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 Daily Independent Online.
* Monday, August 09, 2004.
OBJ and the crisis of democracy
By Victor Ifedi
Five
years of democracy have not directly transformed the lives of
Nigerians. As Anthony
Cardinal Okogie aptly expressed the situation - “The lives of the
citizenry continue to deteriorate everyday”. The Cardinal who is the Archbishop of Lagos is well
placed to appreciate the agony of the suffering masses. He easily reads hardship, poverty
and destitution on the faces of the laity who flock to the churches daily
for succour. As the
so-called dividends of democracy elude the masses, President Olusegun
Obasanjo roams the glove chasing external glorification while his home is
brimming with acute poverty.
His peripatetic mode of governance has not yielded any benefits
even though he seems to derive personal vanity from foreign accolades
which mean practically nothing to the average Nigerian. How does his being the president
of the African Union or chairman of the Commonwealth improve the quality
of our lives?
In his
“Democracy Day” broadcast, President Obasanjo solicited: “Today is a
special day in our lives.
Let us eschew despondency, cynicism, indolence, jealousy,
automatic and permanent distrust of ourselves, especially our leaders,
governments, policies and programmes. Isolating yourself from the process of change and
development hardly helps you, your community or your country. The challenge before us must be
addressed collectively and patriotically”. From all indications, he was preaching to deaf
ears. Most citizens have
reached the end of the road under the current excruciating
conditions. In the
assessment of many people, our president’s anti-people policies mark him
out as an implacable sadist.
What has the
present democracy achieved?
It has been a tale of woe all through - epileptic electricity,
unprecedented cost of living, excessive and frequent fuel price
increases, non-payment of pensioners, precarious personal and material
security and mass youth unemployment. To add insult to injury, our president does not bother
about the welfare of the electorate who voted him into office. With an
overbearing attitude, deplorable human and public relations and haughty
mannerism, he attracts public animosity. Apparently the most combative head of government in
the world, he is always at loggerheads with groups, communities and
prominent persons. In some
parts of the country like Anambra State, he is grossly detested,
following the brutal abduction of the governor of that State which
appeared to have received presidential blessing.
Observers of
the present Nigerian democracy are shocked at the unparalleled profligacy
of the federal government.
With forty-two ministers, Nigeria parades the largest central
executive ministerial cabinet in the world. In addition, there are over fifty constellation of
assistants, advisers, liaison officers as well as protocol officers
masquerading in the presidency.
A poor country subjugated by abject poverty and with a very low
human index should expectedly be managing its scarce resources frugally
to enhance the standard of life of the embattled population.
In January
2003, the International Economic Intelligence Organisation declared
Nigeria as the third most misgoverned country in the world after
Kazakhistan and Hondura.
Transparency International recently categorized Nigeria as the
second most corrupt country on earth. The British government indicated a few months ago that
fifty-five per cent of the corruption in Nigeria is perpetuated in the
presidency. Question Peel, International Affairs Editor of the Financial
Times of London who visited Nigeria a few days ago lamented that
leadership in Nigeria is largely characterized by corruption. In a recent study conducted by
USAID in collaboration with local non-government organizations, it was
revealed that 51 per cent of corruption in Nigeria is committed in the
presidency. This malady is
manifested through dubious political patronage and the award of contracts.
President
Olusegun Obasanjo prides himself with the conspicuous roles he plays in
the politics of the African Union.
Always planting himself at the forefront of practically every
African continental activity like the New Partnership for African Development
(NEPAD), he believes that Nigerians are prone to celebrate his
hegemony. Not at all. As far as we are concerned,
charity should begin at home.
The president’s profile depends on his performance at the domestic
level, how he alleviates the raging crisis of democracy and improves the
lot of the common man. As long as he keeps aloof from the critical
problems thar ravage the majority of the people, nobody is interested in
his foreign adventures which yield no profits to the Nigerian citizenry.
A combative
president who creates more problems than he solves cannot win the
admiration and support of the people. A president who unilaterally denies
states local government financial allocations, withdraws police security
details from a state governor and declares a state of emergency illegally
is anathema to contemporary democratic norms. He does not improve his
image by adopting military methods in a democratic milieu or usurping
powers beyond his competence. He should align with the popular will and
carry the people along.
Most citizens
assumed that President Obasanjo would change his style after surviving
the impeachment process initiated by the National Assembly during his
first term. The intervention
of two former Heads of State General Yakubu Gown and Alhaji Shehu Shagari
had saved him from a disastrous and humiliating exit. Nothing excites the president as
the unbridled exercise of absolute executive authority which makes him
power drunk. A national
newspaper concisely reflected the reality of President Obasanjo’s
disposition: “The whole instability we are going through in this country
stems from the style of the leader of government, the president. His style generates this
instability”.
In examining
this democracy, it is pertinent to look at the quality of the executive
team at the helm of affairs. During his first term, the federal executive
council was dominated by deadwoods, expired and senile politicians of the
old breed who had since lost the productive energy. Expectedly, the period 1999 to
2003 was barren. The current
team comprises a motley of incompatible young persons divided between the
dollar and naira ministers.
They are largely utopian, academic and inexperienced. The ongoing development plan named
NEEDS - National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy is
cosmetic, doctrinaire and anti-people.
If the
current democracy will succeed, the People Democratic Party (PDP) should
guide President Obasanjo properly and channel him towards providing the
welfare of the embattled citizenry.
Only policies that will improve the quality of life should be
embarked upon.
• Ifedi wrote
in from Lagos.
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