Judiciary now biggest threat to Nigeria’s democracy – Atiku

…says party funding must be democratised

Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President of Nigeria, on Monday, called for judicial reform to curb judicial recklessness, describing the Judiciary as “the biggest threat to Nigeria’s democracy”.

Atiku Abubakar, speaking at a National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria, held at the Continental Hotel Abuja, on Monday, said in a period of less than 20 years the Nigerian Judiciary had moved from being the beacon of democratic sustenance to becoming, arguably, the biggest threat to Nigeria’s democracy.

The former Vice President and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, stated this as a thematic discussant of a Paper entitled “Party Politics and Political Integrity: The Role of Political Parties and Opposition in Democracy” presented by Bayo Olukoshi.

Atiku, while calling for a change, said the same Judiciary that affirmed the primacy of parties in choosing their candidates and leaders “now sanction and indeed promote destruction of parties by a few, and in some cases, a single individual with a personal agenda”.

The Chieftain observed that the involvement of the Judiciary in electoral disputes was intended to affirm the choice of voters.

“But the Judiciary, even at the highest levels, twists and contorts to find technicalities to deny voters their choice rather than affirming the voters’ choices.

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“The Judiciary also seems to have replaced the voters in choosing our leaders. I know enough of history to understand that when democracy dies, the judiciary and its leadership do not necessarily survive intact”, he noted.

Speaking from historical experience, Abubakar noted that the Judiciary survived the implosion or death of Nigeria’s First Republic democracy mainly due to the presence of strong independent justices.

“It wasn’t for want of trying. However, as the corruption of every facet of our society deepened, the judiciary soon followed. And it is, perhaps, the most dangerous because there is nowhere else for the aggrieved to turn to.

“No one is there to check the excesses of the other branches of Government.

Atiku warned that If the rot in the Judiciary persists without severe consequence for the perpetrators, parties and democracy are unlikely to survive.

The former Vice President, who also posited that it might be difficult for those currently in power to accept these reform proposals, added however, that “no one or party stays in power indefinitely. Besides, reforms should not be focused on just today but on the future, as well”.

Speaking on strengthening capacity, Atiku noted that “democracy can’t be sustained without strong political parties, especially opposition parties. Parties need to be strong and democratic enough to be able to fulfil their roles. Ownership of parties by or their subordination to individual big men is the antithesis of democracy.

He noted that Party supremacy remains critical, but added that “party supremacy can’t be achieved through the current funding model for our parties.

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On funding of political parties, he noted that funding of parties by governors and a few wealthy individuals is not a democratic model. As we know, he who pays the piper dictates the tune.

“Funding must be democratised. Members must invest in and co-own parties. When people start from the point of view that “Tinubu is rich or Peter Obi is rich or Atiku is rich, so I don’t have to contribute”, they surrender to the big man’s dominance of parties.

“In more effective democracies, parties and candidates raise funds from the mass of members and supporters. When people invest in something, they tend to be more engaged with it. So, our people, especially party members, need to be enlightened”, Atiku stated.

The former Vice President also noted that Nigeria’s democracy is at a crossroads, adding that it is at the risk of eroding completely.

He however stated that the current challenges were not caused by one single person or one single administration

He said, “A number of us have been warning over the years that we may come to this pass if we lose our vigilance and fail to take corrective actions to protect and deepen our democracy.

“At the risk of sounding modest, I doubt that there are many contemporary senior political leaders who have spoken out and done more to promote democratic governance in our country than me. In addition to public statements and presentations, I brought some actions to our courts which produced landmark judicial decisions intended to uphold democratic principles and practices.”