Recent developments in the Nigerian political landscape have fuelled beliefs that there is an increasing militarization of governance that stifles opposition parties despite Nigeria’s democratic system.
Critics point to the recent impeachment of the former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako, and the resignation of his Deputy Bala James Ngillari from office on the grounds of gross misconduct. There were concerns that these grounds stemmed from the basis of trying to score political points rather than in a bid to fight corruption as the Governor had defected from the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC). This has been further reinforced by the impeachment notice to the Nasarawa State Government leading many to wonder whether this is a witch hunting exercise by the ruling party to suppress opposition.
Also, the ruling party was chided by the opposition party(APC) for preventing Governors Amaechi and Oshimole from participating in the APC’s mass rally aimed at increasing support for former Governor Kayode Fayemi two days before the gubernatorial election in Ekiti State. While Governor Oshimole claimed that his chartered helicopter was prevented from departing the Benin Airport, following alleged “orders from above”, Governor Amaechi on the other hand was said to have been prevented by security operatives from entering the state to participate in the mass rally on the same alleged order raising questions as to whether an “equal level playing field for all participants” had been set during the campaign as the PDP’s mass rally in the state was free from such harassment.
Some political observers have also criticized what they describe as the indiscriminate and illegal deployment of the police and the military to harass, hound, intimidate and manhandle opposition figures as witnessed during the Ekiti election. This development, they argued,may spell doom for our people and country, as the Nigerian military has no business with policing elections.
Perhaps, this is borne out of a misunderstanding of what an opposition party represents in a democracy. Benjamin Disreali once stated that no government can be secure without any formidable opposition. This is because it is a function of the opposition to criticize the government and proffer a constructive alternative. An opposition party ensures that an elected Government is more responsive to the needs of its people and it is within this context that they must be understood.
It must therefore, be emphasized that the use of undue power by elected officials to suppress political opponents in a democratic society is completely antithetical to our collective aspirations as a nation and negates the principles of democratic ideals. Such tendencies, which could potentially over heat the already fragile polity thereby portending dire consequences for our teething democracy, must be totally discarded to pave way for a level playing field in the nation’s electioneering process.