Newscenter Media News Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has decried the democracy being practiced in Nigeria, saying the country is at a cross road with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in power.
Atiku who made the assertion while speaking at a conference organized by the National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, stated that state capture by the APC has made it nearly impossible to achieve democratic change.
He stated that with the ruling party, Nigeria’s democracy is in danger, while emphasising that coalition-building and an outright merger are crucial to removing the ruling party from power.
“There’s no doubt that our democracy is at a crossroads. Put simply, it is at the risk of eroding completely. And it is not caused by one single person or one single administration,” the former VP said.
Continuing, Atiku said:
“In fact, a number of us have been warning over the years that we may come to this pass if we lose our vigilance and fail to take corrective actions to protect and deepen our democracy.
“At the risk of sounding modest, I doubt that there are many contemporary senior political leaders who have spoken out and done more to promote democratic governance in our country than me.
“In addition to public statements and presentations, I brought some actions to our courts which produced landmark judicial decisions intended to uphold democratic principles and practices.
“Some of that effort was thrust upon me by circumstances of political struggles. But much of my effort was because of two things: my participation among other leaders in the struggles to ease the military out of power; and my deep and enduring belief that democracy is the best route to development and unity for our diverse country and peoples.
“Democracy is characterised by, among other things, people’s freedom to choose their leaders; periodic elections, which partly ensure leaders’ commitment to the welfare of the governed, leaders’ acceptance of guardrails (without restraints leaders tend to accumulate and abuse power); consequences for non-compliance, including rejection at the polls.
‘An independent judiciary to adjudicate disputes, and in a presidential system, checks and balances among the three branches of government.”
According to Atiku, democracy in Nigeria cannot be sustained without strong political parties, particularly opposition parties, and called on Nigerians to take ownership of parties instead of leaving them in the hands on a few individuals.
“Ownership of parties by or their subordination to individual big men is the antithesis of democracy. Party supremacy is critical. But party supremacy can’t be achieved through the current funding model for our parties.
“Funding by governors and a few wealthy individuals is not a democratic model. As we know, he who pays the piper dictates the tune. Funding must be democratised. Members must invest in and co-own parties.
“Normative acceptance (compliance by members, especially leaders) of party rules and the country’s laws. Laws that are not obeyed cannot effectively influence people’s behaviour. Party members, especially leaders, must subject themselves to party supremacy and the rules of the game. Democratising funding will help to get leaders to abide by the rules. And so will:
“Consequences for non-compliance
It must be made costly to ignore party supremacy/rules. Elected members decamping must vacate their seats. That should not be open for discussion/debate when it happens. And, more broadly, electoral malpractice generally must be punished rather than rewarded. These are necessary for political integrity.
“Coalition-Building.In addition, opposition parties must realize that it is extremely difficult to dislodge a governing party, however unpopular it may be and however fed up the people may be with it. Coalition-building and outright mergers are critical for building the capacity of the opposition to achieve that goal. Our own history and examples from other countries prove that.”
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