Monday Column By Hameed M. Bello, PhD
hamdbelo@yahoo.co.uk
The topic of this column was inspired by a townhall meeting called by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ on Tuesday March 21 in Abuja, The Topic for discussion was “Governance and Citizens Participation: Making Democracy Work.” Three panelists were invited to engage the audience in the discussion programme with the participants drawn from among journalists from different radio, television and newspaper houses operating in Abuja. The panelists included Mrs. Zainab Okino, the Chairman Editorial Board of the Blueprint Newspaper, Comrade Ladi Bala, the National President, National Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ and my humble self, Dr Hameed M. Bello, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Peoples Daily Newspaper.
The NUJ Abuja Council Chairman, Comrade Emmanuel Ogbeche had set the ball rolling with an opening remark that highlighted the importance of citizens getting involved in how they are governed by taking advantage of existing allowances in order to bring about good governance. The two other speakers separately dwelt extensively on the experience of Nigerians in the just concluded 2023 general elections, conduct of which was perceived by some people as unsatisfactory in some aspects, especially on the transmission and uploading of results. The speakers however gave kudos to the youths for turning up in numbers for the elections which did not only give rise to some of the shocking outcomes, but also underscored the point that future political power truly lies in the hands of the youths. The panelists also spoke on the need to improve more on gender balancing by getting women to participate more in governance. It featured during the talks that voter apathy on the part of the citizens still remains a major concern in our elections, and that there was need for citizens to do more in taking their destiny in their hands by actively participating in voting the right leaders at elections.
I opted to adopt a fairly different approach in my speech. Rather than reviewing the merits and demerits of our recent electoral experience, I dwelt on key terms in the topic, the understanding of which I believed could stimulate discussion and deepen understanding of the subject under consideration. Key words deserving attention were citizen, governance and democracy.
Citizens’ participation in governance
A citizen is resident of a city or town, or country, especially one with legally-recognized rights or duties. Citizenship comes with rights and responsibilities or obligations. For instance, it is a major right of a citizen in a country to be guaranteed the security of his life and property by the government in power at the federal and state levels. As spelt out in Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 constitution (as amended), “the security and welfare of the people (citizens) shall be the primary purpose of government, and the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this constitution.” Other rights of citizens include to vote and be voted for in elections, right to security, right to good governance, right to freedom of speech, freedom of movement and freedom of lawful association among others. Freedom also comes with responsibilities and some of the obligations of citizens to the state include to be faithful, loyal and honest; to defend the country’s unity, honour, glory, peace and progress; to be law abiding and respect constituted authorities; to pay your tax and to be patriotic.
Citizens’ participation in governance is simply the involvement of citizens and communities in the development and implementation of public policies. More participation of citizens means returning them to the centre of the political discourse and giving them the power to recognize and promote their own needs and rights.
Democracy and its institutions
Secondly, I attempted to explain what democracy meant for the purpose of the discussion, even though majority of the participants already knew what it was. The now popular definition of democracy by Abraham Lincoln is that it is the government of the people, by the people and for the people. Abraham Lincoln was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. His definition of democracy presupposes that the people, the citizens, hold the ace in a democracy to either legitimise or deligitimise a government. Under the Rule of Law and principles of Separation of Powers, the democratic institutions of governance are composed of the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary, otherwise known as the three arms of government. The Media is also recognised under section 22 of the Constitution to play the role of watchdog as unofficially the fourth estate of the realm of governance. The role of the media to inform, educate, entertain, persuade, interrogate, set agenda and hold the three organs of government to account in public interest must also be in accordance with the law to avoid usurpation of media rights and privileges.
Good Governance
Governance refers to the process through which decisions are taken and implemented especially by public institutions at the national and local levels. Good governance describes a decision-making system that is based on the principles of transparency, responsibility, accountability, result, participation, and responsiveness to the needs of the people. Citizens participation is a key element of a good governance system. It provides private individuals and groups the opportunity to inform, influence, monitor and evaluate public decisions, processes, and actions. The bond between citizen participation and institutional accountability can be strengthened to improve the quality and sustainability of democratic societies.
Institutional accountability
Accountability ensures that the effectiveness of public decisions is subject to oversight, particularly by citizens. Institutional accountability is a form of social accountability whereby citizens demand accountability from government institutions and representatives.
Citizens influence on policies, accountability
It is imperative for democratic institutions and processes to be put to work and create opportunities for citizens to lead healthy and productive lives. To achieve that and ensure that government actually works for the public good requires informed, organized, active and peaceful citizen participation in governance. Citizens must, therefore, understand ideas about citizenship, politics and government. They need to equip themselves with the knowledge to make decisions about policy choices and the proper use of authority, along with the skills to voice their concerns, act collectively and hold public officials, including elected representatives, civil servants, and appointed leaders accountable in the overall good of society. This underscores the point about the term citizen having an inherently political meaning that implies a certain type of relationship between the people and government. Citizens have a set of rights and responsibilities, including the right to participate in decisions that affect public welfare, while the government makes, enforces and interpret the law and operates public institutions on behalf of the citizens.
In addition to the intrinsic democratic value, participation in governance is an instrumental driver of democratic and socio-economic change, and a fundamental way to empower citizens. By emphasizing locally-led, issue-driven approaches, citizens participation programs can influence actions in the political cycle to open, access and occupy political space. Also, citizen-centered activism – driven by real community needs and desires – is a powerful tool for positive transformation.
Civil society organizations (CSOs) are a vehicle through which citizens can aggregate their interests, voice their preference and exercise the power necessary to affect sustained change that can bring about good governance. To achieve this, CSOs can learn to work together and to play a variety of complementary political roles that include acting as watchdogs, advocates; mobilizer, educators, researchers; and policy analysts. All of that must however be within the boundaries of the law.
Citizens can also achieve institutional accountability through the activities of CSOs, to demand information from policy makers using the Freedom of Information Act, through peaceful, constructive demonstrations, and by voicing out through opinion articles and commentaries. There is also the legal option of suing individuals, parties or policy makers to demand judicial intervention on matters of policy misdirection. Citizens could also channel petitions to the National Assembly or its committees on matters of urgent National Importance on public policies. They could similarly send petitions or complaints to the Public Complaint Commission where citizens rights might have been infringed upon.
