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Tag: democracy

  • Governors vs deputies: Democracy or autocracy?

    Governors vs deputies: Democracy or autocracy?

    Nigerian democracy since 1999 has been an interesting cocktail. There have been some developments but yet there have been some serious challenges too. The political party structure in the country has not seen a very remarkable progressive change. This has made it very viable for politicians who push the rhetoric of ‘no permanent friends or permanent enemies’ as reason they oscillate from one political party to the other depending on where their interests are better served and the permissiveness shown in upholding any principles.

    The Nigerian political party system ought to be restructured to function for the democratic process in ways that the political parties are driven by ideological convictions that would encourage membership based on principles being pushed by the political parties. It is very funny how in matters that would benefit some politicians, they cite examples of United Kingdom and the United States of America with two major political parties, the Tories democratic and Labour and the Republican and Democratic parties respectively as models.

    The political party structure in these two viable democracies has made it possible for the countries to have a functional and sustainable democracy.  An adherence to the rule of law and the constitution keeps every political actor on track in ways that every politician is held accountable.

    Conversely though, the Nigerian democracy seems a bit directionless given the wobbly nature of political parties and their systemic lack of accountability with their members. As late Chuba Okadigbo, a political scientist and lecturer once said in an interview, Nigeria does not really have political parties, what they have is a gathering of people who seek their political interests. This might be a bit of an exaggeration but in it is some sense the perception of an insider-player at the time. Not much has changed years after his death.

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    The Roundtable Conversation has over the years expressed concern over the constant rift between Nigerian Presidents and their Vice Presidents and some governors and their deputies. The rift between former President Obasanjo and his former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar was so tense that OBJ at the time allegedly had to kneel to beg him. On the reverse side, Atiku Abubakar allegedly tried at some point to use the governors to upstage his boss at the time. The fight doesn’t seem to have abated. Former President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osibanjo had their own differences even though most alleged crisis was credited to the infamous ‘cabal’ at Aso Rock. Nevertheless, the rift earned the nation some development  setbacks.

    The Roundtable Conversation has watched the conflicts between Nigerian governors and their deputies since the return of democracy in 1999 till date and concluded that Nigerians seem to miss the point when they focus all their attention on the presidency, important and powerful as the office is. Governors in Nigeria almost operate as imperial rulers.

    The litany of quarrels between governors and their deputies are legion. From the South East, former governor Orji Uzor Kalu was at daggers drawn with his former deputy now Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. Rochas Okorocha quarreled with two of his deputies, Jude Agbaso and Eze Madumere. From the North West, we had former governor, now APC chairman, Abdullahi  Ganduje and his deputy Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, From South South, former governor Victor Attah and Chris Ekpenyong, From South West, Ayodele fayose and Abiodun Aluko, Olusegun Mimiko and Ali Olanusi, Again from North West, Isa Yuguda and Garba Gadi.

    Today, Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki and his deputy Philip Shuaibu have made headlines. Ondo state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and his deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa have been in the media for long, each being projected by their supporters as the victim or villain. In all these, the people bear the brunt and development suffers. Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world for a reason. The people seem not to hold their governors to account. Governors operate with so much power and they revel in the euphoria that Nigerians only point to the presidency for the failure of leadership.

    The Roundtable Conversation sought the views of former Senator Grace Folashade Bent on ways to mitigate the perennial conflicts between governors and their deputies. To her, these aberrations further highlight the defective nature of our constitution. The constitution did not really define clearly the duties and roles of Vice Presidents and deputy governors. Then you have sycophants around the corridors of power who stoke embers of hatred. This seems to be their only way they survive as that gives them some relevance.

    Most of the political jobbers feed their principals with false narratives just so they remain relevant. On the other hand, the governors often seem very undiscerning. They often fall to the antics of political hangers on. They buy the narratives hook, line and sinker with little emotional intelligence. Again the state houses of assembly members seem not to know their roles in ensuring good governance. They often take sides and allow themselves to be used as puns on the chessboard of politics. The conspiracy theories around the corridors of power increases the chances of divisive political actors.

    To her, the constitution seems defective and we must do enough to correct this and clelearly define roles. The houses of assembly should start doing their jobs and stop taking sides for purely political gains. Their interest must be good governance and strictly playing their constitutional roles. To Senator Bent, the legislative arm is very relevant in democracy and people elected at that level must be serious enough to understand that their roles are defined and they are not mere appendages to the executive.  A constitutional review can solve this problem of Vice presidents and deputy governors and their principals. The legislature at both state and federal levels can hold presidents and governors accountable in ways they become more loyal to the constitution. This is the system that works in functional democracies she insists.

    Dr. Constance Ikokwu, a veteran journalist, political analyst and deep thinker believes that we just have to obey the law. There are no ambiguities in the law that states that when a president or governor is incapacitated, the Vice President of deputy governor should take over. On the other hand, the law also provides that if a president or a governor decides to disobey the law, the legislature at either the federal of state level should impeach him or her. However, the sad part is that somehow in Nigeria, the legislators often do not understand their duties in the constitution and that is exactly why the governors continue to operate with imperial mindset.

    It can be challenging when the legislative arm do not understand their roles ab initio. Again we have to review the constitution and clearly delineate the roles of deputy governors in our democracy. For now, the deputies almost depend on the governors to tell them what to do in a way that feels like they exist at the mercy of governors. The governors often exercise too much powers and that is possibly why their positions are coveted. They appear too tyrannical at some point. They often go above and beyond to exercise those powers and in the process, their deputies become the collateral damages of a system that created them in the first place.

    To Dr. Ikokwu, the structure of Nigerian political parties becomes very worrisome when these governor/deputy issues come up. In the first place, the two are representing a particular political party flawed as they might be. People would expect that the political parties ought to step in when the interpersonal conflicts between the governor and his deputy becomes too disruptive of governance and distracts both the two and the people. The chairmen of political parties should be more concerned.  One thinks the internal conflicts should be resolved by the party executive under the chairman of any party in question.

    Again, she feels that it might help that governors and deputies understand themselves better before collaborating and not  just to win an election. That way, the two would be in a better position to work together. In cases where the governors deviate from pre-election agreements or begin to be too tyrannical, a deputy governor can work away and not behave like they are both in a boxing ring.

    Again, Ikokwu believes that the Nigerians seem to focus on the presidency and ignore governors who often behave like emperors. The governors often have a lot of funds and powers at their disposal and as such have the tendency to be corrupted such absolute powers. She believes that the people must begin to understand that governors have roles beyond the titles. They ought to be held accountable by the people.

    Ikokwu recommends that  more attention from the people, civil society groups and all other agencies of good governance will put more pressure on governors to be more responsible. Civil Society groups must decentralize their operations from Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt and spread across the states to sensitize the people about the roles of governors across Nigeria. The klieg lights must be on the governors so they can shift some attention from the presidency to the states for a more functional country. A lot of the governors take the people for granted.

    The Roundtable Conversation believes that democracy cannot function optimally if elected persons continue to bring personal nuances to leadership positions. The dysfunctional system surreptitiously gives energy to governors in Nigeria not to be totally accountable. More often than not, they even hold the presidents to ransom stalling some development projects and policies.

    Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in her book, “Fighting Corruption is Dangerous” gave a peek into the abuse of power by governors who manipulated the Governors’ Forum then chaired by Rotimi Amaechi  to subvert her efforts as the then Finance and the Coordinating minister of the economy. The effects still reverberates today with the level of poverty in Nigeria. Action must be taken to reverse this ugly trend. Governance is not a personal fiefdom.

  • Afro-democracy

    Afro-democracy

    Only two men have had the luck of ruling Nigeria as military Head of State and President: Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari. Their junior, Ibrahim Babangida, attempted but didn’t even get the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination. Obasanjo and Buhari made the headlines recently: Buhari for admitting a cabal could have hijacked his government, and Obasanjo for saying liberal democracy was forced on Africa. Now, we need Afro-democracy, which is fashioned with our needs in mind, the ex-President said. 

    I sincerely don’t believe liberal or western democracy is our problem. I believe we are our problem. Both our leaders and the led aren’t holding our ends of the bargain very well. 

    Let’s take Obasanjo as a leader, for instance, who behaves as if the end always justifies the means and to hell with the rule of law. 

    Obasanjo carried out a privatisation programme. The idea was for government-owned businesses to be sold to the private sector so they would be well-run. We are all witnesses to how bad that turned out. He also invested chunk of money in the power sector and, till today, we are in need of light to determine where the funds went.

    Under his watch, the education sector didn’t witness any major turnaround. Under his watch, the health sector didn’t get the lift it deserved. Under his watch, housing was not improved significantly. Under his watch, respect for the rule of law was near zero. He seized the funds meant for local governments in Lagos and ignored the law. Under his watch, the National Assembly was unstable because he kept getting the leaders impeached because of his disagreement with them. 

    Under his watch, fewer roads got the attention they deserved. Under his watch, we crawled when we were supposed to be running a marathon.

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    In the twilight of his administration, he tried to elongate his tenure. He can deny it from now till tomorrow, but we are no fools. Those who played one role or the other in it have spoken. He also harassed rich individuals and state governors into donating billions for the construction of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library. The library is complete with a standard hotel and other money-spinning facilities, including a cinema. 

    At the height of their quarrel, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose asked him to return Ekiti’s donation to the library. For me, there is no justification for him as a sitting president to raise money the way he did for a private project. For want of a better word, it is gross abuse of office. 

    Many of us too only condemn bad doings in our nation when we aren’t benefiting from the corridors of power. We become tribal warlords when our tribesmen misbehave and we defend their bigotry and nepotism. And, in the end, our nation is the loser.

    My final take: Our problem is not the system of government we practise, but the men and women who should make the institutions strong, and those of us who enable strong men instead of strong institutions capable of checking excesses. 

  • Declining democracy: Who is responsible?

    Declining democracy: Who is responsible?

    By Tosin Afeniforo

    SIR: Nigeria’s democratic system has been facing severe criticism lately due to the country’s ongoing democratic struggles. Many people have blamed the politicians, judiciary, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the breakdown in the democratic process. However, it is crucial that every citizen of this great country takes a moment to reflect on their own responsibilities in this matter. We all must realize that we share the responsibility for the state of our democracy, and we must work towards improving it.

    Democracy is not a passive spectator sport; it requires active and informed participation from the people. The bedrock of every democracy is its people. However, how often have we failed to fulfil our responsibility to hold those in power accountable? How many times have we ignored corruption or sold our votes for a small sum, only to later complain about the state of the country?

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    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) responsible for conducting free and fair elections is not impeccable. However, it reflects the society it serves. It is unreasonable to expect INEC to magically transform our elections into paragons of democracy if we continue to allow a culture of violence, voter intimidation, and election tampering. While it is easy to blame the referee when our team is losing, we should focus more on the players’ competence and the fairness of the game.

    There is a common belief that the judiciary is corrupt. However, it is important to note that the judiciary operates within the framework set by the community it serves. The foundation of the judiciary is at risk when we allow a culture of impunity to persist and overlook instances of power abuse and corruption. We all have a responsibility to demand transparency, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to justice.

    Politicians undeniably are largely responsible for the current state of our democracy. However, we must also acknowledge that they reflect our choices as voters. If we continue to vote for candidates solely based on their tribal or religious affiliations rather than their competency, we cannot expect them to prioritize the interests of the whole nation over their own personal agendas. Therefore, we need to be mindful of our choices and elect leaders who are deserving of the responsibility placed upon them.

    Democracy is a continuous process that does not end on election day. In fact, it requires the active engagement of an informed and vigilant citizenry. Voting is just one part of the process. To make informed decisions, we need to educate ourselves about the fundamentals of democracy and learn to hold our public officials accountable.

    We must create a culture of civic duty to build a robust democracy. This can be achieved by engaging in town hall meetings, participating in community development projects, respecting the rules of law, respecting human rights, and having productive discussions with our elected officials regularly. It is essential to challenge the status quo and demand transparency to improve society.

    Rather than pointing fingers at INEC, the judiciary, or politicians, let us take a proactive approach to our democracy. It is time for each of us to take responsibility and play an active role in shaping our country’s future. By recognizing our collective responsibility and participating in the democratic process, we can work towards building a Nigeria where justice, fairness, and accountability are at the forefront.

    • Tosin Afeniforo, IUSS Pavia, Italy.

  • Rethinking democracy: Why not

    Rethinking democracy: Why not

    It is in the very nature of intellectual tradition to explore new grounds, new ideas with a desire to discover and improve on knowledge. This entails regularly breaking down old ideas to allow new ideas; bigger and better ideas to grow in their place and flourish.

    Societal progress and development are inexorably tied to the capacities of humans to constantly interrogate their environment, ideas and precepts with a view to expanding the frontiers of knowledge for public good. That was the foray former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, delved into last week when he grilled western liberal democracy both as an ideological construct and development paradigm.

    In his presentation at a consultation on ‘Rethinking Western Liberal Democracy in Africa’, he faulted that ideology for not delivering good governance and development to Africa. Obasanjo chastised western democracy for not factoring in African history and its multi-cultural complexities and in its place, proposed what he called ‘Afro Democracy’.

    He is yet to come clear of the essential features of his model of Afro democracy. But he did not quite hide his dissatisfaction with the representative dimension of the western democratic model. It is a “government of a few people over all the people or population and that those few people are representatives of only some of the people and not fully representative of all the people invariably, the majority of the people are wittingly or unwittingly kept out”.

     He said those who brought the contraption are questioning its deliverability, its relevance today even as he challenged Nigerians to interrogate western democracy in the countries it originated and here as the inheritors of the concept.

    The issues raised are both challenging and profound. They spin around the philosophical and ideological questions embedded in the concept and practice of western democracy. His inquisition is of universal value even as he used Africa as a case study.

    But the presidency did not see his contribution from the above prism. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on information and strategy was quick to blame him for poorly copying that model during his tenure both as military head of state and civilian president.

    He held Obasanjo liable for jettisoning the less expensive parliamentary system which the British colonial masters bequeathed us in preference to the presidential system.  “Obasanjo also knows that he copied this presidential system wrongly. He copied the form and structure. But he didn’t copy the spirit of it”, Onanuga contended.

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    The presidency may be within their rights to get Obasanjo share part of the blame for copying the American model of the presidential system. He is also unlikely to escape culpability for some of the observed imperfections of western democracy as practiced in this country.

    But all that can neither obfuscate nor whittle down the fundamental observations raised by the former president. Neither will they stand as justification for the many pitfalls of western democracy especially as practiced in Africa and Nigeria in particular. It is not all about the messenger but the heuristics of his message. Neither is it just a choice between the presidential and parliamentary systems, as Onanuga would wish to argue.

    Even then, our brand of presidential democracy has been found largely deficient for virtually concentrating the powers of life and death at the centre. That has been the basis for agitations for restructuring. But who really listens?

    Obasanjo spoke of ‘Afro Democracy’. He said western democracy has not been able to deliver good governance and development to Africa. And that cannot be faulted.  He also has serious reservations with representative democracy for shutting out a majority of the people. The evidence is not in doubt.

    These are the real issues to interrogate. How accommodative of the history and peculiarities of the African people is western democracy? Are there certain cultural, economic and developmental conditions under which western democracy flourishes that are lacking in our clime? What is the ‘spirit of democracy’ Onanuga alluded to and where do African countries stand on that matrix?

    Gabriel Almond and Sidney Verba categorized political culture based on one’s level of political participation and came up with three variants-parochial, subject and participant. In the parochial political culture, people have little awareness of the central government and do not play any active role in governmental affairs. This is found largely in the underdeveloped countries of Africa and Asia.

    The participant category gives opportunity to all citizens to participate in politics. They are aware of their rights, ability to influence political workings and feel it is their duty to participate. The American system of democracy is associated with this variant. Almond and Verba identified the latter as the political culture best suited for democracy.

    What this entails is that the attitudinal support and orientation supportive of effective working of democracy will be found lacking in a clime where the predominant political culture is still parochial. It speaks of dissonance between the political system (democracy) and extant political culture (spirit).

    Sadly, that culture of democracy (spirit) has not been allowed to grow by our brand of democracy that is often skewed by self-serving leaders to function in its most aberrant form. Our variant shunts out a majority of the citizens from active roles in the way they are governed. It is characterized by the subversion of the rules of the game and impositions rendering free, fair and credible elections a near impossibility.

    Obasanjo spoke the minds of many when he questioned the representative nature of our democracy. Representative democracy as opposed to the direct democracy of the ancient Greek city states derived its justification from the large population of modern states. Because of the small size of the Greek City states, it was possible for people to gather in a square and directly determine how they were governed. But the sheer size of modern states precludes that. Hence, the concept of representative democracy that allows the people to freely elect those they trust to represent their affairs.

    The idea is that if people elect those they trust, their interests will be properly reflected in decision making. But how do our representatives actually emerge both at the party primaries and elections proper? How much of the will of the people is reflected in such political recruitment processes?

    That was perhaps, the point Obasanjo raised when he grilled the representative nature of representative democracy with a verdict that our democracy is not just working. Our democracy is not working for its serial failure to reflect the collective will of the people to elect their leaders. Those who capture state power do not derive their mandate from the people. They show scant obligation to good governance and development because the electorate has no way to hold them accountable. 

    Democracy will not thrive with the do-or-die politics in the country. It cannot grow and flourish where all manner of buccaneers are allowed to capture the instruments of state power which they deploy unwholesomely to perpetuate themselves in power. It will not endure in a system where politics is conceived as the quickest source of primitive wealth accumulation.

    As long as we are assailed by these systemic dysfunctions, rethinking democracy will continue a recurring decimal. There is nothing sacrosanct about democracy both as a human contraption and governance construct. It can only remain relevant as long as it continues to deliver on its promise.

    Of late, there have been challenges to the capacity of the American democracy to deliver on its promise. Former president, Donald Trump had after the last presidential election, questioned the fairness and integrity of the election, alleging among others, that tens of thousands of his votes were stolen and credited to Joe Biden. This exposes some of the weaknesses of western democracy and the imperative to interrogate that system.

    Systems atrophy if they no longer serve their need. We are witnesses to the sad fate of a dominant and competing development paradigm-Communism. In a bid to address some of its imperfections, Mikhail Gorbachev came up with the policy of Perestroika and Glasnost that eventually led to the breakdown of the former Soviet Union.

    Why not liberal democracy if it can no longer live up to its bidding? The rise of military rule in about four African countries reinforces the imperative for a re-examination of the suitability of the western development model to the African circumstance.

  • Not yet a representative democracy

    Not yet a representative democracy

    • By Oluwole Ogundele

    A serious country is defined by the foundational questions it raises and seeks to answer from time to time. Succinctly put, is Nigeria truly ready for democracy as if people matter? In my opinion, this country has not been experiencing representative democracy since 1999. It is too easily forgotten, that the federal legislature (made up of the Senate and House of Representatives) is the nucleus or power house of democracy. Members of this arm of government are to, among other things, protect Nigerians within the confines of the rule of law. Every Nigerian cannot be in Abuja as a part of government. The legislature is an important component of any serious democracy, even though it needs to critically network with the remaining arms-executive and judiciary. The bottom line is good governance.

    However, this common-sense governmental principle does not have a space to stand in Nigeria, where political opportunism coupled with hedonism reigns supreme. The feelings and/or sensitivities of the Nigerian masses do not often matter to our political class, thoroughly de-coupled from the former like a plaque. After winning or rigging elections, these politicians traditionally say good bye to their constituents. This is a betrayal of the people’s trust. Indeed, primitive arrogance and spirit-lessness are rubbishing our democracy.

    No doubt, PBAT means well for our democracy given his antecedents, too obvious to be recounted here. But he needs to be much more vigilant than hitherto, so that some ruthless politicians within the government do not destroy all his good intentions for the Nigerian people. The economy is already in a coma. It needs to be resuscitated as quickly as possible. However, in doing this, the ordinary citizens need a breath of fresh air. The political class must make sacrifices. So far, there is no evidence that the political class members are ready in this regard.

    Most of our intra-and inter-city roads have collapsed as if FERMA (Federal Roads Maintenance Agency) has gone on leave. Surprisingly, the federal legislators continue to look the other way. Their own solution was the buying of exotic cars called SUV. They are promoting the Japanese economy at the expense of their fatherland. The poor thesis of these lawmakers was/is that locally produced cars though much cheaper, were not durable. According to them, they could not last for four years because of our terrible roads. What a country! Some of these legislators unashamedly argued that ministers too, were acquiring more flamboyant/bogus cars, and yet Nigerians were not complaining about them. As far as these special Nigerians (the federal legislators) were concerned, the citizens were unfair to them.

    This reactionary attitude, reminiscent of the Stone Age period, is a huge insult to the Nigerian people especially now that starvation is ravaging most families. The agonies of Nigerians are unprecedented! Our lawmakers should know, that those ministers were not elected by the people, but appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in line with the constitution. Second, curbing the excesses of members of the executive is one of the responsibilities of the National Assembly. They have oversight of finance and general policy. Therefore, they have to scrutinise bills as well as the conduct of government officials across the board. They are also empowered by law to remove a poor president.

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    Given the above analysis, the National Assembly should not join some segments of the executive in rocking the boat. The raping of ailing mother Nigeria must stop. Any democracy without a robust legislature is doomed to failure. Thus, for example, the lawmakers should be able to draw the attention of the Ministry of Works to the numerous collapsed roads and bridges across the country. This is part of their statutory duties. FERMA (Federal Roads Maintenance Agency) has to wake up from its unwarranted slumber in the interest of the common good. This agency must do its work or get the boot. The Ibadan/Ilesa/Ita-Awure roads in the southwest are just too monstrous to be adequately explained here. Is anybody in control? PBAT has no tolerance for indolence and/or poverty of ideas. This should encourage the legislators to do their best.  Now, we have a president who is people-sensitive in a number of ways. This arm of government needs to show maximum sanity in terms of transparency, accountability, probity, and prudence at all times.

    The National Assembly under the direction of Godswill Akpabio and Abbas Tajudeen cannot afford to disappoint over 200 million Nigerian masses. They have to remember that only their names will remain, after all the ephemeral pleasures and materialities of their juicy political offices. Despite the growing material poverty of the Nigerian working class, the federal lawmakers especially between 2011 and 2023 have continued to swallow (like pythons) billions of naira just to address their insatiable appetite for exotic cars among others. Therefore, the 10th National Assembly must begin to craft a new narrative enshrined in profound service to humanity. A stitch in time saves nine! It is a deceit for anybody to assume that there will be peace in the face of monumental injustice and a gross lack of equity.

    Currently, there is a huge trust gap between the leaders and the led. For instance, Nigerians are not so excited about the on-going Senate probe of the activities of the managers/stakeholders of our moribund refineries, which have become a drain pipe for the country. This is as a result of the past experiences. Is this not going to be another exercise in futility? Any glimmer of hope this time around? Nigerians are waiting. What would posterity say about this generation? A country where maximum corruption has become a way of life.

    Again, the Presidential Tax Reform Committee is working hard to stabilise the economy at least from the standpoint of internally generated revenues. This is good! But are we sure that the accrued monies will not be mismanaged at the expense of the masses? For instance, most rural settlers are farmers. Much of the farm produce cannot be transported to the cities for sale due to unmotorable roads. This worsens the already comatose local economy.

    The political leaders must learn to prioritise the needs of the country in order to engender peace and progress on a sustainable scale. In this connection, governors should avoid embarking on bogus projects that do not add any value to the lives of the ordinary people. Such projects include beautifully decorated roundabouts usually in the capital cities. For God’s sake, Nigerians need food, security, and good health. What does a hungry man do with a well decorated roundabout, sometimes with several portraits of the governor?  This attitude smacks of complete indifference or callousness of the highest order. Since nothing is wrong with the genes of Nigerians and by extension, Africans, our political leaders must try to engineer a new geo-polity with blocks of integrity and robust service to humanity. Nigerians have to jointly overcome the current hurdle or challenges at all costs, except we do not want to experience sustainable peace and progress.

    • Prof Ogundele is of Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan
  • Digital inclusion rights and democracy

    Digital inclusion rights and democracy

    Sir: Last month, the world celebrated Global Encryption Day to further reaffirm the need to remain safe online and offline while promoting end-to-end encryption as the gold standard of online security across the world. October is considered as the global cybersecurity awareness month. In a world where people seem to spend more time online, it has become pertinent to ensure people can communicate with another person safely without any attempt by a third party to access or temper with their messages or the risk of such messages being used to cause real-life harm.

     Beyond safety in the digital space, access and opportunity to harness digital tools in the African climes remains a major concern. Issues around infrastructural and capacity deficit, digital inequality gaps, and sociocultural predisposition continue to widen the gap between the status quo and an ideal digital future in the global south.

     The importance of internet penetration goes beyond how easy it makes life for users. Sometimes, quality of life and outright survival can be dependent on access to digital tools. During the pandemic, efforts intensified to improve digital communications across all facets of life. This did not only ensure that digital technologies became pivotal but also made digital literacy integral to adapting and communicating in the society. 

     Public institutions like the Nigerian Immigration Service, National Identity Management Commission amongst other agencies substantially deployed digital tools to enhance its processes. Public institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) led the way with online submission of lists of party agents, development of results viewing portal accessible to all everyone. This was followed by the design and implementation of the pre-registration portal for Continuous Voters Registration in 2021 which enabled potential voters to commence registration process online before finalizing biometrics physically. This to a large extent improved the process and decongested registration centers as potential registrants were assigned dates to visit INEC offices in their Local Government Areas to complete their registration. In this vein, just like voting is a right in every democracy, the ability to navigate from registration to voting proper in the midst of technological advancement in the process is as important.

     Also, the proliferation of mobile applications for virtually all institutions like banks, insurance agencies, pension administrators, transportation companies amongst others only means digital literacy has gone beyond a luxury knowledge to an essential one.

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     And with this increase in digital footprint should come a corresponding increase in investment into securing the data that is processed. Digital rights, which are basically a fundamental human right, are expected to enable individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital contents using computers, mobile phones, internet and other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. However, Africa and specifically Nigeria still face challenges in accessing what has become a necessity in order to effectively participate as active citizens. 

    A young person residing in urban and suburban locations in Nigeria still struggles with the purchasing power required for a sophisticated smartphone and bandwidth to use important applications. This is largely due to the skyrocketing inflation rate which has also affected the cost of internet data and restricts citizen’s access to few selected platforms. In the midst of this, it’s almost impossible to overlook inhabitants of rural areas whose important means of communication is a transistor radio and at best, a simple mobile that barely makes and receives calls.

    As digital literacy continues to become a prerequisite for actively participating in democratic system of government, a lot more needs to be done to democratize the digital space, especially around access, knowledge, security and privacy.

    • Olasupo Abideen, abideenolasupo@gmail.com
  • Democracy’s survival: Africa’s path forward

    Democracy’s survival: Africa’s path forward

    By Augustina Alegbe

    SIR: The recent wave of coup attempts and political instability in Africa serves as a testament to the erosion of democratic principles and institutions in Africa. If you walk down the streets of Nigeria or any other African nation, and ask the average person what democracy means, they would likely respond, government by the people, of the people, and for the people. It is a phrase I believe, that echoes the ideals of democracy worldwide.

    However, decades after democratization began in Africa in the 90s, democratic consolidation which implies the strengthening and deepening of democratic principles and institutions remains elusive.

    Democracy for many, represents not just a political system, but stands as a vision of hope for a better future. This is because it promises responsive governance, economic growth and development, and the protection of human rights. However, the continent’s journey to democracy has been fraught with challenges, as is evident given the recent coups in Niger and Gabon.

    One thing that is evident amongst the nations that have recently experienced military takeover is that they are all French colonies. Whereas the rising level of insecurity, declining economic growth and the perception of the continuous hold of colonial powers over their former colonies led to the military takeover in Niger, Gabon has been run as a family business, a dynasty, with almost a 56-year rule, from Omar Bongo 1967 to Ali Bingo 2023.

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    To uphold what democracy means for the common man, amongst others, the rule of law needs to be upheld meaning everyone is subject to the law, independence of the judiciary system, free and fair elections ensuring the representation of the electorates in elections, and also government accountability and transparency. By ensuring that these things are adhered to, democratic institutions will be strengthened, thereby promoting good governance.

    Democracies are no dynasties.Addressing the factors that contribute to political instability such as ethnic fractionalization, economic inequality and corruption which has eaten deep into the fabric of our societies is essential for curbing military interventions. Therefore, by promoting inclusive government, economic development and growth, social unity even in diversity, anti-corruption practices, the grievances that contribute to the emergence of political instability and coups can be curtailed.

    The consolidation of democracy in African nations still has a long way to go. African leaders should realize that they are not elected to satisfy their personal needs and to amass wealth for their personal gains; they are rather meant to lead, serve and ensure the progress of all. They are meant to help strengthen and unite the citizens and not further divide, or create grievances that would lead to military interventions and coups.

    • Augustina Alegbe. Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan,  

  • Akpabio, lies and democracy

    Akpabio, lies and democracy

    It might have been laughable, if not grave. An online portal reported that Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, opened an office for his wife. It is the sort of nonsense that will continue to inundate the online world until the traditional media, especially the proprietors and Guild of Editors wake up. Posterity will frown at us as we watch the integrity of our profession sullied by a mendacious brood. Today, New York Times has over 10 million paid subscribers. The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post have fewer but nonetheless boast robust millions. We cannot grow because we have left the place to leeches.

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    Senate President Akpabio gets my sympathies. It happened because media managers are asleep. He does not deserve such an embarrassment. We witnessed same in reporting the Kaduna Tribunal verdict when online portals who had no reporters in the court trended online with a farrago of lies. It’s not only the media on trial. It’s democracy.

  • Democracy: From Athens to science 

    Democracy: From Athens to science 

    • By Sulaiman Salawudeen

    Long before 2023 General Elections, honest watchers had gleaned possibilities with godlike accuracies! From state to national, the day of the franchise only served to officialise winnings/victories about which voters had already been largely convinced. This writer recalls predicting that in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde might clinch the second term win. Ditto other contestants, particularly those who vied for national assembly slots from the state. Who could have doubted extreme likelihood of All Progressives Congress’s (APC’s) Remi Oseni (Ido-Ibarapa East) winning, given the strength/consistency of his campaigns? Who also would not have seen that Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) Adedeji Stanley Olajide (Ibadan Northwest-Southwest) was waiting just for the day of election for people’s official endorsement of another turn in the Green Chambers? 

    In Osun State, how would one have missed the fact that dancer-senator, Ademola Adeleke, had won peoples’ hearts across sections of the populace than then governor Gboyega Oyetola? Indeed, while Adeleke had turned campaign grounds to dance scenes, and, occasionally assisted by his singer-nephew, Davido, who had palliated the electorate as much in cash as in kind, APC leaders had been at daggers drawn among themselves, even as Oyetola and Rauf Aregbesola factions had chosen broad streets and city centres to announce their enmities.

    Is any further explanation necessary on how APC ceded Osun political space entirely to PDP?

    How then would some elements resort to such extremely insulting, if inane, ratiocinations to discredit 2023 presidential voting eventualities, so much as to embolden the losers, especially Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, into filing ‘frivolous’ cases against expected/expectable outcomes of fantastically credible, largely transparent, significantly fair voting processes?

    Although, the Presidential Elections Petitions Court’s (PEPC’s) scientific judgment has now dealt deserved blows to Labour Party’s (LP’s)/PDP’s feeble erections, one should wonder why a few still presume elections, like wars, are winnable more by emotions, rather than preparation. What else, if not unparalleled political strategy, seconded by uncommon providential grace, could have helped Tinubu vault over rather convoluted intrigues as orchestrated against his aspiration each phase of the struggle?

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    Throughout the campaign period, LP did not have coordinating offices in at least 20 states (!), including Sokoto, Kano, while it also did not field contestants/aspirants for state and national assembly positions in many of those states! Was Tinubu/APC found wanting in such regard at all? Obi’s lack of structure manifested quite early when he fumbled about the space, seeking which party could hoist/host his plans. LP accommodated him when it almost became for him an embarrassment. The party further kept changing spokespersons, owing largely to this ill-preparedness! But, one could read method and science brought into Tinubu’s campaigns from start to finish. Wild guesses and slovenly afterthoughts cannot/don’t trump logic! 

    So far however, the same forensic perspicacity that has supported the Tribunal to expose the lies of Obi/Atiku is same as has helped the body substantiate Natasha Akpoti’s/PDP’s claims on results of Kogi Central Senatorial election held in February, even as, on September 11, it similarly nullified the election of Idris Dankawu of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), pronouncing his APC opponent, Munnir DanAgundi, winner of the Kumbotso Federal Constituency balloting in Kano State. These electoral reverses and more, expected to come in full harvest in the weeks and months to come, are instances in which the tribunal have to intervene to expose instances wherein election outcomes have deviated from actual performances of voters on contest fields!

    The 2023 elections remain one clear evidence Nigeria has advanced, at least in the realm of democracy. The alternative, perhaps, is to re-enact the Athenian ideal – find a square large enough to accommodate same time (!) whole willing/qualified individuals, who will then routinely debate and decide on legislative, executive and judicial matters. Athens, Greece capital, the popular, and yet existing acropolis dating back to the Greco-Roman ages, had bequeathed such democracy version by its fashion of gathering men at a designated square to enable free verbal participations in discussions about pressing general, not individual, concerns. Obi and Atiku seem to prefer this anachronistic option by asking to be declared winners of an election in which they stood not even the faintest chance of winning! But, democracy has since moved from Athens to science. Let us await what recalcitrant losers would bring as they approach the Supreme Court, perhaps armed with additional evidences to sway judges and judgment differently! Who knows?

    I have indeed refused to accept political explications excusing APC’s losses in Oyo and Osun, especially. Those committed to advancing Nigeria should not tell political truths, even if this does not further their personal purposes. What Nigeria experienced, especially in the 2023 presidential voting was the nearest to perfection and the best achieved in the country so far, most probably, perhaps, after the senselessly annulled June 12, 1993 election which has now become more of a national monument of shame grandiosely celebrated annually. PEPC judgment is a warning to habitual frolicsome election petitioners that a time is approaching that canes may be applied upon them on the orders of judges and within court premises – those who litigate against results simply to entertain and court attention from the public, feed the press and keep their supposed party people busy/expectant for/upon nothing! How Obi presumed his fire brigade afterthoughts could secure him a win against well laid out, long-oiled political blueprint of Tinubu must qualify as a centennial joke!

     In an unparalleled 12-hour delivery which sent litigant-petitioners taking a nap in the courtroom, the PEPC team, led by Justice Abba Mohammed, on September 6, delivered a judgment to set whole new record in Nigeria’s jurisprudential practice. It served not simply to validate Tinubu’s four-year presidency, but teach public office seekers basic lessons on morality in the art of politics, sportsmanship in electoral contests and fidelity to an ultimate, indefeasible soul which bind entire Nigerians together in Nigeria.

    The losers at the Tribunal – LP, PDP, APM (Allied Peoples Movement) – won’t go unpunished however, the judges insist, and must, within 48 hours of the verdict, pay to the court a sum of N47,910,431.78; N23,391,001.45 and N13,675,890 respectively, for failing to locate their petitions within an ambience of integrity. So, claims are no longer free, after all! Fact however is petitioners did what was possible! Their solicitors could not have held back critical evidence to substantiate claims, if they had it; but it was not there! Nigeria’s seekers after political offices need to learn lessons from the country’s bench: only truth exalts a nation! 

    • Salawudeen, writer/freelance journalist, writes via obastunde@yahoo.com

  • Judiciary and electoral democracy

    Judiciary and electoral democracy

    The Judiciary is not for or against any political party that participated in the February 25 presidential election. In the final analysis, the temple of justice is for the people of Nigeria and democracy.

    That was the essential message from the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday. The verdict affirming the victory of President Bola Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettma, was long, thorough, well researched, objective and instructive. A standard was set in the adjudication of a presidential dispute.

    The verdict underscores the triumph of the rule of law and natural justice, which has ultimately rekindled the people’s hope in the court as the last hope for resolving disputes. It bears eloquent testimony to the popular mandate conferred on the president by majority of Nigerians in this year’s presidential poll.

    It is also an affirmation of the legality and legitimacy of the electoral process that produced the current administration.

    Ahead of the judicial pronouncement, the judges were subjected to blackmail and intimidation. They were threatened by social media gangsters and other shadowy characters who decorated some streets in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with banners containing warnings to the jurors about the risk of not dancing to their tune.

    But the honourable men and women, who are now legends and giants of the Bench, took the path of honour. They did not just deliver a judgment; they robed the judiciary with an immaculate garment of integrity, the type of which the nation had not seen before. The jurists painstakingly elevated that arm of government to a new level and wrote their names in gold. It was evident to all that those men and women were determined to rebrand the judiciary; and they did.

    What happened at the tribunal was unprecedented. World attention was on the most populous country in Africa. The proceeding was broadcast live on television and some radio stations for the home and international audiences. There was nothing to hide, and the truth stared all and sundry in the face.

    Armchair critics domiciled in city beer parlours were jolted to life, from their delusion. Facts were separated from fiction by the five-man panel of jurists, led by Justice Tsammani. For 12 hours, the court justified its judgment, which was hard on both petitioners and respondents in varying degrees. The learned jurists threw more light on the danger of acting before thinking by lawyers to desperate candidates.

    Never in the history of a presidential litigation has any tribunal held the nation spell-bound with a rigorous rendition of judicial pronouncement. At the end, the verdict contributed to the deepening of democracy and drove home the need to avoid filing frivolous petitions.

    Novel cases of electoral claims could arise under un-imaginary situations and upon strange facts. Although the tribunal agreed with respondents on almost major issues of disputes before it, its elaborations on the reasons for upholding the counter-claims also opened the eyes of counsel, not only to the candour and objectivity of the judges, but to their depth of knowledge, experience, skill, cour age, commitment to truth and time-tested reputation as the last hope in any dispute.

    As facts were separated from fiction at the tribunal, the weight of evidence, the allusion to sound and settled legal principles, and the demonstration of knowledge and depth by the eminent jurists, as exemplified by the rigour of judgment, represented a major contribution to the growth of jurisprudence in Nigeria.

    The battle for Aso Villa had been tough. It was a long chain of fights along each step till the election was won and lost. It shifted to the tribunal out of malice and frivolity, to a large extent, as the outcome of the case has shown.

    The lessons are instructive. Those who indulge in street gossips do not know the judiciary well. It has now dawned on everyone that the arsenal of the law encompasses facts, evidences, proofs, findings, settled legal principles,  judicial precedents, the statute, rules, guidelines, legal interpretations, linguistic understanding and circumspection, logic and commonsense.

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    What apparently agitated the minds of the jurists was that the critical elements unleashed on the social media were virtually absent in the claims and prayers of the petitioners. Therefore, there was a deep hollow in their claims.

    The candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, went to stage an inexplicable drama. Politically, Atiku started losing the election months to the poll when he could not put his house in order. He was preparing for the electoral battle while he was losing the war that ravaged his divided, polarised and fragile party.

    As five governors of his party were up in arms against him, he hung on to a paper-weight party chairman, with a diminished electoral value.

    If the PDP was not balkanised and its followers were not in disarray, the main opposition party might not have lost so much ground. Just maybe.

    The main element of the drama was that while Atiku, who came second at the poll, consistently maintained that Obi never won the poll, the former governor of Anambra State, who placed third, never raised any objection to Atiku. From his third position, Obi demonstrated that he only had an axe to grind with Tinubu and the APC.

    However, Obi/LP only relied on hearsay and the torrents of vituperations on the social media by his disorganised, exuberant followers who he mistook for a solid bloc behind his “structureless” platform. Having approached the tribunal based on the advice of his Ahitophelian advisers, he failed to be meticulous.

     Instructively, when Obi, then of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), reclaimed his stolen governorship victory from Dr. Chris Ngige, then of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State, he won by tendering witnesses and proofs, including figures that could not be faulted. The interpretation is that the wisdom that permitted him to have a successful outing at the Awka tribunal deserted him at the Abuja court.

    The LP failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Tinubu lacked academic qualifications to vie for the number one position; that a criminal case was hanging on his neck in the United States; and that Shettima was a product of double nominations.

    However, it turned out that all these amounted to fabrications and concoctions by bitter opponents.

    The judgment was an eye opener. It has re-established the reality that in matters relating to nomination of candidates by a political party, candidates of other parties should just be on-lookers.

    But, if the interlopers have any cause to poke their noses into other people’s personal affairs or they think that the activities of other parties may undermine their interests – which is now a figment of hyperactive imagination – they are at liberty to approach the High Court before the commencement of the election, because this is clearly a pre-election matter.

    According to the verdict, if they fail to do so before the poll and bring their self-imposed troubles to the tribunal, it would be an exercise in futility.

    Also, while the reality of Abuja as a semblance of state was affirmed, the fallacy of superiority of the FCT voting public was condemned by the tribunal.

    In fact, it is noteworthy that the tribunal decried the insinuation that a presidential candidate should get 25 per cent of Abuja votes. Chiding those behind the falsehood for unjust manipulation of the constitution, the tribunal ruled that equality of votes from all states of the federation and FCT is the reality.

    It may be argued that the aggrieved have the inalienable right to go to law, up to the apex court, if they feel injured on poll day. But, it is not important that an attempt should be made all the time to distract symbols of legitimate mandate from governance through unnecessary law suits.

    Losers should be patriotic and courageous to concede defeat, even after a bitter contest. It is the hallmark of maturity.

    This is one perspective. But, another perspective is that judicial pronouncements after legal battles are not in vain. It categorically separates the winners from losers. Besides, it judgment become law, or judicial precedents, which increases the knowledge of the wise and enriches our understanding of the constitution.

    There is need for electoral reforms that will reduce the cost of political participation and electioneering, from the primary through the tedious and expensive campaigns to general elections. If the cost is not high, may be, losers will not have a sense of double tragedy arising simultaneously from the loss of power and political investment.

    In Africa, many people gravitate towards winners while losers are perceived as liabilities. It is a major contributor to political desperation.

    There is, indeed, a correctation between the desperation to win and the huge electoral expenses by certain politicians who lack the capacity for self-assessment and realistic appraisal of their chances.

    Congratulatory messages have poured in for Jagaban. But, as the president has put it, this is a victory for democracy.

     The verdict should further spur President Tinubu to rededicate himself to the cause of democracy and good governance.

    The judgment should also be an energiser for him and his team to sustain the tempo of national healing and unity as he continues to mobilise vital human and material resources for the implementation of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which has resonated with the populace as the key to national survival, development and progress.