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Nigeria |
DEMOCRACY
An over-view of the current situation
On 29 May 1999 after almost thirty years of military rule, Nigeria returned to democracy. To understand the significance of this event, it is necessary to take a look at what’s been happening in the country during the almost thirty-nine years since independence.
Historical Background: Nigeria was a British colony until independence on 1 October 1960. It became a Federal Republic in 1963. Nigeria has a population of about 120 million inhabitants and has over 200 ethnic groups with diverse cultures, customs and traditions. It is rich in natural resources.
From the first military coup of January 1966, until the return to democracy under General Abubakar in 1998 and President Olusegun Obasanjo in May 1999, Nigeria’s sad history has been one of coups, counter-coups and half-hearted attempts at democracy. With General Abacha’s sudden death in June 1998, General Abubakar did not waste time in handing over power to an elected government barely a year after he became head of state.
The birth of political parties: When Chief Obasanjo was sworn-in as Nigeria’s democratically elected President on 29 May 1999, he inherited a country that was already tired of military rule. The resentment of the people to the military was palpable. The pro-democracy groups wanted a sovereign national conference (SNC) to determine the role to be played by every ethnic group in the country. Their clamour for a SNC was born out of their observation of the wanton destruction of their country by previous administrations. In truth, Nigeria needed a surgical operation and a new breath of life to keep it afloat.
In the beginning, twenty political parties registered and took part in the local government elections, which cleared the way for the registration of political parties for the legislative and presidential elections. At the end of the exercise, only three of the twenty political parties qualified for registration. These were: The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), The All Peoples’ Party (APP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD). The PDP emerged as the party with the largest following. It is predominantly controlled by the ruling northern chieftains and military apologists, while the AD is a party of the South West, dominated by pro-democracy activists. The APP is neither here nor there. Although it is the second largest political party, it does not control respect like the other two, in terms of ideology and clout. Such was the situation when Obasanjo took over 12 months ago.
The parties are broadly in support of market economy with strong control of the state, and more state intervention and state participation in the areas of health, education and provision of basic infrastructures. All these policies are not yet well articulated, because these parties were hurriedly put together in order to participate in elections — an important criterion for the military to go back to the barracks. This situation justifiably accounts for the initial problems of the present democratic experiment.
Preventing military coups: The first positive step taken by President Olusegun Obasanjo as soon as he was sworn-in, in 1999, was to completely reorganize the Nigerian military hierarchy. In one fell swoop, Obasanjo sacked all military personnel that had held political appointments in the past, starting from 1966 to date. He later retired all service chiefs and appointed new ones to make the military more professional. With those two acts, he was able to ensure the military respected the authority of Nigeria’s civilian leadership.
The fight against corruption: Part of the measures taken by Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration to combat corruption, is the drafting of an anti-corruption bill. This bill makes it legally possible to punish any government official, including the President, if found guilty of illegally amassing wealth, through stealing, inflation of government contracts and the use of influence to defraud the state. The National Assembly has passed the anti-corruption bill. President Obasanjo, has consequently signed the bill into law
There is nothing extraordinary about this anti-corruption bill. However, the only innovation in the bill is that henceforth no elected official of the state, including the head of state, will benefit or enjoy any immunity while in office, if the commission of enquiry has sufficient evidence of corrupt practices levelled against such an official.
In his maiden speech when Chief Obasanjo was sworn-in last year, he made the fight against corruption his administration’s major priority. Obasanjo said: «No society can achieve anything near its full potential, if it allows corruption to become a full-blown cancer as it has become in Nigeria. One of the greatest tragedies of the military rule in recent times, is that corruption was allowed to grow unchallenged and unchecked. Rules and regulations for conducting official business were deliberately ignored, set aside and by-passed to facilitate corrupt practices. We will fight corruption with all the means at our disposal. We shall be firm. There will be no sacred cows. Nobody, no matter who and where, will be allowed to get away with breaking the law or perpetrating corruption and evil.»
Calming ethnic crises: The new democratic government in Nigeria has been confronted with various ethnic and religious turmoil in different parts of the country. Many people have been killed while property worth millions of Naira has been destroyed. Two explanations can be given for this. Nigerians have lived with violence under the various military regimes for too long. It is already difficult for them to come to terms with the reality that the government in place now requires simple dialogue to resolve conflicts. The military understands violence and have always used that in the past. Secondly, some of the acts of violence have been deliberately sponsored by the enemies of the present government, to scuttle the nation’s progress towards democracy. There is no doubt that with the change in government some people have lost out, especially with the policies of the present government. The only way such enemies of progress can survive, is to create confusion and encourage the army to come back to power.
Much of the violence is also the a result of pent-up institutional anger caused by the previous military regimes. For instance, there is the problem of the Niger Delta region, where the youths are fighting for recognition of the environmental problems caused by the oil companies operating there. They have often accused the oil companies of exploiting the people whose land has been devastated by oil pollution, without much compensation coming their way.
For several decades, the various ethnic groups in the Niger Delta have been agitating that a part of the oil revenue be used to substantially improve their working and living conditions. The present democratic government recognises the obvious fact, and the reality that the only way to gradually put an end to the seemingly endless crisis with its security implications for Nigeria’s economy, is by addressing the problems of squalor, unemployment, poverty, environmental degradation and the high level of crime in the Niger Delta. To this end, President Obasanjo, on assuming office, quickly presented a bill on the «Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC)» to the National Assembly. According to the contents of the bill, thirteen percent of the proceeds from the oil revenue should go to the nine oil producing states of the Niger Delta. The bill has now been passed by the National Assembly. Its implementation is therefore the next stage.
Also, there is the case of the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) of south-western Nigeria which represents the militant arm of the pro-democracy activists, mainly from the Yoruba-speaking ethnic group. Their grouse was against the military under the draconian rules of Generals Babangida and Abacha. The OPC was first formed to actualize the 12 June 1993 presidential elections won by a prominent Yoruba politician, Chief MKO Abiola, but which was annulled by Babangida. Secondly, it was formed to defend the pro-democracy activists of the Yoruba people who were the target of Abacha’s killer squads.
Finding a solution to religious crises: The biggest social crisis that has ever confronted Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, came from the northern part of the country where the Hausa-Fulani elite were, until recently, the major power-brokers in the Nigerian Federation ever since the country obtained political independence from the United Kingdom forty years ago. The religious riots that bedeviled the present administration, came about because of the introduction of the Sharia, the Islamic law, in certain parts of the country. Because Nigeria is a secular state where both Muslims and Christians co-exist, it is considered an affront to introduce such laws without injuring the feelings of non-Muslims especially in a situation where the majority of the people are not able to defend their rights. Non-Muslims believe that the Sharia is being introduced to scuttle the present democratic government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. After the religious riots in Kaduna, in which hundreds of people were killed, and several churches and mosques destroyed, President Obasanjo held a series of meetings with religious and traditional leaders, to seek a peaceful solution to the problem. After that, Vice-President Atiku Abubakar met with the Muslim governors and resolved to revert to soft pedal on the issue of Sharia.
Establishing press freedom: One major achievement of the present democratic government is the way the press has been able to operate freely since its inception. As the fourth estate, the Nigerian press has lived up to expectation. Not only have standards improved but more of their reports have been in the area of investigative reporting. Many of the excesses of political office holders have been exposed, to put on record the required checks and balances needed for the survival of democracy. The first «victim» of the free press has been the erstwhile leadership of the National Assembly. Within a few months of coming to office, both the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Salisu Ibrahim, and the Senate President, Chief Evans Eweren, were impeached following reports in the Press exposing their fraudulent practices regarding falsification of age and educational qualifications.
Guaranteeing respect for human rights: In pursuance of his human rights policy, President Olusegun Obasanjo set-up the Justice Oputa Human Right’s Commission, to examine all cases of violations of human rights from 1966 to 29 May 1999. The period under review was the height of military dictatorship and civilian misrule. It even included the civil war years of 1967-1970 during which there were many cases of flagrant human rights abuses. The federal authorities have promised to quickly look into the commission’s recommendations. The Commission has yet to submit its findings, but an extension has been granted because of the enormous number of petitions received from the people.
Conclusion: Our nation is on the right path. There will be ups and downs but Nigerians are determined to see the nation survives as a democratic nation. A lot remains to be done. Political stability must be strengthened and peace become an established fact in our nation. The government must continue to search through dialogue and consultation with diverse political forces in Nigeria, for acceptable solutions to the country’s complex religious and institutional problems.
 | Taye Babalaye, Nigeria, August 2000 — © Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgment |
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