bush  Jnr    and   Barak   Obama went through  this  carrot  and stick  motion  without  any permanent   or   peaceful  solution. Until  Trump’s  dare  devil  cowboy approach  which is now  evolving into  an  unexpected   regional   peace  and  unity   of the two  Koreas  separated  by war since 1953.  I have  called  for  Trump   to be given  the Nobel  Prize  for  peace  when  the news of  a meeting between  the two  broke. I  repeat  that call  with  more  vigor  and conviction now   as the great  conference  between  the two  leaders  appears imminent   on  June  12    at   Singapore   and is  indeed  turning   into  the most  wonderful  diplomatic  coup  for global  peace in our time.

    The  second  issue was  the victory of  a former  PM of  Malaysia,  Manathir  Mohamad  a  92  year  old  man who  defeated the incumbent  PM  Najib  Razak  after  abandoning the party both  led –  the  Barisan National  – [BN ] because  the old man  lamented  that  he could  not  stay  in a party  tainted  with  the stigma  of  corruption. In  addition  the old man’s  opposition  party  won  with  a huge majority.  He  has  said  he will  lead  for two  years and make way  for  the man  he persecuted  on trumped  up  charges of  sodomy,   Anwar  Ibrahim,    his estranged  Deputy   PM   when  he was in  power   and was accused  of  dictatorial  tendencies.  Manathir  made  a mark  as a leader  with economic insight  by making crucial  financial reforms  and  regulatory  interventions  in  Malaysia at a time when other world leaders led their  nations into economic  disaster  by allowing the so called  invisible hand of the free  market  to guide  economies  undergoing marketization  and democratic  change  at the same time. The  beauty  of this  unique  Malaysian  political  romance  is that Manathir  condemned  corruption in his  former party, joined the opposition  and won  power  back.  In addition  his promise to bring back  his former  Deputy, Anwar  Ibrahim    and  hand over  power  to him in two  years  makes  this  a great political   comeback    fairy tale  of all  time,   second  only  to  the   forthcoming  great  meeting between Donald  Trump  and the N Korean leader Kim  Jung Un on  June 12  in  Singapore.

    The  third  issue  in our Odyssey on this page  today   is the war  between  the Nigerian  Senate  and the nation’s Inspector  General  of  Police. Both  have  been quite  hostile  in their  condemnation of each other   and both  cannot  be wrong  or  right. First  the IG  has  the right to designate  any  one sufficiently senior  to  represent him  before  any  institution  including the Senate.  That is his inherent power of delegation of responsibility and it  is   his prerogative,  as long as he does  not delegate    his authority    and abandon  responsibility.  I  do  not think  the senate  is accusing him of this yet. For  the senate  to write  him  off    because  he has not shown  up personally is to personalize  the issue  and topic  for discussion.

     

    • Continued online www.staging.thenationonlineng.net