DANGERS OF DOCILITY •Nigerians must revive the culture of popular protests to call the government to order Ordinarily, Nigerians should need no lectures on the importance of civic action and a demonstration of people’s power in checking the excesses of the state, holding governments to account and promoting responsible governance. Popular struggles involving mass action by citizens played a key role in the country’s liberation from colonial rule. Various civilian and military regimes in post-independence Nigeria were confronted with popular protests and demonstrations against policies and actions perceived to be anti-people. Notably, the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election by the military resulted in a protracted pro-democracy struggle that ultimately saw the military retreating to the barracks, leading ultimately to the current civilian political dispensation. It would , however, appear that with the democratic restoration of 1999, Nigerians have retreated behind a veil of docility even when confronted with heinous acts of corruption, ineptness and other acts of impunity by their supposedly democratic governments. Such acts that violate the rule of law and the elementary ethics of effective public administration have become the hallmark of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration. Humongous amounts of public funds (fuel subsidy, kerosene subsidy, pension funds, revenues of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, etc.) are declared missing with little or no reaction from the public. The administration is therefore encouraged to turn a blind eye to even more outrageous acts of corruption that occur right under its nose. Nigerians surely have some useful lessons to learn from recent developments in countries like Ukraine or Venezuela. In the former, President Viktor Yanukovych provoked the ire of thousands of his country men and women when in November, last year, he opted for stronger ties with Russia and rejected a much anticipated far-reaching accord with the European Union. In reaction to demonstrations by thousands of aggrieved Ukrainians at the Independence Square in Kiev, the police attacked student protesters; opposition activists were beaten and abducted while parliament passed stringent anti-protest laws. The Ukranian people were not deterred. They intensified their protests until Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and his government had to resign and parliament ultimately ousted President Yanukovych from office. Despite the pro-Russia demonstrations in the Eastern part of the country and the military posturing of Russia, it is unlikely that an unpopular government can be imposed on the majority of the people of Ukraine. Venezuela offers another example of the deployment of people’s power to check an arrogant and insensitive government. For over a month since February 4, there have been widespread protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro who succeeded the late President Hugo Chavez, last year. The demonstrations, which have rocked major cities, including San Cristobal, Barquisimento and Puerto Ordaz, have been in reaction to insecurity, government repression and shortages of basic goods. The detention of hundreds of people, including opposition leaders and the arrest of foreign journalists are high handed tactics that have only worsened the crisis. In an obvious attempt to undermine the demonstrations, Maduro declared a six-day holiday to commemorate the country’s yearly carnival; a gesture which majority of Venezuelans shunned. The protests have been sustained. In sharp contrast to these examples, Nigerian protesters promptly quit the streets when President Goodluck Jonathan ordered troops out to quell nationwide protests against a clearly untenable fuel price increase in January 2012. It is thus not surprising that the Jonathan presidency has shown ever increasing confidence in perpetrating acts of impunity. Good examples are the illegal suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, and the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami. When a government perceives its people as being docile or vulnerable to being divided along primordial lines, it will not hesitate to take them for granted. Popular docility could be the greatest threat to democratic sustainability in Nigeria.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 01:24:02 +0000
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