June 12th: Nigeria's Democracy Day- Achieving the Leadership We Deserve

Nigeria marks Democracy Day today, June 12th. This newsletter discusses the vulnerability of democracy and how to create an inclusive system of leadership

Democracy Under Attack

The world watched with horror this week previously unreleased footage of the January 6th insurrection last year of mobs storming the US Capitol in an attempt to overturn the Presidential election results, attacking American democracy at its core. ?I draw parallels with Nigeria's past as today June 12th, the country celebrates Democracy Day. ?This marks the anniversary of the presidential election held on that day in 1993 to transition the country from military to democratic rule. The results were never released. ?

It is widely believed Chief M.K.O. Abiola, a wealthy industrialist won the elections?which were considered the freest, fairest, and most peaceful elections since the country's independence in 1960, yet the military government in place headed by General Ibrahim Babaginda cited election irregularities and aborted the elections. This act which amounted to seizing democracy from the hands of the voters plunged the country into a political crisis and civil unrest which led to General Babaginda eventually stepping down. In the tumultuous political period which ensured, Chief Abiola was detained for four years and sadly died under unexplained circumstances whilst incarcerated. ?The country finally achieved a democratic rule in 1999 under what is now known as the 4th Republic.

Vulnerability of Democracy

What are the parallels and lessons to be learned? ?Essentially, democracy is vulnerable. ?For some who wield power- in the two cases of the US and Nigeria, Heads of State- ?the results of a democratically run election are not always to their liking, and shockingly, they can go as far as using their power of office and influence to try to overturn the results. ?Thankfully the attempt was unsuccessful in the case of the U.S., but it does illustrate how vulnerable democracy can be anywhere. Despite the US’s seemingly strong institutions, it was still possible for a sitting President to incite a revolt and risk the stability of the most powerful country in the world, resulting in a loss of lives.

Institutions of Democracy

What hope then for those countries with younger, fledgling institutions, which is certainly the case for many of our countries in Africa? After all, the first of our countries to gain independence was Ghana only 65 years ago. Arguably, the institutions created at the time of independence were not “our institutions” they were produced for us ?– in the case of Nigeria modelled on the British parliamentary system. In hindsight- how incongruous it was to expect a political system that had emerged from the transition from monarchy would suit countries made up of diverse ethnic groupings held together by artificial boundaries created under colonial rule.

Last month, at the University of Cambridge, I was pleased to debate the critical importance of the role of institutions in good governance with some great African minds -political change-makers and scholars – during our Leadership and Security panel at the Africa Today Conference ( synopsis: Africa+Together+Conference+2022+-+ASCU's+Reflection.pdf (squarespace.com) )

?Importantly, whilst our institutions may be young and thereby still in formation, we also need to move forward, leapfrog from our legacy - in the way we have done with technology in many instances- ?to create a system of institutions of democracy that will give our countries the best chance of leadership, helping our continent function at their potential particularly harness the power of our youthful populations.

A Collective Approach to Leadership

In today’s fragmented world of information– and disinformation- ?disseminated at the speed of light, our youths are at once engaged and connected through technology, and at the same time, millions of them are disenfranchised as this demographic suffers most from a lack of decent employment opportunities. A country’s leadership is not about leaving it to political leaders and those at the top. It is much more than the citizenry’s periodic casting of votes. It has to be a collective approach to leadership where we as citizens are implicated in the creation of the systems to support the emergence of good leadership and governance. It must mean we hold democracy dear, that is our right to elect the leaders that we want. And that we work to fix any malfunctioning and not to jettison the idea of democracy. We are the collective and we must be individually involved in creating change.

?Democracy evolves and is necessarily inclusive

Many would consider that the US had democratic elections over 200 years ago. I would argue it only truly became a democracy when all had a right to vote and that happened in successively, particularly of note, in the 1920s for women, and in 1965 the Voting Rights Act which prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Democracy can only truly be democratic when it is an inclusive non-discriminatory process, giving people the choice to choose their representatives.

As Nigeria enters into election season with our presidential elections scheduled for February 2023, Nigerians must fully embrace this opportunity to influence through our collective actions and to contribute towards getting the type of leadership we want and that our countries need to progress.