NIGERIAN DEMOCRACY: BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BY MUSA SULEIMAN Twenty-five years ago, while still a student of Journalism in Jos, I came across a certain Book entitled “Why Democracies Perish”. This year marks the 31st anniversary of the book written by Professor Jean-Francois Revel, a veteran Journalist himself who dissected and indicted, bitterly, democracy as a political Ideology inherently endangered by the flaw and contradictions in the system of governance that fails to understand itself and its future. Revel’s analysis was not only about democracies and their failure globally, it was also on the acceptance and spread of world Communism as a better alternative to the system that kills itself by itself through the contradictions and excess self-criticism and misrepresentation of moral positions and principles. Till today, this book has remained timeless and very provocative in the annals of political discourse and analysis. The argument Whether Communism is a better alternative to democracy depends largely on which side of the divide you are. But in the main time I am focusing on the near absence of liberty, freedom and equality which Democracy highly professed. Although these tenets appear to be technically present in western democracies, they are nonetheless aware that unlimited freedom and liberty of the individual could actually spell doom for democracy which they champion. Thus, in other to have true democracy and thereby preserve freedom, liberty and equality, western democracies appear to play the game tactically in accordance to the rules of engagement through their laws and constitutions. Respect for the law and constitution are seemingly exemplary in western democracies, and unless in some few cases, these democracies present a near perfect system of government that surely appear to be better than others. These democracies, together with their economic system of capitalism, provides the opportunity and a level playing ground for virtually all their citizens, and there is room for upward social mobility in all aspect of their social life for all those who work hard to succeed. There is no barrier to success if you work hard and the law is, arguably, no respecter of persons irrespective of their social status. The societies in western democracies are or, at least appear to be highly refined in morality and respect for human dignity. Unfortunately, we are confronted with the opposite, today, in my ostensibly quasi-democratic country Nigeria. We are copying the west in virtually all there aspects of lifestyle, no thanks to technology that has made it much easier to do so. However, and regrettably too, it is in the political and economic systems of governance and leadership that we have woefully failed to copy intoto. Nigeria is blessed no doubt. This country can be great if we copy the west fully in leadership and governance, but we can be greater if we juxtapose their style with great African democratic tradition that has human face. Unlike the western democracies we say we copy, Nigeria has no political ideology. The minority educated political elites and the majority uneducated followers have greatly contributed in the erosion of democratic principles such that people elect individuals with no political ideas in to public offices in total negation of democratic teachings. What happens, therefore, is that for these uncultured democratic political elites to succeed, they must destroy political and economic institutions or establish parallel ones to make the former ineffective. I am aware that there are various forms of democracy. There is American, British, Indian and Arabian democracy, and they are unique in their senses. But just what form of democracy do we practice in Nigeria? Unlike in others, Nigerian democracy is, first of all, too expensive and Politicians spend a lot to win elective positions thereby encouraging their intent to recover their ‘investment’ on assumption of office. Here, democracy has become an enterprise where investment and profits are made. Today, what we practice in Nigeria is a serious conspiracy against leadership and good governance. Rather than strengthen democratic processes and institutions, the politicians and leaders are happy with the prevailing arrangement and have continued to harm democracy by dismantling freedom, justice and equality- the fundamental tenets of democracy. In the period democracy has reigned in this country, Political leaders have worked hard only to bleed the country through all forms of corruption and maladministration. Is it not paradoxical that those who assumed office through the democratic arrangement or political processes of election are the ones destroying those platforms in other to perpetuate themselves in office? Many things are wrong with the kind of democracy we practice here in Nigeria today. The politics and politicians have generated severe poverty in the land such that it has reduced democratic participation by up to 50 per cent or more. Apathy is everywhere because peoples’ votes no longer count. The politicians have turn our democracy in to ‘Kleptocracy’ where treasuries are looted with recklessness, producing a class of morally bankrupt people as leaders. The Nigerian dictatorial democracy is a government by the wicked minority bullying a helpless majority who are powerless and do not determine who governs them. Our politicians continue to say our democracy is nascent but the thieves in it are not nascent in the scooping of the national wealth. This situation has resulted in a lot of peoples’ distrust and disrespect for government or ‘constituted authorities and even religious sanctity. It has also degenerated and steered in to frustrating moments for some people and is directly responsible for the spate of political and religious instability as well as industrial disharmony in the country. Strikes are rampant because workers are unhappy with the pay that doesn’t take them home, standard of education is deteriorating, unemployment is widespread and increasing geometrically while economic desperation, poverty, hunger and anguish has unleashed on the society lots of social problems from Robbery, Kidnappings and Insurgency among numerous others. Democracy has become a universal aspiration for many regions of the world. No doubt, it has permeated through cultures, religion and ethnic divide. And because of this wide reach, corruption and hypocrisy ought not to be the inevitable products of democracy as they are undoubtedly today in this country. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s democracy appears to be hypocrisy and corruption unlimited. For more than 15 years, since 1999 when democracy came to stay, Nigerians have seized to know happiness. Power supply is either erratic, epileptic or completely unavailable even with the so-called privatization of the sector. Government cannot quell the insurgency of some few miscreants in the North-east of the country and the people there are dying daily. There is growing intimidation between and within government and political parties resulting in unprecedented defections of party members. What kind of democracy do we operate here? If it is the Western-styled democracy that we are copying, then we have left the essential ingredients, the basic tenets way back because a simple but strict adherence to a comprehensive tax system can reform this country within two years irrespective of the level of corruption in the land. It would discourage primitive accumulation and ensure that the country’s resources moves around thereby making individuals economically independent, and politically too. Our politicians are looting our collective resources and acquiring assets all over the place because they know they would not pay tax on such assets. Yet, government cry a lot daily on dwindling Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Do you ever wonder why Bill Gates and other rich Americans operate foundations and donate money as charity? It is not because they are welfarists or want reward from God for what they do, no. It is the easiest way to escape the heavy tax regime on their wealth. Ever wondered why Mike Tyson, with all his billions legitimately earned from boxing proceeds, went bankrupt and was literarily eating from the streets and orphanage? His assets were confiscated when he could no longer meet up with the payment of tax on them. A similar tax regime in this country would certainly reduce the worst type of corruption in the world that is not tied to productivity which is practiced by our leaders and guaranteed by the absence of institutional framework that would check or at least discourage such primitive accumulation. No individual or group is economically independent in this country as everything is tied to government. Even the so-called private sector depend highly on government, and since he who pays piper dictates the tune, nobody can escape the hangman’s noose of government of the day, hence partisanship becomes inevitable. Those who defied this arrangement are victimized, intimidated, frustrated and even falsely accused of one thing or the other, and if you owned a company you are refused patronage and all effort made to cripple the business carried out. Our economy needs to be privatized and liberalized so that the real private hands can dictate situations and government hands-off completely. By so doing, individuals would become really economically independent with the capacity to challenge the status quo and determine who their leaders should be and how they should emerge through the basic provisions of democracy. Nigerian-styled democracy is not only generating apathy but also becoming increasingly unpopular with the citizens such that some of them are clamoring for a return of the military government. A situation where democracy is failing the people in virtually all its promises, do you blame those who are yearning for a change of government, even if it is dictatorship? After all, the people would not want to care who their leader is or what type of government is in place provided there is service delivery to them and their lives and property are well protected. Nigerian democrats or politicians must wake up to the fact that democracy is not when their selfish interests are put far ahead of human life. Else, they would want us to believe the foremost Italian Politician, Benito Mussolini who argued that democracy is only beautiful in theory but that it is a fallacy in practice, especially in this country. We need democracy, a democracy with human face, social democracy and not a system of government that will so impoverish us and our future generation. Let us not leave behind a country that our children would one day come to ask, what Barbarians lived before us?
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 17:00:09 +0000