Realnews 2nd Anniversary Lecture
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| By Willie Obiano |
INTRINSIC in the various definitions of Democracy is the fact that as a system of government, its hallmarks are that it must be truly representative of the voice and interests of the people. After sixteen years of Military rule, we have had fifteen years of democratic government in Nigeria. Thus since May 1999 Nigerian democracy has been in evolution with incremental improvements for over a decade. The first sign of progress is that over time a Nigerian brand of a democratic culture with all its imperfections is gradually emerging. I see obvious improvement in the shift from our penchant for blaming the inadequacies in our system as a bequeath of the Military era to interrogating the issues as they occur rather than the usual blame game.
Indeed, whereas there are few things to celebrate in having managed to sustain democratic governance in the country till this moment, there remain obvious challenges in Nigeria’s match to building a true democratic culture. Socio-economic challenges, ethnicity, religion, security, transparency and accountability, and lack of internal democracy within parties etc are some of the impediments to a true democratic culture which unwittingly impact good governance.
The imperative of good governance was aptly captured by Hannatu Musawa in a write-p on Good governance as Panacea for Sustainable Democracy:
“Good governance, on its part, is absolutely imperative for social and economic progress. Good governance involves justice, equity, protection of life and property, enhanced participation, preservation of the rule of law and improved living standard of the populace. Governance is termed bad when it fails to achieve these purposes.”
According to Hannatu good governance is about the performance capacity of a government or as it relates to leadership capability. Failure of governance, therefore, could expressly mean failure of leadership. She observed that “for good governance to be feasible in Nigeria, sound anti-corruption policies devoid of mere speeches or lip service must be put in place. There have to exist a functional legislature, a viable and independent judiciary, and the attitudinal transformation on the part of our political elite, the absence of which good governance and development will continue to be a mirage.”
In spite of these multifarious challenges there are remarkable pockets of good governance, evidence of prudent dispensation of justice by the Judiciary that has set good electoral standards leading to improvements in governance, and improvement of living standard in some states. There is, in addition, an improvement in the quality of our elections, and it appears that there is a greater commitment to adhering to the rule of law and the rulings of the courts by the Federal Government than we had in previous years. For instance the landmark judicial pronouncement on Anambra and subsequently other states clearly defined the tenure of governors and helped the electoral umpire INEC to better manage its processes and conduct of scattered elections.
Although Nigerians have met with disappointments in our match to a sustainable democracy, I believe that the year 2015 offers Nigeria another opportunity towards building a more inclusive democracy that would ensure a stronger, safer, more prosperous and more united country.
However we cannot ignore the precarious security situation in the country especially terrorism in some parts of the North which is fast eroding the gains we have made as a democratic united country. For genuine democracy to thrive we have to ensure some semblance of stability across all parts of Nigeria. Thankfully our military and the various security agencies are fast adapting to the demands of containing the new challenges and it is expected that the Nigerian version of the global phenomenon would be resolved soon thereby allowing the authorities to concentrate on the task of building a more equitable society.
Some essential ingredients of democracy which can strengthen Nigeria’s democratic culture in the years ahead include making policies to encourage the practice of internal democracy by political parties, building of strong civil society and tolerance of divergent opinions and ideas, respect for multiplicity of political associations and parties where the big and strong avoids swallowing the weak, respect for the rule of law and above all a strong and independent media. Of course, all the institutions highlighted here must observe certain responsibilities which are both unique but essential to finding the balance for genuine progress in the polity.
Therefore, if we must get it right from 2015 a number of actions should be taken and/or re-enforced to ensure a quantum leap forward for our democracy. These include;
- Early preparation by INEC for elections
- Voter education
- Inclusive approach to governance
- Commitment to allow electoral votes count at all levels
- Collective funding of political parties rather than that by a few money bags and strengthening of internal democracy within the parties
Finally I wish to state that one way of starting to right the perceived wrongs and whittle down public pessimism is such a platform for group interaction and frank discussion like what Realnews offered us today. As we ventilate opinions on varied national issues I expect that it won’t end here, let’s find a unique Nigerian mechanism for feedback and application of learning across the national spectrum.
All told, I believe that ultimately our democracy will continue to thrive.
Thank you.
A Speech Presented by Willie Obiano, governor of Anambra State, on the occasion of the Second Anniversary Lecture of Realnews Magazine and Publications Limited on Wednesday, November 19
— Dec. 1, 2014 @ 01:00 GMT
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