By Iliyasu Gadu
ilgad2009@gmail.com, 08035355706 (Texts only)
With insecurity ravaging all parts of the country, over 140 million and counting below poverty line, record level unemployment, political uncertainty, total capture and subordination of the legislative and judicial arms of government to the executive branch without regards to the provisions of the constitution and an administration that shows incredible unwillingness and incompetence in tackling these and other existential challenges facing the country, no one needs to be persuaded further that presently Nigeria is dangerously hurtling to the brink.
It is the subject of discussions where and when two or more Nigerians gather as the harsh realities of daily life bites harder.
Yet incredibly the voices that once made it a point of duty to interrogate those whose responsibility it is to address and provide solutions when such issues arose in the past have chosen to go mute for some inexplicable reasons. Those that needed no persuasion in the past to crank up the tenor of conscienscious activism against ills perpetrated by previous governments have suddenly found reasons to engage in ”siddon look” as the Nation drifts inexorably towards the abyss.
Against the glaring trajectory of self inflicted harm on Nigerians, many have chosen to complain and grumble privately in fatalistic submission rather than organize in civil action against the looming dangers in the horizon.
In this regard, last week’s joint public statement by a group of eminent Nigerians on the state of the nation bucks this trend of seeming conspiracy of silence and acquiescence on the burning issues in our country. The statement is profound and pertinent. It not only courageosly addresses the main challenges facing the nation presently, it presents solutions that could help us in navigating successfully through the multi-faceted challenges going forward.
Just for emphasis, these are not run-of-the-mill personalities. There is Professor Ibrahim Gambari, erudite scholar, former Foreign Affairs Minister of Nigeria and global diplomat who held sway as United Nations Under Secretary; Professor Attahiru Jega, former Vice Chancellor of Bayero University Kano and former INEC Chairman who has to his eminent records in presiding over the landmark elections of 2015 in Nigeria which resulted in the unprecedented victory of the opposition All Progressive Congress Party over the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party PDP.
Among the signatories to statement were Publisher and veteran Media personality Kabiru Yusuf, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim, Dr Usman Bugaje and Pfofessor Kurna an expert on electoral processes.
Between them they have together chalked up years of experience on matters political, economic and social issues both here in Nigeria and abroad.
The preamble in the state of the nation statement put out by them states; ”Our assessment of the state of the nation, reveals that Nigeria stands at dangerous crossroads where rising insecurity, an alarming level of electoral manipulation by government and the weakening of democratic institutions are converging into a national crisis that threatens the country’s survival.” The statement goes on; ”Nigeria faces a grave threat to its foundational constitutional principle of separation of powers. Checks and balances between the branches of government have been imperilled. The legislative branch has been placed under near total control of the executive branch. The judiciary appears to have lost both its independence and integrity. There are no checks on the powers of the executive who now govern without accountability or respect for the people’s concern. Institutions have been compromised, weakened and subordinated to the interests of the executive arm of government. The erosion of institutional independence has fueled public distrust to its highest level in our history creating a crisis of political exclusion and impunity that is pushing violent extremism, organized crime and communal conflict to a tipping point.”
To many Nigerians who have been keenly following the trend of events in the country over the past couple of years, this assessment is spot on.
We are on the trajectory of general elections scheduled to hold in January next year but nobody seem to entertain any hope that the process leading up to the elections and its outcome would be free, fair and acceptable to Nigerians. The primaries of the various political parties have just been held, but there have been massive complaints and rejections about the outcome.
The ruling APC has held on to the results which has led many to believe that the outcome are being doctored to undemocratically favour unpopular candidates against the wishes and preferences of the rank and file members.
The question on the lips of many Nigerians is that if the parties cannot guarantee free and fair democratic processes within their ranks, how can we expect them to keep faith with the general elections?
The ruling APC cannot escape responsibility for the current abysmal state of the nation. The leadership of the party appear gripped by a sense of paranoia as it senses that Nigerians are increasingly getting wisening up to its incompetence in tackling the existential challenges of the nation. Indeed, Nigerians now see the ruling party as one of the main culprits in the current state of the nation characterised by the factors listed in the public statement by the eminent Nigerians.
What is alarming and of great concern to Nigerians is that while sensing the people’s anger and distrust against it, the ruling APC especially its leadership judging from the utterances and actions appear ready to degrade our democracy and even destroy it, rather than submit to accountability and democratic choices of the people.
As state quite clearly in the state of the nation statement, this is a dangerous development that calls for concerted actions by Nigerians across the board if we must save our democracy.
As the eminent personalities strongly suggested in their public statement, to reverse this trajectory, Nigeria must urgently recommit to democratic accountability, judicial independence, and institutional reforms that strengthens the rule of law. The electoral processes must be transparent, credible and insulated from executive interference.”
Anything short of this and we might just as well kiss democracy good bye in Nigeria with all the consequences this may bring.
Iliyasu Gadu, a former Foreign Service Officer who served at the Nigerian Missions in Germany and the United Kingdom (UK), is also a columnist with Daily Trust
