Guardian

THIS Wednesday, May 29, Nigeria will clock 14 years of democracy! How time flies. And trust our governments. Politicians will go to town to announce how well they have performed. Self-praise is good, but citizens also have the obligation to do an assessment of the journey so far, so that mistakes are pointed out and those willing to learn will amend their ways.

How has the democratic space been managed and what amount of tangible growth is noticeable and available, on the roads, market place, campuses, religious houses, creeks, up north and everywhere?

It is true that elections have held since 1998/99 and structures of democratic governance are in place. It is true also, that there is an Independent National Electoral Committee (INEC), whose duties are to manage periodic elections and ensure that there is political contest every four years, according to the constitution and the electoral act. There are legislative houses all over the place, a key feature of representative government, which does not feature during military rule. The judiciary is always there, but is now more enabled to discharge its functions as one of the main arms of the presidential system. Executive functions are discharged at the federal and 36 states, thus making it a full house.

But have these 14 years translated to good governance for the ordinary man tucked in the corner of this expansive country; is life more meaningful now, more pleasant and rewarding for all, young and old, male female and everyone?

Last week, the emphasis of this narrative was on the election management body – INEC, whose business it is to ensure that the wheels of democracy are kept alive and that the democratic space is given full expression. INEC’s role is key, but there are other stakeholders in the political chain whose roles are equally important. As a matter of fact, it is the business of the political class to insist and demonstrate in clear terms that the democratic space is not constricted in any form.

The party system plays a significant role here, and that includes the creation of platforms for the actualization of great visions. These are then translated into policies and actions, which the government in power implements within a specific time frame. The difference between democracy and other forms of government is that a huge number of the people are carried along. They are carried along as voters, who are the key participants in the electoral process; they are carried along as party members seeking elective offices; and others, larger members of society are supposed to be carried along as citizens who are at the receiving end of government actions and inactions. How has the party system encouraged democratic growth in these 14 years?

In terms of raw figures, the party system has grown in numbers, from just three in 1999 to around 60 in 2011 and later in 2012, when INEC decided that some of them no longer deserved to exist. INEC deleted a number of political parties that failed to give full expression to their existence, by winning at least one seat in a legislative house. Some of the affected parties are still resisting what they think is an affront by the INEC to delist them. But the point is that the democratic space was forced open to admit more players, whether they took full advantage of the opportunity is another matter.

It was a big struggle to get more parties registered between 2002-2005, a time when the electoral umpire seemed to be in league with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to frustrate and debar fresh registrations. But the late Gani Fawehinmi, in his usual irrepressible manner led the battle to the Supreme Court, won it and that opened the way for more parties to come on board. From the original number of three, parties grew to as much as 60, before the recent and perhaps, ongoing weeding exercise by INEC.

In terms of numbers, parties could be said to have multiplied, but has that translated to an expansion in the democratic space, in terms of real access? It is now common story that the PDP had a good head start in 1999, but that could as well have been a modest outing. The other two parties – All Peoples Party and Alliance for Democracy were not pushovers. They were also relatively good players and if that original template were not brazenly distorted between 2003 and 2007, perhaps this democracy could have experienced a more robust growth, in terms of balancing of forces between those ruling and those in the opposition. A good balancing could have, perhaps, introduced a more disciplined political environment, where the rules are strictly applied.

Why should the winner want to take everything, pushing the others far outside government? That is what has happened to the political space. The PDP is so intent on taking everything at the centre, while opposition parties also want to take everything wherever they manage to hold sway.

The recent local government elections in Edo and Kogi states are pointers to this. Edo, in 1999 was up for grabs by any of the parties, but the PDP was able to mobilise more men and resources to gain more foothold.  Even lucky Igbinedion, who later became the PDP candidate and governor for eight years, was originally in APP. APP was able to win elections in three local governments, including Egor, right in the heart of Benin. In later elections however, APP, which later became ANPP, was totally ejected from the state, till date. The PDP became the dominant party and winner of all elections.

When Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was given victory to rule via the election tribunal, his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria was not in charge of the entire state. PDP continued to enjoy some significant presence. But today, after two council elections, the PDP is unable to win a single local government because that is the tradition of the Fourth Republic. Winners take all and push the opposition far away; this tendency breeds violence and greed because democracy does not enjoy its full expression.

In Kogi, the APP was the majority party in 1999, with a significant presence of the PDP. PDP has since taken over and now the combined forces of ANPP and ACN cannot win one single council election out of 21. Does that mean the other parties have ceased to exist or have become so insignificant they cannot muster strength to win just one council? How can they win when state independent electoral commissions are owned by the ruling parties; they determine the personnel and the resources?

The point is that all the political parties do not have the discipline to tolerate opposition and that is frightening. Should the merging All Progressive Congress manage to oust the PDP at the national, will it also impose a one-party through a deliberate, but gradual policy of asphyxiating the opposition, just the way the PDP had done? Shouldn’t the political class think of a more enabling environment that will cause the polity to be robust for all players?

In terms of growing the economy, governments in this dispensation have made more money for the federation than at any other dispensation. So, the argument is not whether there is enough money. The argument is about how much transparency and accountability is applied to give citizens access to benefit immensely from the resources.

Government has become shy of its social responsibilities, now showing more interest in concessioning and selling public utilities, because the political class drains all the resources. Government says the economy is growing rapidly, perhaps on paper. What we see everyday is that it has narrowed significantly, leaving room for growth in awkward areas like okada economy, kidnapping, baby factories, ritual murders and armed robbery. This incriminating poverty is proof of an economy that is hijacked by a minute political class.

One of the problem areas is the manner resources are allocated between the Federal and States. The Federal takes more than a fair share, which it lacks the integrity and capacity to administer. States do not have enough resources to work with, even though many of them also lack integrity. They have the population and landmass to take care of, but the federal takes the bulk share. The political class has to find ways to deal with this.

For this democratic space to admit more people, politicians must change their minds and show pity on hapless Nigerians. They must send their children to the same schools they build for citizens; they must attend the same hospitals; travel on the same terrible roads, instead of buying private jets.

Also, political parties should enthrone internal democracy and politicians should stop being desperate. The judiciary must show courage and tell jesters in parties like All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) not to continue to ridicule the party system. The judiciary should not allow itself to be used by politicians to rubbish democracy, like the PDP is doing in Rivers. And the police must not continue to yield themselves as tools for the subversion of the rule of law.