Comparing Democratic Progress: Ghana vs. Nigeria’s Challenges

Professor Sylvester Odion-Akhaine asserts that Ghana has advanced its democracy in contrast to Nigeria’s stagnation. He highlights Ghana’s institutional strength in electoral processes compared to Nigeria’s persistent issues of electoral fraud, human rights violations, ethnic strife, and financial mismanagement. Odion-Akhaine calls for significant reforms to revitalize Nigeria’s democratic integrity.

Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, a distinguished Professor of Political Science and Human Rights Activist, articulates that Ghana has made considerable strides in establishing its democracy over the past two decades, in contrast to Nigeria. He emphasizes that Ghana has focused on institutional building, resulting in noticeable improvements in its electoral process, while Nigeria has failed to achieve similar efficacy.

Odion-Akhaine underscores that the Ghanaian Electoral Commission, Judiciary, and Security Agencies exhibit strong institutional integrity, demonstrating their resilience and professionalism in overseeing electoral matters. During his presentation at the 103rd Inaugural Lecture of the Lagos State University, he remarked on the need for empirical approaches to reshape democracy in the face of challenges within Africa.

Drawing comparisons, he highlighted Ghana’s democratic transition marked by peaceful transfers of power between major political parties since 2000, while Nigeria has witnessed only a single transfer of power, from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2015. He identifies Nigeria’s ongoing democratic stagnation as symptomatic of deep-rooted issues.

Odion-Akhaine attributes Nigeria’s democratic failures to four primary factors: the perpetuation of non-transparent elections, widespread human rights abuses, divisive ethnic politics, and rampant mismanagement of public resources. He notes that Nigeria’s elections have often been marred by fraud, breaching the fundamental democratic principle of consent.

He observed that the political landscape has been plagued by violence, including politically motivated killings, with various administrations since 1999 failing to uphold human rights. Furthermore, issues of ethnic identity continue to influence electoral outcomes, while misapplication of public funds has stymied economic growth, diverting resources from essential development to excessive public expenditure.

In summary, Nigeria faces significant challenges to its democratic progress compared to Ghana, which has shown robust institutional development and an improved electoral process. Underlying issues such as electoral fraud, human rights violations, ethnic division, and financial mismanagement must be addressed to facilitate genuine democratic growth in Nigeria. The insights provided by Sylvester Odion-Akhaine spotlight the need for substantial reforms to enhance Nigeria’s political landscape.

Original Source: businessday.ng