The practice of democracy does not
in any way guarantee that the government will always do what is best in
the public interest. However, the curious fact remains that if a
government is thought competent, its orders are readily obeyed without
the use of power.
Soon after the birth of the Jonathan Presidency, we were given a
foretaste of the form of power in the political kit bags of our new
masters in the most ferocious and wicked application.
One of the latest misused and misapplied political powers of
President Jonathan is the new role assigned to the Nigerian military in
electoral democracy. Literally, the military has usurped the
constitutional and civil functions of the police in the maintenance of
law and order during campaigns and elections.
The two recently concluded gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun
States witnessed the deployment of military armada ordered by Mr.
Jonathan in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
The reason given by Mr. Jonathan was to ensure “free and fair”
elections. But in reality, the objective of Mr. Jonathan and his ruling
PDP majority is to harass, molest, intimidate, arrest, and detain
members of the opposition party and the press. In some cases opponents
and journalists were beaten and the general public was deprived of
freedom of movement.
Mr. Jonathan as a Ph.D holder and given the history of the military
in Nigeria’s political history should know that the constitutional role
of our military in electoral democracy however limited is undesirable.
Historically, military interventions in Nigeria meant the establishment
of a military dictatorship not the preservation or promotion of
constitutional democracy.
Our military is an hegemonic institution with a strong appetite for
political interventions and hostile takeovers. The military wields its
constitutional powers not to further democracy, but to hinder it. Our
military is not known for democracy-promoting role.
For the first time in our electoral democracy, Mr. Jonathan is on
record to have initiated and promoted self-appointed military and
civilian dictators. Mr. Jonathan has subverted the Constitution by his
use of military in constitutional matters such as elections, the rule of
law, the system of justice, and transparent governance.
The military similar to the Nazi Gestapo, especially in the brutal
suppression of opposition during the Ekiti and Osun gubernatorial
elections, is coercive, above the law, and civil society is below it,
and ordinary Nigerians are out of sight. The use of the military as
oppressive tool against opponents by Mr. Jonathan will invariably lead
to what Bertrand Russell call “the recrudescence of ancient evils:
slavery, bigotry, intolerance and abject misery for the majority.”
It is common knowledge that our military is not an institution that
distinguishes the values and principles of electoral democracy. The
military is antithetical to core principles of democracy. Democracy is
driven by the interest of the ordinary people. It gives the people
decision-making power. It empowers the masses, makes more government
accountable and less corruptible.
The use of military negates political mobilization during campaign
and during elections. The military fosters patron-client chains,
parochial identities, bribery and intimidation. It is not surprising to
see that voting becomes a metaphor for powerlessness and exploitation.
No wonder, the military has turned elections in Nigeria into bondage.
Our military has no regard for legitimacy or legality, but for
expediency. The involvement of the military in electoral democracy is
not conducive to democracy because politics becomes a warfare.
Nigerian military is nothing but a highly specialized apparatus of
violence with no civilized values. The military is a tool of violence,
democracy is a means of consensus building. Democracy enjoins
participation, the military demands submission. Our military has proved
useless and worthless. It is only a tool of internal repression. It is
redundant against a credible external threat.
In a news story last week in SaharaReporters, Nigerian troops fled
Gwoza as Boko Haram captured tank and driver and one of the commanders,
Lt. Colonel Agu whereabouts was unknown. It was the second time within
24 hours that Nigerian soldiers were beaten to a retreat by Boko Haram
in an attempt to retake Gwoza where the terrorists killed over 100
civilian and several soldiers, says SaharaReporters.
It’s over 100 days now and Mr. Jonathan has failed to use the same
military in securing the 300 abducted Chibok girls. According to news
report, over 173,000 security personnel was dispatched to Osun State.
Power not only corrupts, it also dissipates. A good leader reads the
situation before he leads.
One effective way to discourage and dissuade Mr. Jonathan from using
the military as his political toy, is to abolish the civil control and
oversight of our military by the executive branch of government.
Responsibility for oversight must be shared equitably by the
legislature, the public and the press. Defense objectives, military
budgets, and military deployments must be debated and approved by the
legislature and the public.
Nigerians are also to blame for allowing Mr. Jonathan to use the
military to trample upon their human rights, civil rights, and electoral
rights. Because of their docility and opportunism, Nigerians lack the
courage to put up any resistance to stop Mr. Jonathan from using the
military to intimidate them.
Nigerians are very submissive to the ruling class. They corrupt the
politicians by granting them the liberty to abuse them. They worship
them, they submit to all forms of indignity in order to receive crumbs
thrown at them. They don’t know what democracy is all about and how to
be democrats.
Mr. Jonathan should desist from injecting himself into gubernatorial
elections under the guise of promoting “free and fair” election. What
then is the job of INEC? If INEC could not mobilize and deploy the
powers and resources granted it by the Constitution, then it’s of no use
and should be scrapped immediately.
There are other democratic options on the table for Mr. Jonathan to
insure free and fair elections: strengthening of democratic institutions
such as the judicial system, foolproof voter ID cards and other
election materials, criminalizing “stomach infrastructure,”
establishment of State Police, non-involvement of political thugs
parading themselves as ministers, etc.
When democratic institutions are weak, elections are easily used by
violent and dictatorial government like the PDP in power to manipulate
the will of the people and seize control of the government.
Democracy is a liberal political system based on freedom, its main
vehicle – election – should not legitimately be used to impose tyranny
or foment violence. Elections are the sine qua non of democracy.
Elections alone cannot establish or sustain democracy. Other essential
elements such as consent of the governed, constitutional limits, the
protection of human and minority rights, accountability and
transparency, a multiple party system, economic freedom, and the rule of
law must be guaranteed.
Justice entails discipline and rigorous commitment to equality. So
far, Mr. Jonathan’s actions and decisions in the use of military in
electoral matters portend ominous and calamitous extremes. Should this
trend continue with the same vigor and fervor, he will automatically
become Commander-in-Chief of ancient of evils.
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