The role of violence in the speedy resolution of conflict in a corrupt democracy/society

The objective of this article/ study is to seek to understand the critical role played by violence in th speedy resolution or readjustment of government towards equitable representation or conflict resolution in a corrupt democracy or society as the case may be.

For the purpose of this study/article, the definition of violence shall be limited to any act that is used by an oppressed to force the oppressor to do that which he/she originally refused to do. E.g Protest,Strike,Mass revolt or rebellion, etc.

Democracy is government of the people,by the people and for the people. Based on the above definition, its expected that there would be adequate representation of the interest of the people in a democracy. Its expected that there would be adequate constitutional infrastructure to address every form of grievances should the case arise in a democratic society.

However when the said society begin to loose grip of efficiency/effectiveness in the sytem,when the integrity of it system becomes compromised and the people begin to see outright injustice perpetrated by a few and nothing seem to be done to correct the situation, when crime becomes the order of the day and security of life and property becomes an imagination and no longer a fundamental right;when fundamentalism and extremism becomes a common phenomenon and the arm of the law is broken in matters of enforcement as it concerns the privileged yet strong when it concerns the weak;then we can categorically say that corruption abounds and the main moral fabric of that society,the conscience of that society has been eroded.

In such a situation, jungle justice becomes the order of the day,greedy negotiations and settlement becomes the norm; at the expense of the weak. It becomes man know man and dog eat dog. Its a kill or be killed scenario and in such a case, the common man is left to defend the gate of his hut,provide all basic amenities for him/herself. Alliances are formed to protect territories. This is the time when armies are raised while the generality of the populace live in denial that there is a similitude of a society. Anarchy blooms but few understand the rhythmic echo of boiling hearts presumed as silence; that threaten that society.

In history, we can clearly identify the above scenario as a basic format for uprising. From the racial crises of the mid 20th century in America to the Aparthide regime of South Africa, the oppressor of the people always ignored a called for change simple because the call came from the presumed weak of the society.

Recently it happened in Tunisia,Egypt,Libya and Yemen. The people cried for change but the government won't listen. The government of the above countries played hide and seek with the cry of the common man, such that even when the day was breaking on them, they were too preoccupied with their knowledge to the presumed weakness of the masses that they never read or understood the hand writing on the wall.

Corruption has a way of impressing on a person an over bloated idea of invisibility. This is true in all the cases mentioned above. A government/society deep in corruption never see its end even when its at the door. In the face of a presumed weak population,a corrupt government exhibits arrogance,they elements in such government seem to believe the are untouchables. The rule instead of leading. The barrel of the gun remains in the shadow of such administration. "The are gods and everyone else is a subject"

Unfortunately,the systemic hold of corruption on the society seem to allow the truth elude the authorities forgetting that the sustainability of their life style is only possible when there is "peace".

When a people loose faith and respect for their institutions, when a people loose the fear of death, when death is de mystified, then doom becomes almost inevitable.

Nigeria is a country of over 160 million people. We have gone through all the above mentioned points in the last 12 years.

Crime in Nigeria only gets punished when it concerns the poor and weak, negotiations are ongoing but never on matters that affect the people positively. Death grace the street of major cities. Maternal morality persist. Unemployment is beyond calculation, rape cases are casually discarded. Power supply is almost non existent, security is a reserve of the rich. Education is almost worthless,dilapidated infrastructure. Over bloated cost of governance,failed health system,etc.

Regardless of the above,there seem to be a few who live fat,very secure,children well educated,they get the best health care around the world,enjoy the best of the world in the worst of the system at the expense of the people. The unfortunate thing is that the lie to the faces of the masses;it has become a clear case of rape them and spit on their faces and nothing would happen. The government clothed in the garment of legitimacy of the ballot box yet undermine the interest of Nigerians year in year out without thought of the possible consequences or repercussion of their actions.

From the executive to the legislature down to the judiciary,there seem to be a joint effort to undermine the intelligence of the Nigeria people while they political class parade themselves as acting in the interest of the masses yet for over 12 yrs,the actions unbehalf of the masses never seem to yield any positive or meaningful results either in the power sector or in job creation programs.

With all the unproductive programs and the endless cry of the Nigeria people for change,they political class seem to ignore the call for change and dialogue for better development.

In Nigeria, there is glaring absence of trust between the government and the people. The people believe the government is incompetent,weak and unable to live up to her basic function of providing security for lives and properties.

The events of 1st- 13th Jan 2012 further reveal that silence is not weakness or stupidity and when the people get to the point where they feel there's nothing to loose, violence would erupt.

In understanding the role of violence in the speedy resolution of conflict in a corrupt democracy,we need to understand why the erstwhile reluctant government; the one that neglected hearing the cry of the people, would suddenly seek dialogue at the outbreak of violence.

For corruption to thrive,there is need for 2 things, a system and a form for calmness often mistaken as peace.

Corruption thrives on oppression, you keep a people docile and almost incapacitated then you loot and scare them so no one can speak up. This is the way it works, from Tunisia to Egypt to Libya and Yemen. The people were silenced and the system kept running.

You cannot loot when there is crises, you need a simlitude of a system to keep awarding contracts that yield no results, you need a calm system to fund a police that can't do its job. You need a calm system to feed the President for 3 million Naira daily and water his garden with 200 million Naira annually . That is why corrupt governments would do anything to keep calm without solving the problem.

Look at the case of Nigeria again,people protested the removal of fuel subsidy, the government after many days reduced the pump price and promised to make changes, one of such change was cutting basic salaries by 25 percent. This meets our earlier discussed point that corrupt governments always keep the wheel running with seemingly executing people oriented programs without really addressing the core issues. They insult the intelligence of the people and spit on our faces afterwards.

The ignore court orders but when the masses do same they cry foul as in the case of Pdp's refusal to honour court order stopping conduct of Pdp primaries in Bayelsa State while the same Pdp led government cried foul that Nigeria Labour Congress is flaunting a court order not to go on strike.

It is important to understand the role played by violence is such that it threatens the continuous existence of the system which is the bases of peddling corruption by the political class. As seen in the case of Niger delta crises, the people of Niger delta asked for resource control,the government ignored them,obviously weak and dejected they'll say. They government killed and sort to silenced their leaders till their earlier presumed weak sons took up arms since there was obviously no reason to live, they killed and destroyed oil installations, they government was threatened or should we say the loot was threatened, the government called for dialogue; the same dialogue which the people sort and you ignored them.

The same goes for many groups across the world. Corrupt governments often neglect the cry for dialogue by the people till the people take up arms. It is shameful and unthinkable that corrupt governments only listen when they bane of their wellbeing is threatened. Its a shame that Mubarak of Egypt,Moammar Gadaffi of Libya etc had room to step down peacefully but refused. Its a shame that the same scenario plays out over and over again but our leaders never see the hand writing on the wall.

Violence is fast becoming the last tool used by the common man to be heard by corrupt oppressive government. Dialogue is often termed the best way to avoid conflict but corrupt democracy and leadership are fast proving that wrong by continuously neglecting the call for change while hypocitically parading empty programs in the name of SURE/transformation agenda.

Intelligent governments heed the cry of their people by truly doing what is needful to restore trust between the people and the government. In the Nigeria case, the cry is against corruption in all arms and tiers of government, infrastructural development, reduction of cost of governance,provision of basic amenities, job creation etc.

The Nigerian state should not have to wait till violence becomes the only tool used to get government to listen. The government should be proactive and act responsible. Cut waste,its unthinkable and an act of gross irresponsibility for a president to spend almost N1billion on feeding in a year. Its shameful to imagine cost of maintaining the garden is more than the annual allocation to some fed government owned universities or academic institutions in Nigeria. We don't have to mention the cost of fuelling cars and maintaining furnitures, all these are indication of recklessness in government spending when the people are crying for basic survival programs.

The president and governors alike should listen to the people while the value of dialogue still exceeds the alphabets. Let him that has ears hear what the people of Nigeria are saying to their government.

Igonoh Godwin
Standard Assessment Team
Lagos,Nigeria.