Opinion: 7 reasons Buhari is a threat to democracy in Africa
Editor’s Note: Oraye St. Franklyn, a member of Amnesty International in this opinion lists seven reasons why President Muhammadu Buhari is a threat to democracy in Africa.
If anyone believed that Nigeria’s former military despot and current President, Muhammadu Buhari who was elected through what many still consider a controversial election, was a changed man with the credential to drive change in Nigeria, recent happenings in the country prove without a shadow of doubt that just like the proverbial saying, that a leopard cannot change its spots, Mr. Buhari has confirmed the fears expressed by his critics as being of the same mould as he was during his military dictatorship in Nigeria; an era that saw many Nigerians face the most draconian hardship and human rights violations by the government in the history of the country. Although currently, the ramifications of his various antidemocratic actions and inactions have left many within the country seemingly benumbed, given the brazen audacity of his atrocious exploits within a democracy, the actions nevertheless pose grave danger to democracy within the African continent, which by an unintended import is the greatest risk of Mr. Buhari’s antidemocratic governmental actions. READ ALSO: Kano governor gives N1 billion interest-free loans despite recession The reasons adduced in this piece are among the lot of embarrassing complexities to bring to the fore the grave danger Africa faces, if Mr. Muhammadu Buhari continues to enjoy the support of Western democracies in spite of his dictatorial leadership.
1. COMPROMISED INSTITUTIONS AND THE DISDAIN FOR THE RULE OF LAW In what is akin to the era of the self-styled dictator of Uganda, Field Marshall Idi Amin Dada, Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, has completely neutralised the independence of State institutions and usurped their powers as his for personal gains. From Nigeria’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which at one time was headed by one who is reportedly a family relative of his, Amina Zakari, and continues to exert undue influence within the Commission as a National Commissioner in the organisation, to the Department of State Services (DSS) headed by another relative of his and stalwart of the ruling All Progressives Congress, which now serves as the Secret Police of the government by which all manner of unimaginable atrocities are meted at opposition voices and perceived enemies of the government including innocent Judges who refuse to subvert the course of justice as demanded by the government; State institutions have become, more or less, appendages of the office of the President whose orders have assumed the place of law, a practice that is a far-cry from the gains achieved by previous presidents of the country, especially the immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan. Today’s Nigeria is reminiscent of the dark days of military dictatorship under Buhari. Judges are being framed, tortured and their houses broken into by Nigeria’s secret police, the DSS. Enemies of the State – that is, personal enemies of the President – are being framed and perpetually detained in spite of court orders ordering their release from detention. The case of Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser under former President Goodluck Jonathan, is a major reference point. In spite of several court orders ordering his bail, Mr. Buhari has refused to bulge and continues to hold him as his personal detainee on what many believe are trumped-up charges. Buhari’s disdain for the rule of law is also well established in his interest and handling of the case against Nnamdi Kanu of the Indigenous People of Biafra cause. Mr. Buhari is said to be so miffed at the idea that society and not just the law considers the right to bail for Kanu for advocating for self determination, this is in spite of the fact that Kanu is yet to be convicted for any known crime in Nigeria. On a live television broadcast, Mr. Buhari questioned the right to bail for Kanu, an action that undermines Kanu rights, which serves as a pointer to Mr. Buhari’s extrajudicial disposition to governance and is believed to be the reason behind Mr. Kanu’s continued incarceration and stalling trial just like that of Mr. Sambo Dasuki. The situation is so bad that the presumption of innocence of accused persons in Nigeria’s legal jurisprudence has been upturned by the Buhari regime which presumes guilt on the accused and thereafter embarks on a criminal prosecution which places the burden on the accused to prove his innocence; a complete aberration and marked deviation from norms of jurisprudence and the rule of law in Nigeria. READ ALSO: Nigeria overtakes South Africa, Egypt as biggest economy in Africa – IMF
2. CORRUPTION AND THE FALSE FIGHT AGAINST IT Mr. Buhari’s ride to power, in spite of the controversies surrounding his election was largely efficacious on account of his promise and the expectation of both Nigerians, including the global community, that he would tackle corruption. Almost two years after, there appears little or nothing to show of a determined institutions-based and scientific approach to tackling corruption. What Nigerians have witnessed is a systematic clampdown on opposition voices, stalwarts of the former ruling Party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including the former President, his wife Patience Jonathan and their associates on completely false and misleading allegations. There are even concerns in some quarters that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), headed by a core Northerner just like Buhari himself, as do other major institutions, is being used as a hatchet organisation to demarket the South and compromise its economy in favour of the North. These concerns are strengthened by the attack on businesses owned by Nigerians of the South, while Northern interests continue to thrive. Many also believe that the interest expressed by Mr. Aliko Dangote, Africa’s riches man, suggesting to the Federal Government that the country’s assets like its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility should be put up for sale, is part of a grand plot by the North to take control of the economic base of the country in addition to its current hold of political power. The greatest prejudice to the mouthed fight against corruption by the Buhari regime is its population by endemically corrupt individuals, many of whom either have cases in court on corruption or have been indicted for it. Chief among the lot is the former Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi whose disastrous legacies as Governor of one of Nigeria’s richest States has pitched him against the people he once governed and continues to be the reason many consider him as Buhari’s albatross. Amaechi, who sits as Nigeria’s minister for Transportation in the Buhari government and is believed to be one of Buhari’s biggest sponsors to the Presidency, has been indicted for corruption by the Rivers State Government. The presence of Mr. Amaechi in Buhari’s cabinet makes mockery of his fight against corruption and is considerably a witch-hunt of his perceived enemies and political opponents. Amaechi has been named by Judges, including a Supreme Court Judge as attempting to induce them to subvert the course of justice. Although be denied the allegation, very little is left of credibility in him to support such denial.
3. FUNDAMENTALIST APPROACH TO GOVERNANCE If Nigerians would remember anything of value from the immediate past administration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, it would be that he led a government that had high regard for the rule of law, which also strengthened the practice of democracy in Nigeria. Just two years after Jonathan’s exit, there is a marked deviation from globally accepted democratic norms in Nigeria. Buhari’s regime displays total disregard for democracy and, beyond being high handed, promotes a fundamentalist disposition to governance. From the records, there’s virtually no conceivable way that the regime hasn’t assaulted democracy. The idea that elections are the expression of the will and mandate of the vast majority of the people, something that used to be taken for granted in Nigeria, has become wishful thinking. The Buhari regime goes all out to undermine the credibility of elections and even uses the military to molest citizens in a bid to suppress the will of the people and scuttle their mandates. Not even upright judges have been spared. Only recently, homes of judges were broken into by the secret police of the President and Judges, including respected Justices of the Supreme Court were abducted and framed up for not undermining election-related and high profile cases before them, as indirectly directed by the government. READ ALSO: Your economic policies are outdated, Chimamanda Adichie to Buhari Rivers State, an important oil bearing State with vast wealth has also come under intense fire, as in credit to Buhari’s antidemocratic tendencies and compromises of State Institutions, it remains the only State, to this day, nearly 2 years into the administration that is without representation at the Nigerian Senate and largely at the House of Representatives just because Buhari is bent on having his way by planting both a Governor and legislators from his Party, the All Progressives Congress, against the wishes of Rivers people. Some may argue that Buhari cannot be directly held to account for the various atrocious incidents that continue to cast him in bad light. As laudable as such a thinking might be, it falls short of credibility and substance. Mr. Buhari cannot but take responsibility for the actions of his appointees and acolytes. Besides, why does the public angst against the prevailing win-at-all-cost approach to politics fall on deaf ears? Can Mr. Buhari also claim ignorance of what is being done to Rivers State? Can he say he is unaware of the recurrent redeployment of security chiefs from the State after very short stays, a practice that, in itself, compromises the Security of the State? Has any word been uttered about the shambolic election that held in Edo in which voters were not only glaringly disenfranchised but of which the results weren’t reflective of the votes cast in spite of its criticism by the African Union? Do these actions have any place in a democracy? Why is the international community quiet about them? Is there a global conspiracy to compromise Nigeria’s democracy?
