Democracy thrives with a ruling party and vibrant opposition parties. This is why international laws made copious provisions for the protection of opposition parties and members as a vital requirement for the sustenance of democracy. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance in article 1(i)(j)(k)(g) states that: “Political parties shall be formed and shall have the right to carry out their activities freely, within the limits of the law. Their formation and activities shall not be based on ethnic, religious, regional or racial considerations. They shall participate freely and without hindrance or discrimination in any electoral process. The freedom of the opposition shall be guaranteed. The freedom of association and the right to meet and organise peaceful demonstrations shall also be guaranteed. The freedom of the press shall be guaranteed. The State and all its institutions belong to all the citizens; therefore none of their decisions and actions shall involve any form of discrimination, be it on an ethnic, racial, religion or regional basis.”
It’s obvious that with the declaration of state of emergency in Rivers State and the unconstitutional removal of elected representatives of the opposition party, the government of President Bola Tinubu is infringing on the fundamental right of the opposition parties to be free from intimidation and oppression which is against international law. With the illegal suppression of peaceful demonstrations, freedom of the press and expression, this government is infringing on the fundamental right of citizens to oppose the oppressive actions of the government. Nigeria is a signatory to these international treaties and is expected to respect them. Also, these provisions have been codified in Chapter 4 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended and as such binding on the government.
There’s a difference between opposition parties and opposition to the government. Our constitution made it mandatory that whoever wants to contest for any political elective post must be a member of a political party. There’s no room for independent candidacy. This means that any citizen who wants to participate directly in the government of this country must be a member of a political party. Opposition parties mean members of the political parties who are not members of the ruling party. Their job is to offer constructive criticisms on the policies of the ruling party and offer alternative views for solutions.
Nigeria is going bad today because we are witnessing the worst ruling party and the worst opposition parties in history. It will not be fair to blame only the ruling party for the degree of malaise in the society. For the avoidance of doubt, democracy operates on a tripod of the legislature, executive, and judiciary. These arms of government are equal, independent and separate. They have the power to check and balance each other. Out of these three branches, the legislature is the most powerful. It’s so powerful that it is the only branch that can remove the executive from power despite the immunity enjoyed by the executive. However, when the legislature is corrupt, the executive usurps all its powers and it will become a toothless bulldog that can only bark but cannot bite. A corrupt executive proactively corrupts the legislature and uses the instrumentality of its prosecutorial powers to intimidate the legislators and whip them into line. In such a situation, the check on the executive by the legislature will be practically dead.
In Nigeria, Tinubu ensured that he supported politicians who already had corruption cases with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to be the leaders of the National Assembly so the possibility of having substantial checks from such leaders is absent. However, Tinubu may have power over his own party members, but doesn’t have power over the opposition parties members. Unfortunately, in all matters in the National Assembly, the opposition parties still tow the line of the ruling party. In the issue of imported SUVs for all the members of the National Assembly, no opposition member opposed it. In the issue of the state of emergency in Rivers State, opposition members offered no stringent opposition to the illegal removal of elected representatives of Rivers State. The National Assembly needed two-thirds to pass the resolution. Of course the ruling party didn’t get the required majority, that was why they resorted to the illegal voice vote.
Yet, the next day opposition parties members continued congressional duties as if nothing happened. This is in spite of the fact that at the inception of this regime, the opposition parties members were more than the ruling party members in the House of Representatives. The ruling party has a slim majority in the Senate. There’s no way a resolution of the National Assembly that requires two-third majority will pass on the floor without the cooperation of the opposition party members. The worst is the approval of the All Progressives Congress (APC) members as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Commissioners by the National Assembly. They were almost asked to bow and go. Practically, Tinubu is now the lawmaker and the law executioner with the absence of a virile legislature. He has become a sovereign authority.
There has not been any meaningful opposition to the excess borrowing by this regime. Or the lopsided appointments by this regime which favour only the ethnic group of the President, or the terrible security lapses in the country that have turned Plateau and Benue to states of blood while the President is abroad on a private official visit, according to his incompetent media aides. Almost 300 people have been killed in Plateau alone since Tinubu assumed power in Nigeria.
However, the failure of the opposition parties do not translate to the failure of opposition to government. Opposition to government comes from the people from whom the government derives its powers and authority. The only thing the people understand is good governance. Whenever they don’t have it, the people will oppose the government. Tinubu’s government has been opposed by virtually every part of Nigeria. His own people started the protest with “ebin pawa” (we are hungry). Followed by a nationwide protest against hunger and hardship. Followed by another nationwide protest on police day in Nigeria.
In Tinubu’s regime, Nigerians cannot afford fuel for their cars or generators, cannot afford food, cannot afford hospital bills. Electricity supply is practically non-existent. The roads have become death traps with petrol tanker explosions everywhere causing maximum casualties. People are dying of hopelessness, with mental health problems rampant.
Under this atmosphere, 2027 election wouldn’t pose any serious threat to the opposition parties. Opposition to APC in 2023 after the disastrous performance of Buhari for eight years was strong and overwhelming. Indeed majority of Nigerians rejected the APC resoundingly. About more than 14 million voters voted against APC in 2023 as against about 8 million people who voted for APC.
Problem in 2023 was that there was a disconnect between the unity of the opposition to government of APC by the citizens, and the unity of the opposition parties. The disunity among opposition parties cost them the election and put Nigeria into the mess we now have. As 2027 approaches, it doesn’t appear as if the opposition parties have learnt their lessons. With Labour Party boasting that they can go it alone and the Peoples Democratic Party boasting that they can go it alone in 2027, one understands that they are displaying absolute political ignorance. The simple answer to them is that both of them will fail woefully if they go about the 2027 presidential election separately. Most Nigerians will not even waste their hard earned resources going to vote on that day because they already know the outcome.
Whoever is against a coalition in 2027 is an agent to Tinubu. The only reason APC members have not departed in droves from APC to the opposition is because they have not seen seriousness in the unity of the opposition parties. In all honesty, Nigerians are tired of the ruling party, but their only obstacle is a disunited opposition. If the opposition parties come together today against APC, this will mark the end of APC and probably the dawn of a new era.
The best approach towards this unity is for all the various leanings of the opposition to come together under one umbrella suitable to the majority of them. They should organise free and fair presidential primary election and every coalition party member should support the winner. The sky is big enough to accommodate every bird. Nigeria situation is becoming tragic and no sacrifice will be too much for the opposition parties members to make to rescue Nigeria from collapse.
Credit:The Sun