Matters Arising!
DEMOCRACY in an Anti-Democratic State.
As a sort of reflection on the abysmal state of the Nation, the confused state of the Head, and the ghostly nature of the Head of State, I take it upon myself to write a rather short comment on Democracy in a certain country. Well, it is not all gloom and doom even as the eighteenth year of democracy(so called) was celebrated, but it could not have been any worse than what is currently obtained. Running a Government of the People entails that it is the people who are the stakeholders. It entails that whoever the people have put-up as the head represents the collective interest of the people. It entails that the people reserve their rights as humans, even when they seem to have relinquished some political rights to this figure. Well, this case study aside, Democracy,when considered in its entirety and full meaning, is not really obtainable in any state of the human world, but that is a topic for another day. However, some countries become more democratic than others, and this is quite understandable. Well, some other countries, with the case study in mind, have claimed to operate a democratic government, but the problem is: they are not democratic enough. Not just that: 'undemocratic' brings a glimmer of hope that things may change, but there is a worst case scenario. Nigeria is anti-DEMOCRATIC.
There is a reason things haven't exactly worked-out for the past 5.7 decades. The tension or war between two opposites have been on since the white man abandoned his half-done job and fled. Somehow Nigerians have survived these wars, not of guns and bombs, but of ideas and systems. Very bad leaders came on and made really bad followers, and since then, none of have got better; only worse. 1999 came with a ray of hope: Democracy, as promised, was coming. Things would certainly change. Poverty rate would decrease and we would finally get to compete with the top states who also practise democracy. The first batch of leaders-turned-rogers came in. Fast-forward to the next four years, nothing happened. Oh something did happen: things changed, but not for the better; poverty rate didn't go down; exchange rate went up; the people - the stakeholders of democracy - complained, but they were easily convinced and they easily believed, that things would soon get better; and that the dividends of democracy was just about to mature. The rogues in caftans gave more reasons why they were the right people to remain there; why they were the only ones to complete what they started, so that the citizens would finally reap the dividends of democracy so promised. Well, it seems they completed what they started: planting deeper the roots of bad governance, watering them, and now, watching them grow. And so, anyone who ever went in good never came out good, but worse. For eighteen odd years, the people, the masses have never had any say in the way things should be run: the president and his ally senators do that.
They created parties, political parties, but just for political reasons. The truth is that 'they know themselves'. They have to act out something, a short comedy or even a pantomine, that suggests they oppose one another; and that's it, a drama, a movie. Within these 18 years, two former military rulers have all come-up as democratic rulers; yes you read well: DEMOCRATIC RULERS. What sharp contradiction! The law of contradiction holds fully in Nigeria: the same old cargoes are still in charge (with their old, sick and stale mentality), the young have no future and can do nothing, the same issues arise and reoccurs all the time - tribalism, religious intolerance and violence (add yours). The law of contradiction holds fully in Nigeria (Democracy vs Anti-democracy) and as long as it holds, nothing will ever move forward.
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