Being the text of Convocation Lecture delivered by Rufa’i Ufa’I Ahmed Alkali, a professor of Political Science, and Visiting Professor National Universities Commission, Abuja, at the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Combined Convocation Ceremonies of the Taraba State University, Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria, held on Friday, 28th January, 2022.
Permit me to start first of all by thanking God for sparing our lives to witness yet another Convocation Ceremonies of this great University, the Taraba State University.
Let me thank my good friend and Brother, the Vice-Chancellor of Taraba State University, Professor Vincent Ado Tenebe for inviting me to present this Convocation Lecture of the University at this most auspicious time.
For me, it is a rare honour and privilege to stand here before you today to present this Lecture and share with you my thoughts on the contemporary challenges confronting our dear country, Nigeria.
Let me also congratulate His Excellency, the Governor of Taraba State Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku during whose tenure as Governor of Taraba State, this University has grown and transformed into one of the shining Universities in the country.
Indeed, without his personal commitment and the State Government’s determination, it would have been very difficult if not impossible to achieve the giant strides made so far in this University.
Since I have known His Excellency Arc Darius Ishaku, in the last three decades, he has proven to be a deep-rooted Professional, an astute politician, an Administrator, a Leader and an achiever.
While some of his colleagues are out there making a lot of noise and raising dust, dancing around and grandstanding, he is quietly working to bring and add value to the peace, progress and advancement of Taraba State.
The Governor is particularly lucky to have an accomplished Academic, a versatile and consummate University Administrator in the person of Professor Vincent Tenebe, a man I have known for over four decades as the Vice-Chancellor of this University.
In his stint as the Vice-Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria, despite all the challenges and obstacles, Professor Vincent Tenebe brought monumental growth and expansion in that University within a very short period of time.
He also brought respect, dignity and a greater understanding of the National Open University mandate attracting senior Scholars all over the country. Today, when Professor Tenebe walks into the National Open University campus in Abuja, he will be treated to cheering and an unprecedented hero’s welcome.
I trust this is what he has replicated here in this University.
Introduction
The topic of this Lecture, ‘Democracy, Good Governance and Leadership Challenges in Nigeria: Lessons for Africa is very topical.’ I say topical because, the issues of Democracy, Good Governance and Leadership challenges have been at the centre of debates and seminal discussions and have been agitating the minds of leading intellectuals, prominent world leaders, politicians, International Development Agencies and the popular press.
The original topic presented to me was, ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall – Unity as Solution to Security Challenges in Nigeria.’ But after reviewing the theme, I made some adjustments to the topic of the Convocation Lecture to put greater emphasis on the issues of democracy, good governance and leadership challenges which are the foundational and critical issues that impact directly national security, peace, unity and political stability.
In my view, I thought, also since Nigeria is gearing towards the General Election in 2023, less than thirteen months from now, this is the most auspicious time to open this debate to raise more consciousness within and outside the academic community as we face the challenges ahead. Indeed, there is no subject that has continued to elicit so much passion and acrimonious debate than the problem of leadership in Nigeria.
In the past three decades, conscious efforts have been made in search of solutions. As part of this, the Arewa House, Center for Historical Research and Documentation in Kaduna, an arm of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has hosted a number of Seminars, Workshops and Lecture series addressing this issue.
Some of the prominent Nigerian Leaders who were selected to address this subject included among others, Mallam Liman Ciroma’s paper on “The Imperative of National Unity and the Responsibility of Leadership” (1994); Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari, on “Politics, Governance and Development in Nigeria” (1996); General Muhammadu Buhari on “Leadership and Accountability in Period of Moral Crisis” (1998); Chief Sunday B. Awoniyi on “Sir Ahmadu Bello’s Style of Leadership” (2000); and General Yakubu Gowon on “Sir Ahmadu Bello’s Vision and Contemporary Politics in Nigeria” (2003).
Similarly, in a Keynote Address presented by General Olusegun Obasanjo at the Arewa House Conference on the State of the Nation held in 1994, he drew attention to the same subject matter.
As General Obasanjo stated in his Address, a point shared by all other speakers on this subject, “for as long as our leaders are sponsored for personal, geographical, sectional, religious and purely ethnic interest, for so long will the problem remain with us, no matter the sophistication of our Constitution or the frequency of change”, (Mahdi Abdullahi: 1994).
Interestingly too, General Olusegun Obasanjo himself, way back in the early 1990s, had set up a Think Tank, called the Farm House Dialogue which brought together political leaders, intellectuals and other professionals both at home and abroad to debate on the role of leadership in Africa.
Unfortunately, despite all these, it is precisely because of the failure of the emergence of a united and unifying political leadership and the continuous squabbles among the political class that they were unable to produce individuals with nationwide appeal and acceptability to run this country.
To overcome this major problem, they had to resort to the politics of zoning, the rotational presidency and power shift to ensure that regional factions of the ruling elites could gain access to power and to the highest position of the land without necessarily gaining nationwide popular acceptability on their own individual merit.
This of course has direct implications for leadership recruitment and good governance in the country. This is also precisely why since the wind of democratic change started blowing across Africa over the last three decades, attention has gradually shifted towards entrenching democratic institutions, structures and social values that would bring happiness to the greatest number of our peoples.
It is no longer sufficient for people to be contented with basic elements of democracy such as frequent or regular elections, important as these are, but have moved on to focus attention on the development agenda – leadership and good governance, without which the very essence and purpose of democracy is defeated.
I am sure for most of us here today, this is a familiar terrain, having been involved in teaching, researching, initiating, implementing and or monitoring policies, programmes and plans of actions tangential to the complex issues of democracy, good governance, leadership and national development.
But this is the more reason why today, we are expected to look back, reflect and re-examine popular assumptions on the issues of democracy, good governance and leadership in order to sharpen our focus and deepen our insights as we rearm ourselves in the service of our dear country – Nigeria.
Therefore, the primary aim of this paper is not to attempt to answer all the questions, but to agitate our minds, to interrogate basic assumptions and to provoke us to engage in more robust debates on the future direction of democracy, good governance and leadership here in Nigeria, indeed in Africa as a whole.
I pray and hope that by the end of this lecture, we shall set events into motion that will ultimately redeem Nigeria and liberate Nigerians from the current state of despondency, anger and bitterness among our people.
The First Question to Ask is, What is Democracy? Your Excellency Sir, first let us start by asking the elementary question, what is democracy? On the surface, it appears simple, and not a few amongst us here would wonder why we should waste our precious time trying to define a term we all know.
In reality, this is not so. It is often the failure to understand what democracy is all about – its essence, dimensions and purposes that is to say, what it is and what it should be that has often set people against people, communities against communities and people against governments, which often lead to lack of unity among citizens, tensions, conflicts, confrontation, insecurity and even violence.
It is easy for us to define democracy simply in the words of the American President, Abraham Lincoln – that, it is the government of the people for the people and by the people. Abraham Lincoln himself drew his inspiration from the politics of the classic Greek City-States.
In its original context, this implies the physical presence of individuals and members of the community in the arena of political decision making, in which every man is represented by himself, in a shared spirit of collective self government. In other words, democracy is simply a system of government where power and authority is in the hands of the people themselves.
But the question is, what is the real situation today? The answer of course is likely to be no. The answer is no, because, when we say democracy is the government of the people for the people and by the people, the question to ask is, who are the people?
In point of fact, leading writers on this subject matter have observed that even in the so-called era of the classic democratic rule in the city-states of Athens and Sparta, not all the people were involved in the process of decision making. In his book titled, Understanding Liberal Democracy, an Englishman, Barry Holden (1988) stated that “in ancient Athens often regarded as the original and archetypical democracy, only a minority of the society was included. Aliens, slaves and women were excluded”.
Taking the point further, he noted that whereas women on the average constitute about 50 percent in most societies, they were given the franchise only recently. Even in the most modern democracies such as the United States of America (USA), the women gained the franchise only in 1920, whereas Britain gave the women franchise under different ages first in 1918 and then on the same age with men in 1928.
The women in Swiss got the franchise only in 1971, while it was only in 1995, that blacks in South Africa had the full franchise, that is to say, the right to vote and be voted for in national elections.
In effect, democracy even in its original conception unfortunately implies the rule of the few. In general, therefore, democracy as we know it, is ‘representative democracy, a system in which power and authority is held and administered in trust by elected representatives. The key terms here are, ‘representative democracy’.
Again, let us ask ourselves, what do we look for in a system of government to know that what we have is indeed a true representative democracy? I will summarise these under what I call essential elements of democracy.
Essential Elements of Democracy The first element to look for in a democracy is freedom. In any system that claims to be democratic, individuals as individuals, and individuals as members of the community, must have the right to associate with one another towards achieving a collective good.
Individuals should also be free to hold and propagate opinions, views and ideas. They should also be free to move about, acquire and own property and have the right to the security of their persons and their family. As the Charter of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), a precursor to the African Union (AU) proclaimed in 1963, “freedom, equality and dignity are essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples”(Skye R. Uku: 1978).
The second most important element to look for in a democracy is equality. As the United Nations Bill of Rights proclaimed in 1948, “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” (UNO: 1948). Article 2 of the Bills of Rights went further to state that, “everyone is entitled to all rights and freedoms set forth without distinction to any kind such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origin, property, birth or another status” (UNO: 1948).
This means all individuals should have equal rights and opportunities to actively participate in the conduct of their communities’ affairs without let or hindrance. Each person should have the right to aspire to the highest position of authority in his society.
The third element in a democracy is justice. Indeed, there is no democracy where there is no justice. In the Preamble to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), it was stated inter alia that, “we the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria have resolved to make a Constitution for (among other things) the purpose of promoting the good government and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of freedom, equality and justice and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people”(FGN: 1999).
It is clear from all these that, the three elements of freedom, equality and justice are inseparable and non-negotiable in any truly democratic setting. The basis of all human life is the promotion of peace and happiness and certainly, where there is no justice, there will never be peace or happiness, and where there is no peace and happiness, there will be no unity among the people and where there is no unity, conflicts and violence are not only unavoidable but inevitable.
Ironically, it was the struggles to achieve, protect and defend these fundamental values of democracy: freedom, equality and justice that led to numerous conflicts and wars worldwide including the American war of independence, (1776); the French Revolution, (1789); the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, (1917) and the Chinese Revolution of (1949).
They also served as the motivating forces for nationalist agitations and decolonisation struggles in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East throughout most part of the nineteenth century and the whole of the twentieth century.
Basic Principles and Institutional Framework of Democracy However, the ideals and aspirations for freedom, equality and justice cannot be achieved in a vacuum. There must be a framework, institutions and structures to facilitate democratic governance.
It is, therefore, appropriate at this stage to examine some of the institutional frameworks that facilitate the growth and development of democracy. The Constitution: One of the most important, if not the most important element is, the Constitution.
A constitution to a country is like an engine to an automobile. Without a working engine, the very logic of an automobile in motion cannot be contemplated. Based on the same principle, all countries that aspire to run a system of government based on democratic principles must have Constitutions, whether or not these constitutions are written.
It is the Constitution that stipulates the system of government to be operated in a country. It specifies the basic laws governing the conduct of national life. It defines citizenship, its rights and responsibilities. It also sets out the statement of aspirations on the role of that nation in the international system.
In other words, in order for a country to have democracy and political stability, it must have not only a constitution but a stable Constitution. Unfortunately, Nigeria just like most other African countries has not been so lucky in terms of Constitutional stability.
Since political independence in 1960, Nigeria has gone through many constitutional changes often disrupted by military interventions. But again, since the 1999 Constitution came into effect, it has undergone several amendments by the National Assembly. And there are still very loud voices calling for the amendment of the Constitution or even restructuring the country through further Constitutional amendments or through a sovereign national conference.
In this circumstance, the fact is that the fundamental laws of the land embodied in our country’s Constitution have remained very unstable to a point where even those who had the opportunity to govern this country hardly know nor would they remember some of the Constitutional provisions on even most popular issues such as state and local government creations, the status of citizenship and the role of religion in national life.
The Legislature: Similarly, representative democracy – even though often reduced, wrongly so in my view, to one-man-one-vote or majority rule – requires that elected representatives of the people must be accountable to the people. It is indeed to ensure this accountability that regular and periodic elections are made an integral part of the democratic process.
This ensures that all elected individuals at all levels are sensitive not only to those who voted for them but also to those who did not but could have voted for them. This also gives citizens not only the right but also the power to recall or refuse to re-elect a politician who failed to fulfill his or her campaign promises.
The Judiciary and Rule of Law: The judiciary must also be impartial in the adjudication of cases arising from the Constitution, the electoral system or decisions or policies from the Executive arm of the government, while both the law enforcement agents and the press should function in such a manner that neither the institutions nor the democratic ideals suffer unduly from misuse or manipulation.
Everything must be guided by the rule of law as enshrined in the Constitution. Under a democratic setting, it is unconstitutional to enact retroactive laws or laws that are likely to undermine the basic essentials of democracy namely, freedom, equality, equity and justice for all citizens. Independent Electoral Machinery: Whether or not, it is a no-party, one party, two-party or multi-party system that is adopted, the electoral machinery must be independent, courageous and free from all encumbrances.
Surely, in the absence of a stable Constitution, other structures and institutions of Government upon which democratic governance rests such as the Legislature, the Judiciary, the bureaucracy, the electoral machinery, political parties and the press which derive their powers and functions from the Constitution are unlikely to remain stable or effective.
Separation of Powers: Even in the so-called advanced countries of the United States and Western Europe, the principle of separation of powers between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary is indispensable.
For, it is argued that the same person should not make the laws, execute them and interpret them. Or what is often referred to as being the prosecutor, the judge and the jury all at the same time.
In the absence of a clear system of separation of powers and responsibility of the three arms of government, the tendency for autocracy and even tyranny is inevitable. In the event of crisis and civil conflicts under this scenario, the impartiality and legitimacy of law and public policy is called to question with adverse consequences to the polity and civil society.
Free Press: An independent and free press is also an integral part of democracy. As the Fourth Estate of the Realm, the press plays decisive often very difficult and hazardous roles in helping the people to hold their elected representatives accountable. This is assuming even more important dimensions with the emergence and expansion of social media, a modern media without borders.
Any attempt by Government to undermine or emasculate the press will amount to undermining the very foundation of democracy itself. What all these mean is that democracy is about freedom, equality, justice and about accountability.
To achieve all these, the various institutions and structures of Government must be put in place to ensure that the processes of achieving these goals under these institutions and structures should not only be free and fair but must be transparently so.
The dilemma however is, why despite these elaborate rules of the game, and in spite of Nigeria’s love for democracy, it is often characterised by failure in leadership and good governance which often lead to crisis, conflicts and even political violence as we are experiencing in most part of the country today?
Here, the questions are, is violence inevitable? Is it not avoidable under democratic governance? What Is Governance? Your Excellency Sir, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, please permit me to pose yet another question: What is governance? This is also something everyone knows and therefore does not require serious debate.
In simple words, governance means a process of decision making and the process of implementing those decisions, a process through which power is exercised. However, a broader meaning was assigned to this phenomenon by the European Union EU) which defined governance as, “generally encompassing all aspects of the way a country is run, including its economic policies and regulatory framework” (EU: 1999).
Subsequently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) also described it as, “the exercise of economic, political and administrative authority to manage a country’s affairs at all levels. It comprises mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations and mediate their differences”(IMF: 2002).
However, from whichever angle one wishes to take the definition, the underlining issues of decision making and the process of implementation of decisions in the exercise of power and authority form the common denominator.
The bottom line is, ‘governance’ could be either good or bad. A political environment characterized by poor governance provides a fertile ground for inefficiency, ineffectiveness and corruption, key pieces of evidence of bad governance, the resultant effect of which is often poverty, disease and other scotches of underdevelopment.
It is often the failure of governance that most of the time leads to disunity among the people, “unhealthy” completion for access to State resources which are then manipulated by a failed leadership leading to frequent inter and intra-communal clashes and violence.
On the other hand, good governance offers greater incentives and more scope for countries in Africa to harness their vast human and natural resources to promote education, agriculture, health care, infrastructural development, industrialisation, provision of security and employment and generally improve the welfare and standard of living of the citizens.
What Is Good Governance? Our next question is what is good governance? As with most social phenomena, there is no exhaustive definition of the concept of ‘Good Governance’ that commands universal acceptance.
Nonetheless, in simple terms, good governance implies fulfilment of the basic expectations of the people: the ability and capacity of government to deliver services; maintenances of law and order, provision of security; the development of civil society, respect for Human Rights; the promotion and protection under the law of voluntary organisations including trades unions, political parties and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and an independent Press.
In the context of the neo-classical school of thought, which has been the dominant paradigm in the US and Western Europe, it envisages a strong private sector economy and a market-driven economy, which again, implies policies and infrastructure to encourage private sector development (MacDonald: 2000). A similar view is held by Akokpari.
According to him, good governance, “can be conceived here as a system of administration that is democratic, efficient and development-oriented. It is the process whereby public institutions conduct public affairs, manage public resources and guarantee the realisation of human rights in a manner essentially free of abuse and corruption, and with due regard for the rule of law” (Akokpari: 2004).
However, the insistent use of this phrase by the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions re-enforces the emphasis that good governance transcends the normal political realm.
According to this perspective, good governance is not just a democratic setup, frequent elections and the respect for human rights, but more broadly, it includes the judicious use of resources, promotion of the private sphere as well as developing and nurturing formal and informal relations between government on the one hand and on the other, civil society, domestic and international non-state entities and the international community (World Bank; 1981, 1992).
In short, like Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General stated in an address in July 1997, “We are witnessing a new wave of progress in Africa, based on peace, democracy, human rights and sustainable development.
Together, these four principles form the pillars of good governance. The will of the people must be the basis of governmental authority in Africa … That is the foundation of democracy. That is the foundation of good governance” (Kofi Annan: 1997).
It is clear from all these that good governance relates more to institutional processes through which the goals of development are achieved. It is then clearly understood that good governance borders on initiatives that strengthen the institutions of civil society so that government will become accountable, open, transparent, and democratic (HURILAWS: 2002).
It should be understood that the concept of democracy in the western world with its free marketplace of ideas might not be exactly the same concept of good governance in countries such as China or Russia where the issue of state control of public services is still the dominant feature.
Indeed, the compelling issues of democracy, good governance and leadership in developing countries in Africa are confronted with their long history of colonialism and the contemporary neocolonial character of the States, their multi-ethnic and multi-religious complexities and weak democratic institutions with its teething challenges of development desiring a lot of restraint.
Read also: The case for African-centred leadership perspective
Critical Elements of Good Governance Since governance is the process of democratic decision-making and the process by which decisions are initiated and implemented, an analysis of good governance must take into consideration the formal and informal actors involved in the process of decision-making and the implementation of these decisions (UN-ESCAP).
Of course, beyond the government which is primary in the line of actors in governance, other actors involved in varying degrees include Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), religious leaders, financial institutions, political parties, the media, lobbyists, international donor agencies, multinational Corporations etc.
All these play various roles in decision making or in influencing the democratic decision-making process and its outcome.
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