Yesterday, 29th May marked two years of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidency. It was also exactly twenty-six years since the military handed over power to their civilian colleagues.

That a nation is under civil rule, has parliaments, the judiciary, operates multiparty politics, and periodically conducts elections, does not necessary make it is a democracy. For democracy is the negation of all monopoly of power; the enthronement of people in the affairs of the state and society; the modernisation and liberalisation of governance; and the humanisation of the political economy.

Election is one of the major tenets of democracy. But today’s ‘democracy’ is one of elections without choice. Political parties are mere platforms for contesting elections. Candidates are the opposite sides of the same coin. They virtually share the same neoliberal philosophy, are slavishly obedient servants of Western powers, and have high contempt and disdain for the electorate.

Also, elections are virtually, ceaseless rigging marches. The difference being in the capacity of contestants to rig, which, in turn, depends on the availability of power and money to ‘settle’ election administrators, security personnel, thugs, and even election ‘observers and monitors’!

All these, in turn, contravene a major democratic principle that: “the electorate are the kings and the elected people their servants”. Any wonder, why victorious riggers tell their opponents to “go to court”. But who does not know that: “when a robber tells you to go court” the judge is either his relation, or partner-in-crime?

The legislature is the most critical organ of a democratic state. It generally makes laws, exercises oversight functions, represents constituencies, confirms appointments, scrutinizes the executive, and can impeach elected officials.

But in a situation where cash determines the confirmation of appointment, passage of legislation, oversight functions, amongst others, and where the legislature and executive always cry the same cries and sing the same songs, then, the legislature becomes a glorified and decorative rubber-stamp organ.

Yet, this was the legislature that refused to be ‘settled’ in 2006-2007 to amend the constitution, when then President Olusegun Obasanjo, desperately wanted a third term.

Today’s ‘democracy’ has transformed the judiciary from an organ upholding the rule of law and justice, to one upholding the rule of money and power. It has largely retreated from upholding and protecting people’s rights, to suppressing them.

The judiciary is largely seen as nakedly partisan, believed to be thoroughly oiled by what makes the world goes round, and is known for delivering highly notorious, predicable, abracadabra, and witchcraft judgments. As a result, peoples’ admiration, respect and confidence in it have drastically waned.

Yet, this was the judiciary, which during the dark years of military despotism, largely stood with rule of law against rule of the gun, with justice against power, with the people against money. A judiciary which boldly and justly in 1993, declared a reigning government illegal.

The public service is the backbone of the state, not the military. For when a state is collapsing, the military is the first to collapse. Conversely, the public service, particularly the civil service, is the last to collapse, and the first to be assembled and consulted when a collapsed state is to be revived.

But today’s ‘democracy’ has polluted the public service with people who are largely highly parochial, intellectually lazy, money-minded, tale carriers, praise-singers, ethnic bigots, and religious zealots. Promotion and merit are tainted with “connection”, money, and power.

Yet, this was the service that played a significant role in drawing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the Development Plans of the 1960s to the early 1980s. Plans, which in the past, made Nigeria a great nation.

The middle classes, though a highly living contradiction, now here and now there, are, nevertheless, the barometer of public opinion, conscience of society, voice of the voiceless, and loudspeakers of the oppressed. No nation ever grows without a strong, solid, and grounded middle class.

They produced some of the finest literally, scientific, mathematical, medical, and engineering, etc., scholars in the globe. This made our economy, universities, research centres, hospitals, amongst others, in the 1960s to the early 1990s, amongst the best in the globe.

Today’s ‘democracy’ has highly disoriented, disorganised, demobilized, pauperized, and virtually finished the middle classes materially, politically, morally and otherwise! It has compelled the nation’s best brains to migrate, slave and develop other nations. Those that are left in Nigeria, are mainly condemned to a miserable, painful and regrettable existence.

Today’s ‘democracy’ has completely relegated the working masses to the background. Their income completely bastardized by skyrocketing inflation, heavy fines, taxations, utility charges and, high increase in the prices of petroleum products, electricity, amongst others.

The state and capital have heavily penetrated and taken over the trade union movement leadership. This leadership, in turn, has conditioned, disciplined and subordinated the rank-and-file, thereby reducing the capacity of workers to assert their dominance, authority and get concessions. Poverty, hunger, diseases, and suffering are practically the trademarks of today’s workers!

Today’s ‘democracy’ has given rise to various terrorist movements. Some politicians are in the centre of creating, promoting and fanatically defending all sorts criminalities and terrorism in Nigeria. Boko Haram terrorists, once degraded, are staging a come-back, increasingly waxing stronger, taking over villages, emptying communities, attacking military barracks, and killing the innocent.

Terrorists, claiming to be herders have been and are still on rampage, destroying farms, kidnapping people for high financial ransom, raping, torturing, maiming and killing people, without any regard. They are happily desecrating places of worship, killing religious clerics, sacking villages, destroying farms, technically waging war on the rest of us, and taking over indigenous peoples’ lands.

Today’s ‘democracy’ is increasingly disappointing and demoralizing the security forces, as undue interference by political gladiators is frustrating their attempts to neutralize terrorists and secure peace for the nation.

How can it be said that the security forces which restored peace in war-battered Liberia and Sierra Leone cannot deal with riffraff, miserable-looking, degerate lumpens, and deranged criminals and terrorists?

Today’s ‘democracy’ has given the youth nothing to be proud of, as there is neither employment nor adequate credit facilities to start their own businesses. Nothing! They have taken to insulting politicians for deliberately imposing hardship on society. Others are daring to migrate, through the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea, to Europe for a better life for themselves and their families.

Not surprising, therefore, they are increasingly refusing to join the army, constantly vilifying politicians, and making caricature of Nigeria in the social media. They are in the forefront of popularizing, glorifying, and propagating the policies and achievements of the Alliance of Sahel States. Captain Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso is their hero – an example of leaders needed in Africa.

With the foregoing, it is increasing becoming clear that those who laboured, fertilized and watered the tree of democracy are not the ones eating the fruits of democracy. So, why should the masses, in Frantz Fanon’s words, “fall back into the past and become drunk on the remembrance” of the democratisation struggles? Where is the people’s “hard-won democracy” to be celebrated?

Ahmed Aminu-Ramatu Yusuf worked as deputy director, Cabinet Affairs Office, The Presidency, and retired as General Manager (Administration), Nigerian Meteorological Agency, (NiMet). Email: [email protected]