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There is a problem about the institutional framework in which the Nigerian state as presently constituted is based. To have democracy, good governance and credible elections, there must be institutional reforms and great accountability in government. The three are interwoven, only that we tend to think that democracy is all about elections. In any case, […]
Continue ReadingIt is a glorious thing to have a tested leader as the president of a country. It is also a blessing when the president means what he says and when what he says is not just believable but also approved by the people. Such a society is bound to swim in an environment of enormous […]
Continue ReadingThe Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), one of Nigeria’s most prominent pro-democracy NGOs, invited me to make a virtual presentation from my base in Atlanta to a national seminar it organized last Thursday on “targeted judicial reforms and enhanced judicial integrity in post-election litigation.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it, but here are the thoughts […]
Continue ReadingLet me say I took former President Olusegun Obasanjo lightly when he told me that “liberal democracy is not working in Africa” in an interview a while ago. I did not read much into it. I even thought he was still recovering from what hit him in the presidential election (won by his old enemy) […]
Continue ReadingFormer Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has advocated a system of government he called ‘Afro Democracy’, for African countries, insisting that Western liberal democracy was forced on the continent and has never worked as a system of government in Africa. Obasanjo stated this while delivering his keynote address at an high-level consultation on ‘Rethinking Western […]
Continue ReadingThere are some bitter truths that those in the temporary house of power may not like to hear. One such truth is the fact that democracy is not a sure fire assurance that a country will prosper. Autocracy, its supposed opposite, is also not guaranteed to lead to misery. If democracy was an infallible system […]
Continue ReadingPresidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, in commemoration of “June 12 Democracy Day” in Nigeria, has claimed that the “nation’s democracy is deeply troubled, while its destiny remains uncertain and precarious.” In a statement via his verified Twitter handle, Obi lamented that “the country lacks […]
Continue ReadingDemocracy, by its design, nature, and practice, is not a light toggle switch that is turned on and off. It is not a wall that crumbles in one fell swoop. Democracy is always a process, both in its growth and demise. History is replete with how democracies collapsed in other climes. Disregarding the rule of […]
Continue ReadingOnce again, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission imposed a heavy-handed fine on Channels TV, following a petition by an aide of Bola Tinubu. Ironically, the petition was based on some comment by the Labour Party vice presidential candidate Datti Baba-Ahmed who, during a live interview, said something to the effect that swearing Tinubu into office in May […]
Continue ReadingThere are many still in shock about February 25th and March 18 elections. This is understandable. In the week before the 20th of February it appeared the Obidient movement had pulled off a miracle and already made good of the first part of the first promise of the Obi/Datti manifesto: To unite and secure Nigeria. […]
Continue ReadingNigerian Pastor, Apostle Johnson Suleman has said that the two elections recently conducted in Nigeria have proven that the Permanent Voters Card (PVC) used to cast votes during elections is useless. The clergyman stated this while preaching in his church today March 19. He mentioned that Nigeria is not in any way practicing democracy but […]
Continue ReadingNigeria’s much anticipated presidential election has yielded an outcome, leaving behind a thick smoke trail of disquiet and global infamy. Mr. Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has since been announced winner of the February 23rd election. At home, the emotions are unevenly mixed between the minority whose partisanship has triumphed and […]
Continue ReadingTalking seriously, Democracy as a concept was alien to Africa, and by implication, Nigeria. Largely, right from inception, democratic norms and values were never assimilated and internalised by Africans. At best, its definition and perception were conveniently based on assumptions. So, it meant different things to different people who thought differently! Needless to repeat that […]
Continue ReadingIn a statement signed by its outgoing National President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) on Saturday described the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai as a “right-winged extremist” who doesn’t believe in rules. The labour union also condemned what it described as “irresponsible and dangerous” the comments of the governor regarding the […]
Continue ReadingThe United States government has announced a Visa ban on Nigerians that may be accused of or found to be undermining democracy in Nigeria. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, January 25, said while the names of those affected by the ban won’t be revealed, it is […]
Continue ReadingThere are a number of cognitive biases (dissonances in psychology) at play amongst us as a people. I have taken time to compile a few which are most concerning: The belief that the grass is always greener on the other side The belief that yesterday is always better than today The belief that there is […]
Continue ReadingIn contemporary Nigeria, the term “restructuring” has become something of a “God term,” as rhetorical scholars call words and expressions that instinctively evoke warm fuzzy feelings in people, that galvanize people into action, that are unquestioningly sanctified by a cultural community, that people associate with affirmative attributes, and that people are prepared to make sacrifices […]
Continue ReadingAs part of the fundamental objectives of the neocolonial State, the participation of the people in their government is guaranteed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act. The implication is that elected officials are mandatorily required to have their mandate renewed periodically through fair and free elections. Nigeria is said […]
Continue ReadingTo run for a governorship position in any state in the US in 2022, your political party’s primary filing and nomination fee can range from as low as $0 (yes, zero) to $3,750 (or N1.8m). The average fee is thus circa $2,000 (or N980,000). These charges cover what is labeled in Nigeria as nomination and expression […]
Continue ReadingThose paid to protect the guardrails of democracy hardly look in the direction of the courts for enemies. Nor do most people suspect that judges could become facilitators of authoritarianism and subtle promoters of anarchy. As custodians of the rule of law, judges and the courts over which they preside are the insurance for democracy’s […]
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