The Nation Newspaper

Tag: democracy

  • Where is Nigeria’s democracy?

    SIR: Democracy is defined as the government of the people by the people and for the people. This implies that the government would be the government owned by the people, would be by the people and also would be on the interest of the people. But conversely, our politicians have changed our definition and understanding of democracy.

    By Nigerians understanding of democracy, it is now the government of some people, by some people and for their relatives and cronies. This however has continued to make Nigerian masses wallow in abject poverty and this prompted me to ask, where is our democracy?

    The survival of every nation always depends on the commitment and the good its leadership can bring to bear on the lives of its people. No nation is assured of its continuous existence if her people are deprived of basic amenities. It is very unfortunate that our leaders cannot create an enabling environment for the citizens inspite of the elephantine resources that we have got.

    Our government have failed to live to the expectations of the people. Many innocent Nigerians have become victims of bomb blasts, abduction, robbery, and many forms of attacks. Nigerians are vulnerable to all sorts of attacks. Only the political office holders seem to be safe in this country. Is this how we are going to continue?

    We have come to realise that our democracy is make-believe. Our leaders have compromised our democracy for their selfish interest. Leadership is no longer by merit and competency but by intimacy and contribution whether financially or through thuggery. Also, people are not given the right to exercise their constitutional rights.

    Furthermore, we have been deprived of good health services, our lives and properties are no longer secured, our education is deteriorating, our roads are not motorable, no regular power supply and yet Nigerians pay huge amount to PHCN for what they do not consume.

    It is only a failed country like Nigeria that minority enjoys while majority suffers. Varsity lecturers have been on strike for almost two weeks because of the insensitive and bad leaders we have. They pay themselves huge amount of money but are always against any little increment on the salaries of civil servants. Many retirees who served the nation wholeheartedly are there waiting and begging the government to pay them their pensions and here we have our senators approving life pension for themselves in the on going constitution amendment.

    2015 is another opportunity for Nigerians to make changes and vote for credible leaders who have the interest of the nation and its people in mind. Leaders that would restore our lost glories and give us the real democracy not this kind of make-believe democracy that will are seeing now. If all this must stop, Nigerians must rise irrespective of their tribe, region and religion to demand for their rights and also vote out bad leaders come 2015.

     

    • Waziri Mohammed

    Mokola, Ibadan.

  • Rivers crisis can truncate democracy, says Kalu

    Rivers crisis can truncate democracy, says Kalu

    Former Abia State Governor Orji Kalu at the weekend echoed the fear of former Head of State Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar that the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis is capable of truncating democracy.

    Kalu urged President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene .

    Kalu spoke in London at the weekend at a reception in honour of Dr. Nkem Okonkwo, daughter of Senator Annie Okonkwo.

    The senator’s daughter bagged a degree in Medicine from the University of Cardiff, Wales.

    Kalu said at a time the younger generation was looking up to the country’s leaders, he was disappointed by the “barbaric, shameful and undemocratic act of some so-called honourable lawmakers of Rivers State House of Assembly.”

    He tagged the lawmakers “dishonorable lawbreakers”.

    He stated that the actions of the lawmakers are unpatriotic and urged the appropriate authority to sanction all those found culpable, accordingly to the law.

    Kalu said the rule of law is central to the survival of any nation, adding that the law should be applicable to all and sundry irrespective of social, political and economic status.

    He said: “The law is a respecter of nobody and until the system gives the rule of law its rightful place, no meaningful development will be achieved.”

    He noted that every Nigerian has a right to aspire to any position provided it is within the limits of the law.

    He decried a situation where leaders expend federal and state resources to fight themselves for selfish political interests and ambitions rather than focusing on governance.

    He also condemned the attack on Governors Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Sule Lamido (Jigawa) by persons believed to be hired thugs in Port Harcourt.

    The governors were in Port Harcourt on a visit to embattled Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    He said the humiliation could happen to anyone, including the President if care was not taken.

    He noted that it was highly unfortunate that the governors could be stoned by miscreants, with no one saying anything.

    He said such behaviour without sanctions meant the right to freedom of movement is jeopardised and lawlessness is the order of the day.

    He lamented: “As long as the President remains silent on these happenings, justice will not prevail.”

    The former governor said the onus is on President Jonathan to intervene in the crisis in the interest of the well being of Nigerians by sanctioning the key players and actors appropriately.

    He advised the President not to allow some shallow minded and selfish politicians to derail him from fulfilling his promises to Nigerians.

    Kalu urged guests, who were mostly youths, to return home and not be discouraged by the challenges being faced in Nigeria.

    He charged them to contribute their quota by imbibing and upholding the good values of the society.

    He said: “We must work together for one united and indivisible Nigeria while strengthening our democracy.”

    Okonkwo, father of the graduand and Deputy National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC, the political party in formation, urged Kalu, who recently rejoined the PDP, to join the progressives by teaming up with the APC. But Kalu declined.

  • Rivers crisis: Save our democracy from collapse, lawmaker tells NASS

    Deputy Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru, has called on members of the National Assembly to as a matter of urgency expedite action on the on-going constitution review in order to save the country’s democracy from total collapse.

    Abiru, who was reacting to the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly and the attack on the convoy of four governors from the north who paid a solidarity visit to Amaechi, described the incidents as a national shame and a threat to the country’s democracy.

    While describing as most unfortunate the attempt by five lawmakers to impeach the Speaker of the House, Otelemaba Amachree, Abiru lamented that “if men of the Nigeria Police Force, who are supposed to be in charge of law and order could watch the Rivers Assembly incident and attack on the governors without intervening, it calls for a big and serious concern.

    “The incident that occurred at the Rivers State House of Assembly and the attack has shown to us that the police in the state are taking sides in the matter and this is very dangerous to our democracy. If our police could be taking sides on matters like that, then we are in a serious danger,” Abiru stated.

    The lawmaker pointed out that the only way “we can sustain this democracy is to weaken the centre and allow the states to be in control of the Police Force. This is where the National Assembly needs to act fast on the ongoing constitution review and ensure that a lot of things that need to be corrected in the constitution are corrected so that we don’t lose our democracy, which took us a long time to earn,” he said.

     

  • Democracy, corruption  and austerity

    I thought of calling this piece – Between Cairo  and PortHarcourt – but changed my mind. This was  because that would reduce my concern and overall effort to a mere call for a protest or a demonstration when indeed there are other issues involved in various parts of the world that illustrate the problems of global governance in more realistic, if painful ways. It  may sound funny or unbelievable, but some of the events that happened this week simply beggar description in the way they have stood logic on its head .What  I am  saying here is that the concepts I  have eventually  chosen as the topic of the day have been stretched to their limits in terms of understanding  and   meaning judging from the way they  are being applied  or practiced   globally,  in recent times.

    Starting from Russia you find it difficult to accept that anti corruption activist Alexei Navalny who called Russia’s ruling party United Russia ‘a party of thieves and crooks ‘and  led demonstrations against the reelection of Russia’s President Vladmir Putin was himself jailed for embezzlement by a Russian Court  in  a rather opaque manner that has made EU nations to question the rule of law in Russia. In Athens, Greece,  the home of democracy,  legislators were protected by police as they passed laws this week to lay off thousands of civil servants   who  voted   for them as part of the measures required for Greece to get a financial bailout to save the Greek economy from total financial collapse. Worse still the Greek government had to ban public gatherings in Athens the Greek capital and home of democracy because   Wolfgang  Schaeuble  the German Finance Minister was in town and he represents the face of Germany  a pillar  of the EU zone that  is applying the bitter pill  as it were to  recover the Greek economy. Lastly Nelson Mandela was 95 this  week  although he himself could not celebrate because of his health,  the whole world did because the S African  Jacob Zuma had assured all  and sundry that the old man was improving. Which really is a pity when you remember that Nelson Mandela is the global icon of freedom and human dignity and yet he was not there to celebrate his birthday and I find that very painful indeed.

    Let us retreat again to Russia where the power of the state has been used to silence a dissident. Alexei Navalny was jailed for embezzling   $ 50000 when he was Adviser to a state governor in Russia but the whole world knows he was jailed for daring to say he wanted to be President of Russia and he has filed papers to be Mayor of  Moscow in the next elections. In today’s Russia however President Putin’s word is law and his power is despotic and far reaching in Russian society and politics. Since Alexei has been jailed for 5 years he cannot contest according to Russia’s constitution. But it is the bravery and character of the Russian dissident   in the face of   adversity that has my admiration. He is on record as saying that he was not afraid to go to jail for his convictions and his family was ready for it. Men or women with such convictions and attitude are rare in any clime or nation and I doff my heart for his sacrifice to rid Russia of corruption. Indeed on his way to jail he fired the last shot by telling his crying supporters to do something because’ the toad will not voluntarily leave the oil pipeline. ‘Which really is a language that is quite relevant and meaningful in our part of the world.

    The political tragedy in Greece too is one that really bothers me in connection with the   concept of democracy, its practice and values. In terms of irony however I will compare it with the fracas in the Rivers State House of Assembly in which a warrant has been issued for attempted murder by the state Police Commissioner for the Majority Leader of the State House of Assembly. The irony in the happenings in the legislatures in Athens and Port Harcourt stem from the role of the concept of immunity in the two law making institutions. In Athens the legislators were voting to sack some of the thousands of their supporters that put them in parliament and they know that even though they have immunity in Parliament they will need armed escorts to escape the fury and indignation of voters outside parliament. In Port Harcourt the Majority leader was trying to prevent a blatant theft of his majority in broad day light,   got violent in the process but knowing fully well like the legislators in Athens that he was covered by parliamentary immunity. The cruel irony in the two scenarios is that   while the Greek legislators are confident of police protection outside parliament where they enjoyed immunity, it is the police in Port Harcourt which has declared the legislators wanted for actions or offences committed in parliament where they constitutionally have immunity. Quite interestingly though, the Greek parliament had its own violent display of temper  earlier  during the austerity debate  when a legislator slapped a lady member in the full view of a world audience but nothing came out of it because Greece respects the democratic concept of immunity on the floor of any legislature.

    Worse still in PH  it  is the state police command which has refused to protect the state governor according to reports that is looking for legislators over parliamentary fracas on which there is immunity. But can the police sidetrack both the legislature and executive in a state as is happening so brazenly in Rivers state according to our constitution? The answer is a simple no and the police in that state should allow wise counsel to prevail most urgently in the interest of peace in that state and to protect the sovereign reputation of the Nigerian nation   in terms of respect for the rule of law in the global comity of   states.

    On Nelson Mandela we say happy birthday to a giant of our time though that joy  is tainted with some grief  at his illness and approaching mortality. On this  I have written about twice now not because I long for his departure  but because I  do not want to  be caught pants down by the inevitable,  both  as a writer and as a sincere admirer of this gem of an African leader . Nelson Mandela is passionate topic for me and some of my friends and his sickness even though he is 95 still gives one goose pimples. But then let us rejoice now at his birthday without any thought of his obituary. Let us remember the tall man in double breasted suit with the sunny smile dancing at the stadium when S Africa became a republic in 1994 and he became the first president of post apartheid S/Africa. Let us remember the selfless president who served one term of office and retired to private life when he could have been S Africa’s life president just for the asking. Let us wish Nelson Mandela well and may he recover soon or go early enough and not suffer the fate of former Israeli leader Ariel Sharon who has been in similar condition for years now. We remain loyal and grateful Madiba though our eyes are foggy. But you remain our hero, forever. Happy Birthday.

  • Rivers crisis can truncate democracy, says Abdulsalami

    Rivers crisis can truncate democracy, says Abdulsalami

    Former Head of State General Abdulsalami Abubakar warned yesterday that the political crisis in Rivers State poses a threat to democracy.

    He also warned that our fledgling democracy may be truncated if politicians in the state and indeed in the country failed to put their house in order and avoid overheating the polity.

    Gen. Abubakar spoke during an interactive session with members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Niger State chapter in his Minna home.

    Describing the crisis as “sad” and “unfortunate”, the former military leader counselled politicians in the state to embrace peace in the interest of democracy and what it stood for.

    Said Gen. Abubakar: “I hope those involved would take note of what democracy is and check themselves. What has happened in Rivers State is very sad. I hope that the politicians will try to put a break and reflect on what they are doing in order not to truncate democracy.”

    He urged politicians to stop taking democracy for granted, adding that there is a limit to what freedom is all about in a democracy.

    “In democracy, there is a limit to what freedom is all about. There is freedom of speech, freedom of association and what have you, but this stops when you start infringing on others freedom,” Gen Abubakar counselled.

    The Peace Ambassador, who has brokered peace in many African warring countries, prayed for peace in Nigeria as he maintained that no nation can exist without peace.

    “Having been involved in peace process around the world on behalf of the African Union (AU), I always advocated for peace in our nation because I’ve seen the devastation of unrest in other countries. I pray the tidings of Ramandan would abide with all of us,” Gen. Abubakar said.

  • Tinubu: Rivers PDP crisis portends danger to democracy

    Tinubu: Rivers PDP crisis portends danger to democracy

    Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday reflected on the protracted Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) crisis in Rivers State, warning that it portends grave danger to constitutional democracy and individual liberty.

    The former Lagos State governor urged men and women of goodwill to ponder over the fate of constitutional democracy and federalism, adding that Governor Rotimi Amaechi should not be abandoned in this period of trial.

    Tinubu, who noted that gloomy and uncertain days lie ahead, pointed out that Amaechi was marked down for liquidation, following his resistance to the alleged injustice triggered by the fierce oil field battles between Rivers State to Bayelsa State.

    The ACN national leader condemned the biased involvement of the Presidency, the PDP leaders and the police in the lingering crises, stressing that the President’s posture contradicted his avowed commitment to the transformation agenda.

    Tinubu said in a statement in Lagos that the five legislators who plotted the anarchy in the Rivers State House of Assembly last week have mocked their callings as lawmakers.

    He said: “With the latest drama in the Rivers State House of Assembly, the PDP is at it again. The ruling party has inflicted yet another mortal injury on Nigeria’s democracy. As the House reconvened after a recent adjournment due to a police failure to provide adequate security to this legislative body, thugs hired by sinister forces allied to the powers in Abuja were unleashed on the unsuspecting majority in the State Assembly. “While the House was to consider a necessary budgetary matter, a cell of five legislators, making a mockery of their title as lawmakers, had plotted anarchy in their own chamber. They engineered this coup against the very body in which they serve.

    “This group of five and their sponsors attacked the other 27 members and the deputy governor who was making a presentation on a budgetary matter pending before the House. All this occurred under the watchful eye, but idle hand of the police officers deployed to guard the chamber.

    “We can say the police in Rivers became an accomplice to an illegal attack on the very government and constitution they pledged to uphold. This was a shameful moment but even worse, it is a likely foretaste of the partisan role the police will take in coming elections.”

    In Tinubu’s view, the PDP has added that shameful public brawling to its list of accomplishments by acting as a “fight club” that employs the police as ushers for its matches.

    He disagreed with the denial of involvement by the party and the Presidency, stressing that “there is no way the police and the small number of five lawmakers would act so brazenly unless they receive instructions from the high places”.

    The ACN national leader added: “Nigerians must ask: “Is this the way President Jonathan intends to transform Nigeria? By turning it from an imperfect democracy into a perfect mess? A total lack of respect for Constitutional democracy is what we are witnessing. Governor Rotimi Amaechi swore an oath to protect and serve the people of Rivers State. He is thus empowered by the Constitution to carry out this function. Not even the Police has the constitutional right to impede him from carrying out his functions as governor. Yet, we have a federal government under whose eager eyes an assault on our constitution is taking place in the open.”

    Tinubu cautioned against the danger of abandoning Amaechi to his fate, warning that more victims would suffer the impunity of the PDP in the future, if this trend is not curtailed.

    He said: “My advice is that we should not leave Governor Amaechi to suffer his fate alone. All true democrats must defend constitutional democracy and true federalism. In what stable and functioning democracy can you find a President or his agents bully a governor this way or violate the federal Constitution so openly with complete impunity?

    “ When the interest of the nation is subjugated so that the narrow, parochial interest of a clique in power is served, events like we see unfold in Rivers will soon become common place.

    “As a new breed of imperial rulers run amok and with impunity, violate Nigeria’s Constitution, the days ahead seem gloomy and uncertain. Discerning minds must locate the present crisis in the suspected injustice in the Bayelsa and Rivers State oil boundary legal battle. For standing up in defence of the interest of his people, Governor Amaechi became a marked person.

    “The irreconcilable political differences between main actors in Rivers State soon magnified the crisis with heavy lifting from the Presidency. Like a running thriller with nightmarish garnishing, Nigerians are watching an elected governor come under incessant illegal assault sanctioned by the powers that be. But we need not just watch. People with good conscience must speak up now.”

    Tinubu pointed out that the Rivers PDP crises were consistent with the party’s past attempts to scuttle fair elections and genuine democratic processes.

    He said: “Undermining democracy has become a central plank in the party’s manifesto. What happened in the Rivers House is one more reminder. PDP leaders hold democracy in contempt and will trample it, if given the slightest opportunity. If they invert the relatively small numbers involved in the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and the Rivers State House, what they might do to general elections involving such a large population as ours is a hard piece of wood to chew”.

    Tinubu warned the PDP leaders against lording it over the 150 million Nigerians in a manner reminiscent of the colonial masters, adding that it is impossible to seek to control the mind of the people through threat, intimidation and assault.

    He said that this style, which could lead to “elected dictatorship”, is unacceptable, even if the dictator initially got to office through the ballot.

    Describing the PDP as “poor steward of democracy”, Tinubu added: “It is hard to be a good democrat without knowing how to count properly and this crew cannot count. During the NGF debacle, they claimed that 16 was larger than 19. Now in Rivers, they claim 5 outnumbers 27.

    “If they can’t count, how can we count on them to improve the nation? If they can’t add, it is a mistake to rely on them to add anything good to our lives. For reasons best known to them, they have tried to pin the Rivers governor to the wall. In doing so, they have turned Rivers into an embattled state.

    “Those of us living in other states should not be indifferent. What is happening in Rivers today can come to your state tomorrow if the PDP holds sway. Events in that state are but a symbol and a forecast. As long as the current PDP leadership holds forth, we will have many rivers to cross before this land sees genuine democracy”.

  • Brigands in the temple of law

    Brigands in the temple of law

    What did the five errant lawmakers in Rivers State want Tuesday morning? Not to enforce the rule of law, or to dignify the ethos of democracy. They wanted to enshrine brigandage in the temple of law.

    So, they had painted a scenario of morbid potential before Tuesday morning. First, they wanted to lop off the head of the state House of Assembly, that is the speaker. They did not have the number. They amounted to five, and the mainstream had 27 men. Following the law portended suicide. So they took the law in their own hands, and they made a dawn arrival in the chambers and decided to effect the unlawful.

    According to the scenario, they would cut off the leader, who was the speaker. That completed, they would proceed to the main agenda: bully the governor out of his position with a hurried impeachment proceeding. It would not have mattered what the law demanded before an impeachment proceeding. Once they enacted a fait accompli, and Governor Rotimi Amaechi ousted from the throne, Abuja would move in with the armed forces and the spartan temerity of power and the new imposed speaker would take over as governor.

    Where would that have left Governor Amaechi? He would resort to the court, battling from outside, from the position of weakness. The court would fall under the spell of dalliance, the court sessions postponed indefinitely just like the battle over the leadership of the PDP in Rivers State today.

    The intervention of Governor Amaechi’s forces routed the renegades in what looked like a civilian equivalent of a military counterattack. The renegades lost out ignominiously as the 27-man House not only convoked a meeting but passed into a law the budget proposals of the governor.

    Since the state crisis unfurls as a President Jonathan versus Governor Amaechi war, the Presidency suffered a severe and unmitigated disaster, just like Hitler’s misadventure in the Second World War in the operation Barbarossa in Russia. Not only the president, but also the long line of “democratic coup plotters” and in the lead was Nyesom Wike.

    We have seen this before. During the Obasanjo era, we witnessed the impeachment of Governor Joshua Dariye by a comic set of six turncoats who represented a fraction of the quorum. That reckless move enjoyed official anointing, and Dariye fought a fruitless battle of restoration till the end. Also, with irony, the other one occurred in Bayelsa State, and the travesty was not just numbers but geography. The Governor, Dieprye Alamieyesiegha, lost his reign to impeachment – and President Jonathan was deputy governor – not in the environ of Bayelsa State but in far-flung Lagos. President Goodluck Jonathan benefited from the travesty and that began his storied rise to a presidency of bumbling. Also for irony, President Jonathan has ensconced him in his inner circle. Before all these, Governor Ngige fell out of power when President Obasanjo cradled the nation’s top office and we all watched as the governor was spirited out of sight in a gangster-like kidnap and impeached.

    Yesterday lifts the Jonathan era to the ignoble height of democratic torpedoes of the Obasanjo era. The difference: the Obsanjo men succeeded in quite a few: Plateau, Ekiti, Anambra and Bayelsa states. President Jonathan won in Bayelsa by rallying all the armed forces to oust a governor in a fear of the lofty rules of democracy. He wants to replicate in Rivers State the pill he administered in the primitive ouster of former Governor Timipre Sylva. Now again, they failed. They have done many things in infamy. They have devised methods like sending a militant to organise a rally, stopped his plane from flying, implanted a toady as commissioner of police, barred traditional rulers from visiting the governor, barred him from saying hello to the President, tried to oust him as chairman of the Governors’ Forum, and so on. The question is, what is next?

     

  • Tinubu a model of leadership, democracy, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday described the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as a model democrat and a leader bubbling with progressive vision and ideas.

    Describing the former Lagos State governor as a special gift “to this generation”, he hailed the move by the younger generation to sustain his legacies by forming the Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation.

    Aregbesola urged members of the organisation to emulate the great leader.

    He spoke at the launch of the organisation at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos where the House of Representatives Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, enjoined Nigerians to defend democracy and the rule of law.

    Members of the association from the 36 states came to Lagos in their green uniform, singing progressive songs. The event was witnessed by the Commissioner for Rural Development, Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi, who represented Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), House of Representatives member, Alhaji Yakubu Balogun, who represented Gbajabiamila, Remi Adeyemi, who represented Lagos State Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Alhaji Lateef Raji and Mr. Abiodun Ilori, who stood in for the Provost of Michael Otedola College of Primary Education, Prof. Olu Akewusola.

    At the ceremony, a leadership award was presented to Fashola by the organisation. Ojelabi thanked the members for the honour, assuring that the governor would not relent in his developmental programmes.

    Aregbesola, who enjoined political leaders to defend democracy, noted that Tinubu has been leading the way in the pursuit of good governance and development.

    He advised youths to emulate his courage, push for progressive change and defence of the common good.

    Raji echoed Aregbesola, saying Tinubu is a political warrior and a courageous leader. He said his activities in the Southwest led to the enthronement of the progressive governors, who are implementing people-oriented programmes in the geo-political zone.

  • Sambo: democracy can’t survive with weak parties

    Vice-President Namadi Sambo has said any democracy without strong and dynamic political parties cannot survive.

    He spoke in Jos, Plateau State capital, yesterday at the inauguration of the Political Party Leadership and Development Centre.

    The Vice-President, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Special Matters, Senator Isaiah Balay, lamented that too often, little attention was paid to the development of strong political parties.

    According to him, “political parties are crucial to democracy as they serve to bring like-minded people together to strive for a common goal.”

    He went on: “Parties provide policy ideas about how a society should be governed, identify and train political leaders, and also act as links between citizens and their government.

    “Too often, little attention is paid to the development of strong political parties. Rather, more concern is shown to the establishment of government bodies and civic organisations.

    “These institutions are important. However, without strong and dynamic political parties, democracy cannot survive.

    “Political parties, like other institutions, should enhance their capacity in response to changing circumstances. Political parties will decline over time if they do not make efforts to strengthen themselves.

    “Leaders of political parties owe themselves the obligation to take advantage of the opportunity offered by this important centre for self-improvement.”

    The Director- General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Prof. Tijani Muhammed Bande, said the centre was established for research, training and capacity building for registered political parties.

  • Will democracy in Nigeria hold?

    Will democracy in Nigeria hold?

    General elections are not due in Nigeria until 2015, two years from now, and they are eagerly awaited with mixed expectations, even some concerns that they will not be free and fair. If they are not free and fair, the results will gravely impair Nigeria’s fledgling democracy, re-enacted after many fits and falls only since 1999. That was the year the Nigerian military withdrew from power after the longest period of military rule in Nigeria.

    Two weeks ago, Nigeria officially marked “Democracy Day” on May 29, the day in 1999 that President Obasanjo was sworn in by the departing military junta. But the South Western states where the ACN is in power marked the event on June 12, instead, the date in 1993 in which Chief MKO Abiola won the general elections, later annulled by the military government. The dispute over the right date is not really important. What is important is the peaceful transition from military to civilian democratic rule in Nigeria. It was a protracted and often violent struggle for power between the military and civil society during which many pro-democracy leaders suffered terribly in the hands of the military, with many being forced into exile in very difficult circumstances. After all this, the question now is whether our new democracy will survive after all the sacrifices made to remove the military from power. What then are the prospects?

    Despite current strains and stress in the political environment, I believe the future prospects for the survival of democracy in Nigeria are quite good, definitely better than ever before. First, it is unlikely that the military will seek to return to power again. But this is not simply because military rule in Nigeria stands discredited. The fact is that the conditions that made military rule possible have ceased to exist. The most important of these was the lack of consensus among the political class in support of civilian democratic rule. Some politicians, in their bid for power at different levels, actually courted and supported military rule in Nigeria. They were a powerful minority that clandestinely encouraged military intervention in Nigerian politics in the expectation that they will profit from it. The situation today is vastly different. The politicians have built up a consensus in support of civilian democratic rule in Nigeria that the military will have considerable difficulty in breaking.

    Secondly, there is increasing dislike of military rule in Africa and the rest of the world. Most African countries are now under democratic rule, fully backed by the African Union, and the international community. In fact, this development is a global phenomemon as more and more states are moving away from authoritarian rule to majority rule. In fact, today, only Cuba and China, for historical reasons, are still under one party Communist rule. But even in those two countries, considerable political and economic liberalisation has taken place. Despite a lot of strains the successor states of the former Soviet Union are now practicing variants of democracy. So, democracy is an idea whose time may be said to have come.

    The third reason why I think democracy will survive in Nigeria is that despite ethnic divisions, the people of Nigeria are broadly in support of a democratic way of life with all the benefits it can confer on the people. The Nigerian public is now more politically aware and is extremely unlikely to support any form of undemocratic rule. The political consequences of the “Arab Spring”, still sweeping the Arab world and the Middle East, are a sufficient deterrent to any form of maximum rule all over the world, including Nigeria. Due to growing economic prosperity, the middle class is beginning to emerge in Nigeria again after decades of reverses it suffered under military rule. Middle class values will make any form of absolute rule difficult in Nigeria. The Press which has always been in the forefront of the struggle against military rule will not easily give up its newly won freedom. The Press is far freer today than ever before. It will be difficult for any government in Nigeria to seek a confrontation with the Nigerian media today. Most of it is privately owned and politically independent to some extent.

    However, it has to be admitted that our democracy is facing severe strains at the moment from several sources. First, there is the pervading sense of insecurity in the nation from Boko Haram and other violent extremist religious and ethnic groups. Nigeria is still largely a weak state where, despite its best efforts, the government is unable to secure the lives and properties of its people. These violent extremist groups do have the potential of undermining democracy in Nigeria. As more and more centrifugal forces are unleashed on the nation, this will threaten its democracy and even corporate existence as a nation. The only way to counter this possible scenario is for the governments, at all levels, to create better economic conditions in the country.

    It must be admitted that there is a lot of political alienation in the country today, and that this could easily undermine our march to a full-fledged democratic society. Many graduates cannot find jobs and are increasingly being alienated from the society. Service delivery in the country is generally poor and it is affecting economic activities. At the moment, the poor energy delivery is hurting many businesses. Increasingly, people have to rely on their own resources to provide services that the state is expected to provide. Even the poor now struggle to send their children to private schools, including Universities, and hospitals because of the virtual collapse of state run institutions and services. This trend is not healthy for a commitment to a democratic way of life. Social and economic injustice tends to undermine a commitment to democracy as the rewards and benefits of such commitment are not so evident.

    The Nigerian economy may be growing but so are economic inequalities. These internal contradictions have to be vigorously tackled by the state to create conditions conducive to the flourishing of a democratic way of life in our country. Many of the Western powers are apprehensive about the future of democracy in Nigeria. In fact, many western intelligence agencies fear the country will simply crumble. Some fear the crunch will come in the 2015 general elections. But Nigeria will survive if the elections are free and fair and if the electoral commission shows a determination to run a free and fair election. It should stop its current prevarications over the registration of the APC, the new opposition party that is seeking to challenge the ruling party, the PDP, in the 2015 general elections. The political space must be opened up by INEC to ensure transparency in the elections. As the current disputes in the PDP have shown the political parties lack internal democracy, a basic condition for democratic rule in the country.