With what is happening in the country today, one “is compelled to ask is our democracy moving ahead?” In a nation like ours that question will draw protesters and a public symposium. In short, there will be those who will take up pages of newspapers to list the good things we have gained since Nigeria re-embraced civilian rule in 1999. By the time they finish to enumerate the gains of democracy and its so-called dividends one is won’t to become a democracy ambassador.
The good side is that I am able to write this because democracy has given me the right to do so. There is so much freedom that one can move around the country without any passport. Democracy is such a good thing that one can reside in any part, except in the so-called “herdsmen colonies”.
One may even ask, “what about the right to vote and be voted for?” Of course that is one of the biggest gains we have gotten as ordinary citizens since the military boys threw away their khaki uniforms and made themselves senators and lawmakers, including governors and presidents. The constitution provides that if one is tired of wearing khaki, he can scrap his uniform and take up mufty. With that, one is guaranteed absolute freedom to force himself on the people indirectly by being the only candidate that emerges at the primaries. And, if you don’t succeed that way, you ask some boys to shoot at the polling booth to scare away civilians and stuff the box with ballot papers.
We have moved from Option A4 to Secret Ballot system, where only a voter can decide to cast his vote by himself and not by proxy. The former Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) has transformed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Before now, they were tied to the apron strings by the federal government, but now they are so independent they can announce figures even when the elections are over.
To further make them more independent those old-school teachers who cannot add ordinary figures have now been replaced with very erudite professors and doctorate degree holders of the Chike Obi class, who can calculate the two-thirds of Nigerian voters in five minutes. It’s so simple these days to just look at the voters register and predict who will win in the next elections.
The media is also doing well; there are lots of media houses now. As the fourth estate of the realm, they are saddled with spreading every government propaganda and those who cannot are either shut down or sued for breaching the peace. Journalists are having a field day in their duties because it’s easier to get jailed for false information than before. Those unprofessional ones are gradually being weeded out of the field.
The social media has emerged to give voice to the voiceless; a responsibility the traditional media has failed to do in the past 20 years. With Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp one can mobilise millions of Nigerians to do what the government says. That is why the GSM companies are expanding base everyday and cost of android phones has gone down drastically.
So with a phone in your hands you can even overthrow the government and make our politicians accountable. This new social media regulatory bill is god-sent to save the nation from anarchy. How can everybody be speaking at the same time? There is need to streamline the media space by ensuring that nobody tries to paint our democracy black.
There is much improvement in our legal system such that the lawyers are smiling to the courts. There is so much cases to be defended, even if one tries to cause insurrection against the government. As at today, the lawyers have improved in defending human rights. One cannot stay in the police and DSS custody for more than 24 hours. Anywhere such happens, the best lawyers are ready to give their services “Pro-bono”.
The women have become more involved in governance; they are no more in the kitchen or in the “other room”. This democracy has brought out the best in them that even our former speaker at the House of Representatives was able to beat her female counterpart and won. Some of them have the privilege to cry at the floor of the House if their male colleagues fail to heed to their debate. Foreign countries can now see our women are very emotional about the democracy of the nation. They want to see more women in government positions since it will bring the dividends closer to the people. Empowering more women will mean that lots of them will leave their shops and markets or government creates more position for them.
The youths are the most advantaged now. Not fewer than 50 percent of the appointments go to them. The octogenarians are gradually being pushed out of the system. The country is witnessing more young hands driving government policies and programmes, the problem is that most of them love cars, houses and holidays.
To make sure that this democracy works, there is need for a third term. Eight years is not enough for a sitting governor or president to succeed. Such term is too short to deliver on electoral promises. The country needs to amend its constitution so that a president will have to stay enough to complete his visions and programmes.
This democracy is good because opposition are the real enemies of the people. They should stop destabilising the peace that we have. The best way to play opposition is to align or jump to the ruling party and enjoy the dividends. Why should there be an opposition in our young democracy? Even in advanced countries the opposition joins hands in transforming their country.