civil rule by eguriase s. m. okaka

CIVIL RULE

BY EGURIASE S. M. OKAKA Civil rule is the rule by the citizens of a country administrating their own country. In the past Nigeria as a country has had a different type of rules ranging from colonial rule down to military rule. With the aforementioned types of governments we suffered disadvantages from each of them. When we were under the colonial rule we never had everything rosy that is one of the reasons why Nigerians had to struggle for self-governments among other reasons. Till she gained independence on 1st of October, 1960 and subsequently became a republican nation on 1st of October, 1963, that was when Nigeria obtained the full right to govern themselves as a country. But sadly enough came the first military coup d’état which took place in 1966, few years after independence, that terminated democratic rule for a long time till we had it back again on May 29th 1999. Civil rule is tired to democratic government which is regarded as the best form of government in the world because of its fundamental human rights and its ability to stick to the constitution of the country in its administrations. Let me differentiate between military and democratic government. The primary purpose of the Military is to protect the territorial boundaries of the country from invaders from other nations of the world this and other many functions are accrued to them. But when they seize power to rule, then, it is termed as greed on their part because they are not meant to rule but to defend the country from external invaders. One of the reasons why most people are against military government is their ability to abandoned the constitution and become autocratic or despotic. There are no fundamental human rights of the citizens in their rules. This is a very dangerous situation for a people. I have experienced military reign in my country and it wasn’t palatable at all. For the very fact that your rights are no longer yours, is unimaginable. You can’t speak against a military Head of State whether he is against you or not. That is where your right is trampled upon. This is one type of government none pray to have. Why will they work for you when you did not bring them into power? They seized power through coup d’état how will you expect them to care for the citizens. Your opinion does not matter or the general opinion of the populace does not count or taken into considerations when dealing with them.

All human rights activities are usually proscribed. The Press is not in existence at all to talk about them except to carry out sensational stories about the government. That is not what any citizen should be proud of. Do you know that soldiers are trained for war and that gives them a strong heart and uncaring attitude towards their enemies? When they rule with this attitude they see you like the enemy they are expected to fight against. That is why they are not good rulers or administrators. The legislatures, judiciaries and the executives are not in existence in a military regime. In fact, they are very far from the people they are ruling. Abraham Lincoln the American president defined, Democracy as the government of the people by the people and for the people. It is a form of government in which power belongs to the people as a whole. Democracy is the people’s government that is why they are responsible for the people. In democracy, you have the right to vote for the government of your choice to administrate the country for a specified period of time. Democracy is a participatory government. That is why they are always responsible for the people. The idea of ‘Democracy’ had its root in Athens in ancient Greece in Europe, and today it has spread to the entire world like a bush on fire. Democracy is the most popular form of government in the world because of it features which include: • Independence of the judiciary • Majority rule • Application of the rule of law • One man one vote • Popular consultation • Political equality Every democratically elected government is expected to rule by the constitution of the country that is the reason why they are termed as the best and preferable form of government in the world. The hallmark of a democratically elected government includes: • Democracy ensures equal opportunity for all citizens in all areas. • Democracy promotes stability in any country; a bad government is removed from office peacefully through the process of voting. A bad government is change through the ballot. • Democracy gives legitimacy to elected government because it is majority vote cast that put people’s representative in office. • Democracy does not encourage the misuse of power because power and authority is not concentrated in the hands of one man. • It encourages tolerance of the views/opinions of the oppositions. The majority does have its way but minority must have its say, and their interests are also protected. Democracy is an all-inclusive government. • Democracy guaranteed fundamental human rights of its citizens. • All democratically elected representatives are responsible for the electorates because they voted them into power and can also vote them out if they are not responsible to their request. • It gives the electorates the opportunity to elect leaders of their choice. • Democracy gives leaders and the people the opportunity to correct their mistakes. • Decision taking are reached or obtained through discussion or deliberations, arguments and persuasion. Decision taking must be collective. • Democracy guarantees freedom of the press. • Democracy guarantees steady development of infrastructure so that they could have something to show to the people in case the party wants to remain in government, etc. No country of the world is proud of any other form of government because of the disadvantages that goes with them. I will not be proud to say I having a despotic leader rather I will to be very proud to say that, I have a democratic leader or a constitutional leader who administrate with the constitution. The reasons being that he is a government of my choice, I elected him or her into office and he is obliged to work for the people. Government is an institution of the state that is a set of body that legislates on the affairs of the public. That should always be the case not a situation where a group of people come into power through force and controls the government by their own narrative. There are principles guiding every democratically elected government and they are bind by the laws of the state to bear allegiance to the oath of office. In their campaigns, they reaffirm many times that they will administrate according to what is entrenched in the constitution and protect the rights of the citizens of a nation. This is what every citizen wants to hear from his or her government: A responsive and caring government, a government who protect the fundamental human rights of the citizen, not a government who tramples on their rights and privileges, etc. When a people have a democratically elected leader ruling them according to what is stated in the constitution, happy are they! By Eguriase S. M. Okaka