Kathleen Ebelechukwu Okafor argues that democracy is the most viable mechanism for attaining development and egalitarianism
According to Karl Marx and his protégé Freidrich, Engels, the history of the entire society is a history of class struggles. Struggles have arisen from patricians, knights, plebeians and slaves. As far back as ancient Rome, in the middle ages, the feudal lords, vassals, guild masters, journey men, apprentices, serfs and the bourgeoisie and proletariat also struggled for political space and economic domination.
Originally, our country Nigeria had geographically extended powers to the Cameroons, Benin (Dahomey), Niger, up to Senegal with the main objective of extending British imperialism and procuring raw materials for British factories. The area was known as Royal Niger Company territory. Expectedly, where the British arrived in our shores, like in other colonized territories like India, Canada, Ghana, supremacist laws and practices were juxtaposed on most repugnant traditions and practices of the indigenes e.g. subjugation of women by men, disinheritance from family assets, etc.
Our colonial masters did not submit to our native authorities perhaps, due to prevalent mass illiteracy uncodified/amorphous adjudicatory systems, language differences, etc. Usually, colonialists had created their own special courts applying English law and rejecting all native laws and customs as being "repugnant to natural law, equity and good conscience". Courageous and erudite judges, championed disentanglement from the British legal order. That the democratic principles advocated by the British were alien or indeed repugnant to our indigenous sense of values, propriety and also authoritarian in nature.
Neocolonialism and the Nigerian Legal System...Undoubtedly, many Nigerian laws, cultural practices and legal systems have been substantially progressively revised to accord with positive indigenous values like sanctity of marriage, humanitarianism, and communality.
Yet our historical experience of forced labour, slavery, obedience to, obnoxious and draconian laws, gender exclusivity persist in our socio-political space.
The democracy as imparted to us, was bereft of underlining thought foundation and aspiration of the people especially as espoused by the military. Illiterate seekers and traders with minimal education plunged into politics as an industry for self-sustenance without capacity to navigate complex micro- macroeconomics and rules of political engagement.
From political parties' primaries, it is discerning that our borrowed democratic principles have not been effectively transmitted after independence. Having endured nearly four centuries of the slave trade from 1500, Benin Empire of 1440- 1487 and 100 years of British colonial imperialism, Nigerian politicians and the generality of Nigerians had not been properly initiated into the norms and practices of decorous democratic governance. Prior to this scheme, our people had obeyed the whims and caprices of feudal traditional rulers, unelected elders whose authority flowed from the barrel, after centuries of social and cultural manipulation, and prebendalism.
Early practice of democracy in Nigeria was characterized by military regimes hijacking political power which held the country hostage for over three decades, 1966- 1999. Militarism had therefore stamped authoritarianism into our democracy. Thus, it is not surprising that the country's progress towards democracy was entrenched by undemocratic elements within Nigeria's political space.
A government of laws and of men is overly optimistic for order to be founded on mere statute books, laws and due process and not ingrained in the people's consciousness. The foundation of fractious democracy has rather been laid on conflicting judicial orders, widespread disrespect for law and order, rising incidents of self-help parochialism and ineffective law enforcement agencies.
Law being an instrument of social change, the inter-relationship between democracy and the legal system confirms that our democracy is a work in progress. We have had an opportunity to have civil rule in a full-fledged democratic society, to take full advantage of the government of the people, by the people and for the people.
Both democracy and the rule of law are two sides of a coin to avoid fascism and blind adherence to the wiles of dictators, sit-tight politicians, and undemocratic forces. Inevitably, a way has to be found to convince Nigerian politicians that democrats are an integral part of the quest for an effective legal order.
An autochthonous grundnorm needs to be recreated for the people's consent and rejuvenation of the national morale towards radical inventions, law compliance and participation in the humongous benefits of the 5th Industrial Revolution.
However, we do know that universal ingredients of democracy include supremacy of the law, separation of powers, checks and balances, sanctity of the ballot-box, independent and strong Bar freedom of expression, due process of law, independence of the judiciary. This means that democracy also incorporates the elements of liberal democracy and neo-colonialism, more attuned to a homogeneous society.
Currently, Nigeria's fractious democracy consistently attests that we merely have a civilian dispensation and not real democracy. This may be because of class struggles based on ethnicity, religion, gender, politicians and their people, shareholders and their employees, serfs and their feudal lords, capital and labour, etc.
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The Urgency of Democracy Lawyers: In conclusion, lawyers must be ready, willing and able to be at the vanguard of the struggle for a better society. We should always remember that Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama, Obafemi Awolowo, Nelson Mandela, Gani fawehinmi, Olisa Agbakoba, etc., were lawyers who stood on the barricades of the liberation struggle for their people. Our lawyers should therefore make a conscious choice to depart from self-seeking, self-serving and self-conceited motives in favor of the ideals that would ensure life more abundant for the preponderant majority of our people. Only thus can the profession attract greater understanding, relevance and empathy among compatriots as well as remain the truly learned profession that commands honor.
In any case, and for now, democracy presents a most viable mechanism for attaining faster development and egalitarianism. This is more so because democracy is inevitably intertwined with a functioning legal order for a viable society.
Prof. Okafor, SAN, FICArb, writes from Base University, Abuja, ke_okafor@yahoo.com
