President Muhammadu Buhari had, in faraway Paris, France, this week, held a meeting with some Nigerians resident there and told them that his administration is committed to free, fair and credible elections.
He, rightly so, told the gathering that the bedrock of democracy is the sustenance of multi-party structure, with trust from citizens.
Rightly, too, the president said that results from elections, since he assumed office in 2015, had been a mixed bag, with the people’s choice playing out, and promised to keep the changes he made that had brought more credibility to the electoral process.
“Free and fair election is a great concern. In the last elections, our party lost in some elections and it reflects our position of non-interference. Normally those in power will win, by hook or by crook. We believe in free and fair elections. I have respect for Nigerians to choose their leaders. We have shown we respect our citizens by allowing them to choose their leaders,” he said. “We gave instructions to security to deal with anyone who uses thugs to disrupt electoral processes. What I can assure you is that you can walk about and around with your head raised high that this administration is committed to multi-party system.’’
And, honestly speaking, they deserve to hold their heads high because multi-party system is the way to go. Multi-party political systems are generally regarded as the most reliable systems for the cultivation, development and institutionalisation of democracy.
The multi-party model, like the president pointed out, lies at the heart of the tradition of modern liberal democracy and its central advantage is that it permits the coexistence of contrastive views of how social life should be ordered without suffocating relatively inferior constituencies.
On the other hand, much as we all want it to, multi-party democracy does not in itself eradicate poverty and directly promote development. But it provides the openness of the social process, necessary for the free and unfettered growth of the potential inherent in any society.
Good governance implies democratic practice. Democratic practice, in turn, is a good basis for even and equitable development approaches. While democracy does not necessarily translate into development, it is possible to argue that open democratic societies have a better chance for equitable development with respect for human rights than authoritarian systems.
With the diversity of cultural and linguistic patterns that we have in Nigeria, it is necessary, if good governance is to be realised, to maintain institutions which are pluralistic and which celebrate diversity and which regard diversity as a source of societal richness, an asset, and not features which should be homogenised at all costs or trampled under-foot in the name of national unity.
Tolerance is a key feature in any society keen to maintain a culture of good governance. Let different cultures, languages, beliefs and religious confessions co-exist in equality. The relevance and advantage of the multi-party system is that it best permits such co-existence to be maintained. In another way, it allows a hundred flowers to bloom and a hundred schools of thought to contend. It permits policy options to contest for popular support in order to be governmentally adoptable.
Multi-party systems appear as proportional representational formulae or direct majoritarian “winner-takes-all” arrangements.
Agreed, multi-party system certainly has its weaknesses but, on a balance sheet, the multi-party system has more to offer us today, than any other system. Working in tandem with the institution of the rule of law, it provides a generally effective basis for the watch on human rights adherence.
However, elections, as the president tends to emphasise to justify the case for multi-partyism, is one thing and the practice of (good) governance another. After elections, the issue of governance assumes centrality in the political, social and economic lives of the citizenry.
Regrettably, on the issue of governance, many governments in Nigeria have not shown themselves to be particularly tolerant of dissent and contrary opinions, which are the hallmarks for multi-party system.
Too often, contrary or challenging views are understood as expressions of disloyalty and subversion. Politicians, especially, have excessively thin skins unsuitable for political life. Where they should welcome diversity of opinion and views, they rather treat such diversity of opinion as attempts to undermine their positions.
In effect, African political leadership frequently elevates itself to positions of infallibility and popery. Some of them pontificate on everything from what people should eat and drink to how parents should bring up their children.
Even more worrisome, many political leaders are unable to accept the fact that they can and do make mistakes, and some would even contradict or voice opinions contrary to scientific knowledge and wisdom.
This attitude often exhibited by our leaders must be controlled and the way to do so is not farfetched. Active citizen participation in elections, including through monitoring and advocacy for electoral integrity and genuine inclusion, as propagated by the president, provides an important opportunity to harness broad citizen support for democracy and elections in Nigeria.
Civil society groups have played an important role in promoting inclusive and informed participation and electoral integrity across the country. Bolstering support to these groups, and harnessing the youth demographic bulge, an asset for the country, will build capacities that, beyond elections, are transferable to other aspects of advocacy and democratic governance.
Of course, without sufficient resources and requisite capacity, Nigeria’s democratic institutions will not be able to effectively deliver on their mandates or advance democratic progress while the support of the international community to create strong, independent and democratic institutions that countervail authoritarian opportunism will help improve the quality of Nigeria’s elections and democracy.
Nigeria stable for investment
After giving assurances on the political future of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, again, in Paris, France, turned his attention to the issue of investment which is crucially needed to address the nation’s ever growing unemployment problem, especially among youth.
Thus, the president called on foreign investors to explore the vast opportunities of human and natural resources in Nigeria.
Sounding assuring, he said that fiscal policies will be more favourable, predictable and measurably tilted to create harmonious business environment.
In attendance in one of the several meetings initiated by the president were the Chairman/CEO of Total, Patrick Pouyanne; Executive Vice President, AirBus, Silvere Delaunay; Chairman of the Board of a software company, Daussault Systems, Florence Verzelen; Chairman/CEO of General Engineering and Marketing of Telecommunications Operator, Francois-Regis Teze; and the Chairman/CEO of Donaflex Automotive, Dr Donatus Nwokoye, a very successful manufacturer.
Unemployment among youth in Nigeria remains a cankerworm which has eaten deep into the crucibles of the nation. This is a problem that requires quick and immediate solution in a country that yearns to compete with developed nations of the world.
The youth comprise of the active labour force of a country in its production and policy implementation process and there is a need to fully engage them in the affairs of the nation.
The role of youth in nation-building and their capacity in nation/building must not be underestimated as they remain Nigeria’s future leaders.
The productivity and development of a country is determined by the size of its labour force but, unfortunately, chronic youth unemployment is evident in Nigeria as every year, thousands of graduates are produced but there are no jobs for majority of them.
Instead, the youth have chosen a path for themselves, the path built on avarice and the love of financial gains through illicit means such as robbery and kidnapping and banditry.
It is in the bid to arrest this negative trend that the call made by president on foreign investors made sense. Investors should take advantage of the abundant natural and human resources in Nigeria and, in doing so, they stand to benefit greatly because the demographics favour development, with more young people who are eager to be gainfully engaged and trained.
