*Says those who lost elections should form strong opposition
By Michael Oche
Ezenwa Nwagwu, chairman of Partners for Electoral Reform, has said that the 2023 election has again shown that most Nigerian politicians are preoccupied with grabbing power rather than deepening the country’s democracy.
Nwagwu who spoke to journalists in Abuja, said Nigeria needs strong opposition parties to deepen the country’s democracy and not power mongers.
He expressed concern that some politicians who lost in the just concluded general elections are not ready to take an honourable path of opposition, which will deepen our democratic practice.
He argued that democracy is not just about good governance, saying it is about having alternative views.
According to him, “Indeed, successful coup plotters, benevolent dictators, theocratic countries and institutions can provide good governance and dividends, examples abound, but they are intolerant of alternative views and opposition.”
Nwagwu said unless the country builds a strong and knowledge based opposition after 2023, we will continue to recycle power mongers.
“Strong and virile opposition, which is also an honourable and respectable role for those who lose election,” he said.
Nwagwu noted there has been pressure on the president-elect to form a government of national unity, saying that this will weaken the role of the opposition in a democracy.
He said, “Democracy is not synonymous with pursuit of power, dictators, coup plotters are all in the run for power, multi party democracy envisages virile and strong opposition, so also honorable and respectable role for those who lose electron, but that’s no Nigerian type democracy. We must win, if we don’t, we blackmail the winner, discredit everything, fight in court. If all fails, we wait for another four years and reenact same thing, same method, possible same actors and characters.”
He said further, “in a democracy, there is strong room for opposition parties, but in the case of Nigeria, that side of the conversation has been left black due to craving power.”
According to him, the preoccupation with power is too much, adding that some politicians heat up the polity just for the purpose of power-sharing.
Nwagwu, a veteran campaigner for electoral reforms, said, “We have been more of a contest for power, rather than democratic practice and its values. After the election, what everyone has been concentrated on is who and how the person who won needs to reach out to who lost.”
He said when APC was in opposition, it engaged the then ruling party and contested many programmes of the government
“After APC won in 2015, the opposition political parties outsourced opposition roles to civil society and trade unions” he said.
He said over the years, only the AAC tried to play that role of opposition
Since 2015, “Nowhere has the opposition taken the government to court on a specific programme. You can point me to where the opposition has dragged the government to court to challenge any of its programmes.”
He explained that the law setting up INEC empowers them to conduct the election, they have discharged that responsibility and have announced a winner, it’s mischievous to refer to that winner as “presumed winner.”