Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, has asserted that what Nigeria has is a periodic contest for power by civilian elites, and not democracy.
Dr. Moghalu, in a post on his X handle on Wednesday, explained that the “democracy” in Nigeria is deformed because the people are not the ones who make the real decisions about who leads them.
He said the electoral umpire (Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC), is often under the control of the incumbent government and so is not independent, advising that the Chairman of INEC should not be appointed by the President and should be able to be fired by the latter.
Moghalu noted that the contests have undermined nationhood and exacerbated ethnic fault lines, creating fragmentation instead of a progressive nationhood or real economic development.
While offering some solutions, the one-time presidential candidate of the Young Progressive Party (YPP), said there was the need to restructure the country with a deeper federalism that gives far powers to states or regions, making them more responsible for their development rather than almighty Aso Rock (this includes not just State Police but also a greater control of mineral resources by states or regions, with a mandatory contribution of 40% revenues earned therefrom to the Federation purse to finance common services including the Armed Forces).
He also suggested a one term presidency of 6 years, combined with a rotation of the presidency between the six geopolitical zones.
“Each party conducts primaries between aspirants from the zone next in line, and these candidates meet at the election (a bit like what happened in 1999 in which the military, responding to the annulment of MKO Abiola’s election in 1993 and bent on handing over power to a civilian president from the Southwest, oversaw a contest between Olusegun Obasanjo and Olu Falae and Ogbonnaya Onu of blessed memory had to step down his aspiration in the party that produced Falae. In 36 years every zone would have produced a President. Ergo, the phenomenon of “marginalization” will disappear!
“This way the country can actually focus on development rather than a crab-like PhD (pull him down) syndrome in which ethnicities and religions harbor so much animosity against each other,” Dr. Moghalu stated.
He suggested a national conversation and agreement on a national purpose for Nigeria and what the country means for its citizens.
“These steps would be very concrete advances in the nationhood project. But we like to admire our problems instead of solving them by grabbing the bull by the horns. Thus, we limit our own progress. Switzerland has a rotational federal presidency and is a confederation of 26 cantons.
“America has the electoral college that elects its President and is superior to the popular vote. Britain has an unwritten constitution. India is the only federation with a three-tier system of that makes local governments the constitutional third level of government instead of the normal two (national and sub- national states or regions that then create local government). And many more.
“All this is not an argument for one-man dictatorship, which is a privatization of the state in reality and carries a huge cost.
“Nigeria is just too big and diverse for this model to work. The Nigerian ethos, our national character of freedom of the individual, will not let this model succeed in our country. All the military dictators we had ultimately failed in their schemes to hang on to power,” he submitted.
