‘Anocracy’ is a potential catalyst for political unrest, insecurity, more [mass] murder in the middle [MMM], corruption, lawlessness, illicit financial flow [IFF]. Statistics show that ‘anocracies’ are ten times more likely to experience intrastate conflict than democracies, and twice as likely as autocracies.
Despite its popular usage, anocracy lacks a precise definition.’ Anocratic’ regimes are loosely defined as part democracy and part dictatorship, or as a “regime that mixes democratic with autocratic features.” Another definition classifies ‘anocracy’ as “a regime that permits some means of participation through opposition group behavior but that has incomplete development of mechanisms to redress grievances”.
Scholars have also distinguished ‘anocracies’ from autocracies and democracies in their capability to maintain authority, political dynamics, and policy agendas. Similarly, these regime types have democratic institutions that allow for nominal amounts of competition. These regime types are particularly susceptible to outbreaks of armed conflict and unexpected or adverse changes in leadership.
According to Business Insider, an MP in Sweden earns $78,000 a year — and while this might seem like a lot, it is only “about two times more than that of an elementary school teacher” in the country.
To put in proper context, $78,000 [N23.9m] — which a Swedish MP gets in a year — is less than what a Nigerian senator gets as running cost for two months. The senator gets $44,052.86 a month and $88,105.72 in two months.
This does not include official cars, furniture allowance, hardship allowance, welcome package, severance package, and the many more allowances hidden from the public. Nigeria’s outgoing 8th National Assembly has allocated to themselves over N23.7 billion as severance allowance and gratuity, while the poor electorates are made to sweat, toiled and suffered in the midst of plenty!
Boko Haram Terrorists [BHT] insurgency in the north eastern states of Nigeria which comprises of; Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States had led to the maiming and killing of over 20,000 people and left an estimated 2.1 million people fleeing their homes and become refugee in neighboring Lake Chad countries of; Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
In 2017, 894 people were killed while in 2018, there was increased to 1,814 people killed. Nigeria’s insecurity casualty has continued to rise according to a recent insecurity data release from Nigeria Police. “Crime statistics indicate that between January to April 2019, a total of 685 persons have been kidnapped across the country.”
“Of this figure, 546 which represent 79.8 percent of the national total were recorded in the three Northern geo-political zones with the North West where 365 persons were reportedly kidnapped within the period.”
“The figure followed by the North Central geo-political zone where 154 persons were kidnapped. It’s pertinent that Zamfara state has the highest national kidnapped rate of 283 victims in what has been directly linked to the activities of armed bandits in the state.”
“In relation to banditry, a total of 175 incidents were reported between January to April 2019 with Zamfara state recording the highest incidents of 104 followed by Katsina state with 21 and Sokoto with 19 reported cases.” The North [East, Central and West] remain the highest and unprecedented.
The country also remains the poverty-capital of the world, with over 91 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty level. Six Nigerians receding to poverty level in every 30 minute as they earned less than $2 dollars a day. “About 152 million Nigerians live on less than $2 a day, representing about 80 per cent of the country’s estimated 190 million population” – the African Development Bank said. Nigeria presently has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world of over 13.2 million children after India and Afghanistan.
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo was neck deep in ‘Anocractic’ system of government during his third term agenda, where he threw democratic governance in to the wind and embarked on anti democratic and autocratic system of governance by coercing, intimidating, harassing and defaming his political opponents that did not key in to his ‘ill-fated’ third term agenda ambition, using Economic and Financial Crimes Commission [EFCC] and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission [ICPC].
Also, former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan also tried to subvert the outcome of 2015 presidential election which he lost by using massive ‘vote-buying’ scheme [retail corruption] to induce electoral officials to manipulate the results.
Nigeria has really not been in the ‘democratic’ governance league due to it’s non-transparency in governance and this has cost the state a whopping $400 billion lost to theft, corruption, illicit financial flow [IFF]. With recent discovery of N82 billion Abacha Loot in Channel Island ‘safe haven’, Nigeria will continue reel in ocean of ‘Anocratic’ system of government devoid of transparency and a catalyst for insecurity, violence, strife and electoral conflicts.
Nigeria transition from autocracy to anocracy and anocracy to ‘pretentious and presumed’ democracy, electoral conflicts, violence, killings, more murder in the regions, unemployment, and eventually a looming human catastrophic revolution remains the order of the day!
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