Democracy is a government of the people by the people and for the people. Nigeria has practiced unbroken civilian democracy since 1999 even if it was somewhat midwifed by the Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd.) administration. Coincidentally, another former military general and former Head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo became President in what many political analysts have termed a very deft strategic move to assuage the agitations of the South West Yoruba nation that was seemingly shortchanged by the annulment of the 1993 presidential election believed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola.
Somehow, the unique characteristics of the military that has totally different professional operational mechanics continues to influence Nigerian civilian politicians and the way they do things. The incursion of the military since 1966 into the Nigerian state has left a lot of influences in the democracy practiced in Nigeria. The military after each coup immediately suspends the constitution and sacks the legislature. They understand the dynamics and believe that not having any claim to legitimacy, brute force and intimidation are couched in the decrees they roll out. Because they have all the coercive tools of governance, the people often have no options but to obey.
The Roundtable Conversation has been pointing out the effects of the military hang over on Nigerian democracy and why the nation must find a way of addressing the issues as quickly as possible. The country may be reeling under the yoke of economic and social challenges but if there are no fundamental changes in the structure of the brand of democracy the country has adopted, it might just be all motion and no movement. There are fundamental questions that the political elite must answer before progress can be made.
The questions do not start from the governance structure. There has to be a structural realignment of the democratic processes. As it is at the moment, the political party structure is almost run in undemocratic styles. The basic fact is that Nigerian political parties lack basic ideological principles. There is a laughable fluidity that exists amongst the political parties that makes it possible for members to oscillate between the parties without any qualms and even though some very weak legal implications are touted to exist, there has been no effective deployment of the legal hammer in this regard.
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Political parties in functional democracies like the United Kingdom and the United States are easily identified by their ideological stands. Even though the United Kingdom runs a Constitutional Monarchy, the Conservative and Labor Parties, the two major political parties are identified by their views. In the United States of America that runs the presidential system Nigerian adopted, the President is the central and apex power but the liberal left-wing (Democrats) and conservative right-wing (Republicans) are the two dominant political parties.
In those two democracies, the two political parties evolved over time based on shared world views and convictions about certain values. It is often not difficult to identify where a politician is leaning because of the unambiguous expressions about national issues. However, the overriding sentiment is often the respect for the constitution and the value paced on national interests at all times.
Conversely, the Nigerian political space seems to lack a very nationalistic fervor and as such, mundane issues of religion, tribe, region and personal interests seem to take precedence over any national interest. So for Nigerian democracy to functionally serve the people, there must be an introspection amongst the political class. National interest must be a priority. This is the only time that every action would be in the interest of the country and the political parties even in their diversity would be working towards the same goal.
When the political parties operate with valid identifiable ideologies, the structure that produces the leadership of political parties would be different. The citizens would buy into the political parties based on their own convictions too. When the citizens have a buy in, the field would be more open and more Nigerians would show interest in nation building and the political space would be one where ideas would be at play for the good of the country.
For now, elected officials operate with imperial mindset. The center appears too powerful and as such the other tiers of government seem to be subsumed in the aura of the presidency. This has impacted development negatively. There is a sense of ‘ownership’ of political offices that renders elected officials very ineffectual. Let’s for a second look at the amount of money spent by the country to provide security for the presidency, the governors, ministers, and other high ranking officers of any administration. This is traceable to the lack of trust on both sides, both the leaders and the led.
Nigerian leaders seem to be some of the most ‘protected’ in the world. The trust deficit must be seen as a product of a dysfunctional political structure. Most Nigerian politicians have a flawed sense of service. The political parties seem not to have a system of keeping tab on their elected officials in ways that they understand that any failure on their part is a failure of the political party. That lack of ideological conviction seems to make political parties mere gatherings of men and some women whose passion for national development seems very weak.
The Roundtable Conversation noted with worry the complaints of the Senator representing Bornu South Senatorial district, Senator Ali Ndume the Senate Chief Whip who accused the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio of approving the passage of some executive bills without seeking the input of most of the other senators. He accused him of passing certain bills without formal reading and the members’ contributions.
Another member, Senator Ogoshi Onawo, representing Nasarawa state also complained about the style of the Senate President as he said, “Very sensitive bills are brought and are expected to be passed with the speed of light, which is not good for the country”. He insisted that senators ought to be adequately informed about the bills and that they ought to make their research and contribute productively to debates for the good of the country.
The legislative arguments might appear trivial but its significance must not escape political analysts. The legislative arm is a strong arm in a democracy. Each senator represents a constituent part of the nation. Each senator is a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria so in essence, their oath of office is to obey the constitution and work in the interest of the whole country. A senate president is a first amongst equals and must be seen as respecting every senator in the discharge of his duties.
It is interesting to note that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has a rich political history. He rose steadily from the political ladder in his state until he became the governor of Akwa Ibom state, a position he held for eight years. He is a ranking senator having been part of the 8th assembly under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before decamping to the All Progressive Congress (APC). His two terms as governor of Akwa Ibom state were as controversial as they provided some political comedy to the nation.
He adopted the tag of ‘the uncommon governor’ during his time as governor in what many saw as a veiled form of self-adulation. He is known for his somewhat playful disposition to official duties. As Minister of the Niger Delta development Commission (NDDC) he was mired in series of controversies. At some point, he appeared along with some members of the board of NDDC before the House Committee investigating some official misconduct. He set the country laughing when he claimed that some of the legislators were beneficiaries of some contracts in the ministry.
As Senate President, he has not deviated much from providing points of discussions for the country. At one point when the Senators were to proceed on recess, he was caught on camera telling the senators that ‘a little token’ had been deposited in their accounts for them to enjoy their break with. When there were murmurings about that in an economy that many can barely fee, he quickly changed the information to ‘prayers in their emails’.
While Senators are human and therefore in a position to make mistakes, the roundtable Conversation equally believes that Senator Akpabio must realize that uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. He must understand that the nation is seemingly weary of an ineffectual senate coming off a 9th Assembly that was notorious for acting as a ‘rubber stamp assembly’. This 10th assembly must in truth be a “CORRECTIVE SENATE” as Senator Akpabio stated ab initio.
His adoption of the word ‘corrective’ means he understands the status of the 9th senate. It would then be self-indictment if his colleagues in the senate see him as authoritarian in practice. If they are complaining of often being ‘ambushed’ and seemingly sounding dissatisfied with lack of information that should precede research and contributions, lack of proper quorum and alleged wrong calculation of the two-third majority for the passage of bills, then the national interest might not be fully served. The legislature has a very paramount duty in all functional democracies.
