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| Muhamadu Buhari |
Democracy is being misinterpreted by this administration of
President Muhammadu Buhari. Democracy does not mean the office of the President
alone. Democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the
people, according to Abraham Lincoln. And it is represented by the three arms
of government, namely the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Note
that the legislature is usually named first because without the constitution,
there is no democratic government. The executive and judiciary can function in
a dictatorship, but if any government should be called democratic, then the
legislature must be added. And when the judiciary makes laws, even members of
the executive should keep themselves under the laws, if it is indeed a
democracy.
The legislature is not an appendage of the executive. It
does not exist to fulfil all righteousness and do the bidding of the President.
Neither does the judiciary exist to give judgements that suit the President.
The legislature and the judiciary are independent of the executive and exist to
carry out their duties as stipulated by the constitution. Each arm is meant to
be a check on the other, in order to avoid absolute powers and dictatorship,
which lead to impunity, lawlessness and anarchy.
It is said that even if a judge were to stagger into a
courtroom, reeking of alcohol, but passes judgement on a case, that judgement
stands. It is not for the President to choose whether to obey that judgement or
not. The judgement is meant to be executed to the letter. The President, or a
minister or governor has the option of appealing the ruling and getting it
nullified. It is also not the duty of the executive to discipline the drunken
judge. There are laid down procedures for such.
In the same vein, if the President sends the best candidate
in the nation for confirmation for a position by the Senate (the legislature)
and the Senate disqualifies the candidate for whatever reason, no matter how
seemingly obtuse, it is not within the powers of the President to overrule the
Senate. It is part of the duties of the Senate to confirm or reject nominees
sent by the President. If it were a mere formality, the constitution would not
have stated that the Senate should confirm certain appointments made by the
President.
It is the duty of the President to ensure that he is in good
terms with the legislature, to ensure that his nominations and bills are given
favourable treatment. And if at any time the legislature rejects his nomination
or bill, he should not see it as an affront but a case of the legislature
carrying out its role.
The President should not create the impression that
governance starts and ends with him and that other arms of government exist for
his pleasure. He is not the chief executive of a company with the legislature
and judiciary operating as his directors that work under him. In a democracy,
the three arms of government are like three CEOs in charge of different aspects
of the company. Each faces his roles and reigns supreme there.
If the President were to go into the National Assembly, he
would bow to the Senate President. If he were to go into a law court, he would
bow to the judge or justice. It is a confirmation that these are supreme bodies
that are above any individual or office.
The President must also stop creating this wrong impression
that whatever he wants must be done always. No matter his professed good
intentions, he cannot get whatever he wants always. That is how democracy
works.
The President must respect other arms of government. He must
show respect to the legislature and the judiciary and must caution his
subordinates against disrespecting these two bodies through their words and
actions. He must look beyond the individuals who hold positions in these two
arms of government and focus on the offices involved. If these bodies are not
respected or their decisions discountenanced, then we are destroying the
foundations of our democracy and inviting anarchy upon ourselves.
The President must drop the impression that only one person
is good enough in a country of 180 million to man a position. The message being
sent out is that if that person were to meet with any eventuality or gets a
higher appointment, such a position would not be filled. As important as Mrs
Amina Mohammed, erstwhile Minister of the Environment, was in the cabinet, when
she got an appointment as Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, she
left her office and went to the UN. Buhari’s government did not collapse. Even
when Buhari himself was away for nearly two months on medical leave, Nigeria
did not collapse. On the contrary, governance experienced some boost under the
direction of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who was the Acting President.
The Senate has rejected Ibrahim Magu twice and has issued a
two-week ultimatum that he be stopped from acting as the chairman of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Last week, the Senate suspended the
confirmation of the Resident Electoral Commissioners for two weeks because of
the failure of Buhari to drop Magu after being rejected twice. The 2017 budget
is still with the National Assembly. The National Assembly may decide to delay
it and other bills.
Respect is reciprocal. The President must respect the
decisions of the National Assembly to ensure that his office is also respected.
In the event of a standoff between the President and the National Assembly, it
is the nation that suffers. But the greatest loser will be the President
because his policies and plans will not be executed optimally. No matter the
cogent reasons he will present, the masses will conclude that President Buhari
has not delivered on his campaign promises.
Those who blame this on the fact that Buhari did not take
interest on who became the heads of each of the two arms of the National
Assembly miss the point. The President does not need to interfere in the
election of the officers of the National Assembly to have a good working
relationship with the lawmakers. That attitude made the National Assembly
unstable in the past, especially during the tenure of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
What a President needs to do is to work closely with the parliament, show them
respect, and discuss issues with their leadership constantly.
This ugly scenario
about Magu is also a lesson to Buhari on the need to act fast on cases. If Magu
had been presented quickly enough to the Senate for confirmation shortly after
he was made the Acting Chairman of the EFCC, it would have been easy to confirm
him.
The President must
also ensure that there is uniform communication from agencies working under
him. The damning report by the Department of State Services on Magu was what
the Senate exploited to deny him confirmation. How could two different reports
on Magu emanate from the same DSS?
Democracy does not
move as fast and as smoothly as dictatorship. It can be frustrating sometimes.
It may even seemingly work against good plans. But it is still more dignifying
than dictatorship. It creates more stability and peace than dictatorship. Those
who practise it only need to learn more how to work with people and make them
do one’s wish without force or hard lines.
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