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| 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.
