What Every Citizen Should Know about Democracy

…and how to hijack it from louts.

I was trained to be apathetic towards politics because of its notoriety for corruption and the fear that I could lose my life as a vocal supporter of an unpopular party. Be that as it may, I have come to realize that one of the worst things citizens can do in any democracy is to assume the posture of passivity.

By its very nature, democracy demands that supreme power rests with the people; as such, its success is contingent upon the participation of people. ‘People’ here is not government officials or the upper class. ‘People’ is you and I, as well as those men and women who will never read this essay because they have neither the education nor resource to be on Medium.

When we choose the side of passivity in a democracy, we suggest that power is the exclusive preserve of a certain group, in which case we might as well adopt a totalitarian government.

However, they cannot sufficiently do this without feeling the pulse of the people and knowing what those interests are. Even so, that cannot happen if the people are not vocal about what their interests are. Therefore, citizen participation is crucial in any democracy.

This participation includes grassroot engagement — advocacy on specific social issues like disability inclusion or submitting ideas to locally elected officials who are generally more accessible. It includes joining a political campaign to support a prospective official whose values mirror yours. Importantly, it also includes voting — naturally, you would have to first know anyone to vote them into office.

It was upon this understanding — I believe — that Nigerians came out en masse to vote for a new president on Saturday the 25th of February, 2023.

I had never been more in love with democracy than on that day. The enthusiasm in the atmosphere was infectious and the possibilities exciting. In fact, I was one of the first people at my polling unit that morning because I couldn't wait to exercise my power. That is after already spending all week trading expectations about the election with family and friends.

Imagine my horror then when I watched videos of blatant rigging, thuggery, and violence against citizens. It was preposterous! As if that was not enough, Nigerian democracy got sucker-punched when, amidst the announcement of multiple questionable results, INEC — Nigeria's independent electoral body — announced a winner.

I would like to propose a minute of silence for the death of democracy, but that would be giving up too soon.

Almost a week later and many of us Nigerians are reeling from the shock of what played out. Many are angry and some have given up on the country altogether. Me? I’m … observing and learning that powers that be are tirelessly working to undermine our democracy. In response, the only option is to hijack it back from them.

Here’s how:

Part of people’s reluctance to politics is the level of violence it can attract, so it’s not that they don’t want to fight for the future of the country. It’s just, nobody wants to die! As such, we leave vocal citizens to do the fighting while we prod them on from behind our phones or TV screens. Because I’ve had some time to reflect on this, I’ve come to believe there’s a certain cowardice to this posture.

Truly, not everyone can be vocal, however, our decision to let others advocate for us when we’re fully capable of doing the same speaks to a severe lack of courage. If we’re lacking in something so fundamental to our survival, maybe we are unqualified for democracy.

That is why I am committed to joining other Nigerians to speak up against a clearly fraudulent election.

Another way you and I can take back our democracy is to vote. It irks me to no end when I hear people say “our votes don’t matter.” Newsflash: it does. It matters a great deal. The powers that be just want you to think otherwise so they can minimize opposition.

I learnt this profoundly during the election when I saw polling units where the winning edge for a candidate was one or two votes.

If you have an upcoming election in your state, city, or country, (wherever in the world you’re reading this from) please vote. Read up on the candidates; check their social media pages to get a sense of who they are; find out what their precedent is so you can make an informed decision on the best man or woman for the job.

Your passivity empowers louts in a democracy, and if you don’t want that, you cannot sit on the fringes and watch as things unfold. You have to lend your voice, time, and vote to create the system you want.

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