Aboriginal Democracy in Nigeria

Aboriginal Democracy in Nigeria began as a sociopolitical movement and ideology springing among group of factions the feel that the Nigerian political atmosphere was not favourable for the national unity of the Nigerian people, hence should be checked and addressed for a more democratic and thriving government that should be citizen oriented. In a bit and concern of some Nigerians who feel that the government is corrupt and nepotic in its policy which was viewed to be undermining the future and the coexistence of the diverse ethnic groups in the country, some political analysts advocated for an interim government, holding to the views that the president Muhammadu Buhari's eight years tenure has not improved the sociopolitical outcomes of the citizens, hence the electoral acts should be boycotted and that an Interim Government should be adopted immediately which would give the citizens the opportunity to conduct and participate on a free and fair election. Following the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria that was conducted on February 25, 2023, which outcomes were unsatisfactory among many citizens who felt their mandate was stolen when the electoral result was announced. The presidential election was recorded by many media analyst, foreign observers a citizens to be undemocratic, unfree and unfairly conducted, that an interim government would have been adopted instead after the regime of president Mohammadu Buhari.

Political background

In lines with the diverse ideas for reforming a better Nigeria, most adult citizens who experienced the first Interim Government in 1993 felt that the interim system government would facilitate in restructuring of the Nigerian democracy, hence the only process to an indigenous and citizencentric government. The idea for such a development is as old as democracy itself, dating back to the origin of Athenian democracy. In Nigeria, the indigenous movement for democracy can be traced back to the various indigenous factors channelled at the liberation and emancipation for the independence of Africa nation states, and Nigeria in particular during the era of colonialism. It is a term that is carved from the two English and Greek words "aboriginal" meaning indigenous, and "demo-cracy" meaning the people's government. Aboriginal democracy therefore would mean an indigenous means of governance that is absence of external influences, a government that is constitutional and constructed in the interests of the people.

Aboriginal Democracy in Nigeria

The rebirth of the idea for aboriginal democracy began with a political solution of Chris Okotie, a Nigerian clergy and politician who disagreed with the present system of government practice in Nigeria. In his own words, the Nigerian presidential system of government has not favoured the economic, political, religious a social progress of the Nigerian people, hence a journey of futility. He then enunciated in his widely published proposition on restructuring based on the inauguration of an interim government democracy, hence the idea for an aboriginal democracy. Okotie held that his support for restructuring of Nigeria through the adoption of aboriginal democracy, which would be facilitated by an interim government, is based on the fact that no incumbent government can restructure Nigeria.

Origin of Indegeneous Democracy

The first known indegeneous democracy in the world began in the ancient Greek city state of Athens. Athenian democracy developed around the fifth century B.C.E. The Greek idea of democracy was different from present-day democracy because, in Athens, the concept of true democracy was perceived indigenous which leverages all adult citizens the privilege to take an active part in the government. During that era, the government of the day was practice indegeneously and the government revolved around the people. This, therefore, made democracy personified and synonymous to the day-to-day lives and activities of the citizens of Athens. Acoording to Chris Okotie in his interview with This Day newspaper, he perceived aboriginal democracy in Nigeria as an idea that the citizens of a country should take an active role in the government of their country and manage it directly or through elected representatives. In addition, he suggested that the idea that the people can replace their government through peaceful transfer of power rather than violent uprising or revolution. Thus, a key part of democracy is that the people have a voice. The Athenians make sure that democracy was adopted indigenously to the society, hence 500 adult citizens from every family was selected to actively serve in the government for a year. A period where they were to make collective and consensus decisions and enact and rectify new rules for the society. In this process, it is important to understand that the citizens were not left out. In this regard, if a new law was to be made, every citizens meets at the General Assembly to vote for it, subsequence to the execution and enforcement of such rules to the citizens and the society. Democracy during this period was practiced indigenously that the day-to-day government was the prime makeup of every citizens of Athens.

Indigenous Democracy in Nigeria

The dictum "Igbo ewe eze" meaning (The Igbo has no king) as captured by Michael Onyedika Nwalutu observed that before the coming of Europeans to Africa, and the subsequent British colonial administration in Nigeria, a similar Athenian indigenous democracy was seen practiced in some part of the country such as among the Igbo people of Southern Nigeria. Among the Igbo people, government was an ideal of every member of the village, hence decisions were carried out at the village assembly called "Ama-obodo" where adult citizens including women meet to decide of new ideas and rules that would keep the society going. The indigenous democracy in Igboland was practically putting the people and citizens of their villages as the core essence of government, hence decisions were made for the people and by the people. This made democracy very indigenous. The Igbo maintained an acephalous system of government where there was no existence of a central leadership like monarchs, rather the people through the council of their elders and the various age grade societies makes the rule and take decisions for their people. The agrarian Igbo society was said to be very democratic and organized that anarchy was almost averted.

Political Development in Nigeria since 1960

After Nigerian independence on October 1, 1960, a Republican parliamentary system of government was adopted in 1963, this was a system of governance where there is both a head of government and a head of state. The head of government was the prime minister Tafawa Balewa, while the head of state was also called the president Nnamdi Azikiwe. Power was distributed to this two offices base on the constitutional provision of their. In this means, the office of the Prime Minister was to act on all government matters, including foreign affairs. While the head of state was more of a ceremonial president whose office is limited to more of domestic services. With the 1963 Republican government, Nigeria became a Republic and adopted a presidential system of government. A second step to indegeneous democratize Nigeria government. The first Republican government was more or less built on British standard which proves difficult to head, hence there was needs for indegeneous representation. However, the system also failed as a result of number of factors, basically on the area of dysfunctional leadership and the inability of the political representatives to strategically made the government public and people focus. According Rev Okotie, in an interview with The Cable newspaper, he mentioned that the presidential system in Nigeria has become inimical and subversive to the Nigerian cause. It has failed woefully. He added that the system has polarized Nigerians, balkanised the society, decimated the national psyche, and brought the people close to war. So, it must be jettisoned. Hence his call for an interim government. To him, the interim government is the only solution to the present political predicament in Nigeria. An Interim government is seen as a provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or following the collapse of the previous governing administration. Collins dictionary described interim government as a political solution adopted for a period of time that is intended to be used until something permanent is done or established. Rev Chris argued that his interem government ideology is the only solution through which democracy in Nigeria can be indegeneous.

First Interim Government in Nigeria

Chief Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,  called for the adoption of an Interim National Government in Nigeria at the end of the Muhammadu Buhari tenure as his idea for permanently fixing Nigeria of its multifaceted system failures since independence in 1960. The Interim National Government was the government of Nigeria following the crisis of the Third Republic after General Ibrahim Babangida handed power over to Ernest Shonekan as interim Head of State on 27 August 1993. In an interview with Vanguard News, Babalola suggested that "the preparations for the 2023 Nigerian general elections should be suspended and an Interim Government, which should be charged with laying a new constitutional foundation for a more functional and progressive country, empanelled to complete its assignment within six months. Being an experienced statement, he pictured Nigerian federal system of government as the 23 years of military-decreed centralised and feeding-bottle. However, critics criticized  Babalola's patriotic idea and strategy to salvage Nigeria from political ruins that an interim government will not work under the prevailing circumstances in the county. According to these critics, it is near impossible basically as a result of the 1999 constitution of the country, and as a result of the failure of the first Interim government of Nigeria to transit and structure the government in 1994 by Earnest Shohinka, a political development that was jettisoned by another military coup. This Day news indirectly made a presentation in one of its editorial articles in 2023 that there might be a possible plans of an Interim government if the 2023 general election didn't work fine.

References

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