Democracy is about representation – even more so in diverse societies. This is an ideal captured and protected in the constitution with a clear instruction that all constituencies of state must be represented in government by elected legislators freely assembled in the parliament to design laws and check the excesses of the Executive branch of government so society doesn’t slip into tyranny. This legal compulsion and democratic ideal has been respected by actors of Nigeria’s democracy for decades. But it is one Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has violated with impunity.
In his norm-shattering first term in office, Mr. Godwin Obaseki neglected important duties of governance and instead committed state resources to the subversion of democratic processes and norms, a fact best exemplified by his brazen and dishonorable war on Edo lawmakers who dared to stand up to his tyranny and insisted on the supremacy of the rule of law.
Using varying acts of violence, sieges, and intimidation, Governor Godwin Obaseki denied representation to 14 constituencies out of the 24 in Edo State and continues to hunt their elected representatives whose attempt to obtain justice in the court has been hampered by the governor’s evasion and abuse of his constitutional immunity.
His grouse against these 14 brave lawmakers stems from two character flaws: a fundamental (and deadly) ignorance of the workings of democracy and blinding personal greed. Governor Godwin Obaseki operates under the bizarre belief that all the branches of government, including the officials that occupy them, must serve at his pleasure when, in reality, the legislature and judiciary are co-equal arms filled by independent members who are empowered by the constitution and answerable only to the people.
The constitution did not create the state legislature to massage the ego of the Governor or do his bidding. Rather, the arm of government has a specific mandate to perform oversight functions which includes broad supervisory roles and the power to summon the Governor or any member of the Executive branch to appear before it to give an account of their stewardship
Evidently, Obaseki has no interest in accountable leadership, hence his mockery of the constitution and literal desecration of the hallowed chambers of the state legislature when, last year, he led thugs and arsonists to loot and destroy the historic building.
Unilaterally, he moved the business of the legislature to his personal abode in the Government House where he dictates proceedings through handpicked and feckless Speakers who pretend to preside over a House of minority members.
The consequences of Obaseki’s assault on democracy and the constitution are far-reaching. In the absence of Executive oversight and the checks and balances of power which the legislature provides, corruption and abuse of power become usual practice in government.
By stripping the legislative arm of its true constitutional powers and role, while also stalling court procedures, Obaseki has wrecked the ship of democracy in Edo State and replaced it with a dictatorship where he rules without limits or restraint in the same mold as Kim Jong Un of North Korea.
The 14 constituencies Obaseki has locked out of the Edo Assembly have lacked representation, recognition, and contribution to government policies and decisions for years. The needs of the people in these constituencies have been left unmet, their hopes dashed. Yet Obaseki revels in his dictatorship.
The single most powerful word in a democracy, according to America’s Barack Obama, is ‘we’ – ‘We the people’. In Edo State, Obaseki has replaced this with ‘I’ in his self-serving one-man regime. For all our sakes as Edo citizens, to protect our individual liberties to freely choose and determine government decisions, it is hoped that the 14 lawmakers taking him to task on his tyranny succeed. But we mustn’t just watch or pray, we must actively support them. The task of saving democracy is a collective one.