What is now clear in words and in deed is that Nigerians are amongst the most lawless people on earth and the fifth most lawless country in Africa, according to the 2016 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index. South Africa, Ghana, Botswana, Senegal and Tunisia are rated best on the African continent in rule of law and governance, while Nigeria trails strife-ridden countries like Sierra-Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast; but better than Cameroon and Egypt which closed the pack as the most lawless countries in Africa surveyed. Effective rule of law reduces corruption, combats poverty and protects people from injustices. It is the foundation for peace, justice and equity which underline economic development, accountable government, and respect for fundamental human rights. It is certainly incongruous and unacceptable in a country ravaged by impunity for people to act as if they are above the law. This is another blight on the toga of Nigeria’s international image. The president should stop inflicting further pain on the nation’s psyche by failing to internalize the rule of law in the governance process.
The WJP Rule of Law Index presents a portrait of the rule of law in each country by providing scores and rankings organized around eights factors. Performance is measured using 44 indicators across the eight primary rule of law factors; each of which is scored and ranked globally and against regional and income peers: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice. A ninth factor, informal justice, is measured but not included in aggregated scores and rankings.
The Index is the world’s most comprehensive data set of its kind and the only one that relies solely on primary data, measuring a nation’s adherence to the rule of law from the perspective of how ordinary people experience it. The Index’s scores are built from the assessments of local respondents (1,000 per country) and local legal experts, ensuring that findings reflect conditions experienced by the population, including marginalized sectors of society. These features make the Index a powerful tool to help identify strengths and weaknesses in each country, and help inform policy debates that advance the rule of law, both within and across countries.
The country scores and rankings were derived from over 110,000 households and 2,700 expert surveys in 113 countries and jurisdictions,(from 102 in 2015), relying on expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived in practical, everyday situations by the general public worldwide. Africa’s top performer South Africa, surpassed Ghana and Botswana in this year’s rankings and into 43rd place globally. Nigeria and Burkina Faso were the biggest movers among the 18 countries indexed in the region, climbing 11 and 10 spots respectively. In contrast, Botswana lost six positions while Kenya and Ethiopia each lost five places.
Although Nigeria is said to have made progress in some indicators such as constraints on government powers and criminal justice, including the fight against corruption, it is disheartening that the Buhari Administration so early gave Nigerians reasons to cast it in the mold of a regime without respect for the rule of law. Nigeria ranked 13th out of the 18 African countries surveyed and came out a dismal 96 out of 113 countries globally. This unacceptable anomaly speaks directly to the president’s befuddled thinking that betrayed his predilection for running a one-man show, even though his ruling APC party controls commanding majorities in the legislative branch and governor’s mansions in the states. It is fair to say the frosty relationship between the executive and legislative branches of government is an exemplifier of an unseeming trend towards official deadlock that risks adverse effects on the smooth running of government and the integrity of the nation’s democracy. The Senate has become a headache for the president and the more the two arms of government try to come together and work for the interest of the country, the more apart they fall. This situation must not be allowed to continue.
The only way to disabuse the mind of the public in this regard is for APC leaders to get their act together and stop the emerging trend. Unfortunately, the national leadership of the APC is comatose, aloof and rudderless. Not even APC governors have shown character or any commitment towards resolving the crisis, complaining they have been sidelined by the presidency that has allegedly been hijacked by a cabal. This messianic approach to governance ought to have gone with the inglorious past of official rascality and lack of direction, and the nation must break this cycle of perfidious leadership if Buhari really wants Nigerians to take him seriously on his much-touted promise of change.
The rule of law is essential for order and stability and is one of the canons of liberal democracy. The observance of the rule of law nudges the polity away from authoritarian trappings. More importantly, it enhances democratic consolidation. Therefore, rule of law is a norm to be mainstreamed in any democratic society. That the law speaks different languages to different persons in Nigeria is a serious aberration that reduces it to a respecter of persons. At a time Nigeria is groaning under the suffocating grip of ravaging corruption which has festered because culprits are hardly punished, the need to entrench the rule of law and the willingness of all, regardless of status or standing in society, to submit totally to it for the public good is overwhelming.
In the context of the expectation of change, the rule of law should rank high in the arsenal of the Buhari administration. Therefore, violation of basic parliamentary procedures by the president and his appointees, especially the extant provisions of the Constitution, remains worrisome. With tacit support of the presidency, and in ways that deepen the irregularity of their assumption of duty, nominees appointed to head parastatals reportedly initiated policies and disbursed funds from the parastatals they are supposed to head even before they were screened by the Senate. The laws setting up the institutions in reference provide that such appointees by the president must be confirmed by the Senate before they can assume office. Moreover, since Buhari sought Senate confirmation for the appointments, it was only proper that the process take its course. It was a dangerous precedent and a costly oversight for the said appointees to assume office in clear violation of statutory procedures.
To avoid this unpleasant scenario, nominees to positions where public officials expend public funds must be confirmed by the Senate, in line with the provisions of extant laws and the 1999 Constitution. Therefore, the presidency must not only respect the rule of law and follow due process; it should be seen to do so judiciously. It bears emphasizing that democracy and its institutions are strengthened if the rule of law is observed by custodians of state institutions. The executive must be diligent and the legislature, as the gut of democracy, must exercise their independence for the good of the country.
The tragedy of Nigeria is that its leaders are yet to imbibe the essential attributes of the rule of law. For them, law is no more than a modern tool of fulfilling their political dreams and aspirations. Once due process is jinxed, rule of law takes a back seat. It gives way to an obnoxious philosophy, negative as it were, that makes holders of public office unaccountable and beyond reproach. This pernicious concept inures for all time and purposes with the result that a leader and his cronies invariably get away with atrocities committed while in office. The result on society is a pandemic of impunity and lawlessness.
