By Emeka Alex Duru
(08054103327, nwaukpala@yahoo.com)
Contemporary Nigerian politicians stand to gain from the story by Second Republic Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Richard Akinjide, on how late Yoruba leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, compelled him to apologise to the First Republic Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, for being rude to him. Balewa, the Prime Minister, belonged to the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), the party that governed in coalition with Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroun (NCNC), while Awolowo, the Leader of the opposition, was of the Action Group (AG).
Awolowo had a disagreement with Balewa over a certain programme of the government. And the young Akinjide, apparently seeking to impress his Action Group leader, dabbled into the matter and in the process, spoke to Balewa in a manner that seemed uncomplimentary. The next day when he (Akinjide) went to greet Awo, the AG leader walked him out of his office and mandated him to go and tender apologies to Balewa for addressing him in uncouth language. Akinjide promptly did so. That was respect for age, courtesy for office and accommodation for contrary opinion.
The nearest to that noble manifestation was in the Second Republic when the presidential candidate of Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP), Waziri Ibrahim, espoused the mantra of politics without bitterness. Waziri had soul mates in Azikiwe of the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) and Mallam Aminu Kano of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). Their politics was shorn of violence but characterised by robust engagement, persuasive argument and disciplined attitude to life. President Goodluck Jonathan came close to such principle, lately, when he declared that his second term ambition did not worth the blood of any Nigerian. That is what electoral democracy should be – an interplay of logic and ideas.
Unfortunately, in the current dispensation, particularly as the 2027 general election draws near, it is the language of force and violence all the way. With the leadership class grossly deficient in character, bereft of agenda and lacking in conviction, there has been ready resort to ethnic bigotry, incitement, and vitriolic outbursts. You cannot take away the blame for the commencement of this recklessness and undemocratic culture from President Olusegun Obasanjo. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his foot soldiers have, since 2023, taken the culture of impunity top notch.
Recall that Obasanjo rode to office in 1999 on the crest of popular goodwill and accompanying demands to deepen democracy in the land. But contrary to expectations, he turned the system on its head and trampled on the entire guardrails of democracy. A major blow he dealt on democracy was in rearranging the order of elections in such odd manner that rather than continuing with Local Government and state elections before the national elections, he switched to the presidential and national elections coming first, in apparent bid to chisel out governors he was not comfortable with. The country’s election timetable is yet to recover from that reckless alteration.
As if that was not enough, Obasanjo turned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), that was created to fight economic and related crimes, to an instrument of witch-hunt against his opponents. Of course, the pioneer chairman of the Commission, Nuhu Ribadu (now, the National Security Adviser), was readily available for the odd job. In the process, the presidency and EFCC engineered the impeachment of Governors Peter Obi (Anambra), Rasheed Ladoja (Oyo), Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Diepreye Alameseigha (Bayelsa), in cahoots with minority members of the Houses of Assembly.
The impunity was so nauseating that at a point, an aide to Obasanjo, Femi Fani-Kayode had the temerity to order the then Vice President, Atiku Abubakar out of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, to amuse his boss who was then having issues with Atiku. Obasanjo did not condemn the unruly behaviour. Neither was any sanction meted on Fani-Kayode. The National Assembly was not spared as Obasanjo caused the replacement of six successive presidents of the Senate.
Incidentally, Lagos state governor at the time, Bola Tinubu, was among those that bore the brunt of Obasanjo’s autocratic tendencies. While Tinubu confronted Obasanjo and his impulsive antics, he was lionized as the symbol of opposition and resistance. But 16 years down the line, when the same Tinubu assumed the presidency, the entire anti-democratic tendencies of Obasanjo were unleashed on the land. While Obasanjo intimidated the governors with impeachment, Tinubu blackmailed and coerced them to defect to his All Progressives Congress (APC). While Obasanjo played games with the senate leadership, Tinubu has reduced the office to rubber-stamp status, with the senate president, Godswill Akpabio, ready and willing to do his bidding, if that would guarantee him a stay in his position.
Added to this persistent erosion of the democracy institutions, is the worrisome assault on the opposition and stifling of alternative voices. This seems the most serious affront on democracy under Tinubu. Cases abound of suspected agents of the presidency being planted in opposition political parties to cause confusion and prevent them from getting their acts correctly as the elections approach. In the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Rivers State governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is playing the odious role; so also, is Julius Abure in Labour Party (LP). Bala Nafiu Gombe, is acting the spoiler in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Next to these obvious manipulations is the deployment of violence in actions and utterances against members of the opposition. In this instance, Peter Obi, presently, a chieftain of the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), has been the main object of attacks. Tinubu’s foot soldiers see in Obi an obstacle to his easy ride for a second term, even without election. For Obi’s audacity in insisting that the opposition is not hushed out of existence, for the nationwide reception his brand of politics has earned him among the downtrodden, Obi has become a figure to watch in 2027. Tinubu and his supporters are not taking kindly to the Obi phenomenon, knowing that the government has performed poorly and does not stand any chance of reelection in any free and fair poll. To bring down Obi, is therefore a task that must be accomplished. This accounts for the barrage of attacks on him over issues that ordinarily should not matter. Other members of the opposition have been subjected to several forms of intimidation.
The remarks by Oyo state governor, Seyi Makinde that the political crisis in the First republic’s Western Region, “operation wetie”, that was characterised by arson and brigandage against opponents, started with this culture of intolerance, is therefore instructive. The alarm by Makinde should not be waved aside. Harvard University political scientists, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, had earlier advised against this creeping denial of legitimacy of the opponents, by parties in power, in their 2018 publication on comparative politics, titled; How Democracies Die.
The book advocates tolerance and respect for the opposition, including accepting the results of a free and fair election where the opposition wins. It also stresses the importance of respecting the opinions of those of different orientations. As it is, Tinubu and his henchmen do not think along this line. The President’s bizarre philosophy of power not being served in the kitchen but to be grabbed and bolted with, still pervades his thoughts and outings. This is dangerous and poses serious challenge to the sanctity of 2027 polls.
*Emeka Alex Duru, PhD, is the Editor, TheNiche Newspapers, Lagos