Last night thousands of
Nigerians stayed awake not to watch the World Cup as they did in 1994. No they
were awake in wait of the presidential elections in the United States of
America. It was that important or fascinating to them. The American presidential
elections are an interest to worldwide audiences and serve as a role model to
emerging democracies. The United States however, are not the originators of the
democratic practice.
Democracy or government of the
people for the people by the people began in Greece. The Greek city states of
yore took it upon themselves to take their destinies in their own hands. They
would not leave it in the hands of any other without their permission. And so
they began meeting each man speaking his own words on issues bothering the
common good.
It is not without flaws or
devoid of weaknesses but to quote Winston Churchill, “...it is the best damn thing on
the block.” With time, democracy has evolved from an era where a community of
no more than 300 men met at city centres to decide their fates on common issues
to an era where 300 million Americans elect others to run their affairs at the
city centre. It is the same thing with a little variation: representative
democracy.
Indeed, the reelected US
president, Barak Obama aptly captured the fact that many in other countries are
paying by the price of blood for this same right to choose, that same
entitlement to be the decider of how and why our society should be run on
matters of common interest. The Americans who vote are aware of that privilege
and have in their demonstration through the ballot upheld the principle that
government must be with the consent of the governed.
Back home in Nigeria there are
many lessons to learn and indeed many ideals to aspire to. The American elections
are keenly followed world over for a number of reasons. The elections are part
of a process to build up the momentum of nationhood. They are issue based and
driven. The personalities behind the issues are only the mouthpieces or
vehicles of those ideas. The nation moves consciously by the will of the
majority to a common good as they see fit every four years. The elections serve
as a reinstatement of the principles enthroned by the founders of that free
country.
“We hold these truths to be
self evident that all men are created equal and are bestowed by their Creator
with certain inalienable rights, that amongst these are: life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness, and that to protect these rights, governments are
instituted amongst men with the consent of the governed….”
That document was enthroned by
56 men who risked the gallows on behalf of the colonies they represented. It was not the document that really was
enthroned but the principles: equality of men, the rights of those equal men, a
government to protect those rights and that those governments must be by the
consent of the governed. Those are the defining principles of American
democracy, the creed on which that nation is found.
It is a pity that Nigerians
have no such ideal to quote. Our founding fathers could never agree upon one. They
spent time building up personal repute and followership but none of them could
convincingly lay claim to a surviving ideology or philosophy. We are burdened
today by a politics of religion and ethnicity, brown envelopes and two cups of
rice. Empty promises and electoral malpractice because the office is more
important that the purposes of the office.
For the uninformed, America is
a multiparty state, not a two party state like many of us conclude. There are
two dominant parties in the United States but they are not a two party state.
The two parties believe in the same American dream but only disagree on the
route to reaching that dream. It is this disagreement on routes that bring
about ideologies or methods for addressing the issues raised on the quest to
reach the dream. The two dominant parties have two distinct standpoints on
nearly all the issues. Pro-life or pro-choice; both are pros with genuine
convictions.
With these convictions and
ideologies, the parties present themselves at conventions or summits where
candidates vying for any office must convince not purchase, intimidate or
allocate certain brown envelopes to delegates. The candidates show articulately
how their personality defines the ideals of the party, how their leadership
abilities can be a rallying point and most importantly that they have such and
such policies to offer that fit into the party’s ideology on offer. The
delegates are genuine believers in the process and are not there to be bought;
their consciences are not up for auction. They listen and pick sincerely, who
flies the party’s flag.
The losing candidates unite
behind the winner with his party and begin drumming up support, funding the
campaign and playing whatever role is considered necessary to bring about the
party’s success. Senator Clinton did not have to decamp on losing the
democratic nomination to senator Obama at the time. She got behind his
candidacy.
The parties begin to campaign:
presenting their routes to the same dream to the ultimate decider, the people.
The people debate these routes amongst themselves everywhere they meet. Obama
is offering tax cuts to the middle class. Romney is offering tax cuts to rich
corporations and the wealthy. It makes sense, it does not make sense they argue
back and forth. Long and hard and passionately too every issue that is at state
is debated and analysed by the decider because he knows what the issues are,
where the candidates and parties stand on the issues and then, he listens some
more to the analysts, the media to see something else.
The media is influential.
Experts analyse the promises and declare; be ware of this Greek and his gift or
take this man by his words. Some of the people are not so informed on the
issues and make up their minds along certain considerations like religion or
personality. Yes they matter too in the land of liberty that persons of less
than average intelligence will not get a chance to lead.
American presidential
elections are a process that brings brilliant minds from the most dominant parties
who compete with each other on the issues as they matter to the ultimate
decider, the people. The people look at who and what party is speaking most
convincingly on the matter that concerns all of them and when their mind is
made up, the majority elects such a person to lead for a term of four years.
When that decision is made, the disagreements are cast dropped, albeit
temporarily while the chosen route is taken for that period.
Here in Nigeria where we have
not come to a level of enthroning principles, we must come to accept issue
based politicking as a way of taking us to a common dream. Perhaps our parties
must show that maturity first by showing us where they stand on the issues that
affect us. Perhaps our parties must show commitment to enthroning values that
are present in Nigeria today: our circularity, our right to life wherever in
Nigeria we please and the right to the liberty as allowed by the prevailing
constitution. Perhaps our parties need to realize that Nigerians whether they
are Muslims in the north, Christians in the south or free thinkers are equally
Nigerians. Perhaps the present occupants of power need to show the humility
that comes with knowledge that the true power rests with the people who demand
diligence in office and respect.
Lastly, American presidential
elections are an opportunity to listen to oratorical and witty exhibition of
words backed by knowledge and passion. Here, we are not so fortunate. Rather we
have drab men who would either make needless jokes or bore us drab tales of
their indifference.
Ultimately, Americans choose
through the ballot who leads them to the dream and how. The dreamers do not
choose them. Nigerians must resolve to play down primordial sentiments or
relegate them to the background and play up the issues for that is what
democracy is all about, the issues not necessarily the person.
As Africa’s most populous
nation with over 150 million people, Nigeria must rise up and become the
democracy other democracies in our sub-region can look up to. 2015 is only two
years from now, but it is time our parties get to work and show us where they
stand on issues of common interest beginning with the economy that is not
creating jobs and then the growing threat of terrorism. We must learn from
America not just celebrate the coincidental skin colour of the man they
elected.
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