Democratic Governance in Nigeria under the Buhari Change Mantra (2015-2017) -By Aniekpeno John Inyang

Introduction
Democracy in layman terms may simple be defined as a system of government where those to be ruled are allowed to elect their leaders. Governance on the other hand, refers to the process of ruling, which may or may not be beneficial to those being ruled. The both concepts are not always intertwined except in a Democratic environment in the sense that any society that has any form of leadership must practice Governance without needing to operate a Democracy but in a Democratic environment the next logical thing that follows the election of political leaders is Governance.

A situation where these two concepts exist in correlation is what is known as Democratic Governance. Democratic Governance is not just important in that it allows people to elect their leaders; it is also extremely valued for the fact that it allows people to discover and actualize their potentials, by allowing them to express themselves freely.

Democratic Governance has embedded in it certain Principles and Institutions that make it viable, such principles include the rule of law, Separation of Powers, constitutionalism, independence of the Judiciary, freedom of the press etc Examples of Institutions that keep Democracy going include the Three arms of government, the courts of law, an independent Electoral Commission etc.
Democratic Governance in Nigeria
Nigeria is currently enjoying her longest period of Democratic Governance since the Nation gained independence in 1960. Prior 1999, Governance in Post-independent Nigeria has been largely under military regimes that have no regard for Democratic processes and principles and so when Democracy was reintroduced into the Country, it was a welcomed development but 17 years after its reintroduction, there exist certain issues that make a mockery of the practice of Democratic Governance in the Country, Chief among whom are corruption and insecurity. These two factors have become major drawbacks to the Speedy development of the Nigeria and indeed a major concern for patriotic Nigerians.

BUHARI CHANGE MANTRA
Muhammad Buhari, former Military Ruler of the Country, in contesting for the 2015 Presidential election took advantage of the corruption and security situation in the Country to solicit support from Nigerians, promising change in the way things are to be done and thus, the change mantra began, being widely professed and accepted by majority of Nigerians, Muhammadu Buhari rode on its back to power and on the 29th of May, 2015, the Buhari administration set out to consolidate on the trust bestowed on it by Nigerians, but two years down the line how far has the administration faired on the score card of Democratic Governance?

Assessing Democratic Governance under this administration has to take two fronts with the first being an assessment of how it responds to certain pillars of Democracy, in this regard I will be discussing the Rule of law and the Separation of Powers. The second front is in the form of the factors supposedly holding Nigeria back as earlier discussed which are Corruption and Insecurity, I will be taking a look at how the Buhari Administration is responding to those issues as well.

The Rule of law
The Rule of law is Democratic principle that states that all members of a society inclusive of the citizenry and Institutions are subject to the dictates of the Law. In simple terms, No One is above the law. The Buhari Administration has claimed it is committed to upholding the rule of law as The President himself stated during a meeting of the Commonwealth in 2016 “I am committed to applying the rule of law and to respecting human rights,”. Despite this statement, some actions of the Executive seem to go contrary. An example is in the flagrant disregard for a court order by an agency of the Federal Government in the case involving a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki. The former NSA is facing Corruption charges involving over 2 billion dollars but has been granted bail on no less than six occasions but the government refused to follow these orders. That doesn’t speak well for a government claiming regard for the rule of law.

The Separation of Powers
Democratic Governance preaches against the abuse of power which is usually as a result of the concentration of the right to rule in one place, in trying to avoid such a situation, every Democracy tries to distribute this right to rule to various Authorities, this is the whole essence of the Separation of Powers. As a vital pillar of Democratic Governance, the Separation of Powers is a doctrine that states that governmental powers should be shared between three arms of government who have a duty to act as checks and balances to each other. In Nigeria, the Constitution of the Country recognizes the Separation of Powers between three arms of government which are the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. Under the Buhari Administration, these arms of government actually work independently but there are also some instances where one arm of government has tried to override the duties of the other, an example is in the case involving the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The Constitution in the distribution of Powers gave the authority to confirm appointments of The Executive arm of Government to the Legislature, in the process of trying to perform this role, The Legislature had in March, 2017 rejected the nomination of Ibrahim Magu as the substantive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on grounds that Mr Magu lacks the integrity to lead the Commission. Three months after the Legislature’s rejection of Mr. Ibrahim Magu, The Executive has completely ignored the Principle of Separation of Powers and kept Mr Magu in Office. This action has led to stiff face-off between the Legislature and the Executive which doesn’t bode well for our Democracy.

CORRUPTION
Let’s look at the aspect of Corruption. One of the first thing Muhammadu Buhari did was to openly declare his assets and encourage other public Officers to do same, it was a worthwhile gesture considering the fact that public declaration of assets by office holders is not common in Nigeria and so doing such can only be described as an effort to be transparent. Aside that, the administration further implemented the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in a bid to effectively monitor and manage government finance. A pilot Scheme of the TSA was run in 2012 by the Jonathan Administration but implementing it full scale is the work of Muhammadu Buhari which is worthy of note for a Government focused on fighting corruption, this is another valuable point in favor of the Buhari change Mantra. Another major effort made by the Buhari Administration on the Corruption front is in the prosecution of those accused of Corruption. Many Politicians, particularly from the administration of Goodluck Jonathan have been accused of Corruption, many of whom are currently facing trial. It’s a good move, making them face trial but securing convictions for them would have made it better. In April of this year, within four days, the administration lost four high profile cases among which include that of the former First Lady, Patience Jonathan and that of former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godsday Orubebe. The fact that convictions are not being secured for supposedly corrupt individuals raises a lot of questions such as: Are those being accused of Corruption actually corrupt or it is a case of political witch hunting? This question is all the more pertinent following the fact that most of those undergoing or haven undergone trial for corruption are members of the opposition political party.

Another point I will mention under the Corruption front is the Whistle Blower Policy. Introduced in 2016, The Whistle Blower Policy is an initiative of the Federal Government geared towards encouraging the exposure of financial crimes. In April, 2017, Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibrahim Magu revealed that the policy has led to the recovery of 17 billion Naira by the Commission. Anyway you choose to look at this, it is another plus for the Administration.

Insecurity
On may 29th, 2015 when Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as President, The Country was grappling with Insecurity from different quarters, the Boko Haram insurgency in the North east, Niger Delta Militancy in the South, Fulani Herdsmen rampage in the Middle belt. There was visible tension in the country but the Administration responded remarkably to these challenges. Firstly, Muhammadu Buhari moved the command Center of the Insurgency response team to Borno State to effectively and speedily respond to the Boko Haram crisis, the move has yielded positive results as the activities of the Boko Haram group have become extremely minimal compared to the preceding year.

Secondly, the administration has launched a series of peace Initiatives in the Niger Delta region to douse tension, a move gladly supported by ex-militants in the region. In curtailing the Herdsmen crisis, the administration is currently working with various State Governments to construct grazing reserves for Cattle Rearers so as to keep them from causing further conflict while moving their cattle in search of pasture.

Conclusion
Democratic Governance is a necessary prerequisite for sustainable development in any society and Nigeria is no different. From the discussions above, we can form an opinion, whether to the positive or negative, on how the Buhari Administration has fared under the microscope of Democratic Governance. Whatever way we choose to look at this, what must be generally accepted is the fact that more needs to be done not just by the Government but by the Citizenry as well. The Buhari Administration has performed relatively well in the areas of Corruption and Insecurity but same cannot be said of its regard for Democratic principles such as the Rule of law or Separation of Powers, in this regard, The citizenry must be more proactive through strong civil society Organizations in ensuring that the Government adheres to these principles.