What kind of democracy exists in Nigeria?

There is currently a debate going on about the 25 long years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria. As is usual with all debates, the subject of this debate is also divided among divergent views, with some opinions agreeing that the period in question has brought development and prosperity to the nation, while others hold opposing views.

Democracy, this sweet word that many politicians like to sing its songs, is the most abused word. What it claims to offer the nation is oftentimes exaggerated. What baffles me about this system is the obsession we have for it. We are made to believe that it is the best form of government ever evolved by humanity.

According to Idebate (the International Debate Education Association), both dictatorship and democracy do not automatically result in development. Both systems are not a recipe for an increase in human wellbeing, which can be evidenced by improved education, health, lifestyles, and security.

This is because there are examples of democracies that grapple with problems of development, such as India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, to mention a few. In the same vein, there are a lot of instances where autocracies have failed to develop too. On the other side of the coin, there are both cases where democracies have developed, such as in many western countries such as the UK, US, and France, and cases where states have developed under a more autocratic system, such as in Russia, South Korea, Singapore, and China.

The monumental and unprecedented economic growth and prosperity China achieved in the recent past has debunked the popular view that all dictatorships are entirely bad. As bad as it seems to be, dictatorship might be better than democracies at encouraging at least the initial stages of growth, according to this school of thought.

In Nigeria, where we have experimented with democracy at different times for more than 30 years since the birth of the country as a nation, we almost always tend to lose sight of the fact that democracy is a disappointing experiment that involves periodic elections and the tossing out of those who have been in power because the people are fed up with them.

It is routine for politicians who feed fat on democracy to come to the electorate with promises to make things better by bringing about various improvements that will better the lives of the ordinary folk. The rhetoric and gimmickry of politicians deceive the voters. Politicians subject themselves deceivingly to rigorous public scrutiny of their actions to prove that those soliciting their votes are open-minded, spotless, and therefore have nothing to hide. It is based on this deceit that people vote politicians to power.

No sooner had they taken over the mantle of leadership than discontentment surfaced, and people became disenchanted with this new set of leaders too. This will then open another window of opportunity to other different crop of politicians to turn up, promising that everything will be better under their leadership. Sadly, the circle of disappointment in search of good politicians goes on and on and on.

Calling this sham system we operate as democracy is a misnomer and abuse of our collective consciousness. Unfortunately, this is what we have been doing in Nigeria. We misconstrue democracy to mean the periodic conduct of elections and the passing of batons between old and new politicians.

The highhandedness of the political elites in Nigeria has led to the bastardization of the central tenets of democracy because of the erosion of party supremacy and the real separation of power among the 3 arms of government. There is no democracy in a system that gives room to the executive arm to wield enormous power and control over the legislature and judiciary.

As it is today in Nigeria, the leadership of the upper and lower houses in the National Assembly are selected by the executive. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is the principal culprit to be held responsible for the bastardization of the principle of separation of power and checks and balances in our polity.

In an article written by Igwebuike Nwokoroigwe in the Punch edition of May 3, 2019, he stated that everything changed in Nigeria by the time President Obasanjo "got his men running the party as NWC members and NEC members to illegally amend the party constitution just to reserve the position of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) for only former presidents who are members of his party, knowing full well that he was the only former president at the time!"

The President of Nigeria and leader of the ruling party, OBJ became the Alpha and Omega and the fulcrum. He orchestrated the impeachment of Senate Presidents Evans Eweram and Dr. Chuba Okadibo as Presidents of the Senate. The absence of internal party democracy in our political parties explains the reason former PDP Chairmen, from Solomon Lar to Barnabas Gemade, Audu Ogbeh, Vincent Ogbulafor, Okwesilieze Nwodo, and Bamanga Tukur, were forced out of office in controversial circumstances. Nobody could today contest any elective office or become anything under the platform of the ruling party in Nigeria without the permission of the President.

In the same way Obasanjo ruled the nation with an iron fist, governors in their states also became super powerful and ran the states in the same manner. Like crowned despots, they rule with absolute power and authority. They deliverately and consistently refuse to conduct local government council elections but appoint their cronies as chairpersons instead. Those sidekicks they impose on the people as Local Government Secretaries or chairpersons are the willing tools they used to loot the treasury of the states. They institutionalize corruption and abuse power with impunity. The supercilious governors are so full of themselves that no one dares to approach them for advice. This is the sad reality of the situation which our people are governed under a sham arrangement called western liberal democracy.

The worst and most condemnable deception is the deception of the poor by the political elites. They partly appeal to the emotions of the poor electorate and partly take advantage of their credulity, ignorance, and poverty during the electioneering campaign, then lord it over them. Democracy does not have meaning to the poor man who is angry, hungry, homeless, insecure, and hopeless because the system he expects too much from fails to provide his basic needs.

There is no argument that democracy can offer a good prospect for national development in a heterogeneous country like Nigeria. Democracy is also prioritized because it is assumed that it has the magic wand to effectively deal with inter- and intragroup conflicts, bring food to the large poor population, secure lives and property from wanton destruction, give employment to the millions of agile young Nigerian men and women, give shelter to our countrymen who are homeless, and enroll the millions of out-of-school children who roam our streets as street urchins.

The Nigerian experience with democracy is not pleasant because democracy and the political elites who feed fat on the system have failed to address even the basic problems of the common man in the country. It is high time our leaders stopped the deception called democracy and lead with human face to improve the living condition of the citizenry. Nigerians will be happy with any system that will alleviate their suffering. The adage goes, " a stich in time saves nine." It is better for the leaders to act now and avoid future problems that might shake the foundations of the nation.

Saleh Bature, the author who wrote in this piece from Limpopo street, Maitama, Abuja, can be reached. bear [email protected]