NIGERIA AND ILLUSIONS OF DEMOCRACY

To endure, the organs of democratic government must serve the interests of the majority, argues IFEANYICHUKWU AFUBA 

A memorable feature of Biafra’s rallying cry during the civil war was the radio jingle that the “price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” Man’s freedom is perpetually under threat, thus, underlining the necessity for protection of liberties. In a presumed age of enlightenment; in the very heart of modern civilisation, Russia is bombarding Ukraine with missiles to seize as much Ukrainian territory as possible. China, intent on swallowing Taiwan, tries to freeze the people’s aspiration for independence, flaunting her military superpower on the island’s waters. And _like play, like play,_ without any provocation, America’s Donald Trump is talking about annexing Greenland and Canada! Democracies too are under constant risk of subversion and Nigeria’s Fourth Republic democracy is not exempted from the threat. Before our very eyes, a senator is hounded like a common criminal for voicing leadership misconduct. An elected Governor’s sacrosanct mandate is tossed aside like a handkerchief and the deed ostensibly legitimised with parliamentary approval!

Democracy essentially is about freedom and fundamental rights. However, democratic freedoms are not necessarily guaranteed nor safeguarded under democratic systems. The mere observance of democratic protocols does not equate participatory government. A State can hold regular elections even as she closes the space for political expression and participation. It’s not rare to find elections in which the electorate do not have any real choices to make from the ballot paper. To what extent is the electoral authority independent? To what extent is the electoral process transparent and impartial? In 2007, INEC chairman, Maurice Iwu, declared that the environment for a free and fair election did not exist. As it were, a bare democratic system can legally enthrone and periodically renew dictatorships with democratic mandates! A sample of democratic dictatorships shows Paul Biya’s 42 year rule in Cameroon. Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni has been in office for 38 years. Vladimir Putin has had 26 years of prime ministership and presidential power. Tayyip Erdogan is currently on combined 22 years of rulership in Turkey. These guys are the most hardworking, most brilliant, most popular and selfless individuals in their countries, winning every poll since their ascent by landslides! Here, at home, we saw general Ibrahim Babangida’s daring attempt to transmute to civilian President through endorsement of the House of Representatives. It was only House Speaker Agunwa Anaekwe’s bold resolve that stopped the ambitious general. Thirteen years later, another general, Olusegun Obasanjo sought to extend his expiring mandate using the decoy of constitution amendment. It ended in another rare win for democracy.

Everywhere, democracy is confronted by the cult of power. The craving for power, the appetite for dominance, the craze for absolute authority, sets up enmity against consensus models. Robert Michels who propounded the famous treatise, the iron law of oligarchy, submitted that organisations, systems, democracy included, eventually become oligarchic. That is to say, that as they grow and assume formal processes, institutions are ruled by a minority. As strategically placed actors in a democracy acquire more power, the tendency is to bend the rules to suit their interests and ultimately to seek to exercise veto power. The situation goes from bad to worse in the case of a docile population that will not stand up for their rights. Democracy, at this juncture, is largely stripped of openness, responsibility and accountability. The resulting scenario would be the existence of democratic structures without democratic order. The oligarchs would seek to govern with 

democracy – designed but democracy – non compliant instruments.

Sadly, the quest for power, maximum power if you will, has forced democracy in Nigeria on exile. Exile is not only a physical deprivation. It’s more of an attack on the senses. Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, a man who lived through thirteen years of the experience told us in _Because I Am Involved_: “Soon it was clear that exile was not so much the separation from kith and kin, rather it was an assault on the mind. Exile is designed to unhinge the mind of the exile.” It would appear that there’s a psychological plot playing out. A political game of mental conditioning seems to be going on. The absurdities of Senator Natasha Akpoti – Uduaghan’s suspension and appointive administrator of Rivers State are so glaring that even the blind would flinch from walking those paths. Aside the fact that there are judicial precedents invalidating such political excesses, the outrage that accompanied their introduction, should have sufficed to spur a review. But not a jot of concession. The illegalities were rammed through, to the extent that even the State’s federation allocation withheld from the Governor by order of the Supreme Court, has reportedly been released to Mr Administrator. Since nature abhors vacuum, the logic of the maneuvers seems to say, Nigerians then have to contend with the reality before them. Former Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi put the crisis in perspective. THISDAY, March 30, 2025 quoted Amaechi as saying:

 “The president wants a power grab. They want to frighten governors who may not support them in 2027. So, there is a rumour everywhere that if you are not careful, the president will remove you.” 

 Look at the whimpering shell the National Assembly has been reduced to. For good reasons, the legislature is widely regarded as sanctuary of the democratic tradition. Through the power of lawmaking, committee deliberation and oversight, the legislature exerts control and checks on the other arms of government. Wherever the legislature has served as agent of good governance, it did so by being a critical voice on executive proposals, by interrogating and adding value to public policy. Now, what is left of a National Assembly that has been reduced to a rubber stamp? What type of a parliament is it that closes eyes to provisions of the Constitution to pass illegal resolutions?

What hope lies in a National Assembly that lacks sensitivity of upholding democratic values and institutions? An air of unease now envelopes the Senate. Will senators still find the courage to make interventions in the interest of the masses? Senator Natasha’s treatment is a message of intimidation. Upset the apple cart and you go on suspension. The stifling of dissent is incompatible with the democratic spirit. Unfortunately, the gravity of this situation may be shielded by the sense of a functioning democracy. That’s the danger of illusions.

Nigerians tend to make the mistake of regarding democracy as an end in itself. Some would argue that the worst form of democracy is better than the most progressive military dictatorship. Benevolent or not, Nigerians, have ditched military rule for the past 25 years, and prayerfully, forever. But we should not go with the impression that democracy is incorruptible. Democracy can and does degenerate to dictatorship, lawful dictatorship for that matter, where the citizens are complacent. Just as there can be endless movement without motion, the taste of democracy is not in the number of democratic institutions nor the number of their enactments. Democratic systems must continually be renewed. To endure, the organs of democratic government must serve the interests of the majority. It’s no democracy unless and until the elected leaders are accountable to the electorate. In effect, public opinion counts in the considerations of democratic – minded leaders. Indeed, leaders who see themselves as servants of the people, actually go out to encounter the people in their various stations for firsthand reports. There’s a video of the current Prime Minister of Grenada walking the streets unescorted by guards, mingling and chatting with citizens as members of a society with common destiny. It’s a clip with useful lessons about government of the people.

Afuba writes from Awka