The IIJD is an independent, not-for-profit international organization that actively advocates tackling the root causes of poverty by addressing systemic weaknesses, reforming institutions of governance, building capacity and empowering communities. With programs and initiatives based on participation, empowerment and sustainability, we treat not just the symptoms of poverty, underdevelopment, and insecurity, but confront their underlying causes. Read more....
• Join Our Biweekly Newsletter
 
• IIJD 2007 Newsletter
  Archive
• IIJD 2006 Newsletter Archive
 
We appreciate your support.
 
To make a tax deductible donation, please click here.
 
 
Check out our NEW online marketplace.
 
News and Publications
The IIJD 2007 Newsletter Archive:
 
Nigeria’s Government of National Unity: What Should Happen Next?
By Yael Wexler
July 6, 2007
 
The newly elected President of Nigeria, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, has proposed the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU). This represents his first move toward fulfilling his promise of ending corruption and deception in Nigerian governmental affairs, and most importantly, in the electoral process. Ironically, these qualities precisely describe the elections that brought the President to power. Despite widespread electoral fraud and the “irregularities” surrounding President Yar’Adua, can a Government of National Unity transform the new Nigerian government into a durable democracy? That is, can Nigerians expect the next elections, which are scheduled for 2011, to indeed be transparent, impartial and accessible for all?

In April 2007, President Yar’Adua took over from People’s Democratic Party (PDP) President Obasanjo. The elections were condemned by the national and international community as fraudulent and corrupt [1]. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) engineered a landslide victory for Mr. Yar’Adua, the ruling party’s incumbent. However, this election saw Nigeria’s highest voter turnout yet, at 69.1 % [2]. This achievement is a testament to the earnest desire for adequate and democratic representation of the diverse ethnicities, religions and regions that comprise Nigeria. 

Two and a half months into his term, President Yar’Adua has yet to call the government to session, or even to name his cabinet [3]. He should not be chastised for inactivity however; the President is currently engaged in talks with representatives of opposition parties who now contest their defeat. If successful, these could yield a more representative government. The support and participation of the maligned candidates will help to legitimize Nigeria’s government [4, 5]. The invitation to negotiate the structure of an integrative government has been extended to four parties: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Action Congress, the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), and the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) [6]. 

Recently, two parties have agreed to cooperate. The ANPP and the PPA will see their members sit as ministers in government. Despite his party’s support of the GNU, the ANPP presidential candidate and former President General Muhammadu Buhari, who also ruled Nigeria by military coup in 1984, refuses to comply with the ANPP’s decision [7]. Also to refuse the invitation was the AC led by Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President under President Obasanjo’s government (who was expelled in 2006 from the PDP and then switched allegiance to AC). The AC party refuses to partake in Mr. Yar’Adua’s “stolen goods” [8].

Joining the GNU is in the interest of opposition parties because, as ANPP’s chairman Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke states, cooperation ensures “rapid, qualitative and meaningful socio-economic and political development in Nigeria” [9]. Also, changes in the government’s structure could yield much needed constitutional amendments on the electoral process. Electoral reforms will enshrine the values of the GNU, such as equality of access to political posts and voting, accountability of people in power, and mutual respect for all voters and candidates alike. A government of ethnic exclusivity only alienates people and constituencies, thereby leaving the nation vulnerable to internal and external threats to security and stability [10]. The current constitution (Part III: 285, 1-4) provides for election tribunals to address aggrieved candidates, and these have arisen in all Nigeria’s 36 states [11]. Tribunals are necessary in order to buttress the GNU with transparent appointments and to reconcile the discredited with the accredited.  

Nigeria needs ‘reconciliation’ because it is rife with ethnic tensions and rivalries. In the nation of 130.2 million, the four major ethnic groups are also divided along religious, linguistic and regional lines. In 1914-15, the British cordoned off the ethnic groups so as prevent the rise of Nigerian nationalism, and as a result, three regions emerged: the Muslim Hausa and Fulani North, the Christian Yoruba West, and the Christian Ibo East. This regionalism reinforced the ethnic tensions because of their uneven development, thereby “transforming ethnicity into an identity by which to gain political power” [12]. In order to break down the barriers between the ethnic divisions, President Yar’Adua says the GNU is inspired by “patriotism” and a respect for collective efforts, mutual progress and reconciliation.

The proposal of the GNU and attempts at reconciliation could not come at a better time for the underrepresented ethnic groups of the nation. The necessity to assuage ethnic tensions through political empowerment of ministers and enfranchisement of all people takes on new weight today as the prices of machetes have halved in Nigeria [13]. This chilling news calls to mind the use of these weapons as the handmaidens of genocide and depredation of all sorts in Africa. 

Although a country cannot stabilize without a government, a government cannot stabilize without the popular support of its ministers. Therefore, the IIJD supports President Yar’Adua’s efforts to carefully form a Government of National Unity in Nigeria. However, we express our shame that the executive branch under President Obasanjo successfully manipulated the elections that brought Mr. Yar’Adua to power, and compromised the independence of the INEC. The lack of separation of powers between the executive branch and the other branches of government and INEC, as well as their unchecked powers, is the root cause of the corrupt recent elections in Nigeria.

IIJD implores President Yar’Adua to be dedicated to institutional reform and the strengthening of the democratic electoral process, of which the GNU is a first step in the right direction. Accordingly, President Yar’Adua must guide the GNU towards effective power sharing and the meeting of multiple interests, and not just the ceremony of negotiation. As an integrative and representative institution, a GNU can be the first step in achieving a transparent, impartial, and accessible system of governance in a nation. The IIJD believes that electoral reform, and the concomitant constitutional amendments to safeguard all reforms, is a crucial step in the democratic and economic development of Nigeria.
 
_______________________________________________________________________