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Shocker:Nigeria yet to ratify African
Charter on Democracy,Elections and Good Governance
By Danlami Nmodu
Newsdiaryonline Mon Sep 26, 2011
Despite Nigeria’ s vaunted democratic credentials and
the recent
pronouncements by President
Goodluck Jonathan opposing
undemocratic transfer of
power across Africa, fresh facts
have emerged to the effect
that Nigeria
has not lived up to its international obligations on the
African Charter on Democracy,Elections
and Good Governance.
Newsdiaryonline
has learnt that
Nigeria has not ratified
the charter even though it is one of the signatories.Even more,
Nigeria’s reluctance is said to be rubbing off negatively on
other countries on the continent.
A recent report within official circles which
Newsdiaryonline
stumbled upon revealed
that out of the
signatories to the charter
only five African countries have ratified
it. “By the beginning of 2009,the Charter on
Democracy,Elections and Governance had been signed by 24
member states of the African Union a follows:Benin,
Burkina Faso, Kenya,Central African Republic, Congo
–Brazzaville, Djibouti, DRC ,Ethiopia.The Gambia ,Ghana ,Guinea
Bisau, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Namibia,
Nigeria,Niger,Rwanda,Sierra Leone,Sudan,Swaziland and Togo.Out
of the 53 member states of the African Union,29 has not
yet signed the Charter by January 2009 ,after
it had been in existence for two years.’’
The report also
revealed pointedly that,
“the signatories of the Charter have been slow to ratify it. So
far ,it has only been ratified Mauritania, Ethiopia, Sierra
Leone and South Africa and just recently Ghana’’
As things stand now,the Charter is not yet a legally binding
document .The fact that only five countries have ratified it
means according to
the report
“that another 10
states have to ratify
the charter before
it becomes a legally binding document .Signing the Charter
allows a state to give the impression that it supports the
principles of democracy and good governance, but it can be
interpreted as a symbolic act, not necessarily signalling a any
real commitment. ’’
A diplomatic source told
Newsdiaryonline that
“various reports within the sub region have shown that
some of the difficulties experienced in the ratification of the
Charter come from a lack of understanding
and awareness
of what the Charter is
really about .Examples range from cases of members of parliament
not understanding the charter to internal disputes as regards
the domestication of the contents of the Charter
to generally unhurried attitude of the executive to play
it role in the ratification process.
It is also widely believed
in diplomatic circles that non-ratification
of the charter also arises
from lack of political will. A detailed
report recently compiled has highlighted why many countries have
not domesticated the charter despite their claim
democratic tenets. According to an excerpt from the report, “The
Charter clearly abhors unconstitutional change of government and
it provides for prosecution of people who forcefully take over
governments. It also restates the principle of transparency and
accountability in government and provides for the independence
of the judiciary.These are clearly the hallmarks of a document
that seeks to entrench democratic values.Once the ratification
of the ACDEG has been undertaken it has to be
domesticated into important local laws such as the national
constitutions ,electoral laws, code of conduct for
politicians ,local government bye-laws etc.This makes the charter
domestically litigable.The fear of being made to account for
ones action or inactions as the case may be for not conforming
to the provisions of the Charter
sometimes may dictate the seemingly reluctant approach of some
countries towards the ratification of the Charter..’’
And it is believed that the non ratification
of the African Charter
despite Nigeria’s
prominent position on the continent is a big drawback.In a
diplomatic correspondence recently, it was observed that “the
genuineness of the Nigerian government’s commitment to the rule
of law is further questioned by its failure to ratify the
Charter on Democracy;a document that provides a roadmap and
celebrates the principles of a rule of law state.The reluctance
of Nigeria to ratify this document is also reflective of the
lukewarm attitude
towards the Charter exhibited by leaders around Africa.’’
Newsdiaryonline
however learnt in the course of
investigation that
Honourable Bethel Amadi the first vice president of Pan African
parliament (an organ of the African Union,AU) on a recent
courtesy call on the ministry of foreign affairs
equally drew the
attention of the
ministry to the non ratification of the treaty.But the Minister
of State (11) Dr Nurudeen Muhammad in his response
assured that the
document is receiving the attention of the executive
arm of government for
onward transmission to the national assembly.
Mr Ibuchukwu Ezike, President of the Civil Liberties
Organisations, CLO said the non-ratification of the charter means
Nigeria has no
commitment to democracy.
“We urge the Nigerian government to immediately ratify
the law and domesticate
it ’’ Ezike told
Newsdiaryonline.
He concluded, "Ratification means domesticating it for
the National Assembly
to
pass it ..so that we can go to court using that law.As it is
now, no Nigerian can go to court relying on that law.”
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