By Casmir Igbokwe
Danish author, Hans Christian Andersen, appeared to have seen Nigeria’s current democratic debacle a long time ago. In his 1837 fable, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’, Andersen tells us how a vain emperor is sold an imaginary suit by two salesmen who convince him that the clothing is only visible to the wise. For fear of being seen as foolish, everybody admires the emperor’s nice outfit until a child comes up at a big parade to point out loudly that the emperor is naked.
We have a near-similar situation in Nigeria today. There are certain characters, especially those who feed fat from the crumbs of the presidency, who always try to convince our President that he has an outfit which is beautiful and incomparable to any other one in the world. They say our democracy is alive and well; that the President has renewed the hope of millions of Nigerians; and that he is a strong man who has taken some bold steps which his predecessors were afraid to take.
Happily, there are some other Nigerians who have not failed to tell our President the bitter truth. I saw a cartoon recently which speaks volumes about the current state of democracy in Nigeria. In it, the President, representing the executive arm of government, stands tall with two side pockets in his flowing gown. Inside one pocket is a face that resembles that of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun. In the other pocket is another face which looks like that of the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio. Ironically, we have three independent arms of government in Nigeria.
Many Nigerians have actually complained about the country’s failing democracy. But it appears the more they complain, the worse the situation becomes. At a recent colloquium to mark the 60th birthday anniversary of former Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, many eminent Nigerians reiterated the ills of our democracy.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, for instance, said democracy in Africa failed because it didn’t inculcate our culture and way of life. The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, noted that Nigeria’s democracy seemed to work for a few selected people.
To the Labour Party Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, everything about our democracy has been knocked down. He recalled how some leaders, including Obasanjo, tried to intervene on his behalf when the Anambra State House of Assembly wanted to impeach him as governor. This was despite the fact that he was not in the same party with them. Even when he was impeached, some of these leaders still expressed concern about his safety. The court eventually restored his mandate. Today, he regretted, the President would impeach the person.
“If you look at where we are today, it is like they started in 1999, laid the foundation; some people came and took it to the decking; and some people were trying to raise it to the first floor; and some people came and knocked everything down,” Obi lamented.
To the President’s cheerleaders, our democracy is making progress. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, says “Nigeria is making steady progress despite varying challenges characteristic of a developing nation.”
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Obi’s comment was hyperbolic, and made without deep reflection. “Only a discontented and disgruntled Peter, who benefits from the very free speech democracy provides, could perceive such a democratic downfall through his lens,” Onanuga vomited in his X handle.
Part of our problems is that we have weak institutions in Nigeria. A few people have hijacked power and have been using it to the detriment of the majority of Nigerians. They rig elections and dare you to go to court. In the courts, technicality supersedes justice. The judges could make someone who didn’t contest a senatorial election to be a distinguished senator and, invariably, a Senate President.
It was unfortunate that the British colonialists did not reckon with the diversity and fault lines in Nigeria before drawing the country’s borders. These fault lines play out in most of our actions. In the 2023 general election, for instance, some ethnic bigots and members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) warned a section of the country not to come out and vote in Lagos. True to their threats, they attacked many of those who dared to come out. The harassment and intimidation of voters partly led to the very low turnout of voters in that election. At about 27 per cent, the turnout was the lowest in Nigeria’s history of presidential elections. And we say our democracy is making steady progress!
How can it make steady progress when the powers that be choose the court orders to obey and the ones to ignore? In the current Rivers State crisis, the Supreme Court in its wisdom, ordered that the federal allocations to the State be withheld. It is to be released after a properly constituted House of Assembly passes the appropriation bill. Curiously, the funds were released to the Sole Administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, whom the President appointed recently to take over from the suspended governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara.
Even, the process followed in the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers and the suspension of the governor is flawed. The National Assembly was supposed to approve it with two-third majority of members. But they chose to do voice vote which ridiculed the whole process and cast question marks on the integrity of the lawmakers. This is why the allegation that they were bribed in dollars to approve the emergency rule gained traction and could not be controverted.
It is worthy to note that in our brand of democracy, freedom of speech is guaranteed in the constitution. But freedom after speech is not guaranteed. Last year, a number of journalists were arrested and detained on phantom charges. During the regime of Muhammadu Buhari, Twitter, now known as X, was banned for over one year on flimsy reasons.
We can still redeem our democracy if we choose to. In November 1929, thousands of women in Aba in the present-day Abia State rose to protest the unjust rule of warrant chiefs appointed by the colonialists. In 2020, Nigerian youths took to the streets to protest the brutal actions of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). Tagged #EndSARS protests, the action led to some panicky measures by the authorities and the unfortunate killing of some youths.
We need to restructure our political and electoral systems such that the three arms of government can be truly independent and act as a check on one another. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must also be truly independent such that not even the judiciary can hijack its functions. Security agents must be neutral and should stop pandering to the undue dictates of the people in power.
True federalism or devolution of powers is the way to go. The President, as we have it today, has enormous powers. This is too dangerous for our democracy. Going back to the 2014 national conference report may be a good way to start.
Many Nigerians have made the above suggestions countless times. But there has not been any headway in terms of implementation. There may not be for now. Or do you expect someone with feeding bottle filled with milk and honey to willingly remove it from his mouth? Until our emperor understands that he is naked and needs new clothes of selfless, accountable and pragmatic leadership, we will continue to suffer the indignities of a poorly-governed country.
Re: Catholic Bishops and Tinubu’s phantom bold steps
These are perilous times in Nigeria, times that task honest men’s souls. It is now that Nigeria has really descended to the Hobbesian State of Nature but the irony this time is that the lawlessness in the land is being orchestrated by the government itself. It is obvious that nothing captures the helplessness that pervades the land like Bishop Onah’s assertion that any society where the rulers are no longer afraid of the people is doomed.
The tripodal hegemony (TAW) which currently holds Nigeria by the jugular are three men with the least regard for the sentiments of the populace and rule of law. The worst trait binding them is their aversion to criticism, they brook no resistance and care less about the effects of their actions on the polity. They wield absolute powers.
Take the case of the State of Emergency in Rivers State; will any decent government take such a rash decision? Will any honourable representatives of the people ratify such opprobrious act of the executive with the type of levity our legislators applied? Will any real independent populace accept such anomaly and move on as if nothing untoward happened?
At this odious time in our national life with the manifest total submission and helplessness of the masses to the trampling of the powers that be, the task of redeeming democracy or what remains of it in Nigeria lies with associations like the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). The NBA must gird its loins to save constitutional rule in Nigeria. It is expected of the leadership of the NBA to lead the next mass action, they are the only one in pole position to salvage the situation. For a start, what will it cost the NBA to call out its members to boycott all the Courts in the country till the right thing is done? This is a clarion call to the Nigeria Bar Association, the citizenry is confused, downcast and forlorn.
-Aloy Uzoekwe, Awka, Anambra State, 08038503174
