By
Rahman Owokoniran
Democracy is defined as the government of the people, by the people, for the people; and the choice to be a democratic nation was made by us. Ever since our desire and struggle to be an independent nation, a nation free from colonial rule, we have made huge sacrifices for the sustenance of our democracy.
Going down the historical lane from our Independence from the colonial masters, when we adopted the parliamentary system of government which was discontinued not because it was bad but rather to foster a more stable and more efficient economy in a competitive market. This Parliamentary System was short-lived because it was not any longer in the interest of our Nation. The decision was a response to the reality of the situation at the time. By then crude oil and gas reserves had been discovered and it was bringing much bigger markets than the groundnut, rubber and cocoa sales.
It would have been a different ball game if our leaders could strategize and plan for the future of their own country. They could only take responsibility but the decisions were not theirs. We were ruled by a neo-colonial regime by proxy. Our government administration and the economy were at the mercy of the colonial masters. This was a period of transition from the colonial rule to an independent Nigeria in 1960 to 1966.
Then came the military transition to civilian rule that lasted for about 12 years 1967 to 1979 for whatever reasons including the fact that they were reluctant to go back to their barracks. But five other reasons will be mentioned in this article:
1) The country was ill-prepared for its Independence because the different communities involved couldn’t agree on the terms for the transition.
2) The colonial masters were not happy to have left at short notice because they were least prepared to leave at the time they left.
3) The changing fortune of the nation upon the discovery of crude oil and gas reserves provided another economic incentive for the British and Americans to partner in the oil exploration and exploitation in Nigeria. The more reason for the colonial masters to stay much longer in the shadows with the strategy to divide the ethnic groups against one another (divide and rule). This is to include the landmines already laid out in the Constitution and the rule of thumb for the entire country -the seeds of distrust already sown by the British to divide and destroy the harmony between the ethnic groups and their diverse communities, thereby making this country difficult to govern.
4) The leaders lacked the knowledge and experience that would enable them to achieve the desired goal. All the more reason why the British continued to rule behind the scene (neocolonialism at play).
5) The multicultural and multiethnic nature of the amalgamated territories in which a population of strangers were divided against each other in order to form a unified state made decision-making more difficult to achieve. Self recognition was absolutely impossible because of the absence of a unified state of mind and control over their respective communities.
The different communities were strangers struggling to make ends meet in the midst of poverty and strife. They were more receptive of their colonial masters than their neighbors. Yet the leaders they empowered have to take decisions on their behalf. Where would those decisions come from? Could the leaders’ decisions come from a well-thought out plan that would benefit the people’s interests? Of course not. So we lived in those periods when the British were benefiting from the ignorance of the so-called leaders. Were the decisions of those periods well thought out? I don’t think so. The decisions were more beneficial to the British than the Nigerian communities.
The choice for the Parliamentary System of democracy was handed over to Nigeria by the British colonial rulers after our Independence.
Then the military truncated the Parliamentary System of government as well as the regional governments that had long held sway. On their way out of power they handed over to the nation a Presidential System of government. This was a reaction to the secessionists who wanted to break the Nigerian union. Thus, the Presidential System of government was adopted.
The unification of the country was imperative immediately after the Civil War. For emphasis, it was the Military on its way out transiting to democracy that brought about the Presidential System of government in 1979. Again a lot had been written about the need to change and revert back to the regional system.
Some of the reasons adduced for changing the system include:
1) it was too expensive to finance the elections and its process.
2) it encourages a higher rate of inflation in the economy.
3) it motivates transactional actors rather than producing the desired enlightening content for the people.
They may well be correct about their views on all the above, but my take on all this is that we should have a deeper sense of what is wrong with the system and how it can be fixed. Some have argued that perhaps we need our own style of leadership, an African solution or moving closer home with a Nigerian solution.
But we must remember that the two systems of government we tried (parliamentary and presidential) which we adopted from the British and American governments respectively have existed many centuries ago and they are still in place today. Besides, what suggestion would they have for a change -Judiciary System?
Therefore, the fault we experience from its adoption couldn’t have been in the system of government but rather it must have been in the policies and the executors. In other words, both systems must have failed due to a human error.
This nation has been held captive since Independence right from the colonial period and the transition period of its Independence from the British Empire through the imposed military intervention/occupation regimes and its subsequent democratic experiments.
It is safe to acknowledge that absolutely not much has changed for real since we got our Independence in 1960. Yes, there have been more roads constructed, modern buildings, latest vehicles on our roads etc, but the real measure of our performance should be based on the citizens income per capita, global economic ratio and national income growth. No excuses.
When we look around us and see how the progressive nations converted land to wealth, how their mineral resources generated the needed resources for their economic growth, we can see how they also built empires with the derivatives from their land holdings, etc. We can then ask our leaders what they did with our own (God-given natural resources) wealth? How come our managers who are supposed to be our servants who should earn salaries for their job become the owners of our treasures? This is totally unacceptable. There should be no more tolerance for the squandering of the people’s resources, their freedom and their liberty. It’s time to stop paying lip service to democracy. We need to defend it with all our heart and soul.
In the last five decades, this nation has been plundered by its own leaders. We cannot fault any of the forms of democracy be it parliamentary or presidential, this is simply because we (our leaders) are not practising true democracy.
Let them tell us what they invested in the development of democracy and their account for the dividends of democracy. They know nothing and learnt nothing about democracy because they are not students of democracy. Most of them never believed in democracy because they don’t believe that we (the people) are capable of taking the right decisions. They are all protectionists.
Nigerian presidents such as Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan are exceptional in that they made conscious efforts to protect the integrity of our democracy throughout their tenure in office. Those who pretended to be Democrats will always be uncovered by their ways. (By their actions we shall know them.)
It is time to turn over a new page, look inward and focus on what matters most to us today and to the future generations of Nigerians. We must elect leaders that are people-oriented not pocket-oriented.
RAHMAN OWOKONIRAN WRITES FROM LAGOS
