LA CALIDAD DESDE LA PERCEPCIÓN DEL CLIENTE

This is a belief in constitutional government. This concept propagates the idea of an existing government and its subjects to do everything according to the dictates of the constitution of the land and not by passion, self-will and the order of the powers that be.

The concept is diametrically opposed to the erroneous belief of might is right. For Chukwudifu Oputa, “the instinct for justice leads us to believe that right is right and that might is wrong and that right and not might should be the basis of society”.¹⁰ By this, any act by the leadership which questions that constitutionality of the law is ipso facto arbitrary and unjust.

160 5.4 Free and Fair Election

Coup d‟etat is an arbitrary way of creating a government, and any rulership that emerges by this crude and brutish way is as a matter of fact a „defacto‟ government. After all, what is a government? It is a group of people who are responsible for controlling a country or a state. Now what matters in the above definition is the word “responsible”. No one has a responsibility without it being given to him. By this, no military “government” is given the responsibility to rule or control the state but their duty is constitutionally to defend the state. So any military government by contravening the constitutionality of the law is factually unjust.

The word „government‟ is meaningful and sensible when it is applied to a democratically elected civilian leader. Government has to do with responsibility and responsibility goes with mandates. No military “government” is constitutionally mandated to rule. While democratically elected civilian leader presupposes a government. Military “leadership” is meaningful when it applies to the word “regime” because regime is a government not fairly elected or constituted. The only democratic way of enthroning a civilian government is by election. For election is the foundation of any civilian government and David in the Bible in Psalm 11:3, says if the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do”.

The strongness and greatness of any building is determined by its foundation, so it is to any government. The way to ensure a

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formidable foundation of any civilian rule/government is by free and fair election. Free and fair election refer to one conducted in an atmosphere devoid of harassment, intimidation and other coercive means in order to bend the will of the voters and according to constitutional procedures. In this type of election, all electoral vices are eliminated; the will of majority of voters prevails. Candidates who did not win in the election are never imposed on the voters in a free and fair election. But before any election is adjudged free and fair, there must first be an election.

Election is the process through which people choose those who would represent them in government by voting.

The sustainability of democracy in our country depends so much on free and fair elections and the respect for the will of our people. Quite often, the Nigerian nation has witnessed massive civil unrest that even threatened its stability before, during and after elections.

The soul of democracy is the freedom people have to choose their leaders. But if this freedom is denied them through imposition of leaders, then this subverts the will of the people. It therefore becomes imperative that the sanctity of the people‟s votes must be preserved and respected at all times to ensure stability and meaningful development in Nigerian polity. Our electoral laws should be continuously amended until we can devise an electoral process that is simple and fraud-proof to

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ensure free and fair election. Conducting all elections in one day will also create a more conducive environment for free and fair elections. And severe penalties should be prescribed for electoral law violations. This will help the people regain confidence in the electoral process. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must be made truly independent in terms of appointments of the members of the commission and funding.

5.4.1 Separation of Power

After a successful free and fair election by which a civilian government emerges to rule, the power of such government should not be centrally concentrated. There is need for separation of power which will inhibit the absolutisation of naked power exhibition which result to abuse of power.

The doctrine of separation of power is credited to a French political philosopher known as Baron Montesquieu (1689 - 1755) published in his book entitled „The Spirit of the Law‟.

This doctrine states that the three governmental powers, namely, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary should not be exercised by the same body of persons. They must be separated in both function and personnel. This is to allow for efficiency in administration and prevent the misuse of power. The application of this doctrine is one way of ensuring the protection and liberty of the citizenry. With this, the chances of tyranny or dictatorship will be reduced to the barest minimum. Without any

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iota of doubt, when these concepts and doctrines are fully contextualised in the Nigerian body polity, it will serve as a formidable pillar against the continued spread of Machiavellianism.