Is Nigeria practicing democracy on the breach? The Nation Newspaper

The greatest single virtue of A legislature is not what it can do but what it can prevent – J. William Fulbright

Nigeria is the most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past decades, especially during the oil boom periods post-independence, the then Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (Rtd.) is recorded to have boasted that money was not the country’s problem but how to spend it. Whether that statement was made out of youthful exuberance or lack of visionary economic planning is yet to be ascertained from him.

Due to the petro-dollars, Nigeria became the big brother in Africa and even beyond to other developing nations. Most African countries especially the South African countries were huge beneficiaries as the country helped a great deal in their fight for independence and the abolition of apartheid. The country was doing relatively well despite the post-independence civil war. Then came the series of coups and counter coups that sacked the civilian government of late Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1983.

Things began to fall apart in Nigeria with all the coups and counter coups and with the nature of military governments with no checks and balances, the Head of State had enormous powers. The economic fortunes of the country began to impact on the people and even with the return of civil democracy in 1999, it is still difficult for the country to maximize its potentials and reduce the powers of the presidency.

The result is that today, Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world with more than eighteen million out-of-school children, high unemployment and underemployment rates, high maternal and child mortality rates, poor infrastructural development, one of the five most terrorized countries of the world and other sad indices of poverty and underdevelopment.

The election that is set for 2023 has literarily set the country on the edge as politics of the presidency takes center stage. The political parties moved from debates on the issues of zoning between North and South to that of ethnicity and now to religion as it concerns the Vice Presidential candidates. Beyond these were also intra-party crisis especially within the two biggest political parties, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Roundtable Conversation feels that the successive civilian governments seem to have failed in returning the country to the path of development because Nigeria’s democracy seems to have weak legislative bodies at both state and federal levels. The executive arm of government at both levels seems very imperial often veiled as executive-legislative harmony or party loyalty even when the political parties have no identifiable political ideological leanings.

The Roundtable believes that the exaggerated emphasis on the presidency removes attention from the legislature that is equally a strong pillar of any democracy. Since 1999, there has been too much power ceded to the presidency and the governors in ways that it has affected the democracy we practice.

Democracy thrives on the viability of checks and balances and the Nigerian people must realize that although the presidency is very important, more attention must be paid to the other two arms, the judiciary and the legislature and because only the executive and legislature stand for elections, a lot of attention is needed if Nigeria must make progress. It is delusional to assume that the executive alone can bring the development of the country needs.

The Roundtable Conversation had a chat with Chido Nwakamma, a journalist and communications strategist. Asked why Nigerians seem too focused on the Presidency to the detriment of other arms of government like the legislature which in turn has affected the value of the democracy being practiced, Nwakamma believes that there is no smoke without fire and that Nigeria seems to practice an imperial kind of presidency. With that comes enormous powers that affect every aspect of leadership including political party leadership. Somehow the state governors too seem to replicate the same system at the state levels. He believes there must be a legislative awakening to make our democracy functional by making laws to reduce the powers of the presidency.

He equally believes that the fact that the media is fixed on Abuja the political capital and Lagos the Commercial capital, attention does not cascade down to the states and local governments and there are not many state and local media to zoom the searchlight on the activities of the local politicians who go to the local legislative houses and even the federal legislature. These omissions tend to him to remove attention from those levels of leadership and leave the people rightly focusing on the seat with the most powers.

Besides the skewed media attention on the political and commercial capitals, Nwakamma believes that the middle class in Nigeria has been playing the ostrich and have been docile or shown too much political apathy that the political class are not held to account. He believes that at the local levels, the people tend to be more involved in political activities unlike the city middle class that seem very insular to political engagements.

He believes it is the duty of the Nigerian middle class, pauperized as they are to set the barricades and hold leaders accountable because most of them are their peers or classmates. A better and more committed engagement by the middle class in Nigeria would help restructure the governance system. The legislative arm must be made to work and fulfill its duties to the people and by so doing get a better country where the dividends of democracy is about the people and not individuals.

The Nigerian middle class must take a cue from those of other nations with viable democracies. Being politically aware and engaging the process must not be left to the ‘professional’ politicians. Their engagement would revitalize the legislative arms at all levels and reinvigorate the democracy we practice. It is delusional for the Nigerian middle class to feel that just having the basics of life and sending their children abroad to study solves the leadership problems in the country. They must roll up their sleeves and get to work. There must be continued advocacy and education he said.

The purpose of government is the welfare of the people and if the present structure is not catering to that, then it is time to make changes and that has to be on the shoulders of the legislative arm of government. It is time to focus on those going to that level of leadership from the ward, state to the National Assembly. Interest must be on the quality and pedigree of those going there in ways that at least they understand the roles of the legislature in a democracy.

The Roundtable Conversation equally had a conversation with Ugbeva Eromosele, an engineer and public affairs analyst who has worked in both private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy and a keen observer of the Nigerian political space. He believes that Nigeria is a developing democracy and the huge emphasis on the presidency is not totally misplaced. To him, it is important that the head of any institution or government comes to the job with a sense of mission and as such must be armed with clear leadership qualities. In the Nigerian circumstance, he believes that a good President has the capacity to lead the country into building a strong system which will in turn impact on all structures of government.

The head matters a lot. When a President for instance has the discipline, the moral strength and experience needed for his position, he would begin to redirect the focus of government agencies and ministries and he will instinctively be able to make changes in the psyche of everyone including the legislature in a way that without being authoritarian, change begins to happen.

A competent president and his vice through their team selection might begin to bring changes if they make merit and competence in their watchword. Their actions would cascade down the other arms of government. An independent judiciary and the competent law enforcement agencies are also very important because they would keep everyone in check. The authority of the federal government would be more impactful if we depart from the present system where states are just allowed to operate mini fiefdoms where governors behave like they own their state resources.

The Roundtable Conversation is of the view that Nigerian democracy cannot birth development if the system does not change. Democracy as a system of government has its tenets and can only produce good results when the tenets are adhered to. The country cannot do the same thing all the time and expect a different result.

We have seen all the recent political events in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was virtually forced to resign as the head of the Conservative Party following the mass resignation of some Tory MPs. The power in any democracy belongs to the people and no single individual or group of individuals can be so powerful that they disrupt the system.

The Nigerian people must equally realize that they have to engage the political system and must be involved in the political process by being active participants. While the presidency is an important position in any country, the legislature at all levels is equally very important and must get equal attention. Citizens must be willing to challenge the candidates. Important as the Presidency is, it is one individual. There must be legislative adjustments to cede some executive powers to the Vice President and deputy governors for balance and optimum performance of the party in power.

The dialogue continues…

Comments are closed.