Just recently, I had a conversation with a colleague on whether democracy has worked in Nigeria over the years and if we could resort to saying that democracy is not fit for the country. This would mean having a leader like “Paul Kagame” of Rwanda, ruling with a defined end in view for the economy.
In my opinion, I do not think the concept of democracy is entirely bad as it recognises the call of the “people” in making decision as to who should represent them. However, in the Nigerian case, the practices seem to be faulty..
In simple terms, is a system of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held “free” elections.
According to The Democracy Index – an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a UK-based company to measure the state of democracy in a country – Nigeria is ranked 108 and classified as “Hybrid Regime” a governing system in which although elections take place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real power because of the lack of civil liberties; thus it is not an “open society”.
Firstly, the concept of democracy in Nigeria breaks down when the people are forced to choose between two candidates handpicked by “powerful men” in a political party during primaries to run for presidency, for example, against other political parties with similar handpicking process. Here, the options of the people are streamlined already without their consents.
More importantly, how effectively can democracy have its way in a country like Nigeria where almost 50 percent (94 million people) of its population live in abject poverty (living below $1 a day) according to the World Poverty Clock, and unemployment at an all-time high of 23 percent according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The election period is largely characterised by huge spending as political parties’ representatives who leverage on the precarious state of its citizens, go about “bribing” hungry Nigerians – since they account for a larger percent of voters – who will almost certainly sell their votes to satisfy their immediate hunger without a thought of whether or not they are sacrificing their future Sometimes I marvel when I see on TV, a multitude cheering and hailing political party representatives who by all standards and facts have failed the people and promising “heaven and earth” on “peanuts” given to them. Can we really blame this group of people? A poor man who practically struggles to get just a meal everyday would jump at every opportunity that presents itself. With the economy barely growing at 2 percent and population growth outpacing it yearly, poverty would only continue to threaten democracy given set precedent.
More so, discourse on the importance of education to the success of democracy cannot be overemphasised. Education gives individuals the ability to reason constructively and make informed decision on what would be beneficial.
Also understanding behaviours of key economic variables/indicators in relation to economic policies churned by elected leaders improves our judgement on their performance in office and hence our decision on their continuity. But ironically, only a small percentage of economic agents are educated on the consequences of policies and interpretation of economic indicators and are not sufficient in determining the outcome of elections.
For a country in which killings, riots and snatching of ballot boxes define electoral processes and results, the preaching of democracy is lost. The menace election periods pose to individuals across the years have reduced overtime participation in electoral processes. Upcoming elections may see more uninterested citizens who would rather sit back at home, wait for election results rather than put see their families mourn and weep upon losing a member.
In summary, amongst other factors that could threaten democracy in any country poverty, illiteracy and dangers during election periods would always undermine the good potentials democracy has in stock. Over the years, Nigeria major parties have leveraged on these factors to place incapable representatives to rule over the people and the result of their inadequacies are evident in pitiable state of the Nigerian economy.
Can democracy ever work in Nigeria? Across the world, one could say that the wave of democracy is gradually coming to an end. Two massive nations, Russia and China, are trending toward one-man rule. The list of countries drifting into autocratic orbits is growing. What’s the hope of the Nigerian democracy?
DAVID IBIDAPO
Ibidapo is an economic and financial analyst with BusinessDay. He is also the Editorial Page Editor.
