We The People...

Imagine a democratic nation where the majority rules, and the constitution exists to protect the people it’s written for.

Imagine a functional executive that doesn’t overreach.

Imagine a legislature that prioritizes its constituents over its own power.

Imagine an independent judiciary, free from executive influence.

If you can imagine this, you imagine a nation at least on the path to productivity.

It’s been twenty-six years since we embraced democracy, so I understand we are young in this experiment. But over two decades of a shared reality involving more than a hundred million people is enough time to gain perspective, and act accordingly.

When we became a democracy, we were given a constitution binding us together as citizens under the law. It lays out our rights and limitations, equally applicable to leaders and citizens alike.

Most notably, the constitution opens with the iconic phrase, “We the People…”, drafted by Gouverneur Morris, who replaced “we the states” with “we the people”…a distinction that ensures power remains with the people, not the states, the ideal concept of governance, replacing the rule of kings and conquerors, imposing their laws of convenience, on the people.

What is power? Striped off all the social images or definitions, power is simply, the ability to do.

What is a nation without its people? Or institutions without the people? Who are leaders without the people? The answer will always be nothing. Because when nations take actions, it’s individuals taking action in the name of the nation. A nation doesn't have the ability to act.

We must remember that nations, states, and institutions are abstractions. They cannot wield power independently. They exist only because the people give them form and function. The office of the president exists only because someone occupies it; without citizens, the office itself is meaningless. And the same logic applies to the constitution.

The constitution is not some magical tool that works on its own. It only functions when we, the people, agree to live by it, when we honor the rights it grants to each other. 

We award these rights to each other, and to the extent the government takes them, is to the extent we let it happen. 

Our constitution is often criticized as unfair. Most criticism focuses on the imbalance of executive power, and I agree. But I cannot ignore how we flagrantly abuse one another daily by failing to uphold the sections that affect us directly, our Fundamental Rights. We either turn a blind eye to these violations or actively participate in them. Yet somehow, we believe we will magically produce the perfect government.

We all hope for that perfect leader to turn things around and ironically look to politicians hoping there’s one amongst them to fix this, and in over two decades, we’re still looking, forgetting the system itself only works if we apply it. 

It’s  easy really to blame politicians for the mess we find ourselves in, they are the leaders driving us off a cliff. But I really reserve my disappointment to the judiciary. 

Consider this: a country where the minimum wage is 70,000 Naira per month, the average, high-ranking civil servant earns 400,000 Naira, yet federal judges take home 5 million Naira monthly. And they do so while failing the citizens they are paid to serve, especially now, thanks to the new tax reforms. Too often, they look the other way as corruption spreads, or worse, align with the highest bidder.

Without a functional judicial system, how can this nation ever progress if the very custodians of our laws disregard them with no consequence? Why maintain a judicial system if it fails those it serves? 

Politicians at least pretend to legislate, but judges, whose duty is to uphold the law, and who are paid heavily to protect its integrity, have become a costly emblem of complacency. The 300% salary increase in 2023 was not reform. It was failure rewarded.

Now, as new tax reforms pass and citizens brace for increased financial pressure, complacency is no longer sustainable. It is one thing to mismanage oil and gas revenue. It is another to directly tax citizens while public trust continues to erode. One can only hope those in power understand the implications of that reality before it is too late…at least for self-preservation.

Sadly, while the younger generation clings to the hope that things will improve once the boomers are gone, I see even older millennials following the same path laid out before them and if they “succeed”, and by succeed, I mean enrich themselves within the same broken system,  the incentive to preserve that system only strengthens. Success, in this context, does not dismantle the rot; it perpetuates it.

Corruption never truly rewards anyone. A functional society can only be built when we come together in the name of country, not tribe, religion, or political affiliation. We must exchange ideas. Trade with one another. Create spaces outside of work and worship where we can collaborate and build.

Start sports leagues for our children.

Hold exhibitions.

Organize events that stimulate both social and economic growth.

The government is not a tangible being. It will not save us.

But we can.

And we will.