It is exactly 27 years today when a historic presidential election was held and its outcome criminally overturned by a rapacious junta. The desire of the evil and oppressive Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha regimes to annul the poll also had a particularly sinister dehumanising and macabre political logic, in addition to its primordial barbaric dimensions. However, the ensuing national struggle for liberty delivered a seriously flawed constitution, which returned the country to civil rule on May 29, 1999 and humbled the military back to the barracks.
The unwavering commitment of the people to the ideals of June 12 culminated in the recognition of the day as the annual Democracy Day by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). It is also to commemorate that indelible polling day in 1993 when the Nigerian people, across ethnic, religious and demographic fault lines, invested their hopes in freedom in Moshood Abiola, the winner of the election and the supreme sacrifice he paid in his bid to reclaim his mandate.
Sadly, almost three decades after, rather than widespread celebrations, despondency still pervades the land as Nigerians face the bitter reality that the democratic promise of liberty and the pursuit of happiness have been soured terribly by visionless leadership, a warped constitution and a complacent citizenry. Instead of the enthronement of democracy, the people paid dearly for the toxic mix that has merely delivered a civil rule with all its attendant failings.
Today, the Nigerian state is a practical demonstration of the concept of systemic isomorphic mimicry, which Pritchett Lant, Michael Woolcock and Matt Andrews describe as the outward forms (appearances, structures) of functional states and organisations elsewhere adopted to camouflage a persistent lack of functionality in failed states. Thus, Nigerians are learning the hard way that entrenching democracy and its immense power to unleash the creative and productive powers of the people goes beyond outward trappings of periodic elections, existence of legislature and other shambolic symbols of government. Democracy becomes a mere veneer for a few to corner power and public treasury when these isomorphic institutions fail to achieve the real democratic goals of personal, political and economic liberty and the pursuit of the greatest good for the greatest number.
More than two decades of the civil rule charade, it is numbingly depressing that a majority of Nigerians do not perceive their lives to be better. Corruption still defines governance, accentuating poverty and inequality, economic loss and inefficiency, public and private sector dysfunction, failures in infrastructure, rigged economic and political systems, impunity and partial justice, organised crime and terrorism and diminished state capacity. As corruption, in particular, state capture, becomes the new normal, public frustration and cynicism pervade the land. The fundamental elements of democracy; rule of law, social justice, citizens’ participation, responsible political parties, active free press, independent parliament and judiciary, in nominal existence are similarly under onslaught.
Progress can be measured by a look at how far the country has gone in attaining these key elements of democracy. For the past 27 years, it has been difficult to deepen these basic values because the executive arm is meanly reckless; the legislature pathetically weak and the judiciary dangerously compromised. The three, of course, share a common DNA: corruption. Dictators or at best censorious authoritarians have been parading themselves as democrats. Their common enemy is free speech.
Democracy is endangered when the citizens are docile and liberty is imperilled when the media is gagged. Seeing something that the government claims is good and pointing out why it is bad is a major feature of democracy and an essential function of journalism. Indeed, it is one of democracy’s most crucial safeguards. While the imperiously brash Olusegun Obasanjo government had so much contempt for the press, the clueless Goodluck Jonathan administration used surly advertising to reward subservience and punish uppityness in the media.
The visionless Buhari regime is also trying to intimidate the media into docility. The regime is planning to criminalise “hate speech,” under a law that may require mass surveillance and close monitoring of social media.
Yet, it is acknowledged in free societies that what counts as offensive is subjective, so “hate speech” laws can be elastic tools for criminalising dissent. The United States’ founding fathers had this in mind with the First Amendment, which states in part that “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Despite the country’s vibrant press, it ranked a poor 115 out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index 2020, where Ghana was 30th, South Africa 31st and Burkina Faso 38th. In defiance of the constitution and court judgements, the government is locking people up; recent cases in Kaduna, Katsina, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states for the non-existent offence of “insulting the president” or a state governor explain the people’s misery.
Corruption has ballooned, including what Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo called “grand corruption,” where people can simply remove public funds from the banks.
The constitutionally contrived separation of powers among the executive, the parliament and the judiciary that are acknowledged as a major plank of representative rule is weak. At the National Assembly, it has been a pattern of legislators permanently seeking group and personal aggrandisement; governors have reduced state assemblies to abject subservience, thereby making short shrift of the delicate system of checks and balances. The dysfunction is made complete by the weakening of the judiciary through corruption and intimidation by disobedience of court orders.
Getting elections right and having people of integrity to seek public office are basic priorities for good governance. The distinguishing factor of a democracy is also a parliament and legislators that are the custodians of the people’s aspirations and mandate. But far from being defenders of the people’s rights and promoters of the security and welfare of the people, the federal and state legislators are perceived as pathetically selfish individuals who are mainly concerned about feathering their own nests. The critical assignments of making good laws, exercising oversight over the executive and keeping an eagle eye on public funds have gravely suffered.
Perhaps the greatest dashed hope is the failure to reform institutions, restructure the country away from the unitary system the soldiers imposed and back true federalism, the only sure route to rapid progress in a diverse polity.
Protecting the democratic values requires active participation by the people; but Nigerians have been missing in action, largely leaving the space for politicians to define, direct and corner the benefits of civil rule. Inclusion and liberty are never achieved on a platter; they could be a long drawn affair. The people need to constantly exert pressure to attain the ideals. French democracy has its watchwords of “liberty, equality and fraternity,” but citizens reserve their right to pour into the streets to assert their preferences, irrespective of representative state institutions. “People power” shapes South Korean democracy when officials and institutions stumble.
Nigerians too need to regain their energy and enthusiasm in holding public office holders to account.
Expectations about the proper stewardship and accountability for public money go back many centuries in functional democracies. Generations of politicians and public officials have recognised the significance of the proper handling of public funds, the need to combat fraud and corruption and the importance of getting the most from tax revenue. Many activists, journalists, students, lawyers, trade unions, professionals, market women, teachers and academics stood up heroically against oppression under colonial, military and defunct civil rule by peaceful agitation and civil protests when necessary.
To arrest the drift, the civil society should reorganise and re-energise; the labour and student unions need to dump their unhealthy cosy with the corrupt political class and rediscover their activist and progressive tradition. Professionals and academics need to re-acquire the spirit of national service and work for the uplifting of the country. Ordinary people too should shake off docility and rise above oppression.
Now, it is time for action. This miserable condition demands resolute pressure by the people to own democracy and become masters of their destiny. Nigerians must make democracy work for them or remain perpetually poor and frustrated. Political restructuring and electoral reforms are imperative. The first will allow for competitive federalism while the other will ensure that elections reflect the free expression of the will of the people. It is left for the youth to defend and consolidate what has been achieved and struggle to expand and deepen the democratic culture and values and good governance, without which democracy loses its essence. The media should remain steadfast in its role as a bulwark against tyranny and a watchdog to protect public interest.
But, forever, the June 12 spirit remains a powerful symbol of national democratic aspirations and a rallying point for real national integration.
