Protocol
On its official website, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is described as a nonprofit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that has supported democratic institutions and practices in every region of the world for more than three decades.
2 Let me testify here that indeed, the NDI is living true to its reputation for the critical role it played in ensuring the success of the last election in Nigeria in March and April 2015, especially in the areas of capacity building and sensitization of the citizens. Through various seminars and workshops, the NDI worked to strengthen our democracy and ensure a peaceful transfer of power.
Loading ...3 Our experience in the last transition process was unique, despite the fact that we have held many general elections and transitioned from one government to another. Indeed, the last election heralded the first real transition in the history of our
nation, being the first time that an opposition party will sweep the ruling party out of power.
4 This probably explains why the then ruling government was completely caught unawares by the outcome of the election. For the government led by a ruling party that had vowed to stay in power for 60 years in the first instance, they were not prepared for any transition that will not be from themselves to themselves. How can they, when they felt invincible, judging by their perceived strength and assumed popularity and the huge resources at their disposal?
5 Because they were not mentally prepared for the outcome of that election, they were unable to put in place structures that will make the transition seamless. The absence of this almost marred the transition process that followed. Because our country lacks an institutionalized transition system, the then ruling government simply did not know what to do, and unpatriotic elements exploited the situation, which almost led to a national crisis.
6 In order to achieve its mandate, the transition committee which I constituted after our historic victory in the last election had hoped that the outgoing government’s team will sit down with our committee to ensure an orderly handover of notes, exchange of views and clarifications. We expected comprehensive report on the state of the economy, the security situation, infrastructure development or deficit and social issues, among others, in an atmosphere devoid of bitterness, confrontation and conflict.
7 What we got was the exact opposite of what we expected. The team put in place by the outgoing government did not for once sit down with our own transition committee to discuss the nitty-gritty of what we were inheriting. The incoming government was completely left in the dark, and only got the handover notes four days to the handover date.
8 The result was that the 19-member transition committee, led by Alhaji Ahmed Joda, had to turn itself into a resource group by dividing itself into five groups covering Finance and Economy, Security, Social Issues, Good Governance and Foreign Affairs. The committee then invited experts and resource persons to make presentations to it on the various issues. It was good that the committee took that action because when the outgoing government finally sent in its handover notes, they were not as helpful as they ought to have been. The notes did not disclose the information that would help the incoming government.
9 This explains why, upon assuming office, I had to take briefings from ministries, departments and agencies for almost two months, even as I had to attend to other serious issues of governance.
10 The inadequacy of the handover notes contributed in no small measure to the delay in constituting my cabinet, as I needed to have a clear idea of what my Administration was inheriting. Had a system been in place, real-time information would have been available to assist the incoming government to quickly settle down, form its cabinet and go about the business of governance.
11 It is important to state here that every democrat, every politician must imbibe the culture of true democracy, which implies that they will appreciate the power of the people in determining whether or not they remain in power. No Administration must look beyond its immediate mandate, and elected governments must eschew arrogance and avoid personalizing and politicizing the system.
12 It is absolutely important, therefore, that we put in place an institutionalized system that guarantees a seamless transition of power, whether intra, that is from a ruling government to itself, or inter, from the ruling power to the opposition. This will in turn reduce the kind of tension and anxiety that attended the last transition, and set the tone for a predictable and orderly transfer of power, thus solidifying the concept of governance as a continuum.
13 In putting in place an institutionalized transition process, we must also look at what obtains in the world’s older and more advanced democracies. The fact that their system of transition is clear and unambiguous is the reason why they have been able to avoid the kind of tension and uncertainty that we experience in these parts.
14 In 2010, in the first coming of David Cameron as the British Prime Minister, the Conservatives, which he led, won the largest number of seats in Parliament but were 20 seats short of an overall majority, resulting in a hung Parliament. It took some time before talks between Cameroon and the Liberal Democrats, led by its leader Nick Clegg, led to an agreed Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition. While the talks lasted, there was no crisis and the transition was smooth because the institutionalized system of transition was in place.
- Let us therefore study the international best practices as far as transition frameworks are concerned, and then make recommendations for a framework that will best suit Nigeria and also stand the test of time. Doing this is also in line with our change mantra, which seeks to achieve a paradigm shift in the way we do things, whether as individuals, government or corporate bodies.
- Not only is our Administration irrevocably committed to our cardinal programmes of tackling insecurity and corruption, as well as creating jobs through the diversification of the economy and upgrading of infrastructure, it is also determined to ensure that our change agenda touches all spheres of our national life.
- I wish you a successful deliberation.
