SO MANY factors, including institutions, that are supposed to provide support for the success of democracy have posed serious threat to its survival. The enemies of democracy in Nigeria are ever increasing. Nigerian democracy is facing serious crisis and the crisis keeps deepening on a daily basis. There are so many roadblocks to a strong democracy in Nigeria at all levels of government. There are conflicts due to political competition and communal, tribal, religious or resource allocation rivalries.
Bad as they are, these enemies are no longer as ugly as the threat posed by electoral umpire and the judiciary. The duo pose a more grave danger to democracy.
No institutions have discouraged voters in participating in Nigeria’s democracy than the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC): the inability of the body to organise free, fair, credible and acceptable elections has reduced people’s confidence in the electoral process. A sovereign people should choose its leaders, without manipulations and crooked intrigues. Sadly, the challenges of voter apathy which undermine turn out isn’t a serious concern to INEC. The umpire bungled the opportunity it had in February 25th 2023 to prove to Nigerians that it can be trusted to hold free and fair elections.
The judiciary is supposed to be that leviathan that exudes respect, reverence and dignity. It should have capacity to restore hope, and should not be a shrine for sacrificing justice.
“According to the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, the judiciary is “the bulwark of democracy and the last hope of the common man”. The attainment of justice remains one of the enduring promises on constitutional democracy. If the judiciary succeeds to convince citizens, especially the youths who believed that the Nigeria project is still possible, trouped out in February 25th to cast their votes, that it can only validate what people are able to snatch. If it succeeds in doing that then there is no light in our political horizon. The judiciary shouldn’t become an altar for the sanctification of successful criminality.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, Nigerians have never been comfortable with outcomes of election-driven litigations because most judgments resonate with gloom and sense of despondency. It appears that the part to justice is strewn with social, cultural and institutional challenges that make it difficult for people to access justice. It is an established fact that political elites have been in the pretenders masquerading as champions of liberty and defenders of judicial independence while at the same time striving, interfering and manipulating the judicial process.
No institutions have discouraged voters in participating in Nigeria’s democracy than the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC): the inability of the body to organise free, fair, credible and acceptable elections has reduced people’s confidence in the electoral process. A sovereign people should choose its leaders, without manipulations and crooked intrigues. Sadly, the challenges of voter apathy which undermine turn out isn’t a serious concern to INEC. The umpire bungled the opportunity it had in February 25th 2023 to prove to Nigerians that it can be trusted to hold free and fair elections.
Nigerians had thought that INEC was in good shape, and they had high expectations that the electoral umpire’s promise to transmit voting tallies electronically from polling stations would eliminate ballot stuffing. Inability of the IREV to perform, raised legitimate concerns of vote tampering during long delays. Some people suspect that ab initio INEC knew where it was headed. The umpire deliberately deceived Nigerian.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, it was in 2023 elections that reasonable Nigerians, especially youths, decided to embark on an electoral journey that transcend ethnic boundaries. Our youths were piqued by failure of the system in all ramifications. The colossal failure of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the injuries of EndSARS struggle, decided to participate in the electoral process believing that correction is possible through the ballot.
The shoddy manner that the February 25th election was conducted and the watery excuses adduced by INEC as to why it couldn’t meet the expectations of voters, have only helped to deepen the challenge of voter apathy. Considering the fact that total votes cast for the four major contestants was 23,377, 466 in a country with a population of 220 million. The turnout amounted to 27 per cent. If official results are right, two-thirds of the 87 million people who lined up for hours to collect their voter registration cards failed to cast their ballot. According to Times of London, “Apathy cannot explain it. Something, including the possibility of widespread voter suppression, must have prevented them from voting”. Total turnout of voters was unacceptably low.
Nigeria’s democracy has always been a tribal project even before and after independence. Apart from NCNC, all political parties at independence were region-based. Power through democratic means has always been an ethnic struggle for supremacy and sometimes it leads to unholy alliances. It is for this reason that the system has not been able to throw up good persons. Nigerians do not resent criminals, except if the criminal is not from their ethnic group. Over the years it is evident that whenever our faulty leadership recruitment process throws up the ugly in our midst, it is people outside his or her ethnicity who will complain.
Since the return of democracy in 1999, it was in 2023 elections that reasonable Nigerians, especially youths, decided to embark on an electoral journey that transcend ethnic boundaries. Our youths were piqued by failure of the system in all ramifications. The colossal failure of Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and the injuries of EndSARS struggle, decided to participate in the electoral process believing that correction is possible through the ballot.
The election may have gone the way of previous ones before it, but the damage done by its fraudulent outcome will linger for a long time. Nigerians should know that meaningful change does not come cheap. The next four years will represent the darkest hours before a new dawn. Therefore, we must not lose hope. I salute Obidients all over the nation. We shall do it again!
Comrade Amechi, a trade unionist and pro-democracy activist, writes from Lagos.
