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Twists And Turns In Nigeria’s Democracy By Jide Ayobolu
An objective assessment of the seven and the half years of democracy or democratic rule in Nigeria shows very vividly that it is did a story of shattered dreams and hope forlorn. There is no doubting the fact that, the country has moved steadily from bad to worse and from the sublime to the ridiculous, and the standard of living has continued to cascade with torrential rapidity, with cruel deleterious effects for the common man on the street. A critical evaluation of the performance of the elected representatives of the people indicates that they have performed far below expectation. In addition, corruption, greed, avarice, eye-service, and maladministration are the order of the day.
Today, we have political parties that are more or less government parastatals, where individuals are stronger and are more powerful than the party is. There is no party discipline. The political parties have no focus, no vision, no mission; they do not have a realistic constitution and people-oriented manifesto. The politicians are indeed living in a fool’s paradise, believing that, they will be in power permanently, but no condition is permanent. The present government does not care about the parlous state of the economy; it does not care for and about anybody. It is everyman to himself, God for us all. Our politicians are behaving as if nothing is amiss. They are locusts that have turned Nigeria’s vast and richly blessed vegetation into a wilderness of despair and frustration. The political scene in Nigeria is akin to a game of the restless run of locusts. More disturbing is the fact that the selfish interests and ulterior motives of the politicians are at cross-purpose with the yearnings and demands of the teeming masses of the Nigerian people.
Today, education is in a shambles, health sector is lying prostrate, agriculture is comatose, the solid mineral sector is in a parlous state, social security is non-existent, and NEPA is a national disgrace and disaster. The National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP) and Universal Basic Education (UBE) are a drain on government purse. Corruption and fraud writ large. There is general insecurity as lives and property are insecure. Political tension and carnage are ubiquitous. In Nigeria today, the federal roads are highways of death, the prices of food and other basic necessities of life are beyond the reach of the ordinary man. Pensions are unpaid, workers are owed salaries for several months, most Nigerians are unemployed and under-employed, while many wallow in abject poverty. There is apparent institutional and infrastructural decay. Undoubtedly, there is over concentration of power and resources at the centre. Power, money, and influence are circulating amongst a clique at the corridors of power. Most Nigerians today are worse-off than they were seven and the half years ago, and they are thoroughly disenchanted, frustrated, and disillusioned with the situation of things in the country.
It is for the same reasons highlighted above that, the second republic was dislodged by the military in 1983. In addition, the military’s reign of terror was foisted on Nigeria for 15 uninterrupted years. Moreover, it is very well established fact that, good governance is the only antidote to military intervention in politics. Nevertheless, from all indications, it is so apparent that, the politicians have not learnt any lesson. They have heated up the polity un-necessary and political confusion as well as bloodletting are now the fad. The so-called representatives of the people are definitely not in touch with the people. They live in unqualified opulence and luxury, feeding fat on the sweat, toil, and labour of the masses. The present crop of rapacious politicians has imposed profligacy and squandermania of unprecedented proportion. Rather than be concerned with how to revamp the Nigerian ailing economy, create a sustainable political culture, foster social cohesion, terminate poverty, drastically reduce the rate of inflation, high cost of living, high bank interest rate and the soaring foreign exchange, thereby restoring normalcy to the political confusion in the polity, they are more concerned with how to desperately win the 2007 general election at all cost. In the process of outwitting themselves, many frauds were perpetrated. One would have expected that those at the helm of affairs would stay in the country instead of gallivanting all over the world, dissipating the scarce resources of government on conspicuous consumption.
The custodians of democracy in Nigeria today are military apologists and glorified self-seekers who are not interested in the growth and development of the Nigerian state. The 1999 constitution is a document that is fraught with several inadequacies. Hence, the nascent democratic experiment is strewn with booby traps, landmines, and contraptions. Democracy cannot last where poverty is rampant and violence is pervasive; peace is a condition for development, and democracy as well as development are two sides of the same coin. We delude ourselves by heaping all the blames of the past and present on the military leaders, but overlook the recklessness of the politicians. However, Nigerians should be alive to their civil responsibilities; they cannot afford to resign to fate, because to resign to fate is to be crippled fast. The people must be resolute to tear apart and pull down the wall of Jericho. All the indices and factors that have conspired to militate against our collective development must be spontaneously repudiated, Nigeria cannot be condemned to the dustbin of history; Nigeria at this crucial moment cannot afford to be relics of history. Nigeria has a crucial role to play amongst the comity of nations in the 21st century.
It is so expressly evident that we are not yet in a democracy of our dreams. What we have at present is just the transition to the real democracy we desire. Democracy does not come easy. It is not usually achieved on a platter of gold. It is the collective struggle and single-mindedness of the people that can bring about a government of the people, for the people and by the people. What Nigeria is currently passing through is a decisive test to determine what lies in wait for the future. But our political office holders must duly appreciate the essence and nuances of rendering selfless service to humanity. They should make invaluable contributions to the overall growth and development of Nigeria, so that history and posterity will record positive things for them. All the temptation of office, particularly the illegal acquisition of wealth should be jettisoned. The politicians can ill-afford their names to go down on the wrong side of history. We must not lose sight of the fact that the issue of development and transformation of the Nigerian state is a collective responsibility. However, all the inhibitions, booby traps, and walls of Jericho must be brought down, that is the only way to make Nigeria great again. However, since what we have in Nigeria is democratic business and not democratic government, we cannot say we have genuine democracy yet, what we have is a dictatorship of a few businessmen at the corridor of power. Indeed, what we have is dictatorship by other means, dictatorship of the high and mighty, of the rich and influential, who are willing and ready at all times to exterminate opposition to selfishly pursue their ulterior and selfish motives. We are not yet in a democracy, we are still in the wilderness, on the way to the promise land, we have not arrived at the last bus-stop, but Nigerians must learn to take their destinies in their hands and have keen interest in what goes on in government at all levels, as well as speak against all forms of injustices in the system at all times.
By
Jide Ayobolu Garki 2 Abuja-Nigeria.
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