Any student of Nigerian political history will agree that we are practicing what some might call a juju democracy- no be juju be dat as Nigerians would say. Democracy in its purest form is based on the ideals of free and fair elections, the rule of law and security, accountability and transparency, and the protection of civil liberties and political pluralism. But it does not even need a lens to see that these do not exist in Nigeria; rather, we have developed a modified form or juju version that has been adapted to suit the government in power.
The very institutions that characterize a functioning democratic country exist, but they only exist to serve the ruling elite, not the majority of the citizenry—and that is where the issue lies. They are constantly being upgraded and perfected to ensure the entrenchment of a system that is based on furthering the interest of the elite. The problem is that this very thinking has begun to seep into the private sector, which is meant to be more accountable. We are therefore facing a two-pronged attack from both the public and private sectors, with the public sector enabling the private sector to abuse the citizens. All this begs the question, what then is the hope for the people?
Myth 1: Free and Fair Elections
The idea of free and fair elections is more of a myth than a reality in Nigeria. It can be argued that since the return to democracy in 1999, every subsequent election has been manipulated to ensure that the ruling government is returned to power. The election of Buhari in 2015 was more of an anomaly that was shaped by internal and external factors. It remains like the sighting of Halley’s comet. In Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission is headed by people who are nominated by the ruling government. Just recently, Professor Yakubu ended his term as the Chairman of the commission and the government nominated him for an ambassadorial position. This paints a picture of a man being rewarded for the President’s electoral victory in 2023.
Myth 2: The Rule of Law
Nigerians can only imagine what the rule of law means. There are basically multiple laws for every Nigerian citizen, and these can be termed situational and fluid, depending on what side of the aisle you sit. If you are among the political elite, you have a seat on one side, but beware—even ownership of the seat is not guaranteed, as it depends on how you conform to the oga at the top. On the other side, you have the others, where you must ensure you do not fall foul of the law because there is no guarantee that your rights will be upheld. Even the costs of pursuing those rights create a strategic roadblock that the government does not even pretend to want to remove.
Myth 3: Accountability
Nigerians have watched as those charged with the responsibility of managing their commonwealth plunder it with no one being held accountable. From the former Accountant General of the Federation to the more recent CEO of the Mid and Downstream arm of the NNPC, stories of primitive accumulation have become part of the very fabric of what is meant to be service in the public sector. We hear of the initial arrests and statements from the EFCC or ICPC, and then the silence becomes deafening. Politicians move from one party to the ruling party to ensure they are protected from any scrutiny, while the rest are left to face the wrath of the Nigerian people.
Myth 4: Political Pluralism
Nigerians have seen the gradual erosion of the idea that the country operates a multi-party system, and this process has been greatly accelerated in the past twelve months. All the governors of the south-south region have defected to the ruling APC, while some in the South-West and North-East have done the same. They have done the maths, and the only logical answer for survival is to be part of the party that controls all the institutions, such as the courts and the national graft agencies that ensure accountability. The former main opposition party has been rocked by a crisis orchestrated from within, by a member who has aligned himself with the ruling party while still claiming membership. This just boggles the mind – only in Nigeria.
But the erosion is more than political; it is now financial. The National Assembly has institutionalized exclusion by ratifying astronomical spending limits for people seeking elective office thereby commodifying political office with clear price tags. The new figures entrench these barriers further with the lowest spending limit being N10 million for councillors, then 30 million for Chairmen; 100 million for state assembly candidates; 250 million for house of representatives; 500 million for those running for the senate; 3 billion for governorship elections and 10 billion for presidential candidates. This creates two things; firstly, it restricts those that can run for office and secondly it forces those already holding elected positions to find corrupt ways to amass the funds required to seek re-election.
Myth 5: Civil Liberties
The big question here is whether they exist at all? Nigerians have no idea of what this is supposed to mean. This is a foreign idea that has been imported to Nigeria to fill the checklist that is required to identify as a functioning state. Many protestors have been harassed on multiple occasions while trying to have peaceful protests. They are denied permits and then hounded by the police when they are supposedly permitted to hold these protests. The #endsars protests ended in tragedy and no one has yet been held accountable.
I began by asking what hope exists for the average Nigerian. I am as pessimistic as anyone can be. A reading of our history shows a clear trajectory: not of improvement, but of deterioration – created deliberately by the elite on both sides of the aisle, who continuously push the boundaries of exploitation. They succeed because they have mastered the art of weaponizing poverty, religion, and ethnicity—tools that fracture society and ensure Nigerians cannot unite to rise up and demand their rights. This is the ultimate function of juju democracy: to disempower the populace so completely that the illusion becomes the only reality they can afford to engage with.
