As speeches and parades peaked at the just-ended 2018 Democracy Day Tuesday, some Nigerians are disturbed that the country’s electorates do not realize that power belongs to them and not politicians, urging them to utilise it in voting for capable candidates and removing corrupt leaders from office.
This concern stems from the fact that the electorates are hook winked by politicians using manipulations and intrigues typified by tribal and religious sentiments even financial inducements to control political power in desperate and egoistic manner.
In what the people interviewed by Straightnews branded “amorphous democracy”, they reasoned that this democracy common to Nigeria has failed globally accepted democratic norms and principles.
In fact, they see the celebration of Democracy Day as ‘cosmetic’ because even the politicians do not understand democracy rooted in democratic tenets talk less of practising it to benefit the electorate traumatised and disenchanted by their selfish decisions and actions.
In an interview with Straightnews, Atim Ekpo, Akwa Ibom born private legal practitioner based in Abuja, affirmed “Some people do not really know the meaning of democracy. They think democracy is about a party winning and taking over power. The voter may say ‘Oh! The personat the top knows me. Let me go to him and he will reward me for voting him into office. This is misconception of democracy.”
Cletus Ukpong, a Nigerian journalist, collaborated that many Nigerians are yet to understand the meaning of democracy.
“This is the greatest undoing of government in not making electorates to understand the meaning of democracy. Some government officials can trample on your rights and you will think that they are doing you a favour. Some could seize you property, yet you think it is normal and a way of life. This is an aberration. Even when you know what to do, you cannot get justice easily.”
Similarly, Nigerian electorates are generally complacent on voting for candidates of their choice and largely stay at home on the voting day probably, according to them, their votes may not count at the collation centres as votes are usually are ‘allocated’ and ‘sorted’ to the highest bidders depending on the political party in power or resources including money and some government instruments deployed by the candidates.
Though this year’s Democracy Day was marked with pomp by various state governors across the country, the electorates indeed some Nigerians who joined their governors and other public office holders on the parade grounds unwittingly did so out of sympathy for the persons in-power not necessarily on conviction of democratic application or for enjoying the benefits of democratic governance.
In most of the venues during the grand-finale celebration, the crowd became aloof for being either hired or induced and the hirers fed fat from the sweat of their hirelings while the ‘wretched of the earth’ went home with crumbs falling from the master’s table.
In Uyo Sports Stadium, venue of the celebration for Akwa Ibom government, weather-beaten women and beleaguered youths and pauperised men in dakadda uniforms armed with banners and flags formed circles and flaunted their organisations’ logos on their supposed well-to-do victims.
Even as the speeches were reeled out, some youths standing outside the stadium were hustling and begging some political office holders even to the extent of running after zoomed vehicles.
Mrs. Ekpo who retired as a Permanent Secretary from Akwa Ibom State government Civil Service wondered the essence of people celebrating what they do not understand, arguing “You cannot celebrate what you do not practise.”
“There is no rule of law in the country. Rule of law and democracy are inseparable. Our leaders do not obey the rule of law. When the rule of law collapses, there is disorderliness. We have killings in the country, but the culprits are not arrested and prosecuted. Rule of law is the bedrock of democracy.
“This is not the democracy and independence our founding fathers fought for. This is not liberal democracy where democratic tenets are adhered to. The first chapter of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended dwells on the rule of law. When people say that Mr. President is fighting corruption, it becomes amusing because what we practise is different from what we copied from US. In US, the President is not above the law. He can be investigated, but in Nigeria, it is not so. That is why when people say Mr. President is fighting corruption, people become tired of such.”
Ukpong noted, “This is so because democracy practised in USA and other advanced countries is different from the way it is in Nigeria. For example, government officials will steal money, but the people start clapping for them because the politicians will give them perks. In essence, the money belongs to the people, but why are they celebrating those who should reviled.”
On the manipulation of the electorates, he agreed that “Government is manipulating the people to see what they should see not what they should know is right and what should be done to give the electorate a voice and better their living conditions.
“In fact, governments at various level have succeeded in manipulating the people to do its bidding and at the end they do not know what is right and cannot think straight even right. This is why it is difficult for the people to check the excesses of government in power. In short, good reasoning has developed wings in Nigeria.
“Due to what is happening, the electorates are temporarily deprived of power due to ignorance. They have the power but they do not how to use to power to call the government to order. The electorates do not know the basic democratic principles and cannot use the power to vote in or vote out any corrupt government.
“In Nigeria, it can be safely said that power belongs to politicians and not to the people. This is unusual in other sane climes,” he added.
Mrs Ekpo also admitted that “It is true that politicians manipulate the electorates. Our youths are being manipulated with money. Once you corner them that this is the person who is going, they can take the money and kill another person and without questioning, they kill. This manipulation is corruption. At the village level, the people are looking someone who will bring rice to vote for not a solid representative. The politicians have manipulated and bought over the electorates to their whims.”
