By AMAYINDI YAKUBU/VICTORY OKONJO
As Nigeria, it’s people and governments prepare to celebrate 26 years of unbroken democratic practice, come May 29, 2025, there is, no doubt that we have every reason to thank God for His grace of having a conducive environment, devoid of war and anarchy to practice a system of government that has taken us this far, regardless of the pockets of challenges.
Back in our early days in the secondary school, Democracy was defined as: “Government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
This definition, when analysed, presupposes that, in an ideal Democracy, the people are given the freedom or liberty to choose their leaders, devoid of any form of interference. The people are free to choose the type of government that they want, or the type of government that they consider best for them, for their own benefit or good.
But the extent to which this is applicable to the kind of democracy we have practiced here in
Nigeria in the past 26 years is subject to debate, and has been a controversy to many, who have from time to time compared our type of democracy to what we hear of, or see in some advanced democracies, like the United States of America.
It is on the basis of this, and many more that The Pointer team reached out to some Nigerians to seek their views on this all important issue. What does democracy mean to them? How is it practiced here and elsewhere? Is it working in Nigeria, and how has it helped governance? 26 years of unbroken democratic practice, what has been the gains and challenges? Is our type of democracy sustainable, and for how long? Could it have been better practiced? These, and many more questions are begging for answers as Nigeria plans to roll out the drums on May, 29, 2025 to celebrate Democracy Day.
But before you hear their views, we want to put it on record by saying that, one of the vital requirements for a successful democracy is the availability of well-established and unbiased democratic institutions like the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive, that must be alive to their responsibilities of making democracy to survive. This is in addition to these institutions having a degree of independence, but cohesion that would make them function without undue collusion or friction for the overall good of the people and sustainance of democracy.
Before we hear what Nigerians have to say, let us quickly look at what Prof. Patrick Lumumba, Africa’s fierce political commentator has to say about democracy on Africa, perhaps, it would help shape the views of our people for good.
He defines Democracy with Africa’s unique experiences, theorisizing that, “Democracy should be a competition of ideas and policies to govern a country, not a competition of ethnic groups. Africa’s Salvation demands that we define for ourselves what democracy means.”
Ruminating upon Lumumba’s wisdom and taking a conscious retrospect into the peculiarity of the Nigerian democracy in the past 26 years, one would but only agree that Nigerian’s Democracy, though resilient is still fragile at heart,
despite a degree of maturity, compared to some of her sisters’ states who share the same motherhood.
Now, let’s hear what Nigerians have to say.
George, former National Director of Students Rights, LAWSAN, Nigeria speaking from Taraba State says, Nigeria’s democracy has stagnated. Nigeria’s democracy is not working, it’s endemic because there are weak institutions. The rule of law is not obeyed. Take for instance, where a Courts of Law passes a judgment, we have cases where the Executive disobeyed such judgement.
Therefore, Nigeria’s democracy is galloping towards dictatorship, or let me say authoritarian government.
It is sad that, majority of the people don’t have a say in government. So, it looks like Nigeria’s democracy has not defined what it is set out to achieve in the past 26 years. This is because, if you look at the essence of democracy, you have freedom of speech and expression. We didn’t have the right to express our opinions and ideas without fear of persecution here in Nigeria. How many people can speak freely here without being arrested or persecuted?
Democracy aims to uphold the fundamental rights and dignity of every citizen in the country. How many persons can Nigeria boast of having protected their rights? How many people are being killed? How many people are being slaughtered? How many people are being kidnapped? Our lives no longer have value in this country.
On the issue of accountability in our democracy. Yes, the elected are supposed to be responsible to the people (Electorate), but how many government officials who had committed an offence or found corrupt have been successfully prosecuted in this country?
Speaking from Asaba on democracy in Nigeria in the past 26 years, a political analyst, Benedict Nwosu said, “We are not practising democracy. What we have in Nigeria today is not democracy, but pseudo-democracy.
Outwardly, it looks like democracy to people who don’t know any better, but the essential substance is different. In Nigeria, democracy is government for the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.
Talking about the leadership, Nwosu says, “ Many of our leaders don’t behave like we’re practicing democracy. Their rhetorics and actions are very often in direct contrast to the core principles of democracy and the sovereign will of the people.
“They must realize that their priority must always be the people. You can’t keep using the people as machines during campaign season, and then, when the chips are down and power is secured, the people are left to hang and dry. This is why there is very little public trust in our democracy because many political officeholders knew how to talk the talk when they were gunning for that position”.
However, a businessman at Konwea Plaza, Nnebisi Road, Asaba, Henry Tochukwu, expressed his sentiments over some leaders in Nigeria, saying, “Over the years, our leaders have not been consistent, and that’s the reason it’s hard to have faith in the government.
Sometimes, you wonder if they even know what they’re doing. If they do, they have their own ulterior motives. Many of them are more interested in their personal gain over public service.”
Also, an Economic Analyst, Collins Chukwuma, based in Asaba, lamenting on the state of the nation, says, “The poverty rate in Nigeria was close to 50% as of last year. So, it means that hundreds of millions of Nigerians are living below the poverty line. It’s sad because we’re supposed to be the giant of Africa in all areas.
Nigeria is the first country most people think of when they think of Africa. We’re the largest black nation in the world, so we’re supposed to be representing Africa in terms of politics, economy, sports, acting, music, and so on. It’s just that there are too many problems in this country, like insurgency and the high cost of food.
The worst part is tribalism. Tribalism is everywhere, and there is no trust among the ethnic groups.
And for Daniel Chike, an Uber driver in Asaba, he laments the present state of the nation’s currency, saying, “The value of the Naira is nothing to write home about. These days, if you misplace N500, you won’t even feel too bothered because what can N500 even afford you these days? Is it a recharge card? Network tariffs in the country have skyrocketed. Fuel prices are something else. A bucket of Garri is now N3000.
The worst thing that has happened to us in recent time was the removal of fuel subsidies. Before the removal of the subsidy, people could barely afford to eat more than once a day. Now, imagine what it looks like. There’s a difference between applying economic discipline and deliberately starving people.”
A Boutique owner in Asaba, Anita Ofili, also shared her thoughts on the reason why after 26 years of unbroken democracy, leadership is failing in Nigeria, “A leader is not supposed to be treated like a small god, but that’s what many people do in this country. We sometimes put leaders on a very high pedestal, and we sometimes even excuse their wrongdoings. That’s not how it’s supposed to be”.
And for “Salisu Abdullah, a Political Analyst and Communicator in Abuja, who narrates the sad tale of a wave of military dictatorship in Africa while warning the Nigeria government to take caution said, “Coming to the wave of military juntas in Africa, precisely West Africa because from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and other countries in Africa our leaders back here should be careful and do the needful. Why? Because power belongs to the people in a democracy. Therefore, if you play with the welfare of the people, you play with your own future and that of the country.
There is, therefore, the need for all, not only Nigeria, but all other African countries, to take precautions. If you look at the overwhelming support of the citizens towards the direction of the military agenda, it is something that the government should be very careful about.
He again reiterates, “This calls for serious scrutiny of what democratic governance is doing in Nigeria and those countries because, if something is not done, it will continue just as it happened from the 1960s to the 1970s and 1980s. If you look at what happened in the military coups in Africa from DR Congo to Ghana, Nigeria, and the rest, that’s how it keeps moving.
So, it’s just like the previous wave of those years is coming back now. So, the governments in all African countries, including Nigeria need to be alive to their responsibilities to the citizens. This is because if not for the failure of democratic governance, no citizen would support military dictatorship in a country where there is good civilian leadership.
On his part, a Civil Servant at the Federal Secretariat, Asaba, Peter Olaniran warns Nigerians of the danger of believing military rule will solve Nigeria’s problem. “No matter our frustrations with any civilian leader, calling for military intervention will just throw us back many years into the dark ages of authoritarianism in Nigeria.
“What we should be looking at is a way forward. Most people clamouring for military rule were not even alive in the 1990s, so they don’t even know what it felt like.
“While democracy has its core appeal on paper, its translation into a working reality is where the meat lies. The way Nigeria’s democracy is experienced is quite different from the other manner the constitution laid its foundation. This has made the citizens rethink where their nation lie between accepting what the system has promised versus what it is delivering.
With the current trajectory, if Nigeria does not wake up and adjust its actions to the true tenets of democratic values, then we should expect the unexpected.
But an old woman who has been in the business of frying “Akara” for almost two decades in Okpanam and popularly called, mama Akamu, she has this to say. “Let the people in government tread with caution as they lead the people. Life was once good, but in the past eight, nine years or so, things have gone from bad to worse.
“I don’t care to know what system of government Nigeria is practicing, all I care is for God to hear the prayer of the common man in this country. Democracy or no Democracy, Nigerians are hungry and dying. Government should please do something. We are tired of unfulfilled promises and politics of deception.
