THE ROLE OF OPPOSITION “GOVERNMENT’ IN A DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION: FOCUS ON THE PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM. COST OF FUNDING ELECTIONS,POST ELECTION VIOLENCE & CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

H.E. SADIQ ABUBAKAR , H.E. PROF PAT UTOMI & H.E. CHIEF FALAE

THE ROLE OF OPPOSITION “GOVERNMENT’ IN A DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION: FOCUS ON THE PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM. COST OF FUNDING ELECTIONS,POST ELECTION VIOLENCE & CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

In any election the world over winners will emerge and the rest who participated in the election are supposed to form the alternative “government” addressed to generate alternative ideas to excite the polity from dulling up into stagnation, death and decay.

On the other hand the winner is expected to form a De Facto, de Jure, government if the post is an Executive dispensation while his runner ups in the election have two alternatives either to form a Union Government with him and co- rule together or perhaps remain in opposition addressed to generate and contribute to the process of governance through constructive criticism from the outside.

This is also applicable to other elective offices, be it Senatorial position, House of Representative, House of Assembly or in the Local Governments and councilpersons as well. The winner in a Legislative office has as well two alternatives either to carry the opposition ‘losers’ along or either to go it alone and allow the losers to form a vibrant opposition to his office as regard positive criticism of his Representation from time to time.

According to Franz Fanon and Antonio Gramsci…Every Government that comes to power comes with a crop of intelligentsia addressed to giving meanings, interpretations and homogeneity to its policies, activities and stratagems. And that is exactly the role of opposition in a democratic dispensation albeit reactionary and perhaps conversely.

This explanation has become necessary to espouse of the fundamental principles of Governance in Nigeria in order to put the record straight, which is, in ideal terms there are neither winners nor losers in an election. Once INEC or the Electoral College of a sovereignty short list your name as a qualified candidate for an election, any of the short listed candidate could emerge as the winner or so called loser but they are expected to work together either in coalition or perhaps in establish opposition to jockey the process of governance of the polity to a desired standard practice of social, industrial and economic prosperity. And that is the beauty of democracy.

In the Nigeria context the opposition seems to fizzle out after any election and only a pastry of them are vocal and this is abysmal; while some will decamp[ cross- carpet] to the winner’s party just to be able to make some money  through patronage and to be relevant. These are the majority practice in Nigeria and in some parts of the Third World were party ideology and disciplines are mundane, pedantic and primordial.

Secondly it is pertinent to note, that the streams of consciousness of the elected officers in government, as well as majority of the mundane electorates, feels that the opposition is unnecessarily ‘disturbing’ the elected officers out of jealousy and unnecessary distraction of attention. This is an erroneous, obscurantist and parochial view of the holistic picture of any Democratic exercise.

Whence the government in power, all elected officers and the electorates are expected to welcome criticism from the corresponding contestants for an elective post after the election and for the duration of the mandate. It is like a jointly owned mandate between the winner and the loser, one inside the government, with a corresponding partner/ runner ups outside the government.

Note that the elected officer has a choice of either carrying other so called ‘losers’ along by offering an olive branch of power shearing arrangements or to go it alone allowing the losers to form a vibrant opposition outside his mandate.

So the idea that Lagbaja or Shehu or Tamadun or Emeka lost out in an election does not mean he should go and sleep and keep quiet until next election. The two sides are both winners but one is inside and the others are outside, that is how it works. It is a great beauty, built on the theory of attrition of opposite forces grinding and sharpening each other; like two hands clapping loudly or two hands washing each other clean. I have never heard of one hand clapping. Nor one hand washing itself clean. It is unnatural, unscientific and undemocratic and hence UNGODLY.

Furthermore it is imperative to counsel at this juncture those in power to accommodate criticism in good faith as that is exactly the purpose and beauty of democracy; otherwise it becomes autocracy or totalitarian demagoguery…if they begin to view criticism in bad faith as in trying to cow the opposition by various acts of commissions, omissions and strange tragedies.

In some Countries with  well developed democratic experience, members of the opposition create NGO’s, pressure and lobby groups addressed to contribute to the developments of various aspects of Nation building of the polity and even the government of the day and companies, government agencies do support such establishments formed by the opposition morally and financially if they find it relevant and rightly guided in its contribution to the development of the polity.

2011 APRIL POLLS IN NIGERIA - R& D CASE STUDY

About 9,863 candidates participated in the 2011 April polls in Nigeria with Lagos state having 645 candidates as highest, kano with with 432 as second,Delta with 416 candidates, Anambra with 409, Oyo with 405, Sokoto with 389, Rivers 389,Imo 360, Ogun 332, Enugu with 318 as the top ten  leading states participation. While Jigawa 205, Plateau 205, Niger 195, Taraba 182, Cross Rivers 172, Nasarawa 153 Gombe 151, Edo 150, Yobe 132, fct 74 as top ten lowest participant in the states category.

COST OF FUNDING ELECTIONS & PATRONAGE: There is no state that cannot absorb in a participatory context the number of candidates that participated in the various elections in an all inclusive culture… though this is not written in the constitution but Prof Uwabieze an erudite legal practitioner has told us that a lot of traditions will evolve around a democratic dispensation when it begins to grow and these traditions some what becomes as powerful as the constitutions . So instead of being at daggers drawn with each other after an election and the huge expense that a candidate must spend to participate in an election when he looses who bears the cost…is he or she expected to just take it as faith and go and be scavenging…many people take loans, sell houses, properties , stock shares and really go broke to fund elections but after if they lose what traditions are we going to begin to adopt so that the aspects of contesting will continue to be attractive to the electorate and will not be a do or die issue in terms of winning. When there is a tradition where both the opposition is assimilated in the various boards, perastertals and participating with dignity and self respect of not necessarily decamping and humiliating himself them the issue of elections will become attractive, less violent, inexpensive and brotherly as there is a tradition of comradeship and sharing of power with beauty and gaity of each others emblems..

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS: TENURE ELONGATION ETC: The reason why President Goodluck Jonathan wants the constitution amended is the issue of the cost of funding elections, time frame for mandates which is seen in many quarters as too short for any meaningful achievement, lack of continuity of Governance and policy thrust which keep changing like quick silver thereby endanger solid economic and industrial progress.. ,election violence, killings, arson, bombing and all the ills of elections. A solution to this is the all inclusive tradition that we should evolve so that both the winner and the losers can see themselves as one and be absorbed in to the schemes of things as traditional participating with selling his self pride..

 For example all the states can easily absorb all the participants and even the FG…in the various parastatals and posts that are so many ; so there is lots to share and the pot of soup is big enough but it is greediness that makes some political parties not wanting to share with others and this attitude is the one that is threatening to bring down the democracy, and threaten the unity of the country… so rather than thinker with the constitution we should thinker with our minds, souls and consciences and begin to have a brother’s keepers attitude and all inclusive tradition of generosity to the opposition…and once this tradition gains ground then our democratic dispensation will become cheaper, less violent, no more do or die issue and the country will progress as a united entity rapidly.

Whence we should endeavor to practice an inclusive form of Democracy if really we are truly committed to building a virile democratic dispensation in Nigeria. We could appreciate each others ideological positions and work together without necessarily decamping to the winner’s party, nor mortgaging our consciences, pride, being and essence. And this will help to strengthen the concept of multi party democracy that we are practicing.

CONCLUSION: We at SDMP- Social Democratic Mega Party- The most progressive party in Nigeria and Africa have at various times discussed on this topic with the National Chairman of our great Party H.E. Chief Olu Falae as well as with our Presidential Candidate H.E. Prof Pat Utomi and what you see our leaders doing by offering positive criticism from time to time is the genuine ideal practice of true democratic ethics.

LONG LIVE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.

SIGN: PRINCE FRANK ONAIVI UKONGA: PUBLISHER NATIONAL PEOPLES NEWS & SENATORIAL CANDIDATE OF THE 7 TH REPUBLIC.