Why democracy suffers setbacks in Nigeria -CDD Director

The Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa (CDD-West Africa) has listed a principal reason why democracy suffers repeated setbacks in Nigeria.

The Director of CDD-West Africa, Dr. Dauda Garuba, said Nigeria’s democracy had suffered repeated setbacks because political parties often failed to perform their constitutional responsibilities effectively.

He spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at the centre’s Annual Memorial Lecture in memory of Dr. Tajudeen Abdulraheem and Prof. Abubakar Momoh, two late Africa-minded scholars and democracy activist Nigerians.

It was with the theme: “From Promise to Paralysis: Political Parties and Challenges of Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria”.

While Dr Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, the centre’s pioneer chairman, died in an early morning car crash in Nairobi, Kenya, on 25 May 2009; its pioneer treasurer, Prof. Abubakar Momoh, then the Director General of The Electoral Institute (TEI) of the Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) died in Abuja, died on 29 May 2016.

Both were posthumously honours for their enduring contributions to democracy, social justice and people-centred development across Africa through scholarship, activism and institution-building.

According to Garuba, political parties should serve as platforms for leadership recruitment, policy development and democratic accountability instead of merely seeking political power.

“Many parties had become ideologically weak and lacked integrity, making democratic governance increasingly difficult. It is disturbing that several major political parties had yet to publish verified lists of candidates despite the approaching elections, creating uncertainty among citizens and stakeholders,” Garuba said.

He also noted that the electorates and citizens had generally have lost confidence in the country’s democratic system, thus highlighting the need for political parties to redeem their honour and reclaim citizens’ confidence in democratic processes and participation.

Delivering the lecture’s theme, Prof. Sam Egwu of the Department of Political Science, University of Jos, and a former INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), warned that the 2027 general elections may weaken Nigeria’s electoral integrity unless INEC holds political parties accountable.

In his lecture titled, “From Promise to Paralysis: Political Parties and the Obstacles to Democratic Elections in Nigeria”, Prof. Egwu said Nigeria has sustained regular elections since 1999 but has struggled to deepen democracy and improve the welfare of its citizens.

He also called for renewed commitment to democracy, social justice and human rights in honour of the late democracy advocates, noting that the honourees shared a commitment to advancing human dignity, democratic governance and social emancipation beyond political freedom.

“Democracy should improve citizens’ welfare rather than merely guaranteeing regular elections and political participation. Nigeria’s democratisation had drifted from its original promise of promoting political pluralism and competitive democratic governance.

“Elections had been conducted consistently since 1999, but tangible improvements in citizens’ living conditions remained largely absent. Democracy’s substantive benefits, including social and economic development, had failed to match the progress recorded in electoral processes,” Egwu said.

The political scientist urged Nigerians to move beyond commemorating democracy heroes by actively defending democratic values and accountable governance, warning that failure to keep democracy on track could have serious consequences for national stability and development.

He said, “The time has come in the country for national institutions and the think tanks to take up the challenge of building a responsive and democratic political parties. I also believe that we need to approach party regulations in a very practical manner because it appears that INEC seems helpless in the face of impunity of political parties.

“All the parties have their procedures in terms of selecting their candidates, INEC also has electoral law or act that also says how this should be done. I think we need to get to a point where INEC should draw a major reform to hold parties accountable to their own rules.”

On her part, the Co-founder/Chief Executive Officer of the African Policy Research Institute (APRI), Prof. Nana Tanko, urged political parties to promote democracy, ideology and citizen trust.

“Nigeria’s political party crisis results from flawed choices, institutions and political culture. Democratic consolidation requires legal reforms, ethical parties, stronger civil society, ideological clarity and citizen-centred governance.

“Democracy weakens when parties remain authoritarian and citizenship is reduced to voting without advancing equality, dignity and development,” Tanko said.