That there are subsisting litigations arising from elections conducted more than a year ago is not a good sign about the health of our democracy. For the avoidance of doubt, a national and state houses of assembly election petitions tribunal is currently sitting in Bauchi, the Bauchi State capital.
Although seeking redress in the court of law is an integral part of the democratic process, the waves of court cases that followed last year’s general elections shook the confidence of Nigerians in our democracy and the ability of the Temple of Justice to uphold the sanctity of the electoral process.
No doubt, at the dawn of the current democratic dispensation in 1999, Nigerians were very hopeful that the exit of the military would usher in a new beginning for the country. Deeply embedded in democracy are values and ethos that enhance the physical, emotional and spiritual lives of citizens, even the nation itself.
Twenty-five years down the line, can we truly say that the dreams, aspirations and expectations of Nigerians have been met?
There are growing concerns all over the country about galloping inflation which currently stands at 33.69 % and shows no sign of slowing down. To worsen matters, the value of the Naira against the US Dollar has continued to plummet, thereby making the prices of goods, which are mainly imported, astronomically high.
And even though the International Monetary Fund has forecasted a drop in inflation to 16% in 2026, some economists say that the Bretton Woods financial institution is simply trying to allay the fears of Nigerians and assuage their pains which have mainly been caused by the Tinubu administration’s harsh economic policies, most of which are IMF-inspired.
Instead of growing, the nation’s economy is progressively regressing. The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed that debt servicing in the first five months of this year amounted to a whopping $2.19 billion, almost doubling the amount spent last year.
Fitch Ratings predicts that Nigeria’s foreign debt servicing would rise to $5.2 billion next year.
These figures paint a grim picture of the very circumstances in which citizens presently live. For the common man on the streets, the economy has become a huge burden. And the ripple-effects have significantly affected all aspects of their life.
The hardships are simply too real and painful to ignore or, worse still, deliberately swept under the carpet for reasons of political correctness.
But even as living conditions continue to deteriorate, the cost of governance has kept on rising. This is most visible in the country’s bicameral national parliament.
Forward-looking Nigerians have suggested a return to the one-chamber alternative to cut costs, which, they posit, would make it more trim, robust and more attuned to the yearnings of the masses.
The protection of the lives and property of citizens is the first constitutional responsibility of government. Our constitution places so much premium on this fact because, without peace, all of the benefits democracy promises would amount to naught.
In the last decade or so, Nigerians have been buffeted by Islamist insurgency, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, herdsmen’s attacks, etc.
These have largely been driven the devilish compulsion towards forceful religious conversion, land-grabbing, changing demographics in favour of certain religions and tribes and man’s sheer wickedness to his fellow man.
Citizens in some parts of Plateau State and most of the Middle Belt have borne the brunt of these bloody onslaughts in a way that has become very unbearable.
In order for democracy to have the desired effects, the basic freedoms of citizens to life, religion, free movement and protection in their ancestral lands, among others, must be guaranteed.
Religion and tribe must not determine the extent to which citizens enjoy these and other fundamental human rights.
Furthermore, there is an urgent need for the constitution to be reviewed to allow state governments to form their own police. That is the standard practice in any true federation.
It is the current warped practice where the entire security apparatus is controlled by the president that has made the entire country unsafe for ordinary citizens.
All said, however, the gains of the last 25 years of uninterrupted democratic rule cannot be discountenanced. With all of its imperfections, warts and all, democracy still remains the best form of government, especially for a country brimming with so much diversity such as Nigeria.
But, most times, it is the practitioners that nurture its most edifying fruits.
(An editorial of THE NIGERIA STANDARD newspaper, Wednesday, June 12, 2024)