Nigeria’s current democratic system may look impressive to the All Progressives Congress-led government but that is not the same view held by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The EIU categorically tagged Nigeria’s democracy as one that is a ‘Hybrid Regime’, characterised by “substantial irregularities that often prevent the democratic process from being both free and fair”.
Another negative linked to Nigeria’s democracy is that government pressure on opposition parties and candidates is common. And in a ‘Hybrid Regime’, “corruption tends to be widespread and the rule of law is weak. Civil society is weak. Typically, there is harassment of and pressure on journalists, and the judiciary is not independent,” the EIU said.
For the first time in three years, the EIU’s latest Democracy Index assessed the global state of democracy in 2018. Surprisingly, it ranked Nigeria low on major indices used.
In the “Democracy Index 2018”, titled ‘Me too? Political participation, protest and democracy’, made available to BusinessDay, the EIU used five indices – electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture.
On electoral process and pluralism, Nigeria scored 6.08, functioning of government (4.64), political participation (3.33), political culture (3.75), and civil liberties (4.41). Overall score for Nigeria is 4.44. Based on these scores, Nigeria ranks a low 108 among the snapshot of the state of democracy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories.
This comes barely seven weeks before Nigerians go to the polls to elect a President for the next four year, as well as governors, National Assembly members and the various States House of Assembly members.
While Nigeria’s major opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) after its 16 years of power is working hard to regain its populist position in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, the ruling APC is also trying to turn the tide in its favour after criticisms that Nigeria is now home to highest number of very poor people in the world.
Looking at the state of democracy in Nigeria and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), the EIU said the region remained poor over the years, noting that a concentration of authoritarian regimes continues to characterise the region, which contains seven of the 15 lowest ranked countries in the world.
Except Mauritius tagged to have “Full democracy”, other SSA countries have “Flawed democracy”, “Hybrid regime”, or “Authoritarian”. Nigeria belongs to the “Hybrid regime” category, the EIU said.
In a Hybrid regime linked to Nigeria, according to the EIU, “Elections have substantial irregularities that often prevent them from being both free and fair. Government pressure on opposition parties and candidates may be common. Serious weaknesses are more prevalent than in flawed democracies—in political culture, functioning of government and political participation. Corruption tends to be widespread and the rule of law is weak. Civil society is weak. Typically, there is harassment of and pressure on journalists, and the judiciary is not independent.”
According to the EIU, “Democracy is more than the sum of its institutions. A democratic political culture is also crucial for the legitimacy, smooth functioning and, ultimately, the sustainability of democracy. A culture of passivity and apathy – an obedient and docile citizenry – is not consistent with democracy.”
“The electoral process periodically divides the population into winners and losers. A successful democratic political culture implies that the losing parties and their supporters accept the judgment of the voters and allow for the peaceful transfer of power. Participation is also a necessary component, as apathy and abstention are enemies of democracy,” the EIU stated.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of The Economist Group and the world leader in global business intelligence.
“In a democracy, majority rule must be combined with guarantees of individual human rights and the rights of minorities. Most measures also include aspects of the minimum quality of functioning of government. If democratically based decisions cannot be or are not implemented, then the concept of democracy is not very meaningful.
“Even measures that focus predominantly on the processes of representative, liberal democracy include (albeit inadequately or insufficiently) some aspects of participation. In a democracy, government is only one element in a social fabric of many and varied institutions, political organisations and associations. Citizens cannot be required to take part in the political process, and they are free to express their dissatisfaction by not participating.
“However, a healthy democracy requires the active, freely chosen participation of citizens in public life. Democracies flourish when citizens are willing to participate in public debate, elect representatives and join political parties. Without this broad, sustaining participation, democracy begins to wither and become the preserve of small, select groups,” the EIU further said.
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
