IBK,
A few quick corrections. First I was not sure Jonathan was going to win. You must have me confused with someone else. Second, I stated on this very list that, although as a diasporan I do not have a vote, if I did I would hold my nose and vote for Buhari. I posted this just a couple of months ago on this forum so check the archive. I was not thrilled by both candidates and said so many times, but I did not see a scenario under which I would vote for Jonathan/PDP. I stated this clearly on this and other fora. Thirdly, I have been "blaming the system" since 2010 when I published an essay on Pambazuka.com making this same argument. Not only have I copied and pasted that article on this list over the years, I have in the last five or six years engaged in several debates with several people on this list, but especially Ken, on the dangers, material and social costs, and unsuitability of the winner-takes-all democratic model in Nigeria/Africa. It is because I have been making this argument for a long time and Ken is familiar with my stance that he responded to me appropriately, somewhat conceding my points but asking for an alternative model, a question he posed to me in our previous debates on this issue. I will answer his latest post when I have time. Finally, and in case you are wondering, I am and have been a strong critic of the sham we call democracy in Africa, a critic of its imposition on African countries in the so-called moment of democratization in the 1990s, and a critic of the fact that it fails to speak to our realities, is too expensive, and is a threat to the cohesion of many African counties. I don't believe there is anything sacred about democracy or the form of it that we currently practice, and I believe there are several alternative forms of democratic practice that meet the conditions of representation, accountability, and legitimacy and which are not expensive and do not involve frequent, expensive and divisive electoral rituals. I have been making this argument for a long time, sometimes at the risk of being seen as a heretic who is advocating for authoritarian rule. When I've been asked in the past to outline some alternatives, I have laid out general principles for a new Democratic order in Africa but I have always said that the details would differ from country to country and that countries should be free to craft their own democratic templates according to their peculiar circumstances. The first step, I always argue, is to step away from the thinking that the democracy of one man one vote and winner takes all and opposition waits its turn is a final, settled, sacred concept that should simply be implemented without modification and discussion. Once we problematize the history and hegemonic character of this thinking, as well as its contradictions on the ground in Africa, we will be able to have the unfettered conversations that will lead us to workable alternative models. I am glad that Ken agrees that liberal democracy, like other models of government and politics, is provisional and time-bound and not a final, sacrosanct mode of politics. By the way, I have since expanded my Pambazuka essay and published it as a chapter in my book, "Africa in Fragments." In other words I have been making this argument in several forms and on several platforms long before Jonathan even came to power.
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Moses,
When you were certain that Jonathan would win the system was not too expensive then. Do not blame the system. Blame the PDP and their gang of evil treasury looters at the helm.
We adopted this system because Professor Ben Nwabueze who headed the component of the constituent assembly that determined the system of government saw the Westminster system unAfrican and not supported by African cultural attributes and preferences. The dichotomy between head of state and head of government was too nuanced that it led always to bitter conflict like the Nigerian civil war.
It is the lack of patriotism and the usurpation of the votes of the people by fraudulent and indolent politicians that has caused the bloat in the cost of elections. Look at the amount of money Jonathan was doling to Obas, Religious leaders and anyone he felt would vote for him. What budget did all that money come from? It simply impoverished the people.
No system is perfect in all ways but it is the people who must engage to ensure that the system is cheap and workable. Soon when standards are set politicians will spend money on development instead of stashing it up for doling at elections!
The equipment used this year can be used again next time to save funds and the military and security agents can expect less bribe for them to do their jobs.
We are getting there slowly but surely.
Cheers.
IBK
On 1 Apr 2015 16:33, "Moses Ebe Ochonu" <meochonu@gmail.com> wrote:--The kind of democracy we practice is way too expensive and extremely divisive, especially for a country already divided by historical ethno-religious fault lines. This time around we dodged the bullet of post-election violence, and violence during the elections was minimal--thank God. But the rhetoric and exchanges between supporters of the two main camps in the run-up to the elections were the most bigoted, hateful, and bitter I have seen and read in my lifetime. We will be healing and rebuilding shattered relationships and solidarities to the extent possible until the next presidential elections in 2019. Which forces me to ask: can we literally afford to have billion dollar (that's about how much INEC requested for these elections) elections that create deep enmities and deepen our familiar fissures every four years? I don't know if this is sustainable and I suspect that the financial and sociopolitical costs of our "democracy" will be the subject of debate in the coming years. For how can one justify going through an exercise that is injurious to our lean finances and frail body politic every four years? Four years is a short time, and it means that the country is in perpetual campaign and political mode, leaving little time and room for governance and the construction of national bridges of solidarity. While we heal from the division of one election, the next one is upon us, unleashing its divisive fury that will consume and occupy us till the next election. And on an on it goes, taking a toll on the sociopolitical fabric of the country, or what's left of it. It's a fast turnaround that costs much in treasure, blood, and peace.--However, while we have this "democracy," while we continue to search for a democratic model that suits our peculiar sociopolitical and fiscal anxieties, and for what it's worth, the idea of voters sending a clear message, now and then, to political incumbents (and ascendant oppositions) is important. That message is that there is a consequence for poor, indifferent, and callous governance--for complacency and abuse of power. For the past sixteen years, the PDP has serially abused Nigerians and shown scant regard for the anxieties and aspirations of the people. This approach to politics and governance deserves to be rejected and it has.This is the overarching message of this election, not the hysteria about change. This message was articulated brilliantly and simply by my friend, Enoch Obeto, during a roucous discussion on the elections by a group of Nigerians in my neck of the woods. His assessment was beautiful in its simplicity: Buhari or no Buhari, change or no change, let Jonathan and other elected officials know that if you disregard the needs of the people, or cozy up to corruption, Nigerians' favorite bete noire, you should not expect to be rewarded with continuation in office.If you believe that substantive change is about to come or that the fantastical promises in the APC presidential manifesto is realistic in light of depressed oil crude oil prices, falling Naira value, and ongoing insurgency, you will be disappointed.But if you believe, like Enoch Obeto does, that what was at stake in the election was the imperative of punishing the profligacy, incompetence, and indifference of the PDP dynasty, whose latest face is Jonathan, then you will not be disappointed no matter what happens in the Muhammadu Buhari era. You will see the election only as a point of departure for struggles of accountability. You will see it as a clear message to the APC too, which will do well to learn from the errors of the PDP. And if Buhari manages to find a way to manage the sharks and rogues around him well enough to fulfill SOME of his promises, that would be gravy on the steak, icing on the cake.--There is enough in the world for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed.
---Mohandas Gandhi
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