“When the people know their rights and act on them, the revolution is already on the go.”
Separation of powers is a key characteristic of a liberal democracy where the government has an inherent control system to ensure that no arm of it is able to abuse power. Under this model, the government is divided into three branches with separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility,
This political arrangement creates a division of the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of the government among separate and independent bodies. Such a separation limits the possibility of arbitrary excesses by government since the sanction of all three branches is required for the making, executing, and administering of laws.
The separation of powers creates checks and balances which allows for a system based regulation that allows one branch to limit another, such as the power of Legislative to alter the composition and jurisdiction of the federal courts or the Judiciary ruling that a law is unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the Judiciary and the Legislative can not be said to be independent of the executive in our system. The executives mostly wield overwhelming influences on the other arms of the government.
Legislative
This is an arm of the government that is solely responsible for making laws. Legislatures may be unicameral or bicameral. In Nigeria, at the federal level, we have a bicameral Legislative (the Senate and the House of Representative) while at states level, we have the unicameral Legislative i.e. the state Assemblies. Their powers includes writing and passing laws, enacting taxes, authorising borrowing, declaring a war, establishing the government’s budget, confirming executive appointments, ratifying treaties, investigating the executive branch, impeaching and removing from office members of the executive and judiciary, and redressing constituents’ grievances. Members are elected directly from constituencies representing an entire population. In presidential system, the executive and Legislative branches are clearly separated; in parliamentary systems, members of the executive branch are chosen from the Legislative membership.
The Legislative In Nigeria
Section 4 of the Nigerian Constitution states as follows:
4. (1) The Legislative powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be vested in a National Assembly for the Federation, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
(2) The National Assembly shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.
(3) The power of the National Assembly to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation with respect to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List shall, save as otherwise provided in this Constitution, be to the exclusion of the Houses of Assembly of States.
(4) In addition and without prejudice to the powers conferred by subsection (2) of this section, the National Assembly shall have power to make laws with respect to the following matters, that is to say:-
(a) any matter in the Concurrent Legislative List set out in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto; and
(b) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
(5) If any Law enacted by the House of Assembly of a State is inconsistent with any law validly made by the National Assembly, the law made by the National Assembly shall prevail, and that other Law shall, to the extent of the inconsistency, be void.
(6) The Legislative powers of a State of the Federation shall be vested in the House of Assembly of the State.
(7) The House of Assembly of a State shall have power to make laws for the peace, order and good government of the State or any part thereof with respect to the following matters, that is to say:-
(a) any matter not included in the Exclusive Legislative List set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Constitution.
(b) any matter included in the Concurrent Legislative List set out in the first column of Part II of the Second Schedule to this Constitution to the extent prescribed in the second column opposite thereto; and
(c) any other matter with respect to which it is empowered to make laws in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
(8) Save as otherwise provided by this Constitution, the exercise of Legislative powers by the National Assembly or by a House of Assembly shall be subject to the jurisdiction of courts of law and of judicial tribunals established by law, and accordingly, the National Assembly or a House of Assembly shall not enact any law, that ousts or purports to oust the jurisdiction of a court of law or of a judicial tribunal established by law.
(9) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, the National Assembly or a House of Assembly shall not, in relation to any criminal offence whatsoever, have power to make any law which shall have retrospective effect.
Executive
This is a branch of government charged with executing or carrying out the laws and appointing officials, formulating and instituting foreign policy, and providing diplomatic representation. The executive is vested with the power to spend money allocated for certain purposes as in the budget and may veto laws and grant pardon to convicted criminals. This arm of government wages war at the direction of the Legislative because the Legislative makes law for the military. The executive is usually empowered to make decrees or declaration such as declaring a state of emergency or promulgating lawful regulations and executive orders. In an ideal situation, a system of checks and balances keeps the power of the executive more or less equal to that of the judiciary and the legislature.
The executive power is vested in the President to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and the laws of the country. The principal responsibility of the President is to ensure that the laws are faithfully executed. The Constitution does not require the President to personally enforce the law; rather, officers subordinate to the President may perform such duties. The Constitution, empowers the President to ensure the faithful execution of the laws made by Legislative. Legislative may itself terminate such appointments, by impeachment, and restrict the President. The President's responsibility is to execute whatever instructions he is given by the Legislative.
As a check and balance, the President can exercises a check over the Legislative through his power to veto bills, but Legislators may override any veto by a two-thirds majority in each house. When the two houses of Legislative cannot agree on a date for adjournment, the President may settle the dispute. Either house or both houses may be called into emergency session by the President.
The President, as noted above, appoints judges with the Senate's advice and consent. He also has the power to issue pardons and reprieves or amnesties as it is ongoing in the Niger Delta part of the federation. Such pardons are not subject to confirmation by either the House of Representatives or the Senate, or even to acceptance by the recipient.
The President is the civilian Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. However, it is the Legislative that has the power to raise, fund and maintain the armed forces, and to prescribe the laws and regulations under which the armed forces operate. Legislative also has the sole power to declare war, and requires that all Generals appointed by the President be confirmed by a majority vote of the Senate before they can assume their office.
The Executive in Nigeria
Section 5 of the Nigerian Constitution states as follows:
5. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation:
(a) shall be vested in the President and may subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation or officers in the public service of the Federation; and
(b) shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters with respect to which the National Assembly has, for the time being, power to make laws.
(2) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the executive powers of a State:
(a) shall be vested in the Governor of that State and may, subject as aforesaid and to the provisions of any Law made by a House of Assembly, be exercised by him either directly or through the Deputy Governor and Commissioners of the Government of that State or officers in the public service of the State; and
(b) shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the House of Assembly of the State and to all matters with respect to which the House of Assembly has for the time being power to make laws.
(3) The executive powers vested in a State under subsection (2) of this section shall be so exercised as not to:-
(a) impede or prejudice the exercise of the executive powers of the Federation;
(b) endanger any asset or investment of the Government of the Federation in that State; or
(c) endanger the continuance of a Federal Government in Nigeria.
(4) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section:-
(a) the President shall not declare a state of war between the Federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly, sitting in a joint session; and
(b) except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the Federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.
(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, the President, in consultation with the National Defence Council, may deploy members of the armed forces of the Federation on a limited combat duty outside Nigeria if he is satisfied that the national security is under imminent threat or danger:
Provided that the President shall, within seven days of actual combat engagement, seek the consent of the Senate and the Senate shall thereafter give or refuse the said consent within 14 days.
Judiciary
This is the branch of government whose task is the authoritative adjudication of controversies over the application of laws in specific situations. This power to decide cases and controversies is vested in the Supreme Court and lower courts established by the laws made by the legislative. The judges are appointed by the executive with the advice and approval of the Legislative and can be removed by the Legislative through impeachment proceedings. In the course of the its duty and power, the judiciary does the following:
· Determines which laws Legislative intended to apply to any given case
· Determines whether a law is (un)Constitutional
· Determines how Legislative meant the law to apply to disputes
· Determines how laws should be interpreted to assure uniform policies in a top-down fashion via the appeals process, but gives discretion in individual cases to low-level judges. (The amount of discretion depends upon the standard of review, determined by the type of case in question.)
· Polices its own members
As a check and balance, Supreme Court decisions are binding across the nation. The power to review the constitutionality of laws may be limited by Legislative, which has the power to set the jurisdiction of the courts. The only constitutional limit on Legislative’s power to set the jurisdiction of the judiciary relates to the Supreme Court; the Supreme Court may exercise only appellate jurisdiction except in cases involving states and cases affecting foreign ambassadors, ministers or consuls.
The Chief Justice presides in the Senate during a President's impeachment trial. The rules of the Senate, however, generally do not grant much authority to the presiding officer. Thus, the Chief Justice's role in this regard is a limited one.
Judiciary In Nigeria
6. (1) The judicial powers of the Federation shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established for the Federation.
(2) The judicial powers of a State shall be vested in the courts to which this section relates, being courts established, subject as provided by this Constitution, for a State.
(3) The courts to which this section relates, established by this Constitution for the Federation and for the States, specified in subsection (5) (a) to (1) of this section, shall be the only superior courts of record in Nigeria; and save as otherwise prescribed by the National Assembly or by the House of Assembly of a State, each court shall have all the powers of a superior court of record.
(4) Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this section shall be construed as precluding:-
(a) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly from establishing courts, other than those to which this section relates, with subordinate jurisdiction to that of a High Court;
(b) the National Assembly or any House of Assembly, which does not require it, from abolishing any court which it has power to establish or which it has brought into being.
(5) This section relates to:-
(a) the Supreme Court of Nigeria;
(b) the Court of Appeal;
(c) the Federal High Court;
(d) the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;
(e) a High Court of a State
(f) the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;
(g) a Sharia Court of Appeal of a State;
(h) the Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja;
(i) a Customary Court of Appeal of a State;
(j) such other courts as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction on matters with respect to which the National Assembly may make laws; and
(k) such other court as may be authorised by law to exercise jurisdiction at first instance or on appeal on matters with respect to which a House of Assembly may make laws.
(6) The judicial powers vested in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section:
(a) shall extend, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Constitution, to all inherent powers and sanctions of a court of law
(b) shall extend, to all matters between persons, or between government or authority and to any persons in Nigeria, and to all actions and proceedings relating thereto, for the determination of any question as to the civil rights and obligations of that person;
(c) shall not except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, extend to any issue or question as to whether any act of omission by any authority or person or as to whether any law or any judicial decision is in conformity with the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy set out in Chapter II of this Constitution;
(d) shall not, as from the date when this section comes into force, extend to any action or proceedings relating to any existing law made on or after 15th January, 1966 for determining any issue or question as to the competence of any authority or person to make any such law.
God Bless Nigeria!
Nigeria Go Better!
To be continued
Rufus Kayode Oteniya (oteniyark@hotmail.com) is the founder of Nigeria Think Tank a Facebook discussion forum created to confront problems confronting us as a people.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Forget the son of whom you are!
It was a normal Wednesday for most people save that it was rainy and a little bit cold but for me, it was a special day. The wet morning would mark the beginning of a life voyage. I was ready to start the first part of a journey that would constantly take me away from home for a long time. My brother and I would be travelling with our uncle to Ilesa - his base - on the day and two days later, on Friday 03.09.76, we would complete the second part of the journey from Ilesa to Efon Alaaye, a hilly town in Ekiti state on the border with Osun state that is about 32 km away from Ilesa. It was a day, I’d been looking forward to see since my dad decided that I would join my brother in the same boarding school.
Having passed the entrance examinations, I have been offered admission to St Charles grammar school, Oshogbo, a catholic secondary schools and C.A.C grammar school, Efon Alaaye. My dad had a dilemma choosing which school I should attend. As a devoted catholic, he had thought I should attend a catholic school in furtherance of his commitment to the faith. Many devoted parents in those days would like their children to attend catholic schools with the hope that one of them would go further to a major seminary to become a nun or a priest. This thought was always a big contemplation in some families especially those from hometown and it was always a pride to produce a monk in the family. I didn’t know why my dad gave up on St Charles but I suspected it must have to do with the fact that my immediate junior brother had already showed interest in being a reverend father even from as early as he could babble words from his buccal cavity. Dad must be giving this a considerable thought and it really helped to remove pressure from the rest of us. For one reason or the other, he ended up not being one.
The choice of Efon Alaaye, according to dad, would afford me the opportunity to acquaint with my root - the birth place of both parents - where I remembered I had visited twice before I went to write the entrance exam and the subsequent interview for the successful candidates. This was the same reason that motivated the enrollment of my senior brother in the same school a year earlier. Thanks to the choice, it gave me the main touch of my place of origin to date.
Finally, as we were set for the journey, dad called us to give us his last words which ended with the phrase ‘remember the sons of whom you are.’ As an 11 year old, I took it in an unthinking way. It didn’t make much meaning to me neither did I inquire. This later became a ritual that I’d be told each and every time that I needed to leave home for school till I was in my third year in the university when daddy would say it to me for the last time before he went to meet his Creator. May his perfect soul continue to rest in perfect peace.
After hearing the phrase a few more time, I inquired from dad why he kept saying this when it was as plain as the nose on my face that I couldn’t forget my father. Dad took time to explain to me that it is the wish of every parent to see their children grow up to be honest, obedient, God-fearing, respectful, hard-working, even-tempered, meticulous, selfless etc. “These are exactly what you see in us - your parents.” Daddy was an embodiment of virtues. He also told me that parents are expected to set good examples and standard for their offspring. They should tell their children the same thing he was telling me so that they would remember the house they come from. Parents expect their children to even better than them.
Many years on, I still remember the son of whom I am. Expectedly, in the course of life, I did a few things that dad mustn’t know about especially in the school but there were so many things mates could do that I couldn’t because my dad’s words keep echoing. Did every parent tell their children this? Are all parents telling their children this? Can all parents tell their children this?
What would some parents be telling their children? What will those stealing government money thereby invoking poverty on the masses tell their children? What will those on the EFCC list tell their children when they remember that their children also read newspapers? What will those reckless and selfish politicians who kill directly or indirectly tell their children? What will those who flaunt ostentation with no legitimate means that support their lifestyle tell their children? What will the money launderers, 419 fraudsters, drug traffickers and addicts; prostitutes, armed robbers, pen robbers, corrupt officers etc tell their children? What will those who have waited for Obama and Hilary Clinton to tell them that they failed their people woefully tell their children? As dad said that it is the wish of every parent to see their children grow up to be honest, obedient, God-fearing, respectful, hard-working….in life, if they want their children to be honest and God-fearing, they have nothing else to tell their children than FORGET THE SON/DAUGHTER OF WHOM YOU ARE!.
What would you tell your son or daughter? Remember or forget the son/daughter of whom you are?
God Bless Nigeria!
Nigeria Go Better!
Rufus Kayode Oteniya (oteniyark@hotmail.com) is the founder of Nigeria Think Tank a Facebook discussion forum created to confront problems confronting us as a people.
Having passed the entrance examinations, I have been offered admission to St Charles grammar school, Oshogbo, a catholic secondary schools and C.A.C grammar school, Efon Alaaye. My dad had a dilemma choosing which school I should attend. As a devoted catholic, he had thought I should attend a catholic school in furtherance of his commitment to the faith. Many devoted parents in those days would like their children to attend catholic schools with the hope that one of them would go further to a major seminary to become a nun or a priest. This thought was always a big contemplation in some families especially those from hometown and it was always a pride to produce a monk in the family. I didn’t know why my dad gave up on St Charles but I suspected it must have to do with the fact that my immediate junior brother had already showed interest in being a reverend father even from as early as he could babble words from his buccal cavity. Dad must be giving this a considerable thought and it really helped to remove pressure from the rest of us. For one reason or the other, he ended up not being one.
The choice of Efon Alaaye, according to dad, would afford me the opportunity to acquaint with my root - the birth place of both parents - where I remembered I had visited twice before I went to write the entrance exam and the subsequent interview for the successful candidates. This was the same reason that motivated the enrollment of my senior brother in the same school a year earlier. Thanks to the choice, it gave me the main touch of my place of origin to date.
Finally, as we were set for the journey, dad called us to give us his last words which ended with the phrase ‘remember the sons of whom you are.’ As an 11 year old, I took it in an unthinking way. It didn’t make much meaning to me neither did I inquire. This later became a ritual that I’d be told each and every time that I needed to leave home for school till I was in my third year in the university when daddy would say it to me for the last time before he went to meet his Creator. May his perfect soul continue to rest in perfect peace.
After hearing the phrase a few more time, I inquired from dad why he kept saying this when it was as plain as the nose on my face that I couldn’t forget my father. Dad took time to explain to me that it is the wish of every parent to see their children grow up to be honest, obedient, God-fearing, respectful, hard-working, even-tempered, meticulous, selfless etc. “These are exactly what you see in us - your parents.” Daddy was an embodiment of virtues. He also told me that parents are expected to set good examples and standard for their offspring. They should tell their children the same thing he was telling me so that they would remember the house they come from. Parents expect their children to even better than them.
Many years on, I still remember the son of whom I am. Expectedly, in the course of life, I did a few things that dad mustn’t know about especially in the school but there were so many things mates could do that I couldn’t because my dad’s words keep echoing. Did every parent tell their children this? Are all parents telling their children this? Can all parents tell their children this?
What would some parents be telling their children? What will those stealing government money thereby invoking poverty on the masses tell their children? What will those on the EFCC list tell their children when they remember that their children also read newspapers? What will those reckless and selfish politicians who kill directly or indirectly tell their children? What will those who flaunt ostentation with no legitimate means that support their lifestyle tell their children? What will the money launderers, 419 fraudsters, drug traffickers and addicts; prostitutes, armed robbers, pen robbers, corrupt officers etc tell their children? What will those who have waited for Obama and Hilary Clinton to tell them that they failed their people woefully tell their children? As dad said that it is the wish of every parent to see their children grow up to be honest, obedient, God-fearing, respectful, hard-working….in life, if they want their children to be honest and God-fearing, they have nothing else to tell their children than FORGET THE SON/DAUGHTER OF WHOM YOU ARE!.
What would you tell your son or daughter? Remember or forget the son/daughter of whom you are?
God Bless Nigeria!
Nigeria Go Better!
Rufus Kayode Oteniya (oteniyark@hotmail.com) is the founder of Nigeria Think Tank a Facebook discussion forum created to confront problems confronting us as a people.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Democracy 101 Part 3 (Forms of Democracy and the Rule of Law)
This is a continuation of the series on ‘Educational Revolution’ which started with ‘Finally, our J.J. Rawlings Is Here ', then ‘Democracy 101 - part 1'and 'Democracy 101 – Part 2 '' with the main objective of highlighting the rights of the electorate and the limit of the power of the elected officers. When the people know their rights and act on them, the revolution is already on the go.
Democracy can be in different forms but bearing to our system, in this piece, we will be discussing, direct, representative and liberal or constitutional democracies.
Direct Democracy
It is a political system where the citizens participate in the decision-making personally, contrary to relying on representatives. This belief is based on the right of every citizen over a certain age to attend political meetings, vote on the issues being discussed at that meeting and accepting the majority decision should such a vote lead to a law being passed which you as an individual did not support.
Part of this belief also, is the right of every one to hold political office if he/she chooses to do so. In this system. everyone has the right to actively participate in the system regardless of religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, physical well being etc. Only those who have specifically gone against society are excluded from direct democracy. For example, those in prison have offended the society in some ways and, therefore, their democratic rights are suspended for the duration of their time in prison. Once released, and having ‘learnt a lesson’, their democratic rights are once again restored.
Contemporarily, this form of government is rarely used except in some small societies, usually city-states and some town meetings. However, some bigger societies’ use of referenda or referendums is akin to direct democracy. In Switzerland, about five million voters make decisions through national referenda and initiatives two to four times a year.
Representative Democracy
As opposed to direct democracy, representative democracy is a system where citizens within a country elect representatives to act in their interests, but not as their proxies, that is, not necessarily as directed but with enough authority to exercise initiative in the face of changing circumstances. The people thereby hand over the responsibility of decision and law making to someone else who wishes to be in that position thus excluding themselves from the process of decision making. Each elected representative represents an area called a constituency. If his/her performance is satisfactory, he/she can be re-elected by that constituency at the next election to serve another term.
Representatives are however responsible to their electorate. In this way they are held accountable to them. If they fail to perform they can be removed by the people of their constituency. In this way, the people exercise control over their representatives. If an elected representative’s performance is dissatisfying, he/she may be recalled by his/her constituency.
A representative is usually expected to have a constituency office where the people can voice their opinions on different issues since they play no direct part in the mechanism of decision making.
There is no necessity that individual liberties are respected in a representative democracy. A representative democracy that emphasises individual liberties is called a liberal or constitutional democracy. One that does not is an illiberal democracy.
Liberal Democracy
Nigeria, as well as being a representative democracy, is also a liberal democracy. As written above, a liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where elected representatives who hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasises protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in the society, such as freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion, the right to private property and privacy (within the confines of the law), as well as equality before the law and due process under the rule of law, and many more. “The price of the democratic way of life is a growing appreciation of people's differences, not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and rewarding human experience.” – Jerome Nathanson
A democracy like ours is usually expected to have a universal suffrage, granting all adult citizens the right to vote regardless of tribe, gender or property ownership. And according to the principles of liberal democracy, the elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive with political pluralism which is usually defined as the presence of multiple and distinct political parties. This makes the fear of the electorate to be the beginning of wisdom.
Separation of powers is another key character of a liberal democracy where the government should be limited in its impact on the citizens and the government should not enjoy arbitrary power. The government is also expected to remove obstacles limiting the well being of people without any exclusion of any group. Usually, the government’s involvement in the economic market of a country should be minimal. The government should be there to deal with problems when needed. The concept of an open society is closely related to liberal democracies.
Rule of law
This is a term that we often hear especially from our government without the government taking time to explain the meaning to us. The government has often claimed to make rule of law and due process her core point of governance.
So what is Rule of law?
The rule of law, also called supremacy of law is a featured characteristic of a constitutional democracy like ours which in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. This means that the Law is the King that rules. It is a general legal saying according to which decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws, without the use of discretion in their application or any act of will.
The most important application of the rule of law is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedural steps that are referred to as due process. The principle is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance, whether by a totalitarian or a democratic leader. Thus, the rule of law is hostile both to dictatorship and to anarchy.
In a society where it functions, the rights of individuals are determined by legal rules and not the arbitrary behaviour of authorities. There can be no punishment unless a court decides there has been a breach of law. Everyone, regardless of his/her position in society, is subject to the law in fairness and with no favour. Another critical feature of the rule of Law is that individual liberties depend on it. Its success depends on the role of impartiality of judges. It also depends on Prerogative Orders in which a case is taken up from an inferior court to a superior one to ensure justice is done. It also prohibits an inferior court from hearing a case it does not have the power to listen to and gives Mandamus orders to an inferior court to carry out its duties.
According to H.L Mencken, “a good politician under democracy is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.” Yes! It is true that there is no perfect democracy and no perfect rule of law but how much democratic is our democracy and how much do we adhere to the principles of the rule of law?
Rule of law is often said than done and the more the people say it, the less they seem to demonstrate the understanding of it. The more the government preach and claim adherence to it, the more events prove they are farther from it. There is no rule of law: where there is selective justice, where the government chooses which law to obey and which one to disobey, where there are human right abuses like extrajudicial killing, where there is no care for human life and happiness but their destruction – isn’t this the first object of a good government?, where there is a failure of budget implementation - suffice to know that a budget is an enacted law, where governors and other representatives cross to other parties without relinquishing their offices, where the government operates excess crude account without any constitutional provision for it, where votes don’t count and no free and fair election; where some are above the law etc. Even though democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions, it guarantees equality of opportunity where there is rule of law.
Where are the twelve northern states governors who adopted the Shari'a penal code: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. They chose this code that provides harsh sentences for alcohol consumption, amputation for theft; lashing and stoning and for infidelity? By now they should all be amputees because they ALL ended up stealing billions from the State covers. Should some be above the law? Animal Farm!
Re-phrasing the word of Howard Winters, a developing democracy should be a government which gradually increases the number of people included in the term 'we' or 'us' and at the same time decreases those labelled as 'you' or 'them' until that category has no one left in it. It should carry people along.
However, we have seen some considerable improvement in the area of the rule of law by this government if compared to the former government of President Obasanjo but not as much as the government claims.
Nigerians should know that there can be no punishment unless a court decides that there has been a breach of the law i.e. everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a court. They have the right be tried and proclaimed innocent or guilty only by a court of law. The POLICE AND ANY OTHER FORCE have no right to manhandle, torture or beat anyone NEITHER DO THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL ANYONE except their lives are under intense threat. Your fundamental rights are to be protected under this dispensation. They are not what anyone can give you but what no one can take away from you. The central tenets of democracy are equality and freedom.
God Bless Nigeria!
Nigeria Go Better!
To be continued!
Rufus Kayode Oteniya (oteniyark@hotmail.com) is the founder of Nigeria Think Tank a Facebook discussion forum created to confront problems confronting us as a people.
This article is also published on the following links:
1. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58221486905&ref=mf#/topic.php?uid=58221486905&topic=10272
2. http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/rufus-kayode-oteniya/democracy-101-part-3-forms-of-democracy-and-the-rule-of.html
3. http://www.pointblanknews.com/artopn1608.html
4. http://article.wn.com/view/WNATE88744367CAAE3E34D2C05E0ED80D80C/
5. http://www.huhuonline.com
6. http://www.championsfornigeria.org/cfn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=410:democracy-101-part-3-forms-of-democracy-and-the-rule-of-law&catid=14:articles&Itemid=35
Democracy can be in different forms but bearing to our system, in this piece, we will be discussing, direct, representative and liberal or constitutional democracies.
Direct Democracy
It is a political system where the citizens participate in the decision-making personally, contrary to relying on representatives. This belief is based on the right of every citizen over a certain age to attend political meetings, vote on the issues being discussed at that meeting and accepting the majority decision should such a vote lead to a law being passed which you as an individual did not support.
Part of this belief also, is the right of every one to hold political office if he/she chooses to do so. In this system. everyone has the right to actively participate in the system regardless of religious beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, physical well being etc. Only those who have specifically gone against society are excluded from direct democracy. For example, those in prison have offended the society in some ways and, therefore, their democratic rights are suspended for the duration of their time in prison. Once released, and having ‘learnt a lesson’, their democratic rights are once again restored.
Contemporarily, this form of government is rarely used except in some small societies, usually city-states and some town meetings. However, some bigger societies’ use of referenda or referendums is akin to direct democracy. In Switzerland, about five million voters make decisions through national referenda and initiatives two to four times a year.
Representative Democracy
As opposed to direct democracy, representative democracy is a system where citizens within a country elect representatives to act in their interests, but not as their proxies, that is, not necessarily as directed but with enough authority to exercise initiative in the face of changing circumstances. The people thereby hand over the responsibility of decision and law making to someone else who wishes to be in that position thus excluding themselves from the process of decision making. Each elected representative represents an area called a constituency. If his/her performance is satisfactory, he/she can be re-elected by that constituency at the next election to serve another term.
Representatives are however responsible to their electorate. In this way they are held accountable to them. If they fail to perform they can be removed by the people of their constituency. In this way, the people exercise control over their representatives. If an elected representative’s performance is dissatisfying, he/she may be recalled by his/her constituency.
A representative is usually expected to have a constituency office where the people can voice their opinions on different issues since they play no direct part in the mechanism of decision making.
There is no necessity that individual liberties are respected in a representative democracy. A representative democracy that emphasises individual liberties is called a liberal or constitutional democracy. One that does not is an illiberal democracy.
Liberal Democracy
Nigeria, as well as being a representative democracy, is also a liberal democracy. As written above, a liberal democracy is a form of representative democracy where elected representatives who hold the decision power are moderated by a constitution that emphasises protecting individual liberties and the rights of minorities in the society, such as freedom of speech and assembly, freedom of religion, the right to private property and privacy (within the confines of the law), as well as equality before the law and due process under the rule of law, and many more. “The price of the democratic way of life is a growing appreciation of people's differences, not merely as tolerable, but as the essence of a rich and rewarding human experience.” – Jerome Nathanson
A democracy like ours is usually expected to have a universal suffrage, granting all adult citizens the right to vote regardless of tribe, gender or property ownership. And according to the principles of liberal democracy, the elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive with political pluralism which is usually defined as the presence of multiple and distinct political parties. This makes the fear of the electorate to be the beginning of wisdom.
Separation of powers is another key character of a liberal democracy where the government should be limited in its impact on the citizens and the government should not enjoy arbitrary power. The government is also expected to remove obstacles limiting the well being of people without any exclusion of any group. Usually, the government’s involvement in the economic market of a country should be minimal. The government should be there to deal with problems when needed. The concept of an open society is closely related to liberal democracies.
Rule of law
This is a term that we often hear especially from our government without the government taking time to explain the meaning to us. The government has often claimed to make rule of law and due process her core point of governance.
So what is Rule of law?
The rule of law, also called supremacy of law is a featured characteristic of a constitutional democracy like ours which in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. This means that the Law is the King that rules. It is a general legal saying according to which decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws, without the use of discretion in their application or any act of will.
The most important application of the rule of law is the principle that governmental authority is legitimately exercised only in accordance with written, publicly disclosed laws adopted and enforced in accordance with established procedural steps that are referred to as due process. The principle is intended to be a safeguard against arbitrary governance, whether by a totalitarian or a democratic leader. Thus, the rule of law is hostile both to dictatorship and to anarchy.
In a society where it functions, the rights of individuals are determined by legal rules and not the arbitrary behaviour of authorities. There can be no punishment unless a court decides there has been a breach of law. Everyone, regardless of his/her position in society, is subject to the law in fairness and with no favour. Another critical feature of the rule of Law is that individual liberties depend on it. Its success depends on the role of impartiality of judges. It also depends on Prerogative Orders in which a case is taken up from an inferior court to a superior one to ensure justice is done. It also prohibits an inferior court from hearing a case it does not have the power to listen to and gives Mandamus orders to an inferior court to carry out its duties.
According to H.L Mencken, “a good politician under democracy is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.” Yes! It is true that there is no perfect democracy and no perfect rule of law but how much democratic is our democracy and how much do we adhere to the principles of the rule of law?
Rule of law is often said than done and the more the people say it, the less they seem to demonstrate the understanding of it. The more the government preach and claim adherence to it, the more events prove they are farther from it. There is no rule of law: where there is selective justice, where the government chooses which law to obey and which one to disobey, where there are human right abuses like extrajudicial killing, where there is no care for human life and happiness but their destruction – isn’t this the first object of a good government?, where there is a failure of budget implementation - suffice to know that a budget is an enacted law, where governors and other representatives cross to other parties without relinquishing their offices, where the government operates excess crude account without any constitutional provision for it, where votes don’t count and no free and fair election; where some are above the law etc. Even though democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions, it guarantees equality of opportunity where there is rule of law.
Where are the twelve northern states governors who adopted the Shari'a penal code: Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, Niger, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara. They chose this code that provides harsh sentences for alcohol consumption, amputation for theft; lashing and stoning and for infidelity? By now they should all be amputees because they ALL ended up stealing billions from the State covers. Should some be above the law? Animal Farm!
Re-phrasing the word of Howard Winters, a developing democracy should be a government which gradually increases the number of people included in the term 'we' or 'us' and at the same time decreases those labelled as 'you' or 'them' until that category has no one left in it. It should carry people along.
However, we have seen some considerable improvement in the area of the rule of law by this government if compared to the former government of President Obasanjo but not as much as the government claims.
Nigerians should know that there can be no punishment unless a court decides that there has been a breach of the law i.e. everyone is innocent until proven guilty by a court. They have the right be tried and proclaimed innocent or guilty only by a court of law. The POLICE AND ANY OTHER FORCE have no right to manhandle, torture or beat anyone NEITHER DO THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO KILL ANYONE except their lives are under intense threat. Your fundamental rights are to be protected under this dispensation. They are not what anyone can give you but what no one can take away from you. The central tenets of democracy are equality and freedom.
God Bless Nigeria!
Nigeria Go Better!
To be continued!
Rufus Kayode Oteniya (oteniyark@hotmail.com) is the founder of Nigeria Think Tank a Facebook discussion forum created to confront problems confronting us as a people.
This article is also published on the following links:
1. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58221486905&ref=mf#/topic.php?uid=58221486905&topic=10272
2. http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/rufus-kayode-oteniya/democracy-101-part-3-forms-of-democracy-and-the-rule-of.html
3. http://www.pointblanknews.com/artopn1608.html
4. http://article.wn.com/view/WNATE88744367CAAE3E34D2C05E0ED80D80C/
5. http://www.huhuonline.com
6. http://www.championsfornigeria.org/cfn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=410:democracy-101-part-3-forms-of-democracy-and-the-rule-of-law&catid=14:articles&Itemid=35
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Democracy 101 – Part 2 (Political Party)
This is a continuation of the series on ‘Educational Revolution’ which started with ‘Finally, Our J.J. Rawlings Is Here’ and then ‘Democracy 101 - part 1’ with the main objective of highlighting the rights of the electorate and the limit of the power of the elected officers. When the people know their rights and act on them, the revolution is already on the go.
The series is all about the change that we deserve and desire which will certainly come when we know true democracy and keep ourselves informed. We have to commit ourselves to educate our families, relations, friend, enemies and neighbours to populate the educated camp till the ignorant camp is totally deserted. An individual’s commitment to a group effort is what makes it work. It makes a team work, a society work, a civilization work and a change work. Now is the time for all good people of our great nation to come to the aid of our nascent democracy. Education is all we need for this revolution.
Every great change begins with a dream. We have dreamt dreams and we all have to always remember that we have within us, the required ingredients to reach for the stars and change the world. We have the strength and the passion which are God-given, we only need to activate them! “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” JFK. Change neither comes from the East or the West nor from the North or the South, it comes from you and I. We are the real CHANGE that Nigeria needs right now. It's our moment to make this country a better place than we met it. We have to work together to confront the problems confronting us as a people. We have to save the nation of our fathers for the sake of our children. I have chosen to be among those who would be rightly judged by posterity. What about you?
Having introduced this topic in part 1, it is pertinent to know that in a democracy, political parties are the bedrock of activities.
A political party is an organised political group formed with the intention to put forward candidates to be elected for government. It seeks to attain and maintain political power by participating in electoral campaigns. A party is expected to be based on ideology and specific visions and goals hence membership should be of people whose political beliefs and interests are geared toward the same ideological direction and principles. Democracy starts at party level where every member is expected to have equal access to a political office through primary elections at the party level. In a democratic election, it is often allowed that different political parties with disparate interests can form a coalition in order to gain power.
In Nigeria today, parties are not often formed on ideological lines rather on selfish and arbitrary interests which are mostly temporal and personal, little wonder we have 54 registered parties and most of them without any clear vision.
We all have political rights that include freedom of political association. This is contrary to the belief in the first and second republics where people from certain zones were erroneously expected to belong to certain political parties and if they did otherwise, they were regarded as rebels, infidels and public enemies. This even degenerated to burning of houses and other properties of the so called ‘infidels’ and in extreme cases, killing. EVERYONE IS FREE TO BE A MEMBER OF ANY REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTY OF CHOICE. In some cases, members of the same family can be divergent politically.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the action film icon turned republican ‘governator’ (a combination of Governor and the Terminator, one of his film roles) of California state has a wife who is not only a descendant of the famous democrat’s family of Kennedy but openly a member of the democratic party. She was even a top contender to replace Hilary Clinton in the Senate before she pulled out after the latter’s appointment as the Secretary of States. Why can’t we tolerate opposing political views and membership? “You cannot grow democracy that does not have opposing point of view; people must be allowed to organize political organisations that argue, that shout, that fight with each other not in the battle field but in the field of ideas. When a ruling party thinks there is no need for the other party’s view, then you are already out of democracy and back into tyranny”. Colin Powell Abuja, Nigeria 03.06.09
A member of a political party is free to leave and join another party but this is not a common scene in a true democracy because people don’t often change in principles and ideologies but it is a common thing in our system as most of the politicians are 100% self-seeking. In a case where a public officer cross-carpets to another party, the Nigerian constitution makes it mandatory for the officer holder to relinquish the office won on the platform of the former political party except when the old party has evidently disintegrated. This is a provision of the constitution that is often breached mostly when it favours the ruling PDP as evident in the recent crossing of the Yuguda, Ohakim and some National Assembly members. They all ate their cakes and still kept them.
What an irony! The President and the Attorney General of the nation who are supposed to be the chief custodian and enforcer of our constitution to which they swore to protect are the chief abusers as they openly embraced this unconstitutional moves. Are they ignorant or they think we are? Constitutionally, those who decamped have technically lost their offices!
Advice: All good meaning Nigerians should join political parties of their choices in order to start making changes right from the grassroots. The problem is not with the parties but with the members. We should join with the mind to be agents of change, to make a difference and to serve in any capacity possible. It so bad that all the people who really know how to run the country are busy doing other things or building other nations! We have left the nation for too long in the hands of middle-of-the-road politicians and marauders whose road-side politics is all about personal interest, looting and no result. If good people ignore politics, bad people will continue to take advantage (as we have now) to make bad laws, bad budgets, bad government and bad system for good people…. To be continued.
In the subsequent parts, different forms of democracy, separation of power, the rule of law and electoral reform will be discussed as they apply to Nigeria.
God Bless Nigeria!
Nigeria Go Better!
This article is also published on the following links:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58221486905&ref=mf#/topic.php?uid=58221486905&topic=10175
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com
http://www.huhuonline.com/article159.html
http://www.modernghana.com/news/229401/1/democracy-101-part-1-introduction-by-rufus-kayode-.html
http://www.championsfornigeria.org/cfn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=384:democracy-101--part-1-introduction&catid=14:articles&Itemid=35
http://www.pointblanknews.com/artopn1580.html
The series is all about the change that we deserve and desire which will certainly come when we know true democracy and keep ourselves informed. We have to commit ourselves to educate our families, relations, friend, enemies and neighbours to populate the educated camp till the ignorant camp is totally deserted. An individual’s commitment to a group effort is what makes it work. It makes a team work, a society work, a civilization work and a change work. Now is the time for all good people of our great nation to come to the aid of our nascent democracy. Education is all we need for this revolution.
Every great change begins with a dream. We have dreamt dreams and we all have to always remember that we have within us, the required ingredients to reach for the stars and change the world. We have the strength and the passion which are God-given, we only need to activate them! “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” JFK. Change neither comes from the East or the West nor from the North or the South, it comes from you and I. We are the real CHANGE that Nigeria needs right now. It's our moment to make this country a better place than we met it. We have to work together to confront the problems confronting us as a people. We have to save the nation of our fathers for the sake of our children. I have chosen to be among those who would be rightly judged by posterity. What about you?
Having introduced this topic in part 1, it is pertinent to know that in a democracy, political parties are the bedrock of activities.
A political party is an organised political group formed with the intention to put forward candidates to be elected for government. It seeks to attain and maintain political power by participating in electoral campaigns. A party is expected to be based on ideology and specific visions and goals hence membership should be of people whose political beliefs and interests are geared toward the same ideological direction and principles. Democracy starts at party level where every member is expected to have equal access to a political office through primary elections at the party level. In a democratic election, it is often allowed that different political parties with disparate interests can form a coalition in order to gain power.
In Nigeria today, parties are not often formed on ideological lines rather on selfish and arbitrary interests which are mostly temporal and personal, little wonder we have 54 registered parties and most of them without any clear vision.
We all have political rights that include freedom of political association. This is contrary to the belief in the first and second republics where people from certain zones were erroneously expected to belong to certain political parties and if they did otherwise, they were regarded as rebels, infidels and public enemies. This even degenerated to burning of houses and other properties of the so called ‘infidels’ and in extreme cases, killing. EVERYONE IS FREE TO BE A MEMBER OF ANY REGISTERED POLITICAL PARTY OF CHOICE. In some cases, members of the same family can be divergent politically.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, the action film icon turned republican ‘governator’ (a combination of Governor and the Terminator, one of his film roles) of California state has a wife who is not only a descendant of the famous democrat’s family of Kennedy but openly a member of the democratic party. She was even a top contender to replace Hilary Clinton in the Senate before she pulled out after the latter’s appointment as the Secretary of States. Why can’t we tolerate opposing political views and membership? “You cannot grow democracy that does not have opposing point of view; people must be allowed to organize political organisations that argue, that shout, that fight with each other not in the battle field but in the field of ideas. When a ruling party thinks there is no need for the other party’s view, then you are already out of democracy and back into tyranny”. Colin Powell Abuja, Nigeria 03.06.09
A member of a political party is free to leave and join another party but this is not a common scene in a true democracy because people don’t often change in principles and ideologies but it is a common thing in our system as most of the politicians are 100% self-seeking. In a case where a public officer cross-carpets to another party, the Nigerian constitution makes it mandatory for the officer holder to relinquish the office won on the platform of the former political party except when the old party has evidently disintegrated. This is a provision of the constitution that is often breached mostly when it favours the ruling PDP as evident in the recent crossing of the Yuguda, Ohakim and some National Assembly members. They all ate their cakes and still kept them.
What an irony! The President and the Attorney General of the nation who are supposed to be the chief custodian and enforcer of our constitution to which they swore to protect are the chief abusers as they openly embraced this unconstitutional moves. Are they ignorant or they think we are? Constitutionally, those who decamped have technically lost their offices!
Advice: All good meaning Nigerians should join political parties of their choices in order to start making changes right from the grassroots. The problem is not with the parties but with the members. We should join with the mind to be agents of change, to make a difference and to serve in any capacity possible. It so bad that all the people who really know how to run the country are busy doing other things or building other nations! We have left the nation for too long in the hands of middle-of-the-road politicians and marauders whose road-side politics is all about personal interest, looting and no result. If good people ignore politics, bad people will continue to take advantage (as we have now) to make bad laws, bad budgets, bad government and bad system for good people…. To be continued.
In the subsequent parts, different forms of democracy, separation of power, the rule of law and electoral reform will be discussed as they apply to Nigeria.
God Bless Nigeria!
Nigeria Go Better!
This article is also published on the following links:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58221486905&ref=mf#/topic.php?uid=58221486905&topic=10175
http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com
http://www.huhuonline.com/article159.html
http://www.modernghana.com/news/229401/1/democracy-101-part-1-introduction-by-rufus-kayode-.html
http://www.championsfornigeria.org/cfn/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=384:democracy-101--part-1-introduction&catid=14:articles&Itemid=35
http://www.pointblanknews.com/artopn1580.html
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