Tinubu - Democracy Under Jonathan, Dysfunctional
- Africcon News
Africcon Report: Tinubu - Democracy Under Jonathan, Dysfunctional
Africcon New Media – News
From: Africcon Media – Nigeria
Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and former Lagos State Governor, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, yesterday told the United Kingdom parliament that the President Goodluck Jonathan-led federal government was a dysfunctional democracy which hangs on the precipice of darkness and uncertainty.
“We have governments that are democracies on paper but not in function. They are democracies in form but not in substance. We have governments that only know democracy primarily through breaching it. In short, many nations suffer authoritarian governments in democratic clothing”, he said.
Speaking to a packed audience inside the Grand Committee Room, Westminster Hall, Houses of Parliament, as part of a conference convened by the British African Diaspora Conference, Tinubu lamented that from the way things are going in Nigeria, many people believe the “best chance for genuine democracy has already escaped from us like dust blown from the hollow of our hand.”
He, however, expressed optimism that true democracy shall prevail in Nigeria in the long run.
According to him, “This belief is not derived from the present facts on the ground. If I limit myself to facts alone, my address to you would be a gloomy one. However, I believe democracy shall win because I hold an undying faith in both justice and the collective wisdom of the people”.
Citing the recent controversy surrounding election of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) chairman, he said: “Today, those who control the system manipulate elections with such impunity that they now see misconduct without sanction as a normal way of life.
“Thirty-five state governors assembled to vote for the chairmanship. They did this among themselves by secret ballot. One contestant earned 19 votes, the other attracted 16. In a place where honesty matters, the result would be clear and undisputed; but not in today’s Nigeria under the current leadership. The chap who earned fewer votes was declared the winner by those who backed him. In Nigeria, the tenets of basic arithmetic have little application concerning elections. Votes do not count; they are concocted.
“Elections are not necessarily won by the candidate with the highest votes. Elections are won by the candidate of the powerful and mighty.
“This little episode would be laughable if it were an isolated incident. However, it is emblematic of a larger, more troubling pattern that portends calamity if not arrested. With this recent experience, I fear the length those in power would go and the means they would employ to manipulate results when the battleground is the entire nation and the stakes are the general elections in 2015.”
He further said that the NGF debacle symbolizes a disdain for democracy and the popular will and that for Nigeria to be saved, “we must rescue the electoral process from its abusers.”
