There is no doubt that there are inherent problems with Nigeria’s democracy as being practised today. At a recent colloquium to mark the 60th birthday anniversary of former Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, in Abuja, some prominent Nigerians reiterated some of these problems. These eminent Nigerians include former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah; the Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass. While some of them believe that our democracy is making steady progress, some others feel it is crumbling.
However, we believe that our democracy has made some progress, but there are many loopholes that need to be closed. One of them is suppression of the freedom of expression. Today in Nigeria, journalists are still being arrested and detained on trumped up charges. In August last year, some Nigerians went to the streets to protest hunger and hardship in the country. Security agents not only manhandled and arrested some of them; they also charged them with treason.
Besides, there are three arms of government in Nigeria. Currently, the executive appears to have a strong grip on the other two arms. For instance, the recent declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State led to the suspension of the governor, deputy and all the members of the State House of Assembly. Many legal minds believe that the suspension was done in error. This negates the principle of true federalism.
The third arm of government, the judiciary, has lost the confidence of many Nigerians. Certain judgements emanating from the courts lack the basic elements of justice. Sometimes, the judges base their judgments on technicalities. This situation is worse in election petition matters. The worst is that the executive now picks the court orders to obey and the ones to ignore. Equally wrong is the way and manner we have conducted our elections in recent times. It is obvious that the wishes of the electorate are not respected most times. Regrettably, some security agents have made themselves willing tools in the hands of some political actors who do not like free and fair elections. This should stop.
Election is the cornerstone of any democracy. It gives people the power to decide who governs them. But what we have observed in recent times is that some powerful politicians rig elections and ask their opponents to go to court, believing that the seemingly compromised court will stamp their rigged election with a favourable judgement. This is partly why many voters have lost confidence in our elections and have decided to stay away from exercising their franchise. In the 2023 presidential election, for instance, only about 27 per cent of voters turned up to vote. This happens to be the lowest turnout in the history of presidential elections in Nigeria.
The bill in the National Assembly to jail eligible voters who fail to exercise their franchise in state and national elections will not solve the problem. What will solve it is transparent management of our electoral system. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must be truly independent of the machinations of the people in power. This calls for serious electoral reforms in the country. Electronic voting is the right way to go. The introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) are the right steps, but politicians still found a way to circumvent them in the last general election.
Perhaps, we should go to countries like Liberia, Senegal and Ghana to learn how to conduct credible elections. One good lesson to learn from these countries is that their electoral umpires started and concluded the process of electing their leaders, not the courts. Here in Nigeria, most of our elections end up in the courts because the process is usually flawed from the beginning. Judiciary should not hijack the functions of the INEC. And this can only be realized if the process is not just credible but seen to be so.
A few people have hijacked our democracy and the onus is on every Nigerian to have interest in how to redeem it. Our political elite revel in profligacy and are mainly interested in what goes into their pockets. This is not the democracy Nigerians fought for. Restructuring of the political system is one major way forward. There is too much concentration of power at the centre. This has orchestrated the constant fight to win national elections at all costs. This has to stop if we desire to strengthen our democracy.