DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA: A MYTH OR A REALITY Democracy is a form of government, a way of life, a goal or ideal, and a political philosophy. The word democracy means rule by the people. The term also refers to a country that has a democratic form of government. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th American President, described such self -governance as government of the people, by the people, for the people. The citizens of a democracy take part in government either directly or indirectly. In a direct democracy, also called a pure democracy, the people meet in some place to make laws for their community. Such democracy was practiced in the ancient Greek city-state of Athens, and exists today in the New England town meeting. A most modern form of democracy is the representative democracy. In large communities cities, states, provinces, or countries it is impossible for all the people to meet as a group. Instead, they elect a certain number of their fellow citizens to represent them in making decisions about laws and other matters. An assembly of representatives may be called a COUNCIL, a LEGISLATURE, a PARLIAMEMT, or a CONGRESS. Government by the people through their freely elected representatives is sometimes called a REPUBLICAN GOVERNMENT or a DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICAN. Most voting decisions in democracies are based on majority rule - that is, more than half the votes cast. Majority rule is based on the ideal that if all citizens are equal, the judgment of the many will be better than the judgment of the few. Throughout history, the most important aspects of the democratic way of life have been the principles of individual equally and freedom. Accordingly, therefore, citizens in a democracy should be entitled to equal protection of their persons, possessions, and rights; have equal opportunity to pursue their lives and careers; and have equal rights of political participation. In addition, the people should enjoy freedom from undue interference and domination fry government. They should be free, within the framework of the Caw, to believe, behave, and express themselves as they should as they wish. Democratic societies seek to guarantee their citizens certain freedom, including freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. Ideally, citizens also should be guaranteed freedom of association and assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the freedom to work and live where and how they choose. And this is the defining paragraph in our discussion. Democratic societies seek to guarantee their citizens certain freedom, including freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. Ideally, citizens also should be guaranteed freedom of association and assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the freedom to work and live where and how they choose. Democracy -it is safe to say -is a system of rights and freedoms and responsibilities exercised and discharged within the prescriptions of the Caw. These rights of citizens do not allow one to shout fire in a crowd when there is no fire. Famous Quotes about Democracy: The basis of a democratic state is LIBERTY - I believe in democracy because it releases the energies of every human being. – Woodrow The measure of democracy is the measure of the freedom of its HUMBLEST citizen. -John Galsworthy Government of the people, by the people, for the people still remains the sovereign definition of democracy. – Sir Winston Churchill My political ideal is democracy. Everyone should be respected as an individual but no one should be idolized. - Franklin O. Roosevelt Democracy... is the only form of government that is founded on the dignity of man, not the dignity of some men, of rich men, of educated men or of white men, but of all men. -Robert Maynard Hutchins As I would not be a SLAVE, so I would not be a MASTER. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy. -Lincoln All emphases in the above quotes are mine. No doubt, then, none, of us can agree less with these men of wisdom, men who have stamped their authorities on the sands of time. Men Cong out of the stage of life yet whose echoes of impact reverberate with placating freshness. These quotes say succinctly -what democracy entails, and how it should work. Some of the above quotes also expose the chasms that have developed and are still developing, menacingly, in our young democracy here in Nigeria. Now we know the meaning of democracy, but that is only to help us judge in the end if we have had any taste of what are truly the dividends of democracy in Nigeria. As I have said earlier the statement Democratic societies seek to guarantee their citizens certain freedom, including freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of speech. Ideally, citizens also should be guaranteed freedom of association and assembly, freedom from arbitrary arrest and imprisonment, and the freedom to work and live where and how they choose is the heart of this discussion. It is what will help us to answer the question as to whether or not the dividends of democracy are real in our country. We cant allow posterity with the verdict on an issue so significant; we must answer this all-important question and now, and here, and without further ado, because, as you and I do very well know, we can. An excerpt from the meditation of His Lordship, the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto, Most Revd. Dr. M.H. Kukah, at the Christian Ecumenical Centre, Abuja, during a Christmas Carol in December, 2011, will be more than sufficient to answer the question as to whether the dividends of democracy are a reality or a myth in Nigeria. Hear the erudite clergy: ...if massive structures and infrastructure mean dividends of democracy, then the Germans would have to apologize posthumously to Adolf Hitler, during whose NAZI dictatorship Germany witnessed massive infrastructural development. Or how could one explain the massive and magnificent infrastructure in South Africa, where some of our politicians went for vacation, which were developed during the apartheid era. I go further to cite the examples of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR, under Josef Stalin, Italy under Benito Mussolini, and recently, the violently ousted and brutally murdered Muammar Gaddafi, etc. Were these leaders operating democracy? And yet no keen follower of history and political issues across the globe can deny the fact that these leaders developed their countries, which is still evident today. Did the people own, elect or have a say in these governments? Certainly no. Then why should our politicians now say that, Because a councilor, chairman, senator, governor, or even a president commissions an ill-constructed Borehole we should call it dividend of democracy? When I thought the Bishop did not hit the point as directly as I would have Coved for, at least for the sake of this piece, my Lord Bishop summed up his meditation thus any government that denies ordinary citizens the opportunity to express their fears, to express their anxiety, is courting trouble because these emotions would find expressions elsewhere. He seems to be saying in this summary, FREEDOM of expression which is alien to military dictatorship, is what the dividend of democracy is and I think freedom is what we expect to enjoy in a democracy which we cannot be sure about or cannot even legitimately demand in other systems of government. Therefore, infrastructures: boreholes, power, good schools, well-equipped hospitals, good roads, standard markets, and ample job opportunities, as good as they are, are not what dividends of democracy are; dividends of democracy consist in the freedom the people enjoy in a democracy which they cannot otherwise for the people are the raison detre for a democratic government. In an article titled Dividends of Democracy - A Nigerian Paradoxical Invention, published in the (Nigerian village Square of 27 Jut 2011, Joseph Rotimi wrote, I dont see any dividend of democracy, only its prostration; defenselessness; destruction; dereliction and complete obfuscation. We are not living in a democracy but a parody of it and there are no politicians or real political parties with ideals or philosophical basis worthy of that name. According to an article in Newsday Weekly published on 25 June 2008, which I find equally penetrative on this issue: Nigerias democracy like the Nigerian nation is one of the most interesting phenomena in the world. you wouldn’t believe it but the good governance that people give out their votes in exchange for is what these people, the Nigerian political class in general and some politicians to Be specific, often call and erroneously too, dividend of democracy. In the thought of this category of people the social responsibility of government, which includes the provision of water, electricity, good roads, medical services and security is what constitute dividends of democracy. Where the peoples right to good governance is mistaken for privilege, it is easy for the conclusion to be reached and in error as well that dividend of democracy is a reality on these grounds. As a matter of fact, the welfare and safety of the citizenry which form the basis for the existence of any government are basically what good governance should be about and so cannot be regarded as dividends of democracy because in real terms they are not. If we insist on referring to these rights of the people to the basic necessities of life in a democracy as dividends of democracy, then we can as well say there is democracy under a dictatorial regime, since these things are a(so present in such regimes. (And nothing, in my opinion, can be more preposterous, nothing can be more outlandish) The article concludes thus: we may conclude that what is ordinarily the dividend of democracy includes free and vibrant press, free and fair election, respect for human rights, due process, and rule of Caw, an enterprising civil society, and freedom of religion, thought and speech. Within this ambience, one can say without any fear of contradiction that Nigeria has yet to practice true democracy. Democracy, it must be emphasized, has no meaning without freedom and there is no freedom without the press. To put it candidly therefore, any talk about the dividends of democracy must address the issues of press freedom and encourage the promotion of an enterprising civil society as obtains in the Western Obviously, therefore, no one but the politicians themselves and their stooges seems to agree that we have been harvesting the dividends of democracy in Nigeria. So whether the concept Dividend of Democracy is a myth or reality in Nigeria would depend on what we call the dividends of democracy on the one hand and what are truly the dividends of democracy on the other, where the picture of what is not is confused with what is, as we have in Nigeria today on this matter, the conclusion on the matter becomes subjective instead of objective. Any talk about the dividends of democracy must address the issues of press freedom and encourage the promotion of an enterprising civil society as obtains in the western world. If what our people call dividends of democracy are only but their rights, it goes to show they are not knowledgeable enough to know what to expect from people they voted into power to provide good governance for them and this is particularly pathetic as such ignorance provides the ground and cover for non-performing representatives of the people to continue to present the shadow to the unsuspecting people instead of the image. I wish to end by raising some fundamental questions about our democracy: Is our democracy founded on the dignity of some men, of rich men, of educated men or of all Nigerians? Is liberty the basis of our democracy? Has democracy being able to release our energies as human beings, as Nigerians? What measure of freedom have the humblest citizens of our population, bur country? How is our democracy the government of the (our) people, by the (our) people and for the (our) people? Does our democracy allow for respect for everyone as individual without idolizing some? There are more other questions to ask but whatever our answers to these thought-provoking questions, we owe ourselves and generations yet unborn the responsibility and duty of correct Cy applying the principles and ideals of democracy in order to provide the necessary ambiance and conditions for citizens to realize their dreams, yearnings and healthy aspirations. Until then, the dividends of democracy will remain a burgeoning mirage. And what a pity that is! What next?
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 05:27:19 +0000
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