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Democracy on trial in Nigeria

By Louis Brown Ogbeifun | January 26, 2010

In all human history, effective leadership is about sacrifice, responsibility and accountability (SRA). Therefore, in an ideal democracy, leaders are supposed to put the people first and deliver dividends of democracy to the people based on the principles of SRA. That is why in successful democracies; there is effective educational, health, judicial, electoral and social welfare systems.

Paradoxically, here in the largest democracy in Africa, Nigeria’s democracy is about the welfare of the leaders and the leaders come first in all things. This is why the average Nigerian lives below poverty line with a few individuals having billions of pounds, Euros and dollars in foreign vaults. The high profile corruption cases successfully prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in the last eleven years of our democratic experiment is heart rendering. It shows that our leaders have learnt nothing from our past historical antecedents, do not believe in proper democracy and do not care about what becomes of the masses of Nigeria.

Our democratic space is filled with military rulers and their apologists who when they were in power in 1966-1998 never believed in anything democracy. They killed Nigerians that dared speak for democracy. They extinguished the candle of democracy through military coups. Unfortunately, these same people are now masquerading as democrats and the godfathers of politicians in Nigeria. These same people who harassed, maimed and incarcerated labour leaders, social critics and civil society leaders have hijacked a supposedly clean process and turned democracy into a curse for Nigerians. Our democracy is demon infested because the non-believers in democracy are in the pinnacle of democracy. The question is how can those who do not believe in democracy give dividends of democracy? How do we expect those who plotted to kill democracy work to preserve a system they never believed in?

In an ideal democracy, the leaders make huge sacrifices for the survival of a nation. Pa Mandela is a typical example of how a leader sacrifices to enthrone ideals of an effective democratic system. After his tenure, he voluntarily stepped down. President Mbeki who came after Mandela also showed what it is to be a statesman. When sensed that there was serious threat to South Africa’s democracy he decided to step down for peace to reign.

But here, the people are made to tighten their belts and urged to make the needed sacrifice to make the nation work, but the leaders expand their belts and live the best of life in affluence and luxury. In a democracy, the leaders are accountable to the people.  But in ours, only the followers are accountable to the leaders. The leaders are only responsible and accountable to themselves, their political godfathers and their families. This is because they climbed to the top most of the political ladder through stolen mandates. They got their votes through ‘wuruwuru, jibiti, magomago and ogboju (Nigeria’s parlance for indecency, crooked ways, corruption, coercion). They forced their ways to the top through ill gotten wealth which they in turn use to enslave the rest of the country. Therefore, they believe they owe the people nothing.

Talking about responsibility, the Farouk Abdul Mutallab attempted bombing of NWA flight 253 shows how a leader should take responsibility in governance. Obama and his security team now accept the responsibility for the near mishap. They came out to own up to their failures and promised to address the lapses. Never in this nation will our leaders do that. Rather than face the real issues, those at the top want to play the ostrich. Recently, the Governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido said Nigerians who externalize our internal matters ruin the image of the country. No sir! It is the other way round.

Rather, the political rulers are the ones ruining the image of this country by their reckless corruptive tendencies, maladministration, extreme economic banditry and political brigandage. The world knows that our political class has held the country hostage and that we are in bondage in this country. They know that our leaders do not care for the masses of this nation because they have embassies here, their citizens’ work and live here. Tell me where in any oil producing nation that majority of the citizens live in abject poverty. So, we need not say it before they inform their home countries about the reversal of the character of democracy by Nigerian politicians. Therefore we are only reinforcing what they already know. Anyway, we need to speak out before we all perish in silence. When those of them at the helm of affairs provide us with uninterrupted electricity, education, health care, social justice, flawless electoral system and equality of all citizens; we shall stop complaining

Going down the memory lane, General I. B. Babangida (rtd) annulled the June 12 1993 presidential elections that threw the entire country into years of tears, sorrow and dysfunction.  Till date, he is yet to fully accept the responsibility for that misjudgement and apologize to Nigerians for that misdeed against the masses of this nation. No matter the connivance of the civil populace that led to the annulment, the bucks of all that happened during his regime should be shouldered by him as the chief accounting officer of that time. No excuses.

As at the time of Obasanjo’s (OBJ) departure from Aso Rock, the country was in darkness because of power outages, manufacturing activities were in bad shape, the university lecturers were on strike, most of the hospitals were in dire need of refurbishing, almost all the trunk A roads were in deplorable conditions, the courts were overloaded with unresolved criminal and political matters, no single high profile murder case was successfully prosecuted, the Niger Delta region was at the highest point of anarchy, disorderliness and insecurity, petroleum pipelines’ vandalism was at its worst, prisons were over congested, kidnapping for ransom was at an all time high, graduates were roaming the streets because of very high unemployment situation and victory at the polls was a do-or-die affair.

In the above circumstances, all we needed to reverse the sliding of Nigeria into coma was to ensure that an energetic, physical and emotionally stable personality took charge of the affairs of Nigeria. OBJ in his wisdom thought otherwise. Rather, he used all the powers at his disposal both as the Chairman of the Board of Trustee of PDP and the President of this nation to foist Yar’Adua, a chronically ill person to preside over a nation that have been raped, milked dry, anaemic and already on imminent danger list. At last, the bubble busted.

On his part, the good man Yar’Adua tried to impress Nigerians by setting very high target in the name of seven point agenda. He tried to make things work to no avail. He tried to combat corruption but he forgot that corruption has teeth that can bite to the marrow. As a man of peace, when he realized that everything was failing apart including his own health, he decided to channel all his energy towards the achievement of peace in the Niger Delta through an amnesty programme he granted to the militants and freedom fighters. This was achieved with a resounding success and in decades, the Niger Delta spent their first Yuletide in quiet in 2009. As he attempted to consolidate the amnesty process, the stress of governance, which compromised his health status, had eaten deep into his fragile physiologic frame and it took a dive for the worse. He was flown to Saudi Arabia for treatment on 23rd November 2009 and since then Yar’Adua became Nigeria’s first e-President.

Just like OBJ never wanted to be a Nigerian civilian President, which the North forced him to accept, Yar’Adua also never indicated interest in the Presidency until OBJ’s kitchen cabinet shopped and coerced him to be the President of Nigeria. OBJ muscled his way through illicit electoral process right from the PDP primaries and ensured that only Yar’Adua succeeded him.  Even Yar’Adua in his post election speech confessed that the polls were flawed and promised to rectify the anomalies.

The qualities in Yar’Adua which Obasanjo highlighted as the yardstick for choosing him as his successor are an afterthought. There were two cardinal reasons Obasanjo rooted for Yar’Adua.  First, Obasanjo does not like anyone surpassing him in any area of endeavour. This can be discerned from some of his statements. He believed that when he left government after his military service, Nigeria worked and that when he came back in 2003 Nigeria had collapsed. He saw in Yar’Adua a weakling, a yes man and a man that will cover his tracks. Unfortunately, the mien of the man Yar’Adua deceived him and soon after the elections, Yar’Adua the supposedly harmless man roared like a lion against everything OBJ stands for. This irked OBJ and had been working tirelessly to have his pound of flesh.

Secondly, Obasanjo wanted to compensate the family of his bosom friend, Late General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua who wanted to be the president of this nation but prevented by the same political cabals.

Reacting to critics on how Yar’Adua emerged as the President of Nigeria in the last elections, OBJ in the character of our leaders not taking responsibility for their actions sought respite in the explanations that he never knew Yar’Adua was chronically ill. Haba! Has he forgotten that the man Yar’Adua once collapsed and had to be rushed to Saudi Arabia during his pre-election campaign?

At this point, what Nigerians expected from OBJ was to have been manly enough to do the right thing by apologizing to Nigerians that he caused the present political log jam through the scheming that brought Yar’Adua to power.

As an elder statesman, OBJ would have taken one of the following steps rather than coming out to fool Nigerians with his pontificating on high moral grounds and denying Yar’Adua at his critical moment of need:

  1. Summon a meeting of all former Presidents and elder statesmen like senator Pius Ayim did to deliberate on the issue of the vacuum created by Yar’Adua’s absence.
  2. Based on the outcome of the elders’ discussions, he would have explored all presidential options to personally advise President Yar’Adua on the proper thing to do.

My prayer is that Yar’Adua should get well soon so that he can come back to his beat. But before then, since he was said to have signed the appropriation bill on his sick bed in Saudi Arabia, let him also, in conformity with section 145 of the Nigerian constitution transmit a message to the National Assembly that for now, he is not in a position to continue with the rulership of this great country. This will empower the Vice President who is a member of the same party with the President to be sworn in on acting capacity. This has happened in several countries. President Bush momentarily handed over to his Vice, Dick Cheney in 2002 to enable him have a surgical operation. Fidel Castro of Cuba handed over to Raul Castro when he went into the hospital for surgery In July 2006. Anything short of this arrangement is a serious breach of the Nigerian Constitution with very grave repercussions.

Let Yar’Adua concentrate on his health and come back a healthier President. Once he is fit enough, he should inform the National Assembly that he is ready to assume duties.  The vacuum created by the absence of Mr. President has put our democracy on trial. For us to come out clean, all the political actors especially the National Assembly members must apply the constitutional provisions now!  For the President of the most populous country in Africa to be ruling from abroad as e-president and talking to his people through foreign media is unacceptable and insulting to all known sensibilities.

This is not about North or South. It is about the preservation of the corporate entity called Nigeria. It is about the respect for the country’s Constitution, which is the supreme authority that governs this nation. It is about the rule of law in which the chief pontificator is Yar’Adua. It is about trust and confidence in his Vice. These political manoeuvring by the mavericks and tacticians in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) will collapse and throw this country into crisis.

History has shown that social classes do not exist forever. Times were when monarchies reigned supreme. In the 60s, 70s, and 80s; military rule was relished with fervent candour in Africa. Socialism and communism were fashionable at a point in world’s history. But all that have changed. Today, the world is canvassing for democratic governance that is people directed.

Instead of following the democratic precepts as expounded by the originators, Nigeria chose the path of democratic madness, which Fela called democrazy which is elite centred. In this part of the world, we have redefined democracy. It is no longer a government of the people, by the people and for the people but a government of the few rich people, for the few rich people and by the few rich people. This type of democracy stands on its head with its legs up. Since it is self centred, not in consonance with the ideals of those who originally defined democracy; it will not stand the test of time. We cannot continue to behave as if we are not a part of the global network and expect to be among the first 20 economic powers in 2020.

The present day politicians in Nigeria especially the ruling class MUST change their paradigm and do things the right way. Doing it right should start with resolving the present vacuum created by Yar’Adua’s absence through the evocation of the relevant sections of the Constitution. On the President’s health status, the visit of the members of the National assembly members to Saudi Arabia is a waste of our funds because the only way that trip can help us is if they are enpanelled medical experts chosen in consonance with the dictates of the constitution to appraise the status of the President’s health. Since they have refused to empanel a medical panel to take a professional decision on the health status of the President, the only option in resolving the current leadership vacuum in Aso Rock is the application of Section 145 of the Constitution.

Way forward

  • Irrespective of the political divide, political leaders must learn to take rational and objective decisions that are premised on truth and good conscience.
  • The only option in resolving the current leadership vacuum in Aso Rock is the application of Section 145 of the Constitution.
  • The legislators should endeavour to take the constitutional and electoral reforms to logical conclusions before the tenure of the National Assembly expire.
  • The legislators must discuss and pass the Freedom of information Bill, which will assist every Nigerian to source and reveal systemic leakages embarked upon by political office holders.
  • Nigerian leaders must begin to put the interests of the common man and that of Nigeria before theirs at all times.
  • To reverse the declining democratic space, leadership must be premised on accountable, transparent, responsible and good governance.
  • The next elections should be organized with the best of intentions.
  • For the masses, time has come to take your destiny in your hands. Praying without concerted efforts and guided actions are like asking God to score a goal in your opponent’s net without you kicking the ball.
  • The youths must resist the temptation of taking stipends from politicians to take the negative path of being used as political thugs.
  • The senseless killings of political opponents should stop. The killing of Dipo Dina, a former Action Congress candidate in the last elections is a bad omen of things to come.
  • The votes of the people must count; any subversion of the will of the people will spell doom for our democratic experiment.

Except these are done and everybody taking an active role to preserve the sanctity of this nation, we might by our actions or inactions lay a grand design for a massive social change. When this change comes it will not be ordinary. Will it be through the ballot box? Not likely but possible. Will the change ever come, yes it shall. Then, Will it be through mass mobilization or violence?  I do not have the answer(s). The answers rest with the ruling class and Nigerians. The choices of the mode of change will be theirs to determine. What will galvanize the masses towards the direction of the desired change shall be dependent on the action(s) of the political class. The Anambra governorship election in February 2010 will be a test case. The 2011 general elections will be the preview of what the future holds for Nigerians. From then on, anything is possible.

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