18 hours ago
2 ARTICLE AD
Bola Tinubu, Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar
DEMOCRACY is fast losing its popularity among Nigerians. Often chanted as the government of the people, by the people, and for the people, this model now rings hollow. The presidential system, under representative democracy, has become a tool of oppression, exploitation, and sleaze.
It has produced a small group of rich and powerful Nigerians who look after themselves and bully everyone else into submission.
The concept of the separation of powers and mutual independence of the three arms of government is nearly absent.
The executive president has near-mythical powers. The legislature and judiciary kowtow to his desires. This is against the spirit of democracy. Nigeria must restructure its way out of this failing system.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Abubakar Atiku, Peter Obi, and others bemoaned this in Abuja during the 60th birthday anniversary of Emeka Ihedioha, a former governor of Imo State.
“Democracy in Africa has failed because, in context and content, it is not Africa. It does not have any aspect of our culture, our way of life, what we stand for, what we believe,” Obasanjo said.
If he was advocating a return to monarchy, he was wide of the mark. In their day, kings had their uses. These days, monarchy is fraught with controversial selection processes, loyalty to political paymasters, and impunity.
The royal thrones have become politicised and compromised. Nigeria’s redemption does not lie with the monarchy. It lies with political restructuring and fiscal federalism.
The country needs a federal structure that gives adequate powers and discretion to the constituent units. The bloated central system, giddy with too much power, leaves the sub-nationals with monthly hand-outs, precipitating a culture of dependence and laziness.
The exploited masses have become indifferent to governance and have little appetite for the controversial elections that produce their leaders. Fewer people are coming out to vote.
In the 2023 election that produced President Bola Tinubu, only 27 per cent of registered voters participated.
In Anambra, about 10 per cent of the voters elected Governor Charles Soludo. In some other cases, the turnout was as low as 9.0 per cent. This punctures the winners’ claim to a popular mandate.
Things are different elsewhere. In the United States, 63.7 per cent of voters elected Donald Trump last year.
In Nigeria, the minority has hijacked democracy. The judiciary plays along with the executive. This must change.
Last year, Tinubu acquired a $150 million plane weeks after nationwide hunger protests. He bought bulletproof cars. In a country where most people cannot afford a decent meal, a senator goes home with N21 million every month and is allocated a whopping N500 million annually for invisible constituency projects.
The Vice-President’s new residence cost N21 billion. The lawmakers seem to be in a contest for the longest convoy. The luxuries attached to political offices are mindboggling.
The structure of the First Republic allowed each region to generate and control its resources and contribute a percentage to the centre. The 36 states should function along similar lines.
Under this structure, each state is bound to explore and exploit its resources rather than depend on a monthly allocation from Abuja. Every state should take charge of its destiny.
No governance model is foolproof. There will be challenges. A restructured country will be run by fallible people. But it will clip the wings of an all-powerful president who wakes up one morning and suspends an elected state governor and other democratic structures.
States will be challenged to succeed on their strengths. This will eliminate the subsisting culture of laziness and frivolous pastimes in state government houses. The President would be left with a small cabinet to handle national defence and external policy.
Every governance model is subject to progressive tweaking. A restructured Nigeria will make progress.
