Is the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), appreciative of the critical role Nigeria is expected to play to protect, sustain and deepen democratic institutions and governance in Africa? That is why he cannot afford not to sign the Electoral Bill 2022, given the emerging troubling signal on the continent that democracy may be losing its taste because of the poor attitude of some African leaders to elections and governance. Lack of respect for democratic norms and reforms gradually makes the polities fragile in some African nations.
It is tempting to interpret the recent spate of military incursions into governance as evidence that democracy in Africa is dying. While some people may disagree that democracy is fast losing its taste because of the intransigence of supposedly democratic leaders who are using undemocratic tactics to keep themselves or their parties in power against the wishes of their people, we cannot run away from the sad reality that African leaders are not doing enough to strengthen this most cherished system of government.
Although the overthrow of elected presidents was followed by popular celebrations in some of these African countries as the people hailed their downfall, a majority of the citizens still want to live in a democracy. Here, the frustration of how to get a good democratic leader is misplaced with the encouragement of military boys to supplant one bad civilian president and emplace it with a good civilian leader. It has rarely worked on the continent. It is, however, profoundly worrying that the resurgence in military takeovers is making some people believe that democracy may not be the best form of government on the continent. This is not true. Though, as a continent, we have several hurdles to overcome in building our democracy, appealing to the military boys must never be an option.
The political conduct of the people is shaped and sustained over time by the electoral system. That is why elected civilian leaders, supported by critical stakeholders, must deliberate to nurture the right kind of political culture and political participation among the people. This is how to sustain the interest of the people in a democracy. While democracy automatically debuts with freedom and rights, it is not driven by an autopilot. Nevertheless, these important norms could be eroded by bad leaders. In essence, Africa must be deliberate about growing democracy and building enduring democratic institutions. And that is why as a matter of leadership, Nigeria must rise to the occasion in defence of democracy in Africa.
As President Barack Obama once observed, “Nigeria is critical to the rest of the continent and if Nigeria does not get it right, Africa will really not make more progress.” The expected role of Nigeria in leading the way for Africa is known to President Buhari, but whether the import of the demanded responsibility is not lost on him, because of primordial sentiments at home, is an issue worth debating. For instance, the statement of the President at the AU-EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, on the rising cases of military coup in Africa, did not portray a man who has refused five times in five years to sign his country’s Electoral Bill to strengthen democracy and electoral management.
Hear him: “More worrisome is the current state of democracy on the continent, which has become a great source of concern to many of us, with increasing cases of unconstitutional change of governments across the continent, particularly in West Africa.” He did not stop at expressing a deep concern, he added: “We also call for stronger support from the European Union in the condemnation and imposition of weighty sanctions on countries that engage in unconstitutional change of governments, as well as manipulation of constitutions in favour of extension of term limits.” That was Buhari in rhetoric.
Back home, it is simply ridiculous and unfathomable that such a leader, who expressed a great trust in democracy before the international community, is also the one that civil society groups, electoral and political stakeholders, the media and concerned groups and individuals have been begging to sign a new electoral law, amidst rising voter apathy in Nigeria. Voter turnout has indeed fallen in every major recent election in Nigeria. The civil society is hoping that the people’s oriented provisions for election transparency and credibility in the new Electoral Act 2022 if signed into law by the President, are significant enough to help drive increased participation in future elections.
Judging by the history of expressed frustrations with the electoral system, there is no Nigerian that should be more interested in electoral and judicial reforms than President Buhari: he contested as president four times; he went to court three times up to the Supreme Court level to challenge his defeat over electoral irregularities; he won on the fourth occasion and defeated an incumbent President. He narrowly lost his 2011 case at the Apex Court in a split decision of four to three. Unfortunately, no leader under the civilian regimes since 1960 has made these two important reforms difficult like President Buhari.
Our experience in the last six years in Nigeria has shown that we must be deliberate and thorough in voting leaders in 2023 who must have documented records of obeying the rule of law and be open to democratic reforms. It is unquestionable that Nigeria is in a critical need of other fundamental reforms, aside from addressing the intractable challenges with our elections. We must be careful and thoughtful in the choice of our President going forward. According to the Executive Director, Enough is Enough, Yemi Adamolekun, “Those in leadership positions are Nigerians; not Nigeriens; neither are they from the UK or Mars. They are Nigerians, so why do we continue to allow the worst of us to lead the best of us, and in the process make life difficult for all of us?” We must seek out our best.
For Africa, “finding a way out of instability and insecurity will therefore require building stronger democratic institutions that can withstand manipulation by political leaders, not authoritarian ones that exclude citizens and run counter to their aspirations,” said a research analyst at Africa Risk Consulting, Leonard Mbulle-Nziege, and a professor of democracy at the University of Birmingham in the UK, Nic Cheeseman. Therefore, we must find an Africa-for-Africa solution to defend and strengthen democracy on the continent. In this, Nigeria’s role cannot be understated.
Atoye, Executive Director of Adopt A Goal Initiative based in Abuja, writes via [email protected]
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