By Christian Akpunonu
By the most common definition, democracy is the government of the people, for the people and by the people.The connotation simply underline the people as the foundation or bedrock of the Democratic system of government.This definition was founded so limited and somewhat obsolete because of the dynamics human population. By that definition,it should be all comers participatory.Which implies that everybody should be participating in the solemn assembly of governance.This is not only obnoxious but quite impracticable considering the ever growing population of human being in the particular demographic precint under focus.
Hence, the progenitors of the concept of the Democratic system of government as was practiced in the ancient city of Athens in Greece succumbed to the modern innovation.The modern definition of definition of democracy credited to the Former USA President Abraham Lincoln introduced representatives as the panacea to the shortcoming of the original.This innovation easily portrayed America as the bastion of modern democracy.Henceforth, modern democracy is purely representative in lieu of the participation of everybody.In this regard,the electorate becomes the possessors of the actual political sovereignty.This is true because, through their votes, political power devolution and dispensation becomes streamlined and harmonized, notwithstanding the population.Thus, the representatives become empowered by the people’s (electorates’)mandate So,whether by election, selection or nominations,in as much as consensus was achieved, the political power devolution is simply given legitimacy. This implies that power exchanges hands from the electorates to the representatives.
Conversely, the military politicians wrestle political power by coercion. That is usually through the vicious utility of force.It is regarded nowadays,in the modern world as an aberation.The military political actors don’t need the mandate of the electorates in any form, save the absolute use of force– oftentimes through the power of the barrels of guns.
What’s being insinuated in the foregoing is that Democratic dispensation of political powers entails the understanding of the people through the power of votes.And irrespective of how the consensus(general understanding) is achieved, the mandate came from the people to the representatives.
In the Nigerian peculiar political circumstances, the argument about whether the political power rotation between the constituent regions and sub-regions is Democratic or not appears very blind.The different viewpoints depends on the real definition of democracy.For this reason,the analytical definition of democracy becomes paramount. From whatever perspective it is viewed the truth remains that at the point of consensus, some political elements will be apportioned with requisite political power at various levels.
Definitely the argument of the anti-rotation apologists is rendered absolutely vacuous by the indepth understanding of the true tenets of modern democracy.This is to assert that the allegory of political power rotation in Nigeria being undemocratic is shrouded not only absolute selfishness but utter vacuity.
After all, the Chinese brand of Communism is the modern socialism as adopted and modified by the foundation of the Chaman Mao.This was adopted from the Karl Max and Lenin (Maxism-Lenism) original and conservative communism to the Maoism modified modern Chinese Socialism.The modification is to suite the Chinese socio-political cum cultural peculiarities.
In effect, the concept of rotation of political powers is suitable for the political peculiarities of Nigeria.It is essentially Democratic for as long as the people’s mandate or opinion count or matter
On the other hand,those who resist the pertinent rotation of political powers lost memory of the modification made in the education sector by the former minister of education Professor Babs Fafunwa.The introduction of quota system that allows differential admission cut-off marks for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board(JAMB) was the counter meritocracy modification made to simply accommodate the Northern educationally disadvantaged states.So,why can’t we modify the Democracy of Nigeria to allow political power rotation in order to suite the peculiar political circumstances of this country?
