Wale Oluwade argues that all the acknowledged indicators for a democratic society are absent in Nigeria
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What makes a system of government democratic? There are 10 fundamental elements that makes a system of government democratic.
These are; Multi-party participation, Free, fair & credible elections, Separation of powers, Checks and balances. Others include, Virile public institutions, Independent and impartial judiciary, Supremacy of the rule of law, Free and independent mass media, Active citizen engagement and The role of CSOs.

Upon a critical analysis and evaluation of the foregoing, it becomes apparent our social/political and governance practices are nowhere near being deemed even a caricature of a democratic political system. Tagging our current governance practices democratic is an egregious travesty.

I intend to use the November 3, 2020 U.S. presidential elections and the sordid events in its aftermath as comparison or benchmark for this piece. Why? Our model of democratic governance is copied from the U.S. and it is appropriate to examine what we currently practice if we’re in the right trajectory.

Let’s examine five of these fundamentals of democracy. First; free, fair and credible elections. Our elections in Nigeria are usually not free, fair nor credible. Also, elections here are synonymous with warfare, literally and practically. Most politicians retain thugs and sundry criminals to rig, cause mayhem and generally disrupt peaceful conduct of the exercise.

Whereas, in the U.S., while over 150 million citizens voted before and on election day, not a singe incident of violence was recorded! The exercise was largely peaceful and uneventful in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, in spite of fears to the contrary.

Second, separation of powers. President Donald Trump was investigated and eventually impeached by the U.S. Congress in 2019 for allegations of misconduct in the Ukraine affair. He was ultimately acquitted by the Senate. Who would dare begin impeachment proceedings at the National Assembly against a Nigerian President?

Third, virile public institutions. The only reason the U.S. in the last four years of Trump’s presidency hasn’t become a full-blown fascist society is only because the institutions of state resisted and checkmated his excesses. The legislature, the civil service, the military, especially, in no unmistakable terms reminded the president, in a speech delivered by Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Kelly, that; “We do not take an oath to a king or queen, or a tyrant or dictator, or even an individual or country or tribe or religion. We take our oaths to the U.S. Constitution.” In essence, though the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces, yet, he couldn’t give an order that breaches the constitution and such would be obeyed.

Likewise, the President’s Republican Party members in several swing states who stoutly refused to kowtow to his machinations to violate both the laws and norms guiding elections processes to tilt the scale of victory in his favor. All these individuals, just a handful of them, but in key states, against their party and an all-powerful president, refused to break the law or compromise their personal integrity. We all know what obtains here.

Fourth, a free and independent mass media. One of the greatest evidences of a democratic society is the unfettered liberty of media organizations to disseminate information however unpalatable to those in political power without intimidation or coercion. Again, Trump did his best to delegitimize, intimidate and threaten a number of media organizations he deemed unfavorable to him but he could do nothing more than brand them “fake news!”

The highpoint of these was when the President, in 2018, ordered CNN’s White House Chief Correspondent, Jim Acosta, be barred from further coverage of the White House and his press pass suspended. CNN sued and the court, presided over by Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee to the District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered Acosta’s press pass be restored immediately as the White House was a public place and not even the president could stop any journalist properly sent there by his/her organization to do their job protected under the First Amendment.
In Nigeria, however, media houses are at the mercy of an overbearing, intolerant and repressive political and elite dictators.

Finally, and perhaps, the most significant of these principles is the strategic role the judicial branch plays in a democracy. While the judiciary exists hamstrung and shackled, in every form of government but a genuinely democratic society cannot exist in the absence of an independent and impartial judiciary.

The state of the judiciary is the ultimate test of democratic governance. For instance, in Nigeria, an extremely odious, criminal and highly lucrative election litigation industry has been established since the advent of the 4th Republic where members of the Bar and Bench scramble for market-share dominance.

Not a few lawyers have attained dubious rockstar distinction purely on electoral litigation adroitness which is a euphemism for rank corruption. The examples are legion but the recent Imo state gubernatorial “judicial wonder” suffices.

Conversely, the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections’ contrived crisis by the defeated incumbent Donald Trump who, in cahoots with his party, approached the states, federal and ultimately the Supreme Courts, yet, all demonstrably balked at getting involved in elections matters. Indeed, and as succinctly captured by Judge Stephanos Bibas who wrote for the 3rd US circuit court of appeals in the decision over Pennsylvania votes certification;

“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here,” the judge further denounced as “breathtaking” a Republican Party request to reverse certification of the votes, adding: “Voters, not lawyers, choose the president. Ballots, not briefs, decide elections. [The] campaign’s claims have no merit.”

The ruling – as of then, Trump team’s 38th court defeat in election lawsuits nationwide – reaffirmed US district judge Matthew Brann’s earlier view of Ruddy Giuliani’s complaint, delivered after he listened to five hours of oral arguments. The lawsuit, Judge Brann said, was: “like Frankenstein’s Monster, haphazardly stitched together.”

The appeal court’s ruling was also laced with the subtle irony of the courts’ unwillingness to corruptly interfere in the electoral disaster that has befallen Trump in that, he (Trump), appointed judge Bibas in 2017. The two other panel judges were also appointed by Republican presidents, and Maryanne Trump Barry, the president’s sister, sat on the appeals court for two decades until her retirement last year.

Needless to add, as of the time of typing these, the president has lost 57 cases in the courts, including two at the SCOTUS, which is significant bearing in mind Trump appointed a third of the entire SCOTUS panel & his party maintains a clear 6-3 nomination majority on same. Critically, each of these 57 cases didn’t take more than 24-48 hours to dispense with! There was no plethora of invidious injunctions, deposing and cross-examination of witnesses,, dragging on for months.

So, while U.S. courts stoutly refrained from allowing lawyers usurp the roles of Voters and briefs replacing ballots in deciding the winners of electoral contests, that, sadly, is what obtains in Nigeria. Almost every election ends up at the courts for adjudication & the courts are unusually eager to oblige the perfidy to the extent it’s become a critical part of our electoral culture.

Finally, why is the SCOTUS powerful & revered in America? Many reasons but at the top of the list is the lifetime tenure of its members. The justices dispense justice as they deem fit assured in their immunity from backlash from an overbearing executive or legislature. This guarantees the selection process is rigorous ab initio. Once appointed and confirmed as Supreme Court justice, except such voluntarily retires, is of unsound mind or proven to be corrupt, its “till death do us part!”

For each of the remaining fundamental elements I highlighted, a similar depressing comparison can be made to decisively validate my assertion. Hopefully, at some point in the distant future, Nigeria may yet emerge a truly democratic nation, but for now, it’s just a civilian dictatorship.

Wale Oluwade

Source

This article is RICH and SUPERBLY written, and we must LOG it here as usual!

Let's start with what I consider the most important statement from this article.

in a speech delivered by Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Kelly, that; “We do not take an oath to a king or queen, or a tyrant or dictator, or even an individual or country or tribe or religion. We take our oaths to the U.S. Constitution.” In essence, though the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. armed forces, yet, he couldn’t give an order that breaches the constitution and such would be obeyed.

Every US citizen right from even kindergarten knows this truth, and it has been DRILLED into even the hardest of skulls. That is the basis upon which the American democracy rests, and NOBODY can change that.

Can anyone say that Nigeria has such a basis? Is that basis the 1999 constitution? lol. Let me leave that for now.

A Nigerian general gave the order to shoot to death still unknown numbers of protesters at Lekki Toll gate, and another Nigerian general gave similar order to shoot to death still unknown number of civilians at Obigbo/Oyigbo Rivers state. If you ask these Nigerian generals they would tell you that they were defending the constitution of Nigeria; the same constitution that gave Nigerians right to peaceful protest, assembly, speech, association and life.

Some Nigerians like to compare Nigeria with USA, but I just laugh, because it takes a certain level of civilization, and HUMAN MENTAL DEVELOPMENT to practice the American system of democracy.

I shall get to this point later...

“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here,” the judge further denounced as “breathtaking” a Republican Party request to reverse certification of the votes, adding: “Voters, not lawyers, choose the president. Ballots, not briefs, decide elections. [The] campaign’s claims have no merit.”

This statement came from a JUDICIAL branch of government- the type that is FREE to carry out its duties without coercion or interference.
But in Nigeria, the CJN was removed ahead of time, and a charlatan Sharia judge put in his place to frustrate any future election petitions against the incumbent. And predictably, that is exactly what happened in the 2019 elections.
Still comparing Nigeria with USA?
Let's continue ...

The appeal court’s ruling was also laced with the subtle irony of the courts’ unwillingness to corruptly interfere in the electoral disaster that has befallen Trump in that, he (Trump), appointed judge Bibas in 2017. The two other panel judges were also appointed by Republican presidents, and Maryanne Trump Barry, the president’s sister, sat on the appeals court for two decades until her retirement last year.

Needless to add, as of the time of typing these, the president has lost 57 cases in the courts, including two at the SCOTUS, which is significant bearing in mind Trump appointed a third of the entire SCOTUS panel & his party maintains a clear 6-3 nomination majority on same. Critically, each of these 57 cases didn’t take more than 24-48 hours to dispense with! There was no plethora of invidious injunctions, deposing and cross-examination of witnesses,, dragging on for months.

I guess the question for Nigerians at this stage is this:
Would a Nigerian judge rule against the president that appointed him or her? Ever?

That is why I said that the American system requires DEVELOPED human beings to run.

Nnamdi Kanu often makes a statement some may find offensive and that statement is that baboons are running Nigeria.

By "baboon" Kanu means a human being that somehow behaves like a sub-human.
And he argues that it has nothing to do with "education" (the usual type people brandish in Nigeria).
He says that a Nigerian "professor" would still behave even worse than a stark illiterate when faced with challenges that require higher human behaviour. He argues that that is why professors work under illiterates in Nigeria.

How many Nigerian "judges" these days would behave like these American judges?

These questions should occupy your mind anytime you want to see Nigeria as a civilized society.

Democracy is impossible in an uncivilized society.  You need to first civilize a society before you can practice democracy. The first place to start is for TRULY educated people to stop working for or kowtowing to the whims and caprices of illiterates and haters of western education.

A Sharia court judge cannot in a million years understand (or appreciate) the rudiments and the finesse of the Magna Carta and the Western jurisprudence.

Likewise, the President’s Republican Party members in several swing states who stoutly refused to kowtow to his machinations to violate both the laws and norms guiding elections processes to tilt the scale of victory in his favor. All these individuals, just a handful of them, but in key states, against their party and an all-powerful president, refused to break the law or compromise their personal integrity. We all know what obtains here.

In Nigeria, just a few days ago (yesterday?) rumour was making the rounds that the senate president was working with others to impeach Buhari. And then some APC minions of the president and his inner circle started talking as if the senate president was about to commit treason! And this in a country where almost everyone knows that the country is failing.  America is booming economically under Trump, but still his own party members are more interested in ensuring that the constitution works more than in winning elections. The system is working as designed. Would you say that about Nigeria?

Finally, my favourite statement in this article!

The highpoint of these was when the President, in 2018, ordered CNN’s White House Chief Correspondent, Jim Acosta, be barred from further coverage of the White House and his press pass suspended. CNN sued and the court, presided over by Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee to the District Court for the District of Columbia, ordered Acosta’s press pass be restored immediately as the White House was a public place and not even the president could stop any journalist properly sent there by his/her organization to do their job protected under the First Amendment.
In Nigeria, however, media houses are at the mercy of an overbearing, intolerant and repressive political and elite dictators.

The Nigerian president and his henchmen and goons like Adesina, Lai Mohammed, and Garba Shehu have been working TIRELESSLY trying to gag Nigerians. They have concocted all manner of bills trying to control the media, both conventional and social media.

They've crafted "hate speech bills" of different shades, and are still working to stop people from talking.
And this in a country that needs people to air their views and vent out their frustrations about the country in order for them not to pick up arms?

You see how a US judge who DEEPLY understands the intents and purposes of the constitutional protection for free speech behaved? Even one appointed by an incumbent president?
Would this happen in Nigeria? Perhaps in a million years!

That is why some Nigerians believe that the only reasonable thing to do with Nigeria is to disintegrate it, to create CIVILIZED country or countries out of this current one.