The rotational presidency bill was among seven bills recently rejected by the House of Representatives. The bill seeking to alter the 1999 Constitution to provide for the rotation of the President and the Vice President among the six geo-political zones was sponsored by the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu. While some members of the Lower House saw merit in the bill, others didn’t hence it was rejected.
However, in a diverse country with over 250 ethnic groups and languages and faith, there is, indeed, nothing wrong with power rotation at any level of government. Those behind the rotational presidency bill meant well for the country and should be highly commended for their high sense of patriotism. Every democracy has its local peculiarities and colours. Ours should not be different. Our presidential system of government should incorporate local inputs and additives to tender to our special needs.
Although we have power rotation of the presidency between the North and South since 1999, in practice the presidency has rotated between the North-West and the South-West. The emergence of President Goodluck Jonathan on the scene was accidental. That can explain his being denied the eight-year reign. In an atmosphere of structural, political and economic marginalization of some parts of the country, the best way to assuage the feelings of those marginalized and give them a sense of belonging is by power sharing or rotational presidency.
There is, indeed, nothing unusual about rotational presidency. If it can be rotated between North and South, it can also be rotated among the six geo-political zones. That is the best way to ensure equity and fairness to all the geo-political zones in the country. If we can gather in Abuja every month and share revenue largely obtained from our oil and gas from the Niger Delta region, it naturally beckons that the presidency and the vice presidency should be allowed to rotate among the six geo-political zones.
This arrangement, which has been adopted by some countries, is not against merit or competence. After all, every geo-political zone has an array of competent men and women that should occupy such posts. If we can practise quota system for varsity admissions, military service, civil service, we must do it for the presidency and the vice presidency so that every zone should have the taste of the central power and have a feeling that their own person has been there.
Our argument is that the presidency must go round all the six geo-political zones before we start thinking of anything else. Countries which have used one form of power rotation or the other are Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, North Macedonia, Romania and Turkey. Power rotation or power sharing fosters stability and inclusivity among a diverse people. Power rotation between the North and South is already in practice. Making power rotation go around the six geo-political zones does not amount to setting ‘a dangerous precedent’ as some lawmakers would have us believe. Rather it would strengthen our fragile democracy and unity.
It is also not true that the Federal Character Commission has addressed the power rotation issue. It didn’t even touch it talk less of addressing it. The party zoning arrangement though good, did not adequately address the issue of power rotation among the six geo-political zones. The rotation of the presidency and the vice will not encourage mediocrity; it will definitely bring out the best in each zone. Every zone in Nigeria has suitably qualified candidates for the job of the presidency.
Anybody with West African School Certificate (WASC) or its equivalent is qualified to aspire to the office of the president and the vice. Having a degree or higher qualification is an added advantage. The bill will address marginalization and promote fairness. I urge the House of Reps to revisit the bill and pass it into law in view of its many positive sides.
While the Reps quickly rejected the power rotation bill, they swiftly approved the bill for mandatory or compulsory voting. The mandatory voting bill proposed 6-month imprisonment or N100,000 fine for defaulters. This audacious and self-serving bill has even passed second reading. In a nutshell, the bill seeks to make voting mandatory during elections in the country. The bill wants to make it compulsory for Nigerians who have attained the age of 18 to register and vote in elections.
All Nigerians who have attained the age of 18 and above must by this bill vote, whether they like it or not. If they fail to vote, all of them must be thrown into jail for six months or be made to pay a fine of N100,000 for such temerity. Since independence in 1960, Nigerians have been voting without being coerced to do so. Why this sudden draconian and unconstitutional bill to force all Nigerians to register and vote politicians into office, whether they are providing democracy dividends or not?
In most democracies, there is no law that forces people to register and vote. It is a civic duty which people can do or not. People can protest by not voting during elections, Some Nigerians have good reasons not to participate in the democratic process. Their votes do not count in most circumstances. Their choice does not matter. The wishes of the electorate are not respected. The ballot does not determine who wins election in Nigeria, the courts do.
Many Nigerians participated in the 2023 elections because they want change. At the end of the day, the election was marred by technical glitches and their hopes were dashed. Since then, subsequent off-cycle polls were not spared of technical glitches. And the courts have been busy determining the outcome of our elections. Now the federal lawmakers want to make voting compulsory for all of us so that we must vote for them by fire and by force. If compulsory voting has worked in Europe and America, it will not work in Nigeria, where the citizens do not gain anything from the government.
Nigerian citizens provide their own security, water, electricity and even roads. They provide their own health and schools. They virtually provide everything for themselves. This obnoxious and selfish bill should be thrown to the trash can despite having passed a second reading. It is coercive and dangerous and can never be implemented if passed into law. Nigerians will brazenly defy it.
Let the lawmakers discard it forever and think of laws that will improve the standard of living of all Nigerians. We need basic things as food, shelter, health, education, water, light, roads and not mandatory voting law. Nigerians can go out and vote when their votes start counting. A persuasive approach by the lawmakers would have been better than this coercive bill.