Most informed members of the Black African elite understand the goodwill
behind the message. The modern history of our world has demonstrated
very definitively that human freedom, reliably democratic political
life, and strong institutions that have integrity, are the only really
sure way to bring order, success and prosperity into the lives of
countries and peoples. As Obama put it in Accra, what Africa needs is
not strong men but strong institutions. “We must recognize the
fundamental truth that…development depends on good governance”.
Even many of the best voices from the western world seem often to say
that democracy comprises not more (or perhaps not much more) than
elections and elected governments. Often, elections are treated as proof
of democracy. But, in many cases in Sub-Saharan Africa, elections are
designed merely to address the concerns of the international community.
And what that commonly results in is that, while pundits in the western
world may go on applauding a country for holding elections, the
country’s rulers may actually go on actively preserving and practicing
seriously undemocratic governance – including bluntly refusing (in a
country of many different peoples) to yield to the desire of the
component peoples for some measure of local autonomy that would enable
them to manage some of their unique affairs, systemized rigging of
elections,concentration of all power and resource control in a central
government.
No other African country practices this split-personality governance
more than Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and home of one-fourth
of all Africans. In 1999, the series of Nigeria’s military
dictatorships which started in 1966 came to an end, and since then
Nigeria has been ruled by elected governments. Even so, successive
elected governments have upheld in this unfortunate country, a
determinedly undemocratic and crooked system of governance, controlled
by a political party which can only be described as fascist. Founded in
1998-9, the PDP declared that its mission was to rule Nigeria forever.
In regions of Nigeria where the people have human-rights, religious
tolerance, and democratic, traditions (especially the homeland of the 50
million Yoruba people of the Nigerian South-west), PDP chieftains
declared that the people must be “conquered”. And the process of
conquest has continued relentlessly since then.
In fact, no serious-minded person now expects that the 2015 Nigerian
presidential elections are sure to end peacefully in victory for any
side. The talk of rigging is so totally universal and so trenchant among
Nigerians. And the reasons for that are obvious and understandable. In
over 50 years of the existence of Nigeria as an independent country,
Nigeria has not succeeded – or even sincerely tried – to nurture federal
agencies and public servants that can be relied upon to do their duties
as impartial umpires in the political process.
Politicians controlling
the federal government at any time want the top police, secret service,
electoral officials, and electoral tribunal judges, to see themselves,
and to operate, as partisans of the ruling political party, and the
officials, for the most part, do just that. They are therefore widely
and profoundly distrusted by all other parties and groups. Naturally, to
have a chance to compete reasonably at all, these other parties dig in
and strive to influence and buy the officials of the federal agencies –
which they sometimes succeed in doing.
Nigeria has become something unknown, unknowable, and baffling. No notable group is seriously suggesting that concerted efforts be made
to halt the looming disaster. All that the rulers and influential
politicians are talking about, all they are bent on securing, is
“victory” – that is, victory for their own particular groups and
desires.
