Democracy is not just the right to vote: it is the right to live in dignity
Nigeria character in democratic setting was conspicuously on display as the United States of America entered into a tricky era in her democratic evolutions.
Until Donald Trump arrived United States of America’s political scene occupying White House as President since 2016, America was a model for modern democracy.
Every ambitious nation dreaming to make it big in democratic governance looked up to them for imitation. It was the vogue in political setting to copy everything and anything America.
When military juntas in Nigeria decided to return to civil rule in 1979, it was not difficult for them to adopt the US Presidential model of democracy thereby dumping the United Kingdom, the colonial masters and its parliamentary design. Why not, America was the natural place to look at, it was and is still is, the strongest democracy in the World.
It also runs a federal system akin to us and has multiplicity of ethnic and religious configurations as ours. Indeed, there were many similarities than dissimilarities among the two nations. Earlier during the civil war, regional system which was bequeathed to Nigeria by the British was discarded by the military for states. This made the embrace of American model easy for the country.
In 1979, Nigeria quickly and holistically cuddled the America’s Presidential system creating the Presidential Constitution. After further military interventions and eventual return to current democratic dispensation, again the juntas still looked towards America for the 1999 Constitution the one currently in operation. The model copying was almost Xeroxed as every step taken by the operatives were critically examined to see whether it’s in line with the way it’s done by the patent owners. But gradually and steadily too, Nigeria started their own political acculturation of the system to suit their own peculiar interests.
The country’s political players found the tautness and intransigence in the system too hard for them to bear and they began the loosening that eventually opened ground for their corruption flair in governance.
Service to the people and accountability which are hugely needed in the system in America where they copied from, was jettisoned to create the enablement for the corrupt foundation that was solidly laid by the military as they held-sway.
It was not difficult for the military to distort what they copied to suit them because they framed the constitution although claimed it was done by the people.
To ensure that their impact was not easily diminished by the politicians, the military quickly disrupted the democratic process after just four years removing then President Shehu Shagari forcefully and installing themselves. By this action the reverse gear of the democratic vehicle was activated. After 30 years, following global pressure democracy was again returned with the same American model in place, again forced on the system, a military designed constitution as written by the people of Nigeria.
This time unwilling to give chance to any politician, they went for one of their own, brought in the former military Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo out from the prison where he was incarcerated by the despotic General Sani Abacha and installed him as a democratic President.
After Obasanjo’s eight years, he tried civilianizing the system by bringing in late Umaru Yar Adua who died leaving power for his then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan who also became President for six years before the juntas again connived to return one of their own, another former military Head of state, General Muhammadu Buhari who has been on the throne since 2015.
During all these period, Nigeria made sure it thoroughly bastardized the Presidential system it adopted from America. Nigeria brought into the democratic lexicon new terminologies as, rigging, vote buying, ballot box snatching, double registration, inconclusive election, missing name in the ballot sheets etc.
As this happened, the global democratic community watched and made jokes of our kind of democracy and wondered where this will take us to.
The system became so corrupted that reasonable heads in our midst began to ask for a change in the system. It became almost unanimous that the operating system was no longer working hence the vociferous calls for the restructuring of the country’s political system with a view if possible return the country to regions of old and by implications to the parliamentary system bestowed to us by the British.
But while we are struggling and almost at the point of dumping the Presidential system because of our inability to operate it as stipulated by the designers plus it’s seeming bogus and expensive nature, America the patent owner of the system has unfortunately began copying some of our own wrongs.
Suddenly, we started hearing of ballot box snatching, voter inducements, going to court to stop counting and violent clash of supporters of leading candidates of the two main political parties, the Republicans and the Democrats. Everything sounding like Nigeria story.
As a result, political watchers of American politics since the entry of the irrepressible Donald Trump into the arena, have been asking if the news is really coming from America.
The deterioration began when reports started suggesting that Trump may have won the election in 2016 through rigging powered by Russian technology. Until then who could have ever imagined that the almighty America will conduct a Presidential election and there would be fear or apprehension of foul play even aided by a known arch foreign enemy.
As you read this conversation this Thursday, the result of the Presidential election conducted last Tuesday is either still being expected unlike America or there is a stalemate and like Nigeria may be heading to the Supreme Court for adjudication.
Events preceding last Tuesday’s election showed palpable and profound fears all over America that there may be violence, even the incumbent President had cried out that the only way for him to lose is by rigging. A cry seen by his adversaries as a kite flying strategy for what he has up his sleeves.
Win or lose, Donald Trump has created a niche in American politics that is not going to be ignored easily by history. In so many ways albeit the outcome of this election, he has exposed the double standards in America, the duplicitous nature of its political operatives.
Regardless of the outcome of this year’s Presidential election, the standard of American politics in truth got lowered under Trump. Nonetheless, his regime also has some kudos for giving good chase to some other embarrassing misdeeds that was engulfing and destroying that country like the gay madness.
The tragedy of American politics as symbolized by the two leading candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden is that either of the choice has an accompanying negative consequences for America and the World.
If Trump wins, it means the continuation of the ‘Jankara’ politics and governance for the next four years something that will have far reaching corollaries on the global politics and may in fact affect the World harmony. If, however the victory is for Biden, the Global politics will benefit but would have to leave with obnoxious social vices of man marrying man, a devilish immoral act that was pushed in significantly by the regime of President Barack Obama with Biden as his Vice.
It should therefore be of concern to all that a country hitherto seen as a model in international politics would be offering the World the option akin to the legendary knives in the Kings palace, the one with smooth handle is not sharpened enough to cut anything and the sharpened one has rough handle. No wonder therefore an American author, Dean Koontz said when asked about the current choice in the Presidential election “it’s like two of the scariest movies I can imagine” What a new America?