Democracy would continue to be in jeopardy in Nigeria if citizens allow the minority through the court to decide who emerge as winners of elections irrespective of the popular choices of the electorate.
Speaking in an interview, Dr Ayodeji Ologun, the Executive Director, Centre for Responsive Governance in Osogbo said the beauty of democracy is in the choice of the people noting that any other way of having leaders erodes the intention of democracy.
He said: “Our courts can’t continue to decide who leads us as a people. A few people can’t seat in chamber or open court and erode the will of the people based on technicalities or otherwise even though they are doing that which the constitution allows and empowers them to do
“It is high time that our laws be reviewed in such manner that even if the court will have to adjudicate in matters of election, it has to be by limiting the court and preventing her from pronouncing a winner.
“First of all, all matters arising from election should be decided before an eventual winner is declared and sworn in. It is also very important that the court be limited in power such that the highest it could do is order a rerun where there are infractions and not determining a winner contrary to the will of the people”.
Also speaking, Comrade Wale Adebisi, the Director for Centre for Social Research, said the current political situation in Nigeria is a a clear indication of a total declining of democracy.
“This is alluded to the conclusion of Socrates about 2000 years ago when he predicted that at some periods democracy will accommodate dictatorial elements in government and that society will run with utmost cruelty and wickedness.
“At that point democracy is run by executioners, that will sentence to death all the platforms that serve as either mouthpiece of the voiceless and defenceless of the exploited and the oppressed class.
“Those platforms are labour leadership, large sections of both private and state media. Some who refused to be executed among them are constantly being attacked by the reactionary media regulatory agencies such as the NBC. Students Union bodies are serving the political class with some stipends to mortgage their destiny and that of their fellow students.”
According to him groups are running after one government or the other for recognition and crumbs that can fall from the master’s table just for survival.
Adebisi hinted that the majority of the civil society groups that are supposed voice of the voiceless are now owned and funded by the political actors and actresses.
“The judiciary now has assumed the position of chief political executioners for the selfish and undemocratic political class to the extent that they replace the INEC on election matters. It is quite unfortunate,” he regretted
According to him, the judiciary that is supposed to be the last hope of the common man has turned into the Alpha and omega for Nigeria’s democratic journey of 24 years down the line consistently putting Nigeria on the edge of a precipice.
“If this is allowed to continue, what will happen will not be a palatable situation to a developing democracy like Nigeria,” he warned.
Also the General Overseer of Sufficient and Truth Ministry Of, Bishop Seun Adeoye said “I started expressing my worries over 13 years ago about the court deciding the winners of elections in this present democratic dispensation.”
According to him, in 2010, the Appeal Court sitting in Ibadan removed the then Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and installed Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as the winner of the 2007 governorship election.
He said that decision was shocking because that court nullified the results of 10 local governments out of 30.
“Incidentally, I and thousands of others queued and voted in one of the councils where the results were declared wasted.
“To every reasonable person, what the court ought to have done is to declare the election inconclusive by ordering rerun. Although, a lot has been done to election processes through electoral laws since then but the current trend where governors and lawmakers were being removed by court fiats should be a source of concern.
“In a democracy, a winner is expected to emerge through voting when the electorates are granted the rights to exercise their franchise. Although, it should be the duties of the courts to see if the processes followed the rules laid down for elections, the court should exercise serious restraints by its decisions in matters relating to elections.
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“Somehow, recent events where winners of elections are being removed by the court via technicalities will definitely have negative effects on our democracy.
“Anyway, I think political parties and our politicians should learn some lessons through some of these court pronouncements. They should learn not to take the laws guiding elections and the Constitution for granted. Political parties should have solid and effective legal departments that need to look at the nitty gritty of the laws and the processes by which their candidates emerge.
“I also think that the National Assembly should look into our electoral laws and ensure quick reforms.’
On possible way forward to check all electoral iregularities, Adeoye said: “Firstly, I think INEC should be unbundled. This commission is too complex to get things right. There are too many responsibilities placed on the shoulder of INEC alone.
“The electoral body should only conduct elections while duties such as voters’ card production, political parties registration, electorate education, polling units demarcation and some other duties be given to other agencies.
“Secondly, the electoral laws should be amended to allow all litigations from pre-election matters be concluded before the proper elections while all litigations on elections should also be concluded before the declared winners are being sworn in.”
