Text of a paper delivered by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) at the yearly lecture of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC), Ikeja Chapter
In particular, The Punch Newspaper was very pungent in its editorial opinion titled “Nigeria Marching to the Precipice”; The Guardian was profound in its own opinion titled “Nigeria and the only way forward”; ThisDay Newspapers was very articulate in its own editorial titled “19 years of democracy: The Road Ahead”; The Nigerian Tribune was unequivocal in its own opinion captioned “19 years of civilian rule”; Vanguard’s comment titled “Nigeria’s Nascent Democracy at 18″ was very insightful; New Telegraph’s opinion tagged “Buhari: Three years in the saddle’ was sufficiently balanced; The Nation’s editorial captioned “Buhari at Three” was lucid; while The Sun’s comment titled “The need to Support Democracy” was penetrating, analytical and objective.
It is hoped that the leadership of this country will soberly reflect on these snippets coming from our media houses; they honestly represent the feelings and yearnings of our people; they portray the minimum desiderata expected of any democratic government, more so as we approach the proverbial 2019.
Now, to the political class and politicians
Different leaders have sprung up and emerged on the face of the planet at different times and in different climes, who, through their commitment to humanity, rather than to self, have etched their names in gold, as well as the consciousness and sub-consciousness of their people, from generation to generation. A few examples are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, J.F Kennedy, Winston Churchill, William Wilberforce, Chairman Mao, Lee Kuan Yew, Nelson Mandela, Julius Nyerere, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Ahmadu Bello, Mahatma Ghandi, Kenneth Kaunda, Thomas Sankara, Kwame Nkrumah, Mo Ibrahim, Franklin Roosevelt, Napoleon Bonaparte, General De Gaulle, Mrs. Hindira Ghandi, Martin Luther, Harry Truman, etc.
There is a world of difference between a politician and a leader. There is still a marked difference between a leader and a statesman. There is also a remarkable difference between a statesman and a world citizen. Nelson Mandela, though an African, rose to become a world citizen by his candour, pragmatism, charisma, knowledge, temperament, valour, humility, forbearance, integrity, unusual act of forgiveness, and steadfastness. No wonder the entire world celebrated him in life, as well as in death. Although dead, he still lives in the consciousness of all people and races. The entire American Congress rose up to appreciate his eminence when he paid a visit to the Capitol. Reviewing his memoir titled “Long Walk to Freedom”, Washington Post Book Review described him as “One of the most remarkable lives of the twentieth century”; while the Boston Sunday Globe expressed that the book “should be read by every person alive”. What a pride Nelson Mandela was to Africa and the entire human race! Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore was also an exceptional leader and world citizen. His book, titled “Singapore: From Third World to First World: The Singapore Story-1965-2000”, represents and demonstrates the sobriety of the inner workings of a dedicated and committed leader. Winston Churchill gave his all to his country. The examples are not only legion, but also limitless.
4.3 Be that as it may, it is rather worrisome that the type of politics we play in Nigeria does not pretend to bring forth statesmen, how much more of world citizens. Since 1999, successive leaderships that have emerged have always been engrossed in political acrobatics, both from within their political parties and without. A sizeable number of the politicians that spring up are desperate people, who want power and positions at all costs, who see and perceive elections as a do or die affair, whose primary objective is not the service to the people but acquisition of ephemeral wealth, they do not harbour or tolerate any dissenting opinion, even from within their political parties, how much more from opposition parties.
The truth be told, our democracy stands out as perhaps the most monetized democracy globally. Across political parties and lines, votes are purchased at every stage of election. What dividends of democracy do we realistically expect from elected politicians who have purchased the franchise of the electorate? All they do in most cases was, and is still to recoup, settle their debts, and make further or sufficient savings for future elections, by pilfering from the public till, on assumption of office.
Arising from the foregoing unfortunate situation, is the fact that whatever efforts the Judiciary and the press make, or whatever positive collaborations emerge from the two institutions, not much can be achieved if Nigeria does not have statesmen as politicians, and if our leaders still assume that whenever they find themselves in positions of power, either through the wishes of the electorates or by rigging elections, they assume the role and positions of emperors and conquerors, or even tiny tyrants here and there.
I want to repeat what I have been saying since the emergence of our present democratic experiment in 1999, that like the military dictators of the pre-1999 years, most of our successive leaders have been grossly intolerant, proud, dictatorial, autocratic, draconian, arbitrary, arrogant and uncaring. Not only that, vital institutions that make democracy work and tick and, by extension, sustain, nurture, water and nourish democracy, including the electoral umpire, whether INEC at the national level, or the states’ Independent Electoral Commissions, at the states’ level, have been hijacked, compromised, pocketed and often manipulated.
The mantra among a sizable proportion of Nigerian politicians today is that with or without the electorates, they will ‘be returned’ as the successful candidates in any election, and the ‘losers’ are the ones who will go to Election Tribunals. Earlier in this presentation, I have reminded the audience of the constant boasting of some of our politicians that they will capture a particular seat, rather than winning at the polls. In my humble opinion, we are practicing democracy in a negative way; by and large, strangulating democracy and democratic institutions. These negative traits appear to be reaching a crescendo.
Apart from INEC or SIECs, political parties themselves should evolve to the status of institutions, if our democracy must last. Any political party worth its name must have clear-cut ideologies, policies, ethos, ethics and traditions which are engrafted in the DNA of its members. In addition, it has to campaign and contest elections on the basis of clear manifestos. Members of political parties must also be sober and dedicated. It cannot be a question of ‘we are here today and gone tomorrow’. The United States of America has run a federal system of government since 1776, with a Constitution that has endured since then, subject to minor amendments. The two main political parties over there, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have become institutions recognised all over the world. They even have teeming admirers and supporters globally, including Nigeria. Since 1828, when the Democratic Party emerged, and 1854, when the Republican Party berthed, each of them has alternated the production of American Presidents and control of Congress, based on their constitutions and manifestoes. Here in Nigeria, we know about the ideals of the Republicans as well as the Democrats. This also dovetails to the United Kingdom, where the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats are the main parties. Cross-carpeting or political prostitution or harlotry, as we have it here in Nigeria, is alien to their democratic culture. Here in Nigeria, we are facing an ugly situation whereby political parties, which should be potent institutions and harbingers of our democracy, have now been reduced to mere vehicles of strange bedfellows. A good number of leading politicians in our country today have migrated, without any qualms, from two to four political parties. Bereft of any ideals, or even the tiniest iota of principles, a good percentage of members of the political class of today alternate between parties in the same way, and with the frequency the British weather changes its moods. In as short a span as weeks, an average politician in today’s Nigeria could belong to three different political parties, depending on the exigency. Devoid of any moral fabric, these politicians engage in what I would like to call political osmosis, whereby once a party is out of power, or a candidate loses an election, they swiftly move allegiances to whatever party fits their mood. Yet, a good number of Nigerians, like the Biblical Pharisees and Sadducees, pretend as if all is well. Despite the Supreme Court’s decision in Abegunde v. The Ondo State House of Assembly , our politicians have learnt nothing.
Preparing for party congresses is war, within the intra-party arrangement; while contesting elections along bi-partisan lines is a battle that must be fought with intimidating arsenals, including guns, machetes, acid, charms and I dare say, weapons of mass destruction. In my opinion, stealing of the people’s mandate, whether at intra-party level or at a bi-partisan level sits at the zenith of corruption. It is a crime akin to genocide, because it is a crime against humanity. Politics should not be a game of ‘the end justifies the means’ or ‘the means does not matter, provided the end is achieved’.
4.8 Against the foregoing background, the statement credited to President Buhari by different national dailies on 30th May, 2018, admonishing Nigerians to vote for who they want in 2019 was timely. In my view, the President was saying, let the votes count in 2019. This is how it should be, in theory and in practice. A corollary to the statement is that let the electoral umpires at both the state and national levels do their jobs un-teleguided, independent of powers at all levels, without any compromise, fear or affection. Let our elections be free of rancour, violence, victimisation, killing and maiming. Let the returning officers announce results as depicted by the votes cast and dropped in the ballot boxes; and duly counted in the full glare of the electorates. On no account should any electoral officer be kidnapped and made to announce any result at gunpoint. Security officers should not threaten or harass the electorates or disperse them while queuing to get accredited or while casting their votes or while patiently waiting for the votes to be counted. The truth must be told that for now, our democracy is one of the most militarised democracies in the world. We should remind ourselves that in nearby West African countries like Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia, free and fair elections, globally adjudged as being so, have been held, with winners emerging, without rancour or strife.
Another sad commentary of election rigging on the democratic process in Nigeria is that whereas when the democratic journey took off in 1999, all the governors were elected on the same day; but today, each of the states of Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti, Anambra, Osun and Kogi holds its governorship election on different and staggered dates from when the other states hold theirs. This has led to an unwholesome situation where and when Governorship elections are to be held in any of these states, substantial security personnel of the nation are deployed thereto, making it look as if exercise of franchise in a democratic setting is a warfare. My suggestion in this regard is that elections in the aforementioned states should be brought in conformity with the general elections for other Governors. I am not unaware of the Supreme Court decision in the celebrated case of Obi v. INEC , but the constitution itself will have to be amended, so that any chief executive who assumes office after the sacking by the Judiciary of another Governor should only spend the unexpired tenure of the sacked or deposed governor. This is what happens to members of the legislature.
INEC was reported in several national newspapers on Monday, June 4, 2018, to have emphatically stated: “No card reader, no election in 2019”. The use of the card reader was introduced by the Professor Attahiru Jega led INEC in 2015 general elections. But for the use of the card reader, the general elections of 2015 would have flopped abysmally. Three years thereafter, INEC is enthusing that there would not be any election in 2019 if the card reader is not used.’’
With respect to INEC, this is no news; it is also not an improvement on what Jega achieved. Even with the deployment of the card reader in 2015, a lot of electoral malpractices were still identified. The least that Nigerians expect from INEC for the 2019 general elections is the deployment and use of electronic device, which would ensure substantial rig-proof elections.
The combination of the use and activation of the card reader and electronic device will assure and reassure Nigerians that INEC is indeed and in fact, prepared for a free and fair election. INEC should not enter any caveat or give any alibi for not being able to deploy the electronic device, which is now in use almost worldwide.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are my thoughts on this very important topic. The Judiciary and the Media have made, and continue to make, their humble contributions at midwifing our nascent democracy. Indeed, both institutions are more committed to the sustenance and growth of our democratic norms and ideals than the politicians who reap most of the dividends of democracy, a la Nigeria. This might be ironic, but it is the truism and reality on the ground. This paper is also a call on the politicians to allow democracy to thrive in Nigeria, particularly in their own interest, and generally, in our overall interest. Democracy should not be seen, taken or even pursued as a rat race, for according to Lily Tomline,
“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you are still a rat.”
To the members of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, I thank you for inviting me to make this presentation. The Judiciary Correspondents have always collaborated with the legal profession at ensuring prompt and graphic reporting of judicial proceedings in our various courts. The legal profession itself owes the Judiciary Correspondents a duty of collaboration, so as to ensure a seamless synergy between the legal profession and the Judiciary Correspondents in the pursuit and attainment of a fair, honest and undiluted reportage.
A few years back, I volunteered to make funds available towards the training and continuous education of Judiciary Correspondents in Nigeria, and challenged the correspondents to key into the scheme. May I use this opportunity to remind the Judiciary Correspondents that the promise is still extant.
- Concluded
- Chief Wole Olanipekun, OFR, SAN, LL.D, FCIArb, FNIALS, Lagos,