A keynote speaker at the 3rd International Conference organized by Nnamdi Azikiwe University Business School, Dr. Okey Anueyiagu has said that unbridled electoral fraud in Nigeria is undermining the country’s democracy, arguing that the only way to solve the problem is to guarantee the freedom of the electoral umpire.
Anueyiagu warned that if the fraudulent system leads to the failure of Nigeria’s democracy, it would have a ripple effect on the African continent, with the attendant repercussion on the people.
He said: “Electoral fraud all over Nigeria has facilitated the overthrow and stifling of democracy. All over the country, there are very severe problems of governance and very deep pockets of disaffection.
“The major problem with Nigeria’s democracy is the failure of the state since 1999 to consolidate the gains of the momentum generated when Obasanjo became president. Emerging democracies must demonstrate that they can solve their governance problems and meet their citizens’ expectations for freedom, justice, a better life, and a fairer society.
“If democracies do not move effectively to contain crime and corruption, generate economic growth, relieve economic inequality, and secure freedom and the rule of law, people will eventually lose faith and turn to authoritarian alternatives. And this is the inevitable way that Nigeria is going today.
“There is absolutely no doubt that democracy is the best form of government, but struggling democracies, such as Nigeria’s, must be consolidated so that all levels of society become enduringly committed to the ethos of democracy as enshrined in the country’s constitutional norms and constraints.
“Considering the strategic importance of Nigeria in the world economic and political arena, many are worried about this trend, and asking how to reverse this democratic recession. Before and from the day Obasanjo allegedly attempted to elongate his mandatory tenure, otherwise known as the “third term”, all manners of the expansion of executive power, the intimidation of the opposition, and the rigging of the electoral process have extinguished even the most basic form of electoral democracy.
“Nigeria as in many other developing democracies is plagued by a superficial type of democracy, that is blighted by multiple forms of bad governance: abusive police and security forces, domineering local oligarchies, incompetent state bureaucracies, corrupt and inaccessible judiciaries, and venal ruling elites who are contemptuous of the rule of law and accountable to no one but themselves. In this country, there are elections, but they are contests between corrupt parties.
“There are parliaments, state and local governments, but they do not represent broad constituencies. There are constitutions, but not constitutionalism. Is democracy not over now?
The level of voter disillusionment and disenfranchisement has reached a very high pitch, resulting in massive cases of democratic distress.
“The biggest challenge for the survival of democracy in Nigeria lay partly on the willingness of the ruling party to; listen to their citizens’ voices, engage their participation, tolerate their protests, protect their freedoms, and respond to their needs. We must confront the monstrous electoral authoritarianism as practiced by Prof. Mahmood Yakubu’s INEC.
Elections are only democratic if they are truly free and fair. This requires the freedom to advocate, associate, contest, and campaign. It also requires a fair and neutral electoral administration, a widely credible system of dispute resolution, balanced access to mass media, and independent vote monitoring.