America, which is the policeman of this world and the melting pot of all human races, is the bastion of democracy or representative government. Its democracy, which has lasted for centuries, has evolved, over the years, to become better, stronger, and more resilient. But the provenance of democracy is Athens, Greece, which is the home country of the great political philosopher, Socrates. The people(s) of America whose forebears were migrants chose the democratic type of government, and adapted it to suit the country?s religious, racial, and cultural diversities.

But what is democracy? Simply put, it means majority rule. But Abraham Lincoln, who was a onetime president of America, defined democracy as ?the government of the people by the people and for the people.? In a democratic state, the majority of the people determine how they will be governed through their representatives, who occupy governmental posts at the different tiers of government. That is why it is said that sovereignty rests with the people.

All over the world, democracy is touted as the best form of government. In contrast, military regimes are viewed as either illegitimate governments or aberrations. And countries with military governments are treated as pariah states, and severe sanctions are imposed on them to compel their leaders to democratize their countries.

Despite the fact that military rulers, who are usurpers and interlopers in constitutional governments, are treated with disdain, the wave of military coups is sweeping through the West African sub-region. Countries like Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso are under military rule. The military takeovers happening in African countries constitute a setback to the deepening of democracy on the African continent.

But can a military regime be as good as a civilian government? It is generally believed that the worst civilian government is better than the most benevolent military regime. Military regimes are not desirable and acceptable because military rulers put the constitution into abeyance, and rule with decrees. The suspension of a country?s constitution can lead to the violation of the people?s inalienable fundamental human rights.

In Nigeria, a country that had more than its fair share of military rule, the drafting of a decree, which had a retroactive effect, caused the deaths of three drug couriers in the mid 1980s. The killing of those drug traffickers by the Muhammadu Buhari-led military junta outraged Nigerians and non-Nigerians. The successive military governments we had in Nigeria despoiled our economy and stalled our country?s democratic evolution and growth.

Thankfully, democratic governance was restored in Nigeria in 1999. And since then, we have been witnessing the transfer of the baton of political leadership from one political party to another, without the country descending into an anarchic situation. But it is saddening and incredible that the political leaders we have had since the inception of the fourth republic in Nigeria fluffed the opportunities given to them to turn around our fortunes and remake Nigeria. Consequently, Nigeria is trapped, helplessly, in the cesspit of national underdevelopment.

But no country can grow beyond the aspirations, dreams, and visions of its political leaders. A nexus exists between a country?s level of development and the quality of leadership obtainable in that country as exemplified by the Singaporean and Malaysian examples. Only political leaders with leadership qualities, patriotism, political ideologies, and probity can remake their countries and take them to the pinnacle of technological and economic advancement.

But it should be noted that the emergence of political leaders in a country, whether they are good political leaders or not, is a function of the democratic culture of that country. In Nigeria, we have a variant of democratic culture that is egregiously flawed. Election malpractice, which encompasses ballot box snatching, alteration of collated election results, and giving of inducement to voters, is deeply entrenched and ingrained in our despicable variant of democratic culture. Election violence is part of our democratic culture, too.

As a result, those who occupy exalted political posts in all tiers of government are not the electoral choices of the electorate. And they are invariably incompetent. Those occupants of political offices in Nigeria, who are destitute of positive morality code, political ideologies, and leadership qualities, are our third eleven politicians. They rose to political prominence owing to the subversion of the people?s political will and electoral choices, which is made possible by our egregious variant of political culture. The subversion of our political will and electoral choices is the bane of our politics.

Nigeria should take a leaf out of America?s political book, although the American political system is not wholly perfect. But the products of their elections are true reflections of the electoral choices of the American people. They?re not imposed leaders. In America, matters like the state of the economy, immigration laws, foreign policies, sexual orientation and preferences, abortion, and others shape the electioneering discourses. So the electorate will cast their votes based on the political candidates? opinions on matters of national importance and significance.

Again, during an election in the US, nobody will be disenfranchised on the grounds that the time for the election coincided with his or her work hours. Diasporic voting is permissible there, too. And unlike Nigeria where the deployment of technology constitutes a hindrance to making the election hitch-free, free, and fair, the use of technology in America for the conduct of elections enhances the credibility of the elections.

The election of Donald Trump as the 47th president of America, his notoriety and character flaws, notwithstanding, is a testament to the fact that the American electoral system is functional, efficient, and incorruptible. The American presidential election result is a true reflection of the political will and electoral choices of Americans, who come from diverse social, cultural, political, and racial backgrounds.

So unless and until we get our politics right, Nigeria will continue to wander in the desert of underdevelopment; and Nigerians will not cease to wonder why Nigeria is stuck in the quagmire of economic stagnation and technological backwardness. Evolving democratic recruitment processes, which are not manipulable, will lead to the emergence of political leaders in Nigeria, who are competent, scrupulous, and patriotic.

And only a visionary, scrupulous, competent, knowledgeable, and broad-minded national leader can fix our country?s diverse problems, entrench unity in Nigeria, and place it on the irreversible path of economic growth and technological advancement.

?Chiedu Uche Okoye, a poet, writes from Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State. He can be reached via 08062220654 and 09125204141

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