We should not deceive ourselves: the fact is that the 2007 election was rigged.  In effect, this means that those who are going to rule us were not elected by us.

        If democracy is a process whereby the people elect their rulers and the peoples choice legitimizes the rulers’ authority to rule them, it follows that those who are now going to rule us are not legitimate. They were imposed on us by the present government. They are imposters; they are as illegitimate as a military junta that imposes itself on the people without the people electing them. 

       The question now is what should we do?  Should we tolerate this crowd of self imposed leaders?  This is really the only question before us. There is no beating about the bush or equivocating, the question is very simple: should we accept imposters rule or not?

       If one says that the election should be concealed and another conducted, however, the problem is that going by history no election has ever been free and fair in Nigeria . From 1959 to the present, all elections in Nigeria were rigged. Political realism, therefore, teaches us that to hope for a free and fair election in Nigeria is a will of the wisp.

HYPOTHESIS

         At this stage of Nigeria ’s, indeed, Africa ’s political development, one doubts that it is possible to have a free and fair election.

        Furthermore, one doubts that if such an election were possible that its results would be better than rigged elections.

       One thinks that the people are not sufficiently capable of assessing their potential leaders’ qualities so as to elect qualified ones.

       In ones view, most of the people are ignorant of what constitutes good leadership qualities. Additionally, the people are too impoverished and, as such, are easily swayed by appearances of wealth. If the people were given the opportunity to elect their leaders they would probably elect old men who appear to be rich and powerful. That is, they would not elect persons with the right leadership skills; they would not elect persons who have a vision as to what Nigeria needs; they would elect persons who appear to be very important rather than persons who have something important to do for the country.  

GUIDED DEMOCRACY

       One submits that what Nigeria and Africa needs at this time is guided democracy. By guided democracy one means the seizure of government by a group that has a national agenda (building national unity and developing the country by all means necessary, transforming the country into first world levels).

        This group should gradually lay down the infrastructure for real democracy and when the people are ready for democracy leave office. 

       One does not think that the guardians can accomplish their task in a few years. They probably need a generation (35 years) to accomplish their goals (this time frame additionally would be sufficient to re-socialize Nigerians and to produce a new generation not tainted by the country’s present culture of corruption).

       What should they do?  They should write a realistic constitution for Nigeria , a constitution that is cognizant of Nigeria ’s ethnic make up. (Pronoco’s resolutions on this matter are germane. Also see my views.*)

        The group should implement that realistic constitution and gradually conduct elections, beginning at the local level all the way to the national level.

        They should make sure that those elected to public offices do what they are supposed to do and punish those who deviate from their functions. (Twenty year prison term for taking bribes and banning such persons from all elective offices in the country is just a beginning.)  

        All things being equal, it would probably take, at least, ten years to get the electoral structure in place and working properly.

        Simultaneously, they should embark on economic development. The goal is to industrialize the country and provide all adult Nigerians with jobs.

       Obviously, a mixed economy is the most realistic economy, with the private sector playing the greater role and the government creating an enabling environment while performing certain tasks, such as providing free education for all Nigerians, from elementary to university; providing medical insurance for all Nigerians etc.

         How is this group to come to power?  For guidance, I suggest that we look at what happened in Egypt , in the1950s, when a group of young army officers took over the Egyptian government.  We could also study how the so-called communists came to power in Russia in 1917 (though communism is not the way to go).

        Military coup is obviously the easiest way for the group to come to power (there are other modes for a committed group to come to power, of course). But the military must have the mental presence to select civilians with the right skills to lead the revolution. This means selecting civilians with demonstrated skills in leadership and who have visions of what Nigeria needs to become members of the guardians’ council that would guide Nigeria to real democracy.

       We should quit talking about the need for democracy for democracy sake; we should be talking about what the leaders ought to be doing for the country: developing it.

        Finally, the idea of guided democracy is not school boy wishful thinking; it is the product of many years of thinking about African politics; it is probably the only way out for Africa .  Regarding how to make sure that the guardians are not corrupt and dictatorial, that is a topic for other writings.

* I have written at length on what constitutes a realistic constitution for Nigeria . Because of the need to limit this piece to less than three pages, I will briefly summarize my views on this matter.  We have all moaned about the Berlin Conference (1882-84) that set the present boundaries of African countries. We have all made noises about how it was unfair that Europeans logged disparate African tribes into one country and upon departing from Africa made it possible for some tribes to rule others.  We have talked long enough. It is now time to restructure the political framework under which Africans operate.

      The solution to the mistake made by Europeans is very simple. Make each large ethnic group in Africa a state (and combine the related small ones into states). There are about 400 large tribes in Africa and, therefore, there ought to be 400 states in Africa . The numerous small tribes can be combined for another 100 states making for 500 states in all of Africa . These states then could form federations.

       In the context of Nigeria there are about eight large tribes and numerous small ones. There must be eight tribe based states in Nigeria and the small ones combined into another four for a total  of twelve states:  Igbo state, Yoruba state, Ijaw state, Efik state, Edo state, Urhobo state, Hausa state and Tivi state etc. 

         Each state must control all of its resources and have its people pay individual and corporate taxes to the central government; each state must control its economic development; each state must control its education, health, police etc.

        The central government should control the military and run the nation’s foreign affairs. 

        Regarding elected office holders, there should be a national president (elected for five years, two terms limit), a prime minister selected from the unicameral legislature, legislature not to exceed 300 members; members elected for five years term, six term limit; and an independent judiciary (headed by a supreme court of no more than 13 members).  There should be no more than three national political parties (representing the three dominant political and economic ideologies of our time: conservative/free market; socialist/mixed economy; and everything in between.)

        The structure of the national government should be replicated at the state, district and town/city levels.

       This is, in my view, the only realistic political structure for Nigeria ; any other structure is avoiding the realities on the ground.

       Once a realistic political structure is set up and folks are elected to offices, the real task becomes guiding the growth of these democratic institutions, helping them operate democratically and developing the country economically.

       (What is sketched above is obviously idealistic. There is an aphorism that says that unless people have ideas of where they want to go to that they will go nowhere. Some idealism is necessary for people though they must live with what reality subsequently makes of their ideal conception of phenomena.)

Ozodi Thomas Osuji

April 20, 2007

Dr Osuji teaches and writes (on) politics, psychology and management. He can be reached at ozodiosuji@gmail.com

Robot  Villager

# 1 We should not deceive ourselves: the fact is that the ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 20.04.2007 12:56

TEchi  Villager

# 2 Quote: In ones view, most of the people are ignorant of what constitutes good leadership qualities. Additionally, the people are too impoverished and, as such, are easily swayed by appearances of wealth. If the people were given the opportunity to elect their leaders they would probably elect old men who appear to be rich and powerful. That is, they would not elect persons with the right leadership skills; they would not elect persons who have a vision as to what Nigeria needs; they would elect persons who appear to be very important rather than persons who have something important to do for the country Quote This hypothesis can only be true if: 1) People do not understand good leadership vision and what it entails 2) Do not understand the tenets of true democracy 3) They all complete illiterate and 4) Have never traveled outside of their country to experience democracy in its real form The guided democracy will only work if you have people in key areas educating the masses on what it means to live as a democratic society. Doing by example what it means to have a corruption free state. If these usurpers themselves are not well intentioned to build a nation state that is self sufficient with our resources we will end up back to square one. QUOTE: Military coup is obviously the easiest way for the group to come to power (there are other modes for a committed group to come to power, of course). But the military must have the mental presence to select civilians with the right skills to lead the revolution. This means selecting civilians with demonstrated skills in leadership and who have visions of what Nigeria needs to become members of the guardians’ council that would guide Nigeria to real democracy END QUOTE: At this point I think you totally lost it. How many times have we been through a military administration and the country coming out worse for it? This particular idea is trash. Nigerians have suffered enough under the military rule to subjugate them to it again will be total annilation of our Republic. This idea is absolute trash. If your ideological usurpers are the military boys then you have no fresh idea to give to this nation. Posted by TEchi| 20.04.2007 18:53

oluye  Villager

# 3 As I responded in your last article, it seems to me (based on your last insightful essay), that the realistic alternative is to have powerful realists (who can play by the rules of the moment) back progressively idealistic leadership and enthrone them. You suggest a coup, but a coup is a coup, be it by the wig, by the pen, by the gun or by the ballot. Coup is simply the forceful siezure of power or the process that guides its outcome, the military do not have a monopoly of force. In the tussle that we are presently witnessing, one depended on the wig and the pen alone, the other went all out. Hence the outcome. But who qualifies to lead the kind of revolution you suggest? Again we will all disagree on that point. The logical thing would then be that once any group succeeds in moving the country in that direction, we should not waste time challenging its validity(since its the law of the jungle that prevails now), but rather focus on scrutinizing its activities. -The civil society should become organised at every level of governance and should work hand in hand with regulatory bodies like EFCC. The principal actors of the composite societies must not have the siezure of power as an objective, hence it invalidates their concern. -Every important government office and official should be targeted by the civil societies and other progressive elements. Once a contract is awarded, the searchlight should be turned on it to ensure that the award is transparent, and implemented according to terms. For example we deserve to know how Abacha's recovered loot has been applied. N15 billion has just been released to INEC, it is public money, the public deserves to know how it is being applied. -As the next set of officials will be sworn in, our legal luminaries and EFCC should offer them a course in matters of the law, because some of them are truly ignorant. From the executive to the local government, accountability should be the watchword. The electorate too need to be educated about their duties, not just at the ballot but in holding the government accountable. When it becomes obvious that the executors of governance do not have loopholes to siphon the national treasury, then those who have that primary intention will stop making the seizure of power a do or die affair. The failure is not that of those in power, it is that of the watchmen. Posted by oluye| 20.04.2007 21:58