By Onochiengwu Obuna Esq.

Man’s mind has always been agitated on how best to govern and be governed. Throughout the history of governance, various forms, types, or systems of Government have come and gone. Such forms, types or systems of government like Oligarchy, Gerontocracy, Aristocracy, Despotism, Totalitarianism, Colonialism, Fascism, Nazism and Socialism have been relegated to the waste bin due to their unpopular nature while in some few place, theocracy or monarchy still exists in their reformed, refined or modernized nature. There was a time when Military rule was in vogue especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Coup d’état and counter coup d’état were prevalent then. Military juntas usually seize power forcefully under the pretence of corruption, incompetence or insecurity.

When the Military System of Government became unpopular all over the world due to it draconian, tyrannical or dictatorial nature, there were overwhelming outcry against it from all quarters. Popular revolts, yearnings, clamour and agitations to civil rule or democratic governance became common place especially in Nigeria which experienced her first military coup on 15th January, 1966 that lasted for 13 years in the first instance from 1966 – 1979.

The second stage between 1983 – 1993, the third stage between 1994 – 1999 Nigeria became weary of Military Administration after about a total of 39 years of horrifying and terrifying experience and came to the conclusion that the best Military Administration is worse than the worst civilian administration or democracy.

Democratic system of government or Democracy has been traced to the Ancient Greek City State. It ensures or entails the participation in governance by every eligible adult males. As the Greek population increased, some reforms followed suit and participation in governance became by selection or election of qualified citizens in representative capacity periodically.

Democracy has been defined by Abraham Lincoln as government of the people, by the people and for the people. As well, some political scientists have defined Democracy as that representative government that is characterized by popular participation and the principles of egalitarianism. Democracy can be said to be direct or indirect.

There are also four variants of democracies like representative democracy, constitutional democracy monitoring democracy and people’s democracy.

Nigeria had practiced the British Model of Democracy from 1960 – 1966, and also started the American Model under 1979 Constitution between 1979 to 1983.

The Supreme Law of the land, the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, which is the ground norm structured the 36 Federating States in such a way that every State have to send into the upper legislative chambers in Abuja three senators. The three Senatorial Zones in Enugu State are namely, Enugu East Senatorial Zone, Enugu West Senatorial Zone and Enugu North Senatorial Zone. This means that with respect to representation in the Senate every State in Nigeria is said to be standing on a tripod.

The present day practice of democracy in Enugu State started in 1999 about 23 years ago when Senator Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani was elected the Executive Governor of the State. The then young Governor went into a voyage of discovery of talented men and women with great potentials in every nook and cranny of the State and kept them under tutelage with respect to State Craftsmanship. This crop of experienced political elites later metamorphosed into what may be called EBEANO POLITICAL BUREAU STANDING COMMITTEE in the State of Nigeria.

It is the strong believe and resolve of the Ebeano Political Bureau Standing Committee that Enugu State must succeed that necessitated their entrenchment of “ROTATIONAL TRIANGULAR EQUILIBRIUM in the Political landscape of the State. ROTATIONAL TRIANGULAR EQUILIBRIUM simply means “turn by turn” government which entails equitable sharing of key government positions amongst the three senatorial component of the State” – the East, the West and the North. It is correct to say that what has been established in the political landscape of the state under this convention or gentleman’s agreement include the following:

Rotational fairness
Rotational equity
Rotational equality
Rotational Justice
I strongly believe in and cherish this type of gentleman’s agreement or understanding because:

It has eliminated friction and mutual suspicion amongst the three senatorial zones as the issue of where the next Governor will come from or which senatorial zone occupies which key position is already pre-determined.
It gives every senatorial zone the opportunity to contribute in the development of the State.
It makes every senatorial zone to have a genuine sense of belonging.
It has killed the issue of marginalization in the State which is the bane of the problems of Nigeria as a country.
It created the enabling environment for grass root and even development of every parts of the State.
It gives any senatorial zone whose turn it is to produce, the next governor the opportunity to (in consultation with an leader of the EBEANO POLITICAL BUREAU STANDING COMMITTEE), select the best among its top elites to stand in for the next general election.
Selection + Election = Democratic Meritocracy.

It promotes peaceful co-existence and mutual respect for every zone as no senatorial zone is taken for granted.
It enhances orderliness in the State.
The State has made significant achievements politically and economically in many ways which cannot be overemphasized. Some of these achievements as a result of this unique political convention and understanding or agreement among the political elites for about 23 years now are as follows:

i. Grassroot distribution of dividends of democracy in terms of massive infrastructural development as well as human capacity building.

ii. Enugu State is rated the best economy in the South East. The fifth best economy in Nigeria despite the fact that it is not an oil producing state – National Bureau of Statistics 2020.
iii. The extent and quality of popular participation in government is very high and quite commendable.

iv. Responsible and responsive governance. It is people oriented, respects and responds to public opinion and demands.

v. The Government in the State has been able to carry along and incorporate social groups, the students, the youths, the women, the physically challenged etc.
Apart from holding numerous key positions by women, the present Deputy Governor is of the female gender.

vi. The organization of power of government in the State is in a way that the principles of separation of power is really maintained with check and balances which has ensured a harmonious relationship among the three arms of government.

vii. Easy access to justice through the judiciary by creating many more judicial divisions equipped with digital facilities.

viii. Rights of the citizens are recognized and effectively protected.

ix. The agricultural policy and achievement is one of the best in the country.

x. Political party autonomy and harmonious relation is guaranteed in the State. Members of the opposition parties are equally given the opportunity to serve in government.

xi. The most peaceful State in Nigeria is Enugu State. The Governor His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi noted for his diplomatic approach to politics has been conferred with the best peaceful Governor in Nigeria award on 27th January, 2022.

It is very unfortunate and disheartening that some people never see anything good in anything especially those who want to govern by all means at all costs. They are the group that say that the present convention and orderliness in the political system is “undemocratic”. They have also called for a “paradigm shift”.

I have been able to interact with most of them and discovered that:

Some of them do not understand the term paradigm shift which they have confused it with mere shortchanging Enugu East Senatorial Zone so that Enugu West Senatorial Zone will be able to produce the next governor of the State under this same platform in the next general election.

According to them the rotational orderliness can be disordered. They just want to introduce political quagmire and cataclysm in the system which they know won’t be possible.

Secondly, these few disgruntled elements later come up with an alternative theory that the present arrangement is undemocratic and should be jettisoned or abandoned. They went further to argue that it should no longer be the turn of any senatorial zone to select any person from the party as the party flag bearer in the next general elections. This is very laughable because:

It is very clear that they see election into public office as another opportunity to make quick money rather than a call to selfless service.
It is also very clear that they have no morality in politics as they are seeking to destroy the system that they have benefited from in the past.
They want to become the Governor of the State but age will not be on their side by the time it rotates to their senatorial zone.
I have not seen anything undemocratic with the convention in the State.

The simple truth is that democracy has variants or variation as it is some they fashioned designed or evolved in such a way that it reflects the language, culture or civilization of a particular people. The American type of Democracy is slightly different from the British type of democracy. Likewise, the French version is also different from the two even though all the Western democracies. The Chinese have what they call people democracy or democratic meritocracy which the West said is undemocrative, authoritarian, autocratic, evil and illegitimate.

Concerning the legitimacy of the Chinese government, it is explained in this way. China is indeed a unique country called a civilizational state which means combination of the worlds modern stage. Another phrase to describe this kind of stage is to call it an amalgamation of hundreds of States into one over its long history with a language that dates back to 3,500. In other words, China is a combination of its old history.

China has been governed under what it called a unified ruling entity. What is more important behind this ruling entity is what they call meritocracy. China invented what is now called civil servant Examination System. So that is how this tradition has continued to this day. There is also the meritocracy of the whole system, which they call the selection. Selection first, to be a member of the Political Bureau standing committee minimal requirements is to govern at least hundreds of millions of people, before coming to this position of membership of the political bureau standing committee.

This is extremely demanding so the Chinese describe their system as “Selection + Election”. A Chinese Scholar Zhang Weiwei in his debate in Nexus Conference said “my goodness, you know George W. Bush and Donald Trump are away below the Chinese Bar. Too low.

Concerning why China succeeded and the East European countries or USSR failed in many ways, he argued that they started on different platforms. From the very early on, the East European leaders and the Soviet Leader like Gorbachev believed blindly in the Western Democracy or swallowed it hook line and sinker. We talk about globalization in the Western Context, it is about liberalization, marketization, democratization, etc.

For the Chinese leaders like Deng Xiaoping, he is very clear, “we will only embrace economic liberalization, not political liberalization. The Chinese leadership rejected categorically the Western political system. Categorically. According to him that mean all the difference later on, China succeeded. The USSR failed, other East European countries failed.

In his book, the Chinese Model: Political meritocracy and the limits of democracy, Daniel A. Bell stated that Westerners tend to divide the world into “good” democracies and “bad” authoritarian regimes.

But the Chinese political model does not fit neatly into either category. That over the past three decades, China has evolved a political meritocracy. The China model seeks to understand the ideals and the reality of this unique political system. How do the ideals of political meritocracy set the standard for everlasting political progress (and regress) in China?

How can China avoid the disadvantages of political meritocracy? And how can political meritocracy best be combined with Democracy? Daniel Bell answers these questions and more.

Opening with a critique of “one person, one vote” as a way of choosing top leaders, Bell argues that the very flaws of electoral democracy. He discusses the advantages and pitfills of political meritocracy, distinguishes between different ways of combing meritocracy and democracy, and argues that China has a model of Democratic Meritocracy that is morally desirable and politically stable.

Bell summarizes and evaluates the Chinese model meritocracy at the top, experimentation in the middle and democracy at the bottom – and its implications for the rest of the world. According to Winston Churchill, democracy is the worst system of government when there is no better option. The Chinese democratic meritocracy could prove to be the most important political development of the twenty first century.

The import of discussing extensively on the Chinese model of democracy is to show that:

Western Democracy of America, Britain and France are not in any way superior to the Chinese model which is even more stable with an economy now stronger than that of the USA.
Democracy is unique to peoples, depending on their circumstances of language, culture and civilization.
Most importantly, there is nothing undemocratic about the “Rotational Triangular Equilibrium” being practiced in Enugu State by the convention and gentlemen’s’ agreement in the ruling party which has performed very well for the past 23 years and needs continuity especially in 2023 next general election when it will be the turn of Enugu East Senatorial Zone to select their choice candidate on the advice of the leader to stand in and compete with other candidates filled in by other political parties.
This will act as a score card or a litmus test for the ruling party especially now that free and fair election is the tradition in Enugu State.

Just like in the Chinese Democratic Meritocracy where seasoned, tested and trusted Political Bureau Members are selected to stand in for election, the candidate to be selected from Enugu East Senatorial Zone will be someone who has mastered the art of governance as it were in the case of selection of former Government Sullivan Chime and the present Governor, Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Onochiengwu Obuna Esq.

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