By – Nnamdi Maduabuchi

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines democracy as “government by the people” or more robustly “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections”. In the real world, it is a relatively common system of government; most world powers practice it, from the United States to Britain, France, Spain, and most of Europe.

In the modern age, democracy more often than not takes the form of indirect representation.  From the Parliaments of Britain to America’s House of Representatives, and even closer to home, in Nigeria’s House of Representatives, elected few are vested with the responsibility to represent as many. However good representative democracy is, we often see it lead to the emergence of a political class, exercising power and authority on behalf of the people.

From the American government’s refusal to withdraw their support of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, to a government that believes that a new national anthem is the most pressing issue the country is facing right now, all these show a disconnect between the leaders and the people. This is not to say that democracy is all over bad.

Coming to UI

The University of Ibadan Students’ Union Constitution vests the General Meeting of the Union (Congress) with the final say on any matter in Article XIV (b). And with the Congress consisting of all the members of the Union, this means functionally, that the UI’SU is a democratic body, or rather makes use of democracy.

Union leaders are empowered by the people to exercise power on their behalf, to do things like promoting their welfare and being at the forefront of the struggles facing students. But once again, like we see when we look at the wider politics, a sudden disconnection between the people and the leaders exist.

Take as an example the matter of fee increment. The decision taken by the Congress held towards the end last session was clear; ‘mass action’ was needed to address the cardinal issue of increment on campus. Yet, we have seen no effort being made in that direction. The new Students’ Union seems to be following the footsteps of the old, holding discussions and meetings in the absence of the people who are affected and coming afterwards to inform them of whatever decision may have been made. An act, whether intentional or not, ends up disenfranchising the people and silencing their voices.

Discussing democracy at the University of Ibadan, attention needs to be paid to the dynamics within its community. Unlike countries, whose government exists as the sole authorities who answer to no one but themselves, the governing body of the students, the Union, exists within and under the influence of the school’s management. The Union is asymmetric to the management, who seemingly has the ultimate power and say (obviously not democracy) within the school community, holding seemingly the greatest sanction of ending one’s studentship in their hands. The talk about democracy would never be complete without talking about the inflexible relationship that exists between the two of them.

Of course, it should be quite clear to anyone who thinks about it that there exists an undemocratic relationship between the Union and the school management. The management makes decisions that affect the Union without taking into account what the Union has to say. It should be understood that democracy does not mean only the presence of elections. The United Nations outlined in 2002 that freedom of association, expression or opinion, periodic elections, separation of powers, transparency and accountability in public administration among others are democratic tendencies.

In the relationship between the Union and the University Management, even apart from the lack of election process, there is no transparency or accountability in the administration, and with the recent arrest of students who were protesting the recent increase in fees, it is clear that there is also no freedom of expression. This undemocratic relationship sometimes exists between the management and the student elected in Halls and Faculties.

The student community however seems to have a more democratic structure regardless, with the flourishing of many LPOs across the campus space, which openly criticize and evaluate those who have put themselves forward to lead the students.  They ensure that the leaders remain transparent in their administration, keeping them to their word. The importance of press freedom to any form of democracy cannot be overemphasized.

Separation of powers is also heavily present at all levels of the student community, with many faculties having both executive and a legislative arm. One missing link in Nigeria’s democracy is the judicial arm, lacking collectively across all levels within the school community.