In search of true democrats

No one can dispute the abysmal level of understanding of Nigerian politicians when it comes to the majesty of democracy. No one should be surprised, therefore, at their lack of sophistication in its practice. This realisation should, therefore, compel pity instead of condemnation over their current needless fight on the directive by the leadership of the opposition All Progressive Congress (APC) to its members in the National Assembly to block all executive bills beginning with the 2014 appropriation bill. All Nigerians can and should do is ask their leaders to grow up! 

For the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its sympathisers, such a directive was ill-informed, self-serving and part of a grand design by a desperate opposition to capture power at all cost. More seriously, targeting such a directive at the 2014 appropriation bill was particularly seen as the height of political irresponsibility and insensitivity on the part of the APC to the plights of Nigerians who, as they argued, would be the primary victim of the order.

On the surface, this criticism of the APC’s directives would seem logical and understandable. The barrage afterall, affords the PDP an opportunity to accumulate cheap political capital, appearing as it does, to be on the side of the people. Nigerians should, however, thoroughly interrogate the sudden rejuvenation of the PDP as the champion of the popular interests of Nigerians. Close observers of the trend of governance under the PDP since 1999 will attest to the fact that the party has not been too people-friendly in its policy options and strategy. Given its antecedents, this sudden populism regarding the budget, seems more about the party’s share of the budget and not about Nigerians. After all, despite the annual increment in annual budget since 1999, and the rituals of its vetting by the National Assembly, the standard of living of an average Nigerian has hardly improved. It is bad enough that many of the criticisms fail to appreciate that an opposition party has the right to use its numerical strength to advantage in the legislature in all reasonable circumstances.

Worse still, the critics who claimed to be relying on the utilitarian philosophy of the greatest happiness for the people have pretended not to understand the context within which the APC gave the directive. For the avoidance of doubt, the APC predicated its directive upon the need to restore the rule of law in Rivers State, where for a long time, a commissioner of police, with the active connivance of the presidency, appeared to have ‘become the state’, in every sense of the expression, to the detriment of the people of the state. The level of impunity in that state has been outrageous, especially under a supposedly democratic government.

So, if only for the purpose of rescuing the government and governance of, and in Rivers State, the decision of the APC on this matter, for all intents and purposes, is not only compelling, but has been long overdue. It is like the only weapon in the hand of the ‘weak’ against the ‘strong’, a kind of the last resort to ensure some measure of balance of power against an imperial presidency, especially having exhausted all other available avenues for local remedy to no avail.

Moreover, filibustering, as it is known in principle, is a legitimate democratic tool for advancing democratic and party agenda in the legislature. The underlying assumption is that the people should be at the heart of governance and once a party has the requisite numerical strength in the legislative arm, it can force the executive arm run by another party to pursue the opposition party’s desired policies. Again, the people are central to it all. It is a tool that has been deployed on more than a few occasions in the United States, the latest being the government shutdown in 2013 over controversies regarding the health policy popularly called ‘Obamacare’. The reality in Nigeria may not necessarily be the same as the U.S., but the principles are not different. This is the beauty, the majesty of democracy.

Recent experiences at both regional and national levels have shown that in the absence of such institutional checks as the proposed blockage, people may resort to the adoption of unconventional means, especially street protests against an imperious or high-handed executive arm of government. It is, therefore, important to view what the APC did beyond partisan connotations. Rather, it should be seen as a bold and courageous step against a presumably dictatorial presidency. It was, above all else, a fight against impunity. The directive was, therefore, aimed at salvaging governance and rule of law in Rivers State in particular and Nigeria in general. For it will be too myopic and reductionist to interpret happenings in Rivers State strictly as the internal affairs of the state.

If, as the underlying principle of a dominant party in the legislative arm blocking executive excesses is to make that government behave responsibly, so be it.

This, however, is not to say that a supposed instrument of control such as this should be trivialised. While this development is welcome, the opposition needs to be careful in its deployment only in a way that will hold government accountable for its actions and inactions. If it must be deployed as a measure of last resort, as this instance suggests, it must be in the overall interest of the nation, never for partisan reasons. Only then can it generate sustainable sympathy from Nigerians and help advance the nation’s democracy and progress. 

Written by EDITOR -The Guardian Newspapers