Having paid attention to the dimensions of democracy and good governance our next port of call is the issue of ‘sit tight leaders’ and the threat to democracy in Africa. There can be no doubt that sit tight leaders cannot satisfy the hallmarks of democracy and good governance identified above.

The clearest testimony to the danger posed by sit leaders is the conflagration in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Cote D’lvoire, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. Sudan is an entirely different ball game. As a guide, President Robert Mugabe has been in power in Zimbabwe since the country’s independence in 1980 and despite his advanced years is still in power. Zimbabwe is neither an example of stability nor of economic prosperity. Libya, at the moment is not at peace with itself.

Colonel Gaddafi has been at the helm of the country’s affairs since the past 42 years and has vowed to crush his opponents. Who are those opponents? Amazingly, they are people who say, Oga, go, you have tried! Libya is now the subject matter of a United Nations resolution. President Mubarak stepped aside from the management of the affairs of the ancient State of Egypt after 32 years and sustained protests from the common man.

The situation in Cote D’lvoire is one which challenges all lovers of freedom and piques those who imagine that democracy can only flow or thrive from the ballot box. Alas, after winning a free and fair election, Mr. Quattara has been denied access to power by the man he defeated, Mr. Gbagbo who is sitting tight despite international criticism. The country is burning and the inevitable conclusion is that sit tight leaders are no good and their presence is antithetical to the growth and sustenance of democracy.

Guided by the fact that a strong economy is the foundation of happiness in a democracy it is clear that the topic ‘Strategic Economic Planning and Nigeria’s Vision 20: 2020, Roadmap to Achieving Success’ is very close to the pith and substance of the theme of this event.

It has been said that the vision has ‘a social dimension of a peaceful, equitable, harmonious and just society; an economic dimension of a resilient, diversified and industrialised economy; an institutional dimension of a stable and functional democracy in a market friendly and globally competitive business environment and an environment dimension of environmental consciousness and sustainable management. The realisation of the vision is hinged on creating the platform for success by urgently and immediately addressing the most debilitating constraints to Nigeria’s growth and competitiveness; forging ahead with diligence and focus in developing the fabric of the envisioned economy and developing and deepening the capability of government to consistently translate national strategic intent into action and results by instituting evidence based decision making in Nigeria’s policy space’.

If diligently followed and vigorously pursued, the vision aims at making Nigeria a member of the twenty most developed and economically empowered nations in the world by the year 2020. How can this vision be achieved? Through good leadership, period. The other vexed issue arises from the topic, ‘Practical Advocacy: Elongated Election Litigation and its Effect on Nigeria’s Democratic Evolution.

This being a gathering of lawyers, it is difficult to run away from telling ourselves some home truths. It is my belief that the spate of sustained litigations which attend elections of all sorts is inimical to the orderly evolution of democracy in Nigeria. My view is guided and bolstered by personal experience as a lawyer in practice having been engaged in election disputes at various levels over the years.

There are pre_election disputes over the choice of party candidates and our law reports are replete with a plethora of cases of which Onuoha v. Okafor, Ehilanwo v. Oke, Ugwu v. Araraume, Amaechi v. INEC are but a few examples. Had we learnt that election petitions or disputes weaken rather than strengthen the pillars of democracy and overheat the polity politicians would have become better able to manage a loss at the polls. A hand shake by the winner and loser alike will be of advantage to our electoral process.

Unfortunately, each available elective office generates at least one petition. As a matter of fact, the higher the office sought, the larger the number of petitions such that a gubernatorial election may attract as many as ten separate petitions or so. The near crippling effect of petitions on the judicial apparatus of the States from which the personnel who man the various election tribunals are drawn is no trifling matter. Election appeals similarly have a debilitating effect on the case flow management of the Court of Appeal because several members of the Bench of that Court are moved from one Division to another for the effective hearing and determination of the appeals.