Democracy In Danger

Editorial

Nigerians now have every reason to fear about the future of their country’s democracy which is currently witnessing signs that point to the fact that it may soon collapse if nothing urgent is done to stop the dangerous drift toward the precipice.

We have witnessed massive corruption especially by the rich and those who find themselves in position of authority. We have seen the persecution of whistle-blowers, we have seen impunity at its highest form, we have seen a government that is hardly bothered about the consequences of its actions on the people.

Nigeria, the country that used to be the envy of most of its neighbours, has suddenly become a country on its knees. It is now a country where frustration and despair hold sway. It has become a country where anything goes and the thieves and some self-serving public office holders have a field day.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which ought to fight corruption has been reduced to a mere institution that only goes after ‘yahoo-yahoo’ boys and other minor fraudsters while the real ‘milkers’ of the country’s economy are left to bask in their looted wealth at the expense of the poor in the society. We no longer hear about the alleged subsidy thieves just like many other high profile corruption cases.

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There are reasons to believe that Nigeria’s democracy is under serious threat. One of the reasons is the relentless onslaught by the Boko Haram insurgents and other violent militias wreaking havoc in some parts of the country. While Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states are witnessing heavy tolls of insurgency, armed men, majorly cattle rustlers, have been holding sway in states like Nassarawa, Benue, Plateau and Kaduna. In Nasarawa, there has been cult clashes that have left scores dead.

Seven months after, the Chibok girls have continued to remain in Boko Haram captivity. All that Nigerians hear are daily boasts by the government that the girls would return and propaganda from security forces that further dampen the hopes of the people. Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka aptly described the fate of Nigerians as living under a cloud of shame, embarrassment and feeling of dereliction in the face of all these negative tendencies.

Another onslaught on the nation’s democracy was the desecration of the sanctity of the legislative organ in Ekiti State on Monday. This is not the first to happen. The Rivers and the Edo State Houses of Assembly have also experienced such disrespect for the country’s constitution with those who are supposed to speak out playing deaf and dumb. Nigeria’s politicians must begin to restrain themselves from engaging in illegality and being used by greedy leaders to undermine our democracy.

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