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Democratic Corruption: The Case of Nigeria, By Ogunmakin Oyewumi

Democracy or democratic system of government is one of the most reputable system of government that gives values and recognition to the citizens of a particular country on how to shape their destiny or government through periodic franchise or referendum without being under duress or any intimidation. It is the most widely used system of government since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1991 because there is no alternative to it. Thus, this in my own opinion is why the concept lack a unique definition because. James Bryce in his two monumental works, The American Commonwealth (1893) and Modern Democracies (1921), defined democracy as “the rule of the people expressing their sovereign will through their votes”. However, the road to democracy in Nigeria was arduous, but we finally re-adopted the system in 1999. Hence, we have been witnessing an ‘unhindered’ democratic system of government since then.

Corruption on the other hand is regarded as an immoral and illegitimate use of public power for the benefit of private interest is one of the main problems threatening the developments of this country. Thus, it is not news that corruption is one of the pains in the neck of Nigeria democratic development. It is institutionalized in every Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government and it is systemic. The question is how is the Nigerian state corrupt using democracy as the basis of our analysis? To what extent can democracy as a system of government develop the Nigerian state? To what extent can or will the political class deviates from corruption? Continue reading “Democratic Corruption: The Case of Nigeria, By Ogunmakin Oyewumi”

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BEYOND THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, by Yinka Ogunlana

By Yinka Ogunlana

Elections! Elections!! Elections!!! On the 28th March, 2015 Nigeria once again witnessed another wrestle of power in her political space, but this time, it was the battle of the fittest as the people’s choice determined the winner.

Many Nigerians became enthusiastic about the election process as some attended rallies, some stayed glued to their television set, some to their radio set, some to the newspapers and some even surfed the internet rigorously to stay turned with political events such as campaigns, rallies, conferences and news of political actors such as their decamp, comments, speeches among others.

Of a truth, the election was never as heated compared to what the electorates and even the politicians used to experience. However, we heard promises upon promises, several manifestos among other good will messages from different political parties. Though it’s not a surprise because many Nigerian politicians have always been desperate to either retain power or assume power. Politically, speaking, this is what ought to be as political parties are meant to keep the nation politically alive and active, though we cannot over-emphasize the fact that many of these political parties in their quest for power have bridged the rules guiding the game of polities as molestation, threat, blackmail, political violence and assassination of political opponents has gradually become a norm in our current political dispensation, most especially during the pre-election exercises of the 2015 general election. Continue reading “BEYOND THE 2015 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, by Yinka Ogunlana”

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The Twisted African Democratic Revolutions

Special Feature/African Democracy                 

Either in Libya, Nigeria, Chad, Egypt or Tunisia, the African nation-state, from its birth, has been in some sort of undeviating inanimate democratic revolution. The reason is that the African state, as a political entity, is yet to have everlasting grip with the African nation, as a community, hence the almost constant schisms and the revolutions. African revolutions occur not because of the African community, which is intact, but the African state, which is unbalanced and unreflective of Africans’ innate democratic feelings.

Upheavals against colonialism for independence aside, post-colonial Africa’s bad leadership, endemic corruption, poor governance, horrific tyrants and dictatorships, and generally unstable domestic authority structures have put African states in almost permanent revolutions for democratic order. Hard questions abound as to when the revolutions will end and democratic institutions set up.

As I witnessed as a teenager during the 1979 Rawlings revolution, revolution can bring momentary joy to a people who are depressed from bad political leadership and economic shortages. Ghana witnessed this under the Kutu Acheampong military junta, which also described itself as revolutionary. Doug Saunders, of the Toronto-based The Globe And Mail, writing about world revolutions following the Egyptian, Libyan and the Tunisian revolutions, explains that, “The joy of revolutions is that they make ordinary life interesting. Suddenly, the streets glow with importance; anything seems possible.”  Under such atmosphere, the state, of which the revolution is about, fades into the background momentarily.

In either Jerry Rawlings’ Ghana or Idi Amin’s Uganda or Samuel Doe’s Liberia, almost all the African revolutions share the basic belief that life will be better for the average African. Against these beliefs is the fact that not all the African revolutions are the same, coming in diverse contours.

While the Idi Amin revolution saw him turn Uganda into a primitive enclave with roughly constant chaos and Uganda later saved by the amalgam of Julius Nyerere’s Tanzanian army and Ugandan freedom fighters, Mobutu Sese Seko effectively destroyed the traditional institutions (by deeper meaning, the soul of the country) of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and left the DRC virtually soulless with almost continuous cataclysms, especially in the eastern and northeastern parts.

Experts explain that what ring constantly in revolutions are the human possibility, that what was previously thought of as unimaginable becomes imaginable, that what was thought of as rotten could be overthrown and something fresh could be sown. Doug Saunders inferred of revolutionary traditions globally that, “Even when” revolutions are “sidetracked or seized, the seeds planted by a democratic revolution remain in the ground.”

The African who has gone through revolutions will tell you that their revolutions have turn out to be mostly disappointments than contentment. However, as Ghanaians and Nigerians will tell you today, out of this disenchantments are emerging democratic order from the democratic seeds planted by the various democratic revolutions. Jeff Goodwin, a sociologist at New York University, discussing the nature of revolutions following the Libyan, Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions, is quoted by Joe O’Connor, of the Toronto-based National Post, as saying revolutions “ … are a complex genus with different species.”

The insurgent-ridden African Great Lakes Region aside, Sierra Leone’s Revolutionary United Front (RUF) is a typical African case of revolution that went mad. But out of its ashes democracy and good governance are flowering in Sierra Leone. The RUF revolution against the rots of the long-running Siaka Stevens’ autocratic one-party system, later carried on by Joseph Saidu Momoh, turned out to be exceptionally fatal. The RUF amputated Sierra Leoneans limbs, turned girls into prostitutes, looted diamonds, fire-bombed properties, practiced cannibalism, and frequently carved the initials “RUF” on their child soldiers’ chest. RUF officers rubbed cocaine into the open cuts on their troops to make them maniacal and fearless, and for entertainment, some RUF soldiers bet on the sex of an uborn baby and then sliced open a woman’s womb to determine the winner.

Still, and as Samuel Doe’s Liberia revealed, some African revolutions have turned out to be unimaginable, sending the likes of the Liberian or the Ivorian state into flames. Some African revolutions endings are worse than the previous conditions the revolutionaries sought to correct. Jerry Rawlings’ revolution, initially seen by some Africans as “enlightened,” saw the execution of some Ghanaian military junta leaders, mainly for their alleged corruption and moral ineptitude (The Rawlings coup d’etat had more to do with the rot within the military establishment than the Ghanaian society).

But Rawlings’ almost 20 years in power became perverse and saw Rawlings and his associates amassed more wealth than all those they had killed. At present, most of Rawlings and his associates’ children and families live high lives (sometimes bordering on ostentation), attended pricey schools abroad (and still do) and had medical treatment abroad (and still do). In Rawlings’ revolution, perhaps Africa’s most high profile because of the high profile killings, the new reality is that the revolution didn’t live up to its hype. Like most African revolutions, corruption was the Rawlings revolution’s first mission, but his regimes grew up to lack accountability and transparency. The regime also suppressed freedoms that resulted in the famed “culture of silence,” where Ghanaians were afraid to talk freely for fear of either being killed, imprisoned or disappearing.

Nigeria also went through numerous military juntas that hypothetically had sought to revolutionarize the Nigerian society and make life better for Nigerians. Though this did not happen, out of this cycles came enviably anti-corruption institutions such as the amazing Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) set up in 2003 to tackle endemic graft. Despite top flight killings, the Rawlings regimes were sadly short of this.

In the Rawlings’ revolution, Africa witnessed that high-tension sloganeering didn’t translate into reality. Jeff Goodwin, is cited by Joe O’Connor, as explaining that, “Countries generally have revolutions because they are in bad situation, and revolutions don’t always get you out of that hole … Revolutions happening in poor authoritarian countries, well, those countries usually end up remaining poor and authoritarian.”

In Equatorial Guinea, Francisco Macías Nguema revolution of some sorts turned out more lethal than thought of and nobody knew what kind of regime was going to come out of the terrible mess. Tapping into traditional African irrational supernatural believes, Macias forced Equatorial Guineans to believe that he has supernatural powers. That he can change into a cat, a dog, a mouse or any other animal or object, or vanish into thin air. Macias used the knowledge of witchcraft he inherited from his sorcerer father and built a huge collection of human skulls (from most of the people he has killed) at his homestead to hypnotize Equatorial Guineans into supernatural submission. Macias believed he was some sort of God..

In December, 1975, in a bizarre episode Macias killed 150 alleged coup plotters to the sound of a band playing Mary Hopkin’s tune Those Were the Days in the national stadium in Malabo, the capital. The estimations are that over 100,000 people, approximate one-third of Equatorial Guineans then, were either killed or fled into exile during Macias’ reign. In 1979, Macias was overthrown violently by his nephew Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the current President.  Macias was later executed in a firing squad. The situation today in Equatorial Guinea isn’t more or less better than Macias’ time.

Despite the fact that most African revolutions turn out to be sadness, there are few that are sunnier and bring regime changes. Out of the Valentine Strasser and the Maada Bio revolution came the flowering of democratic tenets and good governance in Sierra Leone born out of the bloodshed of the 11-year civil war. There may be some political and development challenges in Sierra Leone today but the hope is that in the long run, democratic values and good governance will survive for the greater progress of the country.

Helpless African betting on Jerry Rawkings, Samuel Doe, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, Lansana Conteh, Sani Abacha, among others, have been the African way of attempting to change the recurring appalling leadership and generally trembling domestic power configurations. Most African revolutionary outcomes have been largely the African elites fighting for political and material power while the average African languishes in poverty and unfreedoms.

For almost 42 years, Libyans had no freedoms and lived in fear. Libyans could be either killed or imprisoned anytime despite Muammar Gaddafi professing that his much-trumpeted revolution is to free Libyans from the tyranny of King.Muhammad Idri 1. Still, notwithstanding The Green Book (that sought solutions to the problems of democracy and economics) and the People’s Committees (that sought to upgrade the authority of the Libyans), Gaddafi and his associates, for 42 years the privileged few, not only dreadfully controlled Libyans but the principles and institutions of government did not become egalitarian – institutions like the police and the military were ruined, making Gaddafi look for mercenaries when the freedom fighters came calling six months ago.

More seriously, Gaddafi and his The Green Book were allergic to liberal democratic ideals. These are insults to the intelligences of contemporary Africans’ on-going fight for democratic revolutions that sought for free press, good governance, freedoms, human rights, social justice, equality, choices, free speech and good governance. In the absence democratic ideals, Gaddafi and other African tyrants are consumed in tyrannies and dictatorships that have put Africa states in almost unending revolutions for democratic order and good governance.

Unlike Rawlings and Lansana Conteh revolutions, the Egyptian and Tunisian revolutions show that non-violent social networking, via social media, is becoming the order of the day in Africa’s democratic revolutions. This made tyrants like Hosni Mubarak and Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali turn into sand in matter of weeks, with virtually no resistance. Fear or a “culture of silence” vanishes into thin air. Egalitarianism, choices, elections, democratic tenets, good governance, merits and issues replace the God-has-predestined-me-to-rule syndrome.

With their increasing grasp of social media, these are Africans shining age of their democratic revolutions backed by the increasingly influential African diasporan networks. The era of the old school African revolutionaries picking up arms, standing on armour cars and sloganeering, waving AK47s and their fists, and blasting out the African dictatorships are out.

In come non-violent protests and social networking sites such as Facebook, internet forums, web blogs, social blogs and microblogging such as Twitter, collaborative projects such as wikipedia, podcast, content communities such as Youtube, photgraphy or pictures, video, email, instant messaging, rating and social bookmarking are the key tools of today’s African democratic revolutionaries and not AK47s, Kalashnikov, military tanks and hot-headed sloganeering. The “cascading dominoes,” as Joe O’Connor of the Toronto-based National Post argues, “are characteristic of a revolutionary age. Europe went crazy for liberal democracy in 1848, in a tide of mostly fruitless revolutions … And when the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, it took communism with it, a mass combustiom of authoritarian governments often miscast as a spontaneous event.”

Despite the instant power of new media, some experts argue that generally revolutions start in simmering ways before erupting. The Liberian revolution came about because of long years of oppression of native Liberians (the “country people,” as they are called locally) by the Americo-Liberians, who believed they are more civilized than the native Liberians. For decades, the native Liberians were oppressed and effectively made second-class citizens on their own land. A triggering moment happened and Samuel Doe and his associates seized the time.

Like most African democratic revolutions, the Liberian revolution wasn’t any specially planned event, it was largely meaningless flare. So the Liberian revolution happened, it didn’t just happen, as Jack Goldstone of George Mason University would have argued, as he did of the nature of revolutions in the world. Samuel Doe and his associates quickly realize its “game on and there is no turning back” in attempting to clare out the autocratic Americo-Liberian oligarchy.

There may be twists in Africa democratic revolutions and experts may argue that it may be easier to know when revolutions start than when they end, but Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, Ghana, Mali and Uganda point to the reality that African democratic revolutions will eventually move into the direction of real democracy and good governance under the current continental and international atmosphere. There are no two ways about this.

If you like this article, I’d recommend my book “If I Was Famous, I’d Have a Lot to Say”

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West Africa’s Democratic Evolution – African or Western?

Special Commentary/West Africa

For sometime, the centre of Africa’s anarchic one-party systems, gory tyrants, brutal dictatorships, self-serving military juntas and hideous civil wars, West Africa is changing and indisputably sowing democratic seeds. Whether in Cape Verde, Liberia, Guinea-Conakry, Niger, Nigeria or Guinea Bissau multi-party elections are blowing across the once politically sick region.

The only black sheep today is Senegal’s Casamance conflict, which is still on-going. But as West Africa’s democracy deepens, the Casamance conflict can surely be solved with democratic ideals, as the Liberian, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leonean cases show. Continue reading “West Africa’s Democratic Evolution – African or Western?”

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THE DEATH-TRAP CALLED PEHN-PEHN

The two-wheeler motor commonly called ‘Okada’ in Ghana, Benin and some parts of Nigeria, Pehn-pehn in Liberia, has become a veritable means of transportation in major cities of most West African countries. Its presence in the roads of these nations’ cities has been more of a problem than a solution to the ailing transportation problems.

Many have argued that Okada or Pehn-pehn business has provide jobs in large measure to most of the teeming once jobless youths, it has make ease the accessibility of some of the areas that have bad roads as the deplorable state of roads is a recurrent feature of these countries; it has aid fast and quick movement during chaotic traffic situation, it creates good access to health-care and market where cars are in short supply and majority could not afford the cost of renting a car for such emergency etc. These are some of the reasons, major portion of the population in these countries strongly believe that the two-wheeler taxi is unavoidable and must remain in our cities to ease the excruciating pain people go through for hours waiting for taxi and buses that are few.

Contrastingly, the two-wheeler taxi irrespective of the above plausible reasons why we need it on our roads, it has become ready-made two-wheeler coffin that convey people to their early grave almost every second in these cities. No day passes by that this mode of transportation does not send someone to the orthopedic ward of a hospital. For instance, in Igbobi hospital in Lagos, Nigeria, accident cases involving motor-bike are too overwhelming. The case is not different in John F. Kennedy memorial hospital in Monrovia Liberia, the case is not opposite for major hospitals in Togo,Cameroun,Benin  among others. Meanwhile, the presence of motor-bike has cascaded the spate of crime in all of these cities. Bike riders have constituted  themselves into hoodlums who terrorize their innocent victims as they snatch hand-bags, that contained valuable items, jerk cell phones while they speed past their unsuspecting victims; they are well-known for stealing car battery/sound-system. They are also notorious for car-jacking and many more deadly criminal activities. Yet, governments in these countries have allowed the dangerous trade to flourish.

In Ghana for instance, the heat has been on that motor-bike cannot ply the country’s major cities partly because the National Road Safety Commission act do not make provision for the commercialization of motor-bike. Besides, in Abuja Nigeria, since 2007, the commercial use of ‘Okada’ has been prohibited. Other states in this category are Port-Harcourt, Owerri and recently Maiduguri (due to the activities of the Islamic sect insurgent group ‘Boko Haram’). The reason is not only to reduce crime and accident, but also for free flow of traffic. Most of these riders do not obey traffic signs and rules; they meander and wander at neck-breaking speed, from the right side of the road to the wrong without recourse to other roads users. They are known for over-taking from the driver’s blind-spot thus causing avoiding collision. They hit their fellow riders and cars from all sides, they smack your break-light and they will beg and say ‘sorry’. More dangerously, they relish in drinking local gin than eating food before they enter road to pick passengers.

Studies have shown repeatedly that motor-bike passengers are 36 times more likely to get involved in an accident and die or injured than those in a car. This is because nothing protects them and their passengers while they ride in deadly speed. Moreover, they are always in a hurry to God knows destination. In the mind of bike-riders, the passengers’ seat on the bike would have been fitted for five or six passengers instead of one, as they overload the bike from the tank up to the iron-tail-guard. Sometimes, some people crammed the whole family members- mother, father, and their children in on motor-bike.  Sordid enough, bike men often time ignore safety measures such as the wearing of crash-helmet to protect their head and that of the passengers. Even at the peak of rainy season in West African region, very few of them go about their business with rain-coats for themselves and their passengers- there is health hazard someone may say! Further, research conducted by the International Journal of Impotence Research, has also demonstrated that vibrations from motor-bike engine have damaging effect on the nerves of the penis. Do they have enough education on this in order to take precaution?

Mean time, we may find it difficult to do without motor-bikes in our roads in major cities, but does it worth the prize our people pay daily with their lives, or say, some become physically challenged over-night from motor-bike crashes? The proliferation of motor-bikes in these countries clearly showcases random government failure to address transportation problems facing them, as well as the chronic unemployment imbroglio. Weak transport infrastructure in the guise of inefficient management that characterized the public sphere is what gives teeth to these bike riders. May be is because they have formed a formidable mass, as they are used by political leaders for election to augment votes or use them to stall elections or hijack ballot boxes. The examples of France, US and the UK, have shown that restricting motor-bike to private use or courier services and investing heavily in the transport sector would provide more employment opportunities than risking people’s lives. Will it be bad if governments in these countries   put money into a body that would buy taxis and give them out to these same bike riders, give them proper orientation in recognized driving schools and they pay back on installment basis and remove these death-traps from our major roads?

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As Nigeria Goes to The Polls

The much anticipated general elections in Nigeria is here. It is a staggered election with a 3 week span. Most people have concluded that this is a “make or mar” elections for Nigeria, as the gubernatorial, state and federal parliamentary elections climaxing with the presidential elections are billed to take place within this 3 week period. Coming on the heels of the much disputed and derided 2007 general elections, it is no surprise that this election has generated so much interest locally and internationally as most Nigerians felt short changed by the 2007 general elections which most people refer to as an electoral heist.

The build up to the 2011 general elections has generated a lot of controversy and violence across the length and breadth of Nigeria. This may not be totally surprising as the new head of the electoral body in Nigeria,  Attahiru Jega, has consistently sought to make the electoral process as credible as possible much to the chagrin of the ruling party which has promised to rule for the next 60yrs. The opposition also, though divided and lacking in concrete strategy are also determined to protect their political turf even if they are not so sure of winning at the federal level, while the people and electorate seem ready to defend their votes at all cost. The culmination of all these divergent tendencies has resulted in an unprecedented level of violence and tension across the land in the build up to the elections.

Can Nigeria get it right this time around? Only time can tell.

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The Ongoing Arab/Libya Revolution and International Diplomacy

”After half a century during which tyrants have ruled the Arab world, their control is weakening. After 40 years of decaying stability, the rot is eating into the stability. The Arab masses will no longer accept what they used to accept. The Arab elites will no longer remain silent”.- Ari Shavit; the Arab Revolution and the Western decline. How true are the words above on developments around the Arab community in recent times? The revolution started from Tunisia, down to Egypt, replicated in Yemen and Algeria, and most recently the heat is now on Gadhafi in Libya.

Little did 26-year old Mohammed Bouazizi of Tunisia knew that his action would trigger a revolution to spread to other Arab nations when he set himself ablaze in the impoverished city of Sidi Bouzid, 300 kilometers from Tunis, the Tunisian capital. Mohammed Bouazizi’s December 17, 2011 action (he died untimely in January 4, 2011) led to the disgraceful end of a 23-year old administration of Tunisian dictator, President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, the 30-year rule of Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak; and with the 41year rule of Muammar Gadhafi hanging in the balance. With the revolution spreading fast and deadly like contagious flu, the tragedy is that no single Arab country has immunity against this plague; no single Arab country practices sustainable democracy.

When the Middle East sneezes, the world catches cold as it were. If Mohammed Bouazizi had carried out his self immolation in other part of the world, it would have been doubtful if his death would have had the same impact as it does now. Until and unless an alternative and sustainable source of energy dethrones crude oil, the Middle East and by extension the Arab world will remain strategically important to the global economy to a worrisome extent. According to the International Energy Agency, ‘Middle Eastern producers will supply 50 percent of U.S oil imports, 50 percent of Europe, 80 percent of China’s, and 90 percent of Japans by 2030’.

The statistics above indicate that the survival and sustainability of the world powers and G-7 nations lies heavily in the Middle East. Crude oil from economic realities will, until an alternative source of energy is developed, continue to drive the world’s economy. As shown above, this is highly concentrated in the Middle East, though other nations such as Nigeria and Libya in Africa are also endowed with this natural resource. However, because the pace of crude oil production centers in the Middle East, that region remains to a large extent politically, economically and socially relevant to the other regions of the world. Hence, the present revolution going on in some oil-riched nations need to be objectively and holistically examined vis-à-vis their political and economic relevance. The present civil unrest going on in Libya brings this to the fore. It is imperative to examine the role of local and international bodies on the unceasing struggle for liberation by Libyans. Libya under President Gadhafi is a signatory to the Arab league, the African Union and by extension the United Nations Organization. Libya’s oil makes it economically relevant to member nations in the Arab bloc and to the international community.

The A.U was founded in Sirte, Gadhafi’s hometown in 1999, and has been well funded with Libya’s oil wealth. The A.U’s initial silence of the uprising in North Africa was criticized by many in Africa including a  public statement by Gambia’s Yahya Jameh. The A.U like other regional and international organizations including the Arab league, has a set of objectives which include respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states (includling respect for Human Rights and observation of the U.N charter on Human Rights). The A.U at the beginning of the Libyan crisis was heavily involved with the situation in Cote D’Ivoire – a country with an internal strife but of no apparent relevance or importance to the West. Through its Peace and Security Council, the A.U has put in place a coalition of Heads of States Panel (includling political leaders of S/Africa, Uganda, Mauritania, etc) to look into the situation in Libya on a fact-finding mission and forward possible recommendations. Until recently, the U.N security council through a resolution passed a ‘no fly zone’ law on Libya, adopted also by the Arab league, though it (Arab league) differs on the bombing strategy as embarked upon by the the U.S, U.K and France. This has resulted in Gadhafi’s declaration of cease fire in major parts of the country where his loyalists are in a deadlock to the opposition.

Many political observers and concerned individuals have proposed a military intervention in the ousting of Gaddafi from power. However, as noted above, the U.N, A.U and Arab league will to a large extent respect the sovereignty of Libya as an independent nation. In my view, it is imperative as it was in previous movements (Tunisia and Egypt), and as indicated in the opening quote of this piece, that concerned bodies such as the U.N, A.U and Arab League, regardless of the political and economic relevance of Libya as an oil-rich nation, weigh the over 40-years of Gaddafi’s administration on abuse of power, gross indiscipline, corruption, disregard for human rights as alleged by opposition. The U.N, A.U and Arab League though recognizing the sovereignty of Libya, should never display a ‘blind eye’  to human rights and related abuses alleged on Gaddafi. If the findings of the panel and its subsequent recommendations reveals a gross abuse of power, then the law should take its rightful course as universally accepted under the charters of the U.N and other relevant bodies. Nobody is above the law, Gaddafi is not above the law. If he is found wanting after a thorough investigation, he should be made to face the wrath of the law.

As fervently addressed in an earlier article, Gaddafi must come to terms with the fact that true sovereignty lies in the hands of the people of Libya and not in an individual. He should remember, if forgotten, that autocratic heroes such as Pharaoh of Egypt, Alexander the Great of Greece, Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany during the second World -war are now in the book of history. He should respond to the call for a CHANGE from his people. Libyans, regardless of what the international community and constituted bodies are doing right now or plans to do, should learn to localize the global in there approach towards a national Change. All concerned agencies must work jointly towards the same goal; respect for rule of law, good governance and a sustainable democratic rule in Libya. The global community and especially Africans eagerly awaits the liberation of of the Libyan people.

SOLOMON JOHNSON.

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Aftermath of PDP Presidential Primaries: An End to The Northern Bogey in Nigeria?

The much anticipated People’s Democratic Party [PDP] presidential primary elections in Nigeria has come and gone. Leaving the victorious singing victory songs and the vanquished to rue their fate. That the PDP presidential primary elections were a bitterly fought and acrimonious political battle is to say the least. It succeeded in splitting the ruling party in Nigeria down the middle.

Before proceeding to examine the general theme of this discourse, it may suffice for us to go down memory lane and embark on an historical analysis of the political party PDP and also the suzerainty that Northern Nigeria exercises over the political firmament of Nigeria.

The PDP was formed from the ashes of G34 (Group of thirty four eminent persons in Nigeria) who opposed the transmutation of the late Head Of State of Nigeria, Late Army General Sani Abacha into a civilian president back then in 1998. At that time, the country was at the peak of a political crisis caused by the unjustified annulment of the June 12 1993 presidential elections believed to have been won by the late MKO Abiola.

The G34, at that time was like a moral interventionist movement in the political affairs of Nigeria, a sought of conscience of the nation at a time the ship of state was gradually sinking. Following the death of General Abacha, in 1998, the G34 transformed into a political party known as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This marked the gradual diluting of the puritanical and altruistic ideals of the group. Several powerful tendencies and entrenched interests, particularly the military class both serving and those on the reserve list seized the control of the soul of the party.

This culminated into the adoption of a former military Head of State and ex Army General Olusegun Obasanjo who had been jailed by the Abacha regime as the presidential candidate of the party then. The emergence of Olusegun Obasanjo as the presidential candidate of the PDP in 1999 is largely attributed to the efforts of powerful political powerbrokers in Northern Nigeria then. They were able to foist Olusegun Obasanjo on the country then, despite the opposition to his candidature especially from members of his own ethnic group who are predominantly found in the South Western part of Nigeria.

That Olusegun Obasanjo became the 1st civilian president of the 4th republic after the exit of the military in May 29, 1999 is largely attributed to the political dexterity of the North and its politics. It was simply a perfection of the political sagacity which the North had been known for since the days of the late Ahmadu Bello the 1st premier of the Northern region. This had been the situation in Nigeria right from independence. The politics of the North was that of a well honed political strategy that ensured that the north always had its way on the political issues that affected Nigeria.  MMM

However, recent trends, in the politics of the PDP and maybe Nigeria may have begun to put a lie on these and also gone ahead to reveal that the assumption of the north’s supremacy in Nigeria’s political affairs as a bogey. The reasons for arriving at this conclusion could be adduced to the recently concluded PDP presidential primary elections where the incumbent president an ethnic minority from the south of Nigeria trounced the so called northern consensus candidate of the PDP. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, the North was openly divided on the choice of a presidential aspirant to support even within the PDP. Despite the fact that some group of elderly northern politicians had come out openly to adopt and endorse one of their own as the “northern consensus candidate”.

But what could have been responsible for the comprehensive defeat of the so called northern consensus candidate? This brings us to the theme of this discourse, and in attempting to provide answer[s] to this question, 2[two] broad themes could be arrived at as exemplars/answers to this question namely:

  • Complicity of the Northern political elites
  • Revolt of the Northern masses.

All other reasons for the collapse of the Northern consensus candidate project may be found within these two [2] broad themes.

The 1st point may be situated in the fact that the successors to the Ahmadu Bello/NPC [Northern Peoples Congress] political empire in the North have misused and abused the political structure left behind by the late political strategist. It is instructive to note that during the lifetime of the late Ahmadu Bello, he sought to actively build and project the image of a monolithic and united north with one destiny. As a matter of fact, it took a discerning observer close examination to know that the North as being projected by Ahmadu Bello was actually a spatial unit made up of several  and many disparate ethnic groups. But kudos must be given to Ahmadu Bello for being able to a large extent wield these disparate ethnic groups into a single entity with a common goal and destiny. During the his life time, Ahmadu Bello sought to build social, economic and political bridges across the north, such that it wasn’t surprising that his closest personal aides were ethnic minorities within the north who didn’t even share the same faith with him. But what did his successors do with his legacy? Certainly history will not be kind on them, as they overtly and covertly rubbished his legacy over the years with the politics of hate, exclusion, ethnicity, religion, prebendalism, and other divisive actions that has turned Northern Nigeria into a volatile region with incessant ethno religious crises, and economic deprivations, hence should it be surprising that the “falcon can no longer hear the falconer?”

The second [2nd] point is an offshoot of the 1st as it seems the vast masses of the north are beginning to come to terms with the insincerity of their so called leaders, and have begun to take their respective destinies in their own hands, by identifying who their true leaders her. It is within these context that the seemingly indifference of the northern masses to the Northern consensus presidential project may be located. The widespread poverty and destitution in northern Nigeria particularly amongst its largely youthful population, when juxtaposed with the crass opulence and extravagance of their political leaders and their children may have begun to catch the attention of the masses in the North.

But, could the defeat of the Northern consensus candidate by an incumbent southern minority candidate really signify the laying to rest of the Northern bogey in Nigeria? The forthcoming April 2011 general elections in Nigeria looks set to answer this poser.

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