Politics
‘Nigeria Needs To Strengthen Democracy’
Who should be an ideal person to rule this country? If I say I know who should rule this country then I am pre-empting democratic principles; I am saying that there is no need for elections.
A country like Nigeria of 150 million people, blessed with natural resources unparalled should be led not ruled, by somebody of integrity, somebody who has character, a democrat par excellence; and somebody who is visionary and has the interest of the ordinary people in this country at heart. Somebody who will look back and say that sincerely the past leaders of this country rather than moving the country forward have retarded the country and that the day he takes up office say 2011 is the beginning of change in Nigeria. That is the kind of person I would want to lead this country. That is the kind of person those of us in the civil society have been struggling over the years from military to civilian dictatorship to run the affairs of this country. So that the environment would be open, conducive for ordinary people, for every hard working Nigerian.
Nigerians are not lazy people. With the right environment, Nigerians can thrive, they can compete favourably with anybody anywhere in the world (black or white).
Those I would not want to run this country in 2011 are people like Babangida who have had an unparallel opportunity whether military or whatever to run the affairs of this country but were over-run by power.
Instead of moving this country forward, they destroyed some of the fabrics that would have made this country great. We are where we are today because leaders like Babangida, rather worked to retard the progress of this country. They went to the root of this country and cut off the root because of their selfish interest.
There is no point saying I build this and build that when the basic foundation that can give the present and future generations opportunity to grow in the land were removed. I don’t think that characters like Babangida should be allowed to run the affairs of this country. And I think that Babangida should typifies a kind of person I would not want to rule this country not just me but majority of Nigerians; look back at the June elections that would have helped to sabilise democracy in this country and give all of us an opportunity to grow. Babangida deferred but he has not been decent enough to come out and say “Nigerians, I am sorry”.
He has refused to bear responsibility for all the murders, Dele Giwa and the rest of them that were alleged. Yes, he ran a military dictatorship but we have also seen military dictatorship that had decency elsewhere in the world and they helped in building their country. So, you don’t use military tyranny as an excuse to fundamentally abuse the right of people, to fundamentally deny people opportunity and deny them their fundamental right to life. People like General Vasta was killed on a trumped up charge of organising a coup.
People who cannot take responsibility for their actions are no ideal leaders. We hear of the Okigbo report of the oil wind fall, over N20 billion; who cannot clear themselves. People who can not come before the Oputa Panel and tell the truth about what they did when they were in power, cannot come and insult the intelligence of Nigerians. I think what he is coming to do is to finish up what he has left of us. So characters like that I don’t think can run the affairs of this country.
Now for Nigeria to move forward democracy must be strengthened. Because that is the only way that, people who are as diversed both in ethnic and religious terms can live together. If you don’t have effective democracy, if democracy is not strengthened in Nigeria, it becomes extremely difficult to have the right leadership to move this country forward. In that scenario, you will continue to have the Jos crisis, the Niger Delta crisis, the Odual people crisis, religious crisis among others. So there is need to strengthen democracy to tackle the crises.
Nigerians are expected that after the military, there should be a semblance of democracy and growth; that their GDP would improve but we all know since may 1999 across this country especially in the Niger Delta, that it has not been easy for ordinary people to freely go to the poll to elect their leaders. What this means over the time is that people get into public offices where they don’t care about the welfare of the people but about themselves. They grow themselves at the expense of the ordinary person.
The violence we have in the Niger delta is as a result of bad governance and leadership. If you go to other parts of Nigeria, the same thing applies. That is the reality on ground. So we need a democracy that is strengthened, a democracy that offers ordinary people the opportunity to freely go to the ballot box and elect credible candidate.
We need a situation in which an elected person will know that if he does not perform well, he could be voted out in the next election. But this is not what we have now. What obtains presently is “no matter what I do I will come back the people don’t matter”. But the people actually matter. That they are not on the street marching against government on daily basis is not the reason to believe that they don’t matter.
They can withdraw their co-operation; they can withdraw quietly their obedience to civil rule hence they would embrace, kidnapping while those in positions of authority continue to steal.
In the constitution, the primary responsibility of government is to protect lives and property. If the people do not feel secured, how would they wake up in the morning and go looking for money. So we need a leader that must emanate from the people – be it a councilor, local government chairman, legislator or whatever. People say fear of God but also there should be fear of the people because the mandate belongs to the people. We need a change of our electoral regime, and that calls for the implementation of Uwais Report. That report should be faithfully implemented, since the content of the report is what Nigerians want; it should infact be made the law of this country.
Also, whoever should take over from Iwu should be somebody who has been in this system, understands the system, understands the legal workings of electoral bodies across the globe. Somebody who is also willing and ready to take risk on behalf of Nigerians not on behalf of Mr. President or National Assembly. So, that when 2011 comes whoever emerges, the world at large would accept him.
It is important they choose some body who will be able to organise something that is close to free and fair election.
I believe that perfection is probably impossible, so something that will be calculated by both local, regional and international observers as free and fair. So that Nigerians can begin to talk about a leader of their own, they can begin to talk about their own value.
Today, the life of a Nigerian is worthless the way we are treated by our own leaders. People are killed on daily basis and nobody cares. It is only when one big man or politician is kidnapped that you see it on the pages of Newspapers.
In freedom House Index an independent Non-Governmental Organization based in Washington DC that monitors freedom across the world, Angola, Botsana, Sierra Leone, Ghana are far higher rated in terms of democratic strengthening. But Nigeria is rated as what is called as autocracy. And this is a country that is supposed to play a major role in Africa. Today, if a nation is not democratic in nature forget it and she can not play at the international level.
No rebranding is not a public relations exercise; you can have one hundred million national orientation agencies, they will not make any impact until you have leadership stands at the podium at United Nations building in New York or international conference centre, Levi and proudly say that, “I am piloting a democratic Nigeria”, and that statement would also concretely and constructively be supported by the opinions of the majority of the people of this country and the external watchers.
So until we have a leader that can stand out, and people can say he is not an abuser of human rights; he did not kill Nigerians with impunity in the past; he did not steal Nigeria’s money and he did not force himself to power. Until you have somebody of repute, somebody of integrity at the global state representing our interest.
It takes a good leader to liberate Nigeria and Nigerians from betrayed hope. I don’t know if that person is Jonathan. But if Jonathan is the character that can bring back integrity to Nigeria; integrity to leadership, human decency, taking ordinary Nigerians seriously, adding value to humanity of Nigerians if he is, he is free, he is a Nigerian, he should contest. But because of the circumstances, I would say Jonathan should concentrate on three main issues – reform the electoral process, work with the National Assembly and give Nigerians an effective electoral instrument.
Also, there should be a provision that once the election is over all the electoral cases arising from that election should be disposed of before anybody takes the position. Once any position is contested, the election tribunal should dispose all cases before anybody mounts the position of governance.
Anyakwe Nsirimovu is Executive Director, Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (1HRHL).
Anyakwe Nsirimovu
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has begun deploying non-sensitive materials to the zones as it prepares for the 2027 general election.
Acting Chairman of the commission, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, disclosed this in Abuja, yesterday at a bench-marking meeting with a delegation of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“Right now, all non-sensitive materials are almost ready. In fact, today as we speak here, the non-sensitive materials have been lifted to some zones now,” Gumus said.
She said the commission had completed nine of its scheduled activities and was preparing for the next phase.
“We are preparing for the election next year and we have activities lined up. So far, we have been able to complete nine activities and we are still preparing for the next level of activities,” she said.
Gumus said the commission’s leadership had just concluded a tour of the country’s six zones to assess their level of preparedness.
“The purpose was to go round the zones to see how prepared we are, assess what the zones have put in place, their challenges and what to do. We concluded last week and we can see from our tour that we are really going towards the election proper,” she said.
On Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), the acting chairman said production had been completed and distribution to the states was well advanced.
“As of today, we can say that PVCs have been produced and the first, second batches, most of the states have received them. Their PVC collection is ongoing. All those who are supposed to be the voters are supposed to receive their PVCs, and if they don’t have them, it is also another challenge,” Gumus said.
She added that capacity building was under way for staff at the headquarters and in the states, and that the procurement and deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System BVAS devices were also ongoing.
On diaspora voting, Gumus said the commission could not proceed for now because the law did not provide for it.
“Here, because we go by the law, in our electoral law, it is not included there, so we cannot go on for the diaspora voting for now until we amend the electoral law,” she said.
The acting chairman said the commission had arranged for its directors to hold an interactive session with the Kenyan team and present papers on the work of their departments.
Leading the delegation, the Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Isaac Parashina, said the IEBC team was in Nigeria to benchmark ahead of Kenya’s general election in August 2027.
He said the team was studying how Nigeria handled its diaspora population and special voting groups, as Kenya sought to widen voting rights for citizens living abroad.
“Currently we have about 12 of them who voted in the last general election, but there is intention to expand to around, I think, 26,” Parashina said, referring to the countries where Kenyans abroad vote.
He said the expansion was a constitutional requirement backed by Kenyan court rulings, and would be enforced progressively.
Parashina said Nigeria’s election, which he noted would come in two rounds, would be closely watched across Africa.
“Everyone is looking at what Nigeria will do because it is the biggest democracy in Africa. The success of Nigeria remains a great success to Kenya and indeed to the continent,” he added.
The High Commissioner thanked INEC for receiving the team despite a tight schedule and wished the commission success.
Governor Douye Diri has set a target of at least one million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Bayelsa State in the 2027 presidential election, while charging the newly inaugurated All Progressives Congress (APC) State Campaign Council to prioritise reconciliation, party unity and collective electoral mobilisation.
Governor Diri gave the charge at the inauguration of the 20-member campaign council at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa, where he warned that internal divisions could undermine the party’s efforts to secure victory for President Tinubu and other candidates at the federal and state levels.
Governor Diri urged party members who were not appointed to the council to support its activities by taking the APC’s message to communities, wards and polling units across the state.
He specifically charged the campaign team to mobilise at least one million votes for President Tinubu, arguing that Bayelsa’s voting strength had increased and should be reflected in the 2027 election results.
“I give you a target that in Bayelsa, we must not bring less than one million votes for Mr President. You are going to campaign, and you have a lot to talk about the President. He has done so much for our people,” the governor said.
He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the second phase of the Nembe-Brass Road, interventions in the power sector, federal appointments for Bayelsa indigenes and the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy among the achievements the campaign should present to voters.
The governor particularly praised President Tinubu for the coastal highway project, arguing that it reflected federal attention to the development needs of coastal communities.
“No president, alive or dead, has remembered the coastal people and coastal states to say let us do this signature project from Lagos to Calabar. The first president to think about it is Bola Tinubu, and those were the demands of the Ijaw people,” he said.
Governor Diri also expressed hope that a second term for President Tinubu would provide an opportunity to advance demands for fiscal federalism, greater resource control and state policing, which he described as longstanding aspirations of the Niger Delta.
He said the President had shown indications of addressing some of the demands of younger Nigerians and argued that re-election would allow the administration to consolidate its reforms.
The governor further cautioned campaigners against personal attacks and abusive exchanges with political opponents, insisting that the APC should focus its campaign on issues, policies and achievements.
The governor’s mobilisation directive comes amid criticism from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has questioned his commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election campaign, alleging that APC campaign billboards erected across Yenagoa promote other party candidates without featuring the President.
The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Ikaebimo Mark, said the billboards showed Governor Diri urging voters to support APC candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections without identifying President Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Mark described the omission as an indication that the governor was not fully aligned with the APC’s national leadership.
“When we said that the governor, Senator Douye Diri, is not supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we knew exactly what we were saying. Now Governor Douye Diri has erected APC campaign billboards across Bayelsa State without Tinubu’s picture. He is even afraid to associate himself with the photograph of the presidential candidate of his own party. How can this governor claim to be supporting President Tinubu?” he said.
The PDP, however, maintained that the governor’s public campaign posture raised questions about his commitment to the President’s re-election bid. Its allegation over the billboards now places the issue of the relationship between the state APC leadership and the party’s national campaign among the political questions likely to feature in Bayelsa’s preparations for 2027.
The PDP’s allegation has introduced a fresh political dimension to the APC’s preparations in Bayelsa, even as Governor Diri publicly called on party leaders and members to close ranks and mobilise support for all its candidates.
“Every person picked as a member of this campaign council was carefully scrutinised. I want to tell you that our campaign team is loaded. We parade the best candidates among all the parties in Bayelsa State, and there is no doubt about that,” he said.
He urged members to remain focused and united, warning that political opponents could exploit any divisions within the party.
“Our unity is very important because they would want to feast on our disunity. We will not give them that opportunity. Please, as you carry out this assignment, do not take your eyes off the target,” Hon. Ogoriba said.
SP Edafe explained that during the meeting, the organisers were briefed on the identified security threats and advised against embarking on an open-road procession.
Instead, the police reportedly recommended that the political activities be conducted at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
However, the Command alleged that the organisers disregarded the security advice and proceeded with the road procession.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has condemned the political violence that erupted in Asaba, the state capital, on Saturday, confirming that one person was killed while four others sustained serious injuries.
The government described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable, warning political parties and their supporters against actions capable of threatening public peace, security and democratic participation in the state.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, the government reiterated its zero tolerance for political violence, intimidation and other forms of political misconduct.
Mr Aniagwu said the government had repeatedly cautioned political parties against engaging in activities capable of disrupting the peace, insisting that the incident could have been avoided if the organisers had followed security advice.
According to him, the police had advised the organisers to cancel the proposed street march and instead conduct their political campaign at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
He expressed concern that the advice was allegedly disregarded, resulting in a confrontation that claimed one life and left four other people seriously injured.
The government subsequently called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
Mr Aniagwu further warned that the state government would not tolerate politically motivated attacks against any individual, regardless of political affiliation.
He maintained that Delta State remained safe for residents and visitors, stressing that the government would not allow the actions of individuals or groups to undermine the prevailing peace and security in the state.
The government also urged political parties, their leaders and supporters to conduct their political activities within the confines of the law and demonstrate respect for human life, public order and the rights of other citizens.
The latest development follows an attack on supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) during a political procession in Asaba, which reportedly left several participants injured and campaign vehicles vandalised.
The government’s condemnation comes amid growing concerns over political violence and the safety of opposition supporters as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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