Today, freedom and democracy are asserting themselves on Nigeria. Democracy, however, imperfect, is not some tedious civic duty, but your individual victory over oppression. We have witnessed innocent Nigerians braving death just to cast a vote in an election of which the same government always comes afterwards to announce in the media to be free and fair. Reaction to dramatic events like these reveals worries about the optimal balance between freedom and security, and provokes a consideration of what democracy actually means, whether what is the nature of that democracy and what are the dangers?
Although elections seem to be multiplying, the commitment to democracy may well be shared, even if there are differing views on where democracy is heading. We may argue that the tide of democracy ebbs and surges, and that complacency can allow liberties to be eroded, yet as one might expect, an equal playing arena has plunged itself open so that Direct and Participatory Democracy can flourish at the grassroots without blood-shed, even if there are differing views on where democracy is heading to in Nigeria.
The CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust, a Nigerian-based International Network Medium for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, which is a People Cause-Driven Social Contract Network of Citizens’ Trust, which is dedicated to ensuring that government stays open, transparent and defined by you, lists some Citizens Right to Participatory Democracy.
Democracy, as our Nigerian elites understand it today, is a product of enlightenment or autonomy, and a law that one imposes on one’s self. In-fact sovereignty to a Nigerian for now is merely a pigment of imagination, because it is always constitutive of the idea of abuse or the power for the public office holder to suspend the law and place him-/her-self above the law. It is a tribute to the power of the democratic ideal that when governments deny democracy, they feel obliged to claim that it is for some greater good. Suspending elections, for instance, is presented as a bid “to protect democracy”.
Today, many see democracy as a form of modern civilization. Beyond the mere freedom to vote, it incorporates accountability of government, civic freedoms, the rule of law, and so on. Some see democracy as a form of identity and a byword for market freedom, which is not just to be shared, but protected and spread as a counterweight to tyranny.
As a social-network medium for Social Contract, CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust is also modifying how Nigerians define and practice democracy. CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust is about the meaning of freedom on the one hand, and rights on the other. The treatment of gender issues and human rights, for instance, provoked animated debates around the world. Some people argue that the increasing use of the law to oblige governments to grant or respect rights weakens democracy, because this gives power to courts that are non-accountable to the citizens subject to their rulings. Some say it is particularly so, if these courts are supranational, and this leads to fears that we are moving from the rule of law to the rule of lawyers, or the magistrature over the legislature and so to a dilution of state sovereignty. There are those that welcome this evolution, since legal instruments can protect gender and minority rights in the face of government inaction or hostility, even in the most egalitarian societies.
Nigerian Citizens generally trust their governments to do the best they can, and do not feel the need to vote to ensure this, or maybe the public feels it has little or no influence on national decision making and are discouraged from participating by the complexity and lack of transparency of political processes. When too many votes are held back-to-back; a general election followed by a referendum, for instance results in “voter fatigue”. Let us put the case of Switzerland to the study, the People of Switzerland practice direct democracy, which “lets the people decide” on a number of key issues in policy making, which over time has helped reengage the Citizens and disciplined elected officials.
One will be quick to agree with me that the Nigeria economy today is adversely affected as a result of decline in political participation and as a result the few who invest their interest possibly control the agenda to the detriment of the weaker sections of our society and if the main government and opposition parties share essentially the same views on managing the economy, a major source of political debate and identification disappears. Apathy sets in, which can undermine democracy by providing opportunities for extremists to set the terms of the political debate.
The CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust is where citizens have to be informed on all sides of their social-contract rights, and where the citizens also have the skills to use information. This makes the media vital to a thriving democracy, but is the government playing its role in shaping the political agenda? A sensitive question in a democracy, of course, since the public can probably decide for itself. At the same time, for some, the media risks trivializing issues for its own interests, and, as the fourth estate, replacing citizen participation as the major means of influencing policy. At the underpinning of our work are a vision and a mission and by connecting the people, working with others, and advocating for equal access to democracy, the Citizens’ Trust strives to make Nigeria a better place.
The more optimistic advantage of the CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust is its media platform on the internet, with its personal web to sms smart interface, which offers a credible alternative to news conglomerates and exploits the interactive potential of the new technologies. The beautiful outcome of CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust is the opportunity for politicians and major networks use web sites, etc., simply as a further means to inform the public, and listen to them, answering their questions or addressing their concerns across the CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust network medium. Indeed, the possibility of these new technologies being used to increase powers of surveillance and control represent a new and safer justification for democracy.
NGOs and CBOs have a role to play in teaching people at the grass-roots how to find and evaluate the information needed for intelligent participation in the democratic process that has been ushered by the CALM Nigeria Citizens’ Trust. This is also a burden for CALM Nigeria since political participation tends to increase with educational level, but paradoxically, political participation will decline if the educational level of society as a whole does not improve. Hence the mass media sector has a commitment to oblige by sensitizing the masses about this new development, while governments can also help by making voter registration simpler, so that people who vote in their first possible election continue to vote thereafter.
So, will democracy really be safe by 2015? The spread of democracy certainly seems to demonstrate its appeal. Still, the overall conclusion of this editorial is that while we continue to gratify ourselves that democracy is not in danger, even “good” democracies can go bad if worrying aspects are not identified and tackled in time.
Edem wrote from Ebony_silver@yahoo.com.