ANB-BIA SUPPLEMENT

ISSUE/EDITION Nr 323 - 01/05/1997

Nigeria

Transition to Democracy

by Linus Obi Chiamuta, Nigeria, March 1997

THEME = ELECTIONS

INTRODUCTION

Nigerians turned out in large numbers on 15 March 1997, to elect chairmen and councillors for the 774 local government councils of the Federation. This seemed to mark an important step along the road to democracy... But was it?

These elections raised hopes that Africa's most heavily populated nation with over 100 million people, is on the move to democracy, and international observers said these elections were conducted in a democratic way.
Yes, the elections were O.K. but what does this mean when the 1995 Constitution is still not operational? On 24 March, the newly elected chairmen and councillors took their oath of office and assumed their duties, but under which Constitution will they now operate?

Short History

Nigeria has had nine Constitutions since independence in 1960. (The country became a republic in 1963), The Clifford Constitution (1922); The Richards Constitution (1946); The Macpherson Constitution (1951); The Lyttleton Constitution (1954); The 1960, 1963, 1979, 1989 and 1995 Constitutions. Of these, only the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions were drawn up by democratic governments. That of 1995 has yet to be put into practice.

Military Regimes

Following the military coup of 15 January 1966, the subsequent military governments of Generals Ironsi, Gowon, Murtala Muhammad and Obasanjo, abrogated both the 1960 and 1963 Constitutions. The military regimes promulgated Decrees to replace the Constitutions. Then came a time when Nigerians petitioned for a return to civilian rule, so on 4 October 1975, the Murtala government set up a 50-member Constitution Drafting Committee, presided over by a legal senior advocate of Nigeria, Chief Rotimi Williams. The Committee submitted its report a year later.
The government then set up a 30-member Constituent Assembly, headed by Mr. Justice Udoma, to seek out and collate the views of Nigerians concerning the proposed Constitution. The committee submitted the draft of a new Constitution to the then Head of State, General Obasanjo (he had succeeded Murtala Muhammad) on 29 August 1978. The ban on politics was immediately lifted. And the military, through Obasanjo, handed over the government to the civilian regime of Alhaji Shagari on 1 October 1979.
This Constitution was allowed to operate for four years, and then the military under General Buhari, took over on 31 December 1983. This was followed by a bloodless military coup led by General Babangida in 1985.
Babangida set up a political bureau to registered Nigerians' views on how to move the nation into democracy. Then came the now familiar procedure of setting up a Constitution Committee, drafting a Constitution and submitting it to the Assembly. This was the 1989 Constitution, and it was operational for some times during a transition period, but unfortunately, Babangida's annulment of the 12 June 1993 presidential elections, caused a political impasse. The Interim National Government of Chief Shonekan could not help matters, as General Abacha took over power on 17 November 1993. He promised Nigerians that he would convene a National Constitutional Conference to determine the country's political future.
On 18 January 1994, General Abacha's regime set up the National Constitutional Conference Committee, mainly to receive memoranda from Nigerians, on the modalities of moving forward, and preparing a framework for a National Constitutional Conference that would draw up a new Constitution. He had promised to call the Conference by early 1994. It was postponed and after strong public pressure, re-scheduled for 27 June. A year later, the Conference's Report and the Draft Constitution, were submitted to the Head of State, and became known as "The 1995 Constitution".

A non-functional Constitution

It was intended that the 1995 Constitution would be promulgated to guide the present transition period into full democracy. But the military regime has never kept to its promise, and in January 1996, the Secretary of the Federal Government explained that the Constitution would only be promulgated into law in 1998. In an interview with the The Washington Post, General Abacha confirmed the statement.
Chief Yemi Faroubi is the South-West Coordinator for the United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP). He says: "If I go by what I read in the Washington Post interview, the new Constitution will only be promulgated into law, after the civilian administration has taken over. So under which Constitution are we going to be governed between then and now? Also, on which Constitution do those elected to office in the recent local elections, depend?" Chief Mike Ozekhome is a human rights activist. He says: "What's happening now is a constitutional aberration. It's legal anathema. How can the government want this present transition programme to continue without a Constitution? Non- availability of a Constitution is making a lot of people feel or believe that the government has a hidden agenda".
The Media has a great deal to say on the subject of the Constitution. Let's take just one paper, The Post Express. An editorial states: "There are good reasons for promulgating the Constitution now. Any game needs rules, otherwise there is chaos. Even spectators on the touchline need to know the rules of the game, otherwise they cannot appreciate it properly. The public needs to be guided."

Politicians operate under threat

The absence of a Constitution to guide the political process, has already led to many contradictions. The newly elected local government chairmen who began their duties on 24 March, feel themselves threatened.
Look what happened when the Lagos State military administrator, Colonel Mawa, presided over the swearing-in ceremony of the chairmen in his region. He said they were to stay in office for three years, not for four as stated in the 1995 Constitution. They were handed a long list of "priority programmes to be followed". The chairmen were informed in no uncertain terms that they would be "dealt with" if they did not follow the programmes.
The Ondo State military administrator, Navy Commander Anthony Onyearu-gbulem drummed into the chairmen's heads that "the military government is still very much in control of the country", despite the present transition period.
The Military administrator of Oyo State, Colonel Usman, went even further. He has banned the council chairmen from attending political party meetings without prior approval from his office. It is clear that the absence of a Constitution has already created confusion in the transition process. The government must take positive steps to direct the country along the correct road to democracy

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