By Abbati Bako,psc,bsis Kent-alumni UK’s European University
Your Excellency Sir.
I write to express my view on the trending issue that your Government is planning to introduce the possibility of Constitutional amendments on how to create Regional Governments in the country. This information came as a surprise for me. Because Liberal Democracy and Paliamentary Democracy dip a little bit. United States of America and United Kingdom can serve as an excellent example.
This writing understands that during your 2023 political campaign, H/E Bola Ahmed Tinubu didn’t mention the idea of reintroduction of Regional Governments in Nigeria. And again, His Excellency is aware that for the past 25 years of uninterrupted Constitutional Democracy in Nigeria the past elected Presidents from Dr. General Olusegun Obasanjo to Muhammad Buhari none of them made mention of the possibility of Constitutional amendments to introduce the possibility of creating the Regional Governments in Nigeria. In Liberal Democracy or called (Presidential System of Government) I doubt if there is any country in the world that practices the system and created regional governments within.
This is simply because of the fact that it’s in Parliamentary Democracy that Regional Governments are created; Nigeria’s Democratic system between 1960 to 1966 is an excellent example.
The British are the mother of the Parliamentary System in the world and France or Germany are the mothers of Social Democracies. On the other hand China is the mother of Direct Democracy. China is not a Liberal or Representatives Democracy. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Chinese Government State that China is a Socialist Democracy.
Democratic System is about doing what the people want. Democracy is about Constitutional practice, meaning that a country’s Constitution is Alpha and Omega in the system. Rules of law is the leading light of the system in Democratic Governance in any country around the world; be it advanced or emerging nations.
Liberal Democracy, Direct Democracy and Social Democracy are the Systems that have been in practice in most countries of the world in this 21s Century. The system is fantastic, excellent and worth doing but the system is yet to make Africa proud on infrastructural development, economic viability, security challenges and security of want.
Nigeria practices Liberal Democracy; meaning Presidential System of Government and remember that in America the system has been in practice for the past more than 270 years and no issue of creating regional governments has ever been raised by American leaders since then. By doing that their Liberal Democracy (Presidential System) has been growing up and now in an advanced stage and the system made them great.
Likewise, Social Democracies in Europe have been successfully in practice since the end of world war 11 and they’re now described as advanced democracies without any hitches or disappointment in the practice of the system.
While in Nigeria the 25 years of practice is called “Transitional Democracy”. Meaning the practice is in between success and failure. And if Nigeria Democratic system fail; Democratic practice in Africa will hit the rocks. Hence, Nigeria must try to maintain the tempo of the system and we may succeed so soon.
Your Excellency Sir. When a coup d’etat took place in Niger Republic last year ECOWAS expelled that sister nation from the regional organization. And the war was about to start but for involvement of the stakeholders in the North that mediated and the results were positive and Niger Republic was invited to rejoin the ECOWAS once again. Which is fantastic.
This means that the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu respected the call of Nigerians not to fight the Niger Republic which may result in negative consequences. And again, when the France/US Military came calling to the Nigerian government to allow them to get military bases in Northern Nigeria the Federal Government denied the report on that and since then the issue has been silent.
Conclusively, here once again, some people are making allegations that the current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is making another move to change the history of Nigeria’s Presidential System to create Regional Governments in the country which is that contradict the Presidential System of Government of which in US they have States rather than Regional Governments. Mr. President, please don’t allow bad and negative advice to influence your Government and create what may lead to the destruction of Nigeria’s hard earned Democracy.
Abbati Bako, political strategist and analyst
