Democracy Development in Nigeria: A Global Vision on the Last Ten Years

Democracy Development in Nigeria: A Global Vision on the Last Ten Years

Introduction
To give a talk to a group of Nigerian authors is a great challenge – a complex one for that matter
Because they are people of ideas and whatever you are going to discuss with them they have already written about it; they have already read and discussed as well as debated it. But fortunately the organizers have given me an option that the symposium is on ten years of democracy in Nigeria but I could choose to talk on any topic
So, I have choosen to speak on a topic:

Democracy Development in Nigeria: A Global Vision
I think I want make an observation about the theme of this symposium:
It is that ten years is not enough to understand the history of development of human society.
Unless if we are going to make judgement which is not useful
It is because I do not want this kind of judgement that I have framed my topic the way it is

The Issues
Let me start with meaning f democracy:
Many of us when we gather to talk about democracy we end up discussing ideas totally beside the point.
Because democracy is much more than party formation; free and fair elections; or having a legislative house doing law to govern the life of every body in the society
Secondly, democracy is much more than the ceremonies that surround it in Nigeria today – I think there are more ceremonies about democracy than real democratic policies that improves the lives of the people.
Yes! The money spent in these ceremonies are enough to provide free health care to every Nigerian
Thirdly, another important misconception about democracy in Nigeria is that democracy is only the procedures of making democracy to work
I am sorry that in Nigeria of today the young generation including those boys and girls in the tertiary institutions, the only meaning they know of democracy are procedures of democracy
From one theoretical perspective “democracy is a system for accomplishing what can only be achieved by citizens joining together with other citizens to determine the rule of the game whose outcomes express the common good”.
That is the essence of democracy:
This makes sense (from all ideological positions) as people come together to make rules which could help them to affect
How the economy grows
How to divide the resources fairly
How to generate feeling that we are all Nigerians and we are working for overall development of Nigeria as a nation
But also to make sure the rules would ensure that the political system would guarantee fairness, and participation as well as other goals we share in common between various ethnic and other social groups.
But in a most fundamental way it seems that Democracy in Nigeria today has grown less responsive to these issues. Why? – It has become a democracy of politicians and others who have access to state resources
Seen from theoretical point of view Democracy character and development in Nigeria could not be isolated from a view that it is a product of global economic relations and the economic and social structure produced locally
From the 1950s through the 60s up to early 1970s capitalism in Europe, America and Japan, as also in other countries was more human, less competitive and state regulated.
Therefore, at level of politics it negotiated and renegotiated itself with various interests to create a balance for the benefits of all.
These were the days when social democracy became the order of the day and when welfare states existed every where providing all sorts of services free while capitalists making their own profits unhindered.
Although in Nigeria, this golden age of democratic capitalism was mainly under military rule.
Yet majority of the people of Nigeria had more economic benefit; interest groups had wider spaces to negotiate their demands with government to get something.
In a nutshell, in those days Nigerian citizens were working together to achieve a common goal.
Why is it that Democracy of today is not like of those years
It is not like of those years because the structure of capitalism – globally – has changed.
There is the present technological revolution which started during the 1970s
Consequently the structure of capitalism began to change as a result of rapid boom and buble in finance, investment, and business which raised competition
Because of high competition, by mid-1970s capitalism had began to deregulate in Europe and America.
When Reagan and Thatcher came in USA and UK respectively, they met the system deregulating itself, therefore they followed and pushed it not only in USA and UK, but also across the globe.
So, the idea of neo-liberal globalisation spread everywhere – including to Nigeria
One policy arm is to deregulate the economy by creating a market-based economic system
The second is to democratise by forming political parties and hold elections
However, there are fundamentals of the market-based economic system which undermined the practice of democracy as I have defined it.
The economy shows a process of fragmentation and disintegration of solidarity; support networks; and popular mobilization
It is a system which imposed itself through privatization of collective wealth and public properties – destroying the spirit of the people to see anything good with democracy
Reducing and deforming the state to play any role of commonwealth, in order to impose a market ideology that each is to him/her self.
Most fundamentally the implementation of the market system led to limitations on people’s political participation
Democracy has become a ritual of casting votes every 4 years.
Tiny political elites are seen doing what they want to with our resources
Neo-liberalism does not like opposition. It creates a process of social exclusion of social movements that will context it and seek to democratize it.
Most countries in Africa, including Nigeria have followed this wind of change – implementing market system and the accompanying neo-liberal democracy system
But there s a common consensus everywhere now that this democracy has failed
How is this failure seen in Nigeria and why?
First of all, let us see this problem through meaning I give to nation of development.
A useful conception of development in this context is that since mankind began to cooperate for economic and political purposes, they work for collective progress of the society which will bring benefits, though differently to individuals without disturbing the livelihood and space for people to continue to work.
This is both in economic, social, cultural and political development
But is this New Democracy encouraging this?
There is no doubt that the “New Economy” and the “New Democracy” have produced “New Midas in Nigeria – richer people and perhaps more prosperity for some other people.
But this new riches had made the gap between the rich and poor wider
This wealth has increased inequalities in the society
The increasing inequality is vindicated by a report by one consultant that less than 200 families control the economy and politics of Nigeria.
Furthermore as the scale of market economy widens the FGN has withdrawn a range of public services including health and education needed by the citizens to develop themselves
There are numerous other problems of the New Economy:
Hundreds of industries have collapsed and left us with mass of jobless youth on the streets whose concept of democracy is not to fight for common goals but only to get money to eat food and intoxicants
At any community level whether of work or settlement including family relations, market dominate individual desires instead of common goals
Consequently, the logic of collective action for collective interest has changed – democracy being swept away
But from political calculation there is no doubt that this democracy:
Has reduced tensions over long period of military rule:
Has particularly released the middle-class i.e. the modern middle class from political closure by the military so that now we can come out to speak and even participate in the politics
At least there is a feeling among the people that there is democracy and rule of law, even if the democratic practices are structured in an economy whose politics is to disempower the people
There is also increasing campaign for Human Rights.
On the other hand:
The parties are merely cartel organizations
As such the parties that produced candidates are not democratic and these parties as I know them cannot produce anybody who could be a democrat.
Or could they?
There are many flaws in the electoral system which are deliberately enshrined in the law in order not allow free and fair electoral competition etc.
Market created discontent; insecurity; threatens many rights of people; etc
Are these not limits to democracy
By way of conclusion I will not hesitate to repeat my earlier assertion that neo-liberal democracy in Nigeria as in many other countries, is a failure.
This is not speaking from radical position. One of the most prolific writers about the failure of neo-liberal democracy was a minister of labour in a government of USA.
Hundreds of years ago a variety of liberal theory showed that capitalism would become a corporate business and democracy would become a few corporate affairs.
That is the case in USA, Europe; Japan and the rest of them as well as all the New Democracies of the developing countries.
Subsequently, there is already a debate now raging among intellectuals about social management of neo-liberalism.
Both at economic and political levels:
Obama’s government policies show that the old neo-liberal formulas are being discredited indicating there will be a break with market fundamentalist policies that have governed since 1980s.
At political level he is also building capitalist consensus for social democratic alternative to market fundamentalism which may probably return the old values of democracy
Furthermore, global economic and political elites are converging on global social democracy as a solution to the current economic and political crisis facilitated by neo-liberalism.
Again, western and USA elites have realized a shifting balance of power towards the south so is pushing for global social democracy – a kind of partnership to safeguard their interests.
However, the question is how decisive and definitive will there be a break with neo-liberalism globally and in our domestic politics.
Would it not be merely to stablise market capitalism, giving it human face after which to give back to corporate elites?
Or are we going to see a second round of Keynesian capitalism and its way of political management of human society?
Those are among the options but in my opinion the neo-liberal structures and mechanisms are the problems and therefore which ever option is to distance ourselves from it.
We can do this by reversing the fundamental policy measures of neo-liberalism and
To consolidate a network of social movements that could defend these changes.
The question one may ask after these theoretical controversies is what would Nigeria learn from these.
I think there is no simple answer neither a short-cut to a solution.
The only thing to do is to continue talking and debating about this problem

Thank you.


A Lecture delivered by M. M. Yusif,
Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano
In a Symposium on Ten Years of Democracy in Nigeria organized by Association of Nigerian Authors at Murtala Muhammad Library, Kano on 18/07/09