Democracy Day is a day set aside to commemorate the restoration of democracy in Nigeria. Initially May 29 was the official date for celebration of democracy. It marked the date when civilian rule re-emerged in 1999 after a protracted period of military rule.
If truly Democracy is concerned with equal representation of the citizens of a country, why is it that the political appointments at the centre are presently dominated by people from a particular tribe?
Unfortunately, most African countries do not regard the real essence of democracy, which is ‘equal representation’. It is evident that Nigeria’s political foundation was destroyed right from the day Lord Frederick Lugard amalgamated the northern and the southern protectorates.
Amalgamation is the process of uniting or merging two or more entities. Lugard did not seek the consent of the tribes involved due to his selfish reasons. The so-called unification was done for economic rather than political reasos. The Northern Nigeria Protectorate had a budget deficit and the colonial administration sought to use the budget surpluses in Southern Nigeria to offset this deficit.
A source reported that in 1913, Lord Harcourt claimed, “We have released Northern Nigeria from the leading strings of the treasury. The promising and well-conducted youth is now on an allowance on his own and is about to effect an alliance with a southern lady of means. I have issued the special license and Sir Frederic Lugard will perform the ceremony. May the union be fruitful and the couple constant”.
Also, it was discovered, in the handover note that Lord Lugard wrote on September 25, 1918, to his colleague Walter H. Lang, he stated hyperbolically, among other things, “The Hausa-Fulani has no ideal, no ambitions save as such that is sensual in character. He is a fatalist, spendthrift and a gambler. He is gravely immoral and is so seriously diseased that he is a menace to any community to which he seeks to attach himself.”
He also described the westerners as the “lowest, the most seditious and disloyal, the most purely prompted by self-seeking motives” of any people he had ever met while referring to the Igbo people as “fiercely rebellious with no regard for authority. Though industrious and religious, in deference to the objectives of her majesty the crown, they are highly dangerous to be trusted with power.”
The selfish colonial masters, despite realising the dissimilarities in culture and social orientation, went ahead to amalgamate these different tribes while ignoring the possible implications or consequences of their action.
Now, in a nation with different people and different tribes that have different cultures but united merely by name, how far has the nation been able to observe equal representation in relation to democracy?
Dr Margaret Nasha, a former speaker of the parliament of Botswana says, ”Democracy, to me, means government of the people by the people and not government of the people by men. Democracy by nature should be inclusive with proportionate representation of most if not all sections of the population of a country”.
Surprisingly, the issue of discriminated representation is not limited to women in Nigeria due to the domination of a particular tribe in the core governing positions in the country and this in turn constitutes the root of the ongoing upheaval in the polity.
Unity means an undivided or unbroken completeness of a state and its people. People can only be united if those who speak their language, who know exactly where their feet are itching, are given the chance to represent them and their opinion. A situation whereby the people are not evenly or equally represented can lead to disunity among the citizens of a country, especially a country like Nigeria where different tribes were forced to live together.
The United Nations and the Declaration of Human Rights posits that everyone has the right to take part in the government of his or her country. In respect of this, it is not just a matter of favour, but also that of ‘right’ for every citizen, tribe or gender to be equally represented in matters relating to the governance of their country or countries.
True democracy has deteriorated in Nigeria to the extent that another civil war is looming over the country. This is the result of favoritism as displayed by the current Federal Government towards a particular tribe to the extent that this same tribe now claims to own the entire country.
History has it that the Ijaw ethnic group is the oldest tribe in Nigeria. It is also a collection of indigenous peoples living mostly to the forest regions of Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States, all of which lie within the Niger Delta region in Nigeria. But then, there is no need for any tribe to lay claim to the ownership of the country.
How do we manage the situation on ground? At this point, there is a need for the leaders of each tribe in Nigeria to discuss the way forward for the country. There is no reason to keep deceiving ourselves that we are one nation when we are actually divided in all ways. Yet, no matter the decision taken among our leaders, no life is worth taking.
Nigeria is on the brink of collapse. There is a need for the various tribes to come together and find a lasting solution to the problems created by the selfish colonial masters. The leadership of this country must understand that there can be no unity among the people as long as ethnic group continues to make attempts to lord it over others. No one tribe can dominate the country at the expense of others and expect to co-exist with them peacefully.
Let there be equal representation and no room should given to those who have elevated nepotism to state craft to be at the helm. Let us do away with nepotism, corruption, banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and other vices that are currently threatening corporate existence of Nigeria, our country.
•Adeparua Damilola is the Programme Officer of Social and Economic Justice Advocacy.
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