Politics
A Case For Political Order In Nigeria
Their authority was personal, derived from charisma or rank, so that the choice for the people, so far as they had a choice, lay between the demagogue and the general. Some were good, some were bad, but all lacked systematic political backing.
They were obliged, therefore, to rely on their wits or swords. The natural outcome of any regime without focus becomes either an entrenched tyranny or constant shifts and instability while freedoms are curtailed or abused on the plea that the autocrat or the one party state would be more efficient.
But such regimes failed to deliver the goods. Industrial and commercial failure became the order of the day, roads and educational institutions decayed, and the health system deteriorated, with corruption at all levels and sectors thriving.
The instability of the Nigerian state and its disappointing performance are due to the kind of leader who power poverty, corruption and crime in swollen proportions. They indulge in ill-conceived and ill-managed economic policies which produce crippling external debts.
This is against the principles of a strong economy, which is the prime element in political power and in the public glare, while economic weakness and inequality promote disorders.
The political independence and sovereignty of Nigeria had not been able to assuage the height of poverty plaguing the citizenry and remove dependence on other counties. The country’s trading system among other trading nations still suffers some barriers in tariffs and quotas as the economy weakens day by day, despite the fact that Nigeria has entered the international economy.
Worse still, the country’s economic ties with other nations are not properly protected due to the corrupt tendencies of our leaders.
Nigerian manufacturers are ill-equipped for international economic competition and they produce inelastic goods for which demand (except in the case of oil is less than world standards. The effects of economic recession is clearly marked on the faces of majority of the nation’s populace and there is desperate poverty, in some areas famine.
The rich are getting richer, while the poor soar in abject poverty. Governments at all levels have talked for decades about poverty eradication without implementing the policies.
The time is, therefore, ripe for new measures to be devised principally to rescue the country’s numerous industries and other sectors of the economy to create wealth for the citizenry and afford radical relief. The current ‘cold war’ and tensions among the ranks of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the country is a detraction from the main problems of the country.
The focus of the government should be rested upon chiefly paternalism and not plots to unseat one another for personal aggrandisement.
The purpose of democracy is to allow the citizenry-ruler or ruled to acquire special rights and enjoy the dividends of power trusteeship, because when leaders are installed after elections, what the electorate expect is service delivery.
Nigeria is rich in human and material resources and these resources are meant to be used to transform the lives of the people through the provision of infrastructure and poverty alleviation. The rules governing the country and its economy must be strictly and religiously enforced and adhered to since the emergence of a democratic rule in the country is seen as a blessing and not as a curse, hence it must be used to drive national development.
The political nature of Nigerians is that which seeks gratification and self-aggrandisement or greed, and where everyone is a law unto himself, thereby, creating a state of war of all against all. In this situation there is no leisure, no peace or culture but only constant fear of violent death.
The is unacceptable to the political order as it breeds hostilities and political disorder. There should be stainless respect and loyalty among the ranks of the ruling class. We must strive to get out of this political quagrnire bearing in mind that Nigeria’s democracy is still nascent and does not require political radicalism capable of truncating the system.
People feared democracy in Nigeria due to radicalism extremity of some players which had led to loss of lives in the past.
The best thing to a common good in Nigeria is the maintenance of political order which enables people to go about their selfish pursuits without destroying one another. “Government exist merely to maintain order for the physical security of its subjects,” says Hobbes.
According to him, the executive as the only beneficiary of an undertaking which other people have made among themselves, is a party to the contract to set up government and is obligated by the terms of the contract, especially to enforce the law of nature and the right of nature judiciously.
In the words of Abraham Lincola, “We have inherited a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. The right to participate in governing ourselves in order to protect our rights and promote our common welfare carries certain responsibilities.
Among these responsibilities are the need to develop the knowledge and skills to participate intelligently and the willingness to promote liberty and justice for all. It is the responsibility of the leaders to administer the programmes and policies laid-down for the restoration of the severely battered or damaged economy to make it essentially sound and skilled economy with powerfully engendered financial aid impelled both by generosity and fear of corruption and collapse.
Governments should find out or identify the immediate needs of the people through valuable economic surveys, bisect them for economic as well as political purposes.
Political culture is very important and too important to ignore. Our state and society have changed immensely since democracy came in but the underlying culture has remained recognisable the same.
There is, therefore, the need for our politicians and leaders to develop a potential lever to change their behaviours towards politics and governance.
Nigerians and the world at large are watching the roles of our political institutions and their impacts on the country and the people.
Recalling Nigeria’s history and political culture will go a long way in effecting change in the political activities of Nigerians and also strengthen the political system of the country.
History is beyond manipulation and culture is difficult to change.
Political parties in the country can operate differently but must understand that history and culture are important and determine the success or failure of a country or its democracy.
If the nation’s democracy is to function well, the thinking of our politicians and leaders must go beyond voting in elections and occupying positions. They should know that they are entrusted with great responsibility of serving the people and ensuring the delivery of democratic dividends.
Shedie Okpara
The Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, has visited his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in a surprise move that may not be unconnected with the 2027 presidential poll.
Alhaji Abubakar, a former Vice President, announced Mr Obi’s visit in a tweet on Monday afternoon,
“It was my honour and privilege to host @Peter Obi today. – AA,” the post read, with a photo of both men exchanging a handshake.
Although Alhaji Abubabar did not reveal the details of their meeting, insider sources close to the candidates told The Tide source that the meeting, which lasted about one hour, was about a merger towards the 2027 election.
The sources also disclosed that Mr Obi initially met with Jigawa State former Governor and PDP chieftain, Sule Lamido, in Abuja before his private meeting with Alhaji Abubakar.
Before Mr Obi visited the opposition PDP leader, there were speculations that the duo may be plotting to form an alliance to unseat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
Mr Obi was previously in the PDP, where he joined Alhaji Abubakar and served as his running mate in 2019. However, in the build-up to the 2023 election, he defected to the LP, where he contested the presidential race.
Mr Obi and Alhaji Abubakar lost their presidential bids to Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday struck out a suit filed by the Labour Party (LP) seeking an order compelling INEC to conduct a fresh election in the Rivers State House of Assembly to fill the seats of the defected lawmakers.
Justice James Omotosho struck out the suit after counsel for the party, F. I. Adariku, applied to withdraw the suit.
In the suit, the LP had sought the order of the court to compel the commission to conduct a fresh election to fill the seats of the lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
But INEC, through its lawyer, Victor Giwa, disagreed with the LP.
Giwa, in a preliminary objection filed on INEC’s behalf, prayed the court to dismiss the suit for being frivolous and incompetent.
According to the lawyer, the suit is an abuse of court process.
He urged the court to decline jurisdiction in the case as the plaintiff (LP) lacked the locus standi and territorial jurisdiction to institute the action.
Giwa, a human rights activist, argued that there was a pending case currently ongoing at a Federal High Court, Port Harcourt judicial division, with suit number: FHC/PH/CS/25/2024 before Justice E.A Obile.
He said the Port Harcourt suit had same parties and concerned same subject matter which was filed earlier before the instant suit in February.
However, after INEC filed its objection, the LP approached the court to withdraw the suit.
Adariku, who held the brief of Kehinde Edun, the party’s national legal adviser, sought to withdraw the suit, praying the court to strike it out.
A. S. Adisa, who held the brief of Giwa, did not oppose the application.
“It is hereby ordered as follows: that this matter having been withdrawn is hereby struck out.
“That the cost of 50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) is awarded against the plaintiff in favour of the 29th defendant (INEC),” Justice Omotosho declared.
The Tide source reports that other defendants in the suit were Gov. Siminalayi Fubara, Dumle Maol, Major Jack, Franklin Uchenna Nwabochi, Christopher Ofiks, Azeru Opara, and Enemi George.
It also included Granvill Wellington, Ngbar Bernard, John Iderima, Queen Uwuma Williams, Loolo Opuende and Abbey Peter.
Others are Igwe – Obey Aforii, Justina Emeji, Ignatius Onwuka, Hon. Chimezie Nwankwo, Lemchi Prince Nyeche, Barile Nwakoh, Emilia Amadi, Nkemjika Ezekwe, Davios Oxobiriari, Nwankwo Sylvanus, Gerald Oforii and Wami Solomon.
The Kogi State Governor ship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, on Monday, reserved judgment in the petition filed by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka, against the election victory of Governor Usman Ododo.
At Monday’s proceedings, Ajaka’s lawyer, Pius Akubo, urged the tribunal to set aside the respondents’ submissions and uphold theirs.
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), through its lawyer, Kanu Agabi, told the court that their final written address was dated and filed on May 2 as he prayed the tribunal sitting to dismiss Ajaka’s petition.
Likewise, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Ododo asked the tribunal to dismiss Ajaka’s petition in its entirety for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
Counsel to the respondents, Agabi, Joseph Daudu, and Emmanuel Ukala, while adopting their final written addresses and presenting their arguments against the petitioners, prayed the three-member panel of Justices, led by Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu to dismiss the petition.
Agabi contended that the Appeal Court had decided that if the grounds of a petition are inconsistent with one another and are not consistent with the reliefs, it should be struck out.
He also argued that the evidence of the petitioners were grossly insufficient, citing a Supreme Court decision in a case of Tonye Cole against INEC.
“It is our humble submission that your work in the determination of this petition is simplified in recent judgments by the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.
“It is to the effect that once the evidence called is grossly insufficient, there is no evidence. In that case, the petitioner filed 305 witness depositions but only adopted 40 of them.
“The petitioner, according to the decision, only adopted about 13.1 per cent of the witness depositions. In this case, the depositions adopted represent just about 3.6 per cent of their witness depositions,” he said.
He said the petitioners only called 25 witnesses out of the scores listed.
Agabi, said in the mathematical calculation of evidence, 3.6 per cent of Ajaka’s witness deposition adopted in the petition amounted to a failure and therefore, ought to be dismissed.
He said the petitioners equally failed to file the witness deposition beforehand in contravention of the Supreme Court’s decision in Obungado’s case.
He argued that the petitioners’ witness who testified about the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, clearly stated that he could not guarantee whether those were the BVAS used.
Governor Ododo’s legal representation, Daudu, while adopting his final written address dated and filed on May 1, argued that the petition was statute-barred (filed out of time).
He argued that the action of the petitioners was against Section 122(1) and (2)(a) of the Evidence Act, which empowers the tribunal to take judicial notice of the time of filing, service and response.
Although he clarified that the petitioners responded to their service, Akubo objected to Daudu’s citing of the section describing it as a fresh argument.
Daudu, in response, disagreed with Akubo that he was raising fresh issues after a final written address had been filed.
He said if the court found merit in his argument, Akubo had the right to respond because it bordered on issues of remittal procedure.
He also urged the tribunal to dismiss the allegations of forgery against his client, saying it bordered on a pre-election matter, which the apex court had decided in Gbagi’s case against INEC.
Daudu also argued that Section 137 of the Electoral Act cited by the petitioners on allegations of over-voting did not apply in the instant petition.
Similarly, Ukala, who represented APC, urged the court to dismiss SDP and Ajaka’s petition for lacking in merit while he adopted all the processes.
He informed the court that their final written address, dated April 30 was filed same date.
The petitioners’ lawyer, Akubo, told the tribunal that their final written address was dated and filed May 6 adding that their petition was not filed out of time.
He argued that the respondents themselves confirmed that the petition was filed on December 2, 2023, even by their own witness.
“I urge your lordship to hold that we filed this petition within time under our law,” he said.
After taking arguments from all parties, Justice Birnin-Kudu reserved judgment in the petition.
He announced that a date for judgment would be communicated to the parties.
Recall that the tribunal had, on April 25, fixed Monday, May 13, for the adoption of final written addresses after the parties closed their case in the matter.
SDP and Ajaka had approached the tribunal to challenge Governor Ododo’s victory in the Nov. 11, 2023, Kogi governorship election.
In the petition, INEC, Ododo and APC are listed as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively.
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