SARAKI'S DEMOCRACY DAY MESSAGE TO ALL NIGERIANS

 

As we celebrate this year’s #DemocracyDay, I congratulate all Nigerians on this occasion. It is worthy to note that unlike before 1999, we have sustained the semblance of a democratic system for 22 unbroken years.

There is no doubt that democracy is the best system for evolving a modern government. However, amidst our collective commemoration today, we must ask ourselves if our current democracy is working to serve the interests of all Nigerians. This is because the real end-product of democracy should be good governance.

It is obvious that in Nigeria, democracy has not given birth to good governance. We have inadvertently operated a democracy whereby instead of being the government of the people, we have instead created distance between the people and their government. Elections should allow the free choice between competing ideologies, manifestos, policies, and programmes. Elections should not just be about putting people in office, and when they get there, they start groping in the dark. This approach has set us back for many years and deprived our people of the opportunity to enjoy the ‘dividends of democracy.’

Today, our country faces security challenges and the government is not able to adequately protect the citizenry. There is massive unemployment which has impoverished a high percentage of the population and many citizens are questioning the basis for the unity of the country. These are pointers to the question of whether our democracy is working.

However, since we have accepted that the best form of government is a democracy, we have no option than to make the system work for our country and its people. Thus, I appeal to all stakeholders to give peace a chance. This is because nothing can be achieved in the absence of peace. The quest for peace places a burden on all of us who are leaders — both those in and out of government — to effectively shoulder our responsibilities to our country.

This is why, as we mark this year’s Democracy Day, there should be a departure from the usual rhetoric. We must find new approaches to remind ourselves that democracy is continuously being undermined and endangered in our country. General insecurity, poverty, and other socio-economic problems continue to make what should be a representative government look strange to the people. The electoral process and the attitude of politicians towards everyday Nigerians do not support the claim that we operate a democracy. 

Additionally, our elections still lack appropriate legislation and conventions that are aimed at entrenching a freer, fairer, peaceful, and more credible voting process. That is why, today, the courts more than the votes cast by the electorate, determine who occupies top political posts.

However, we cannot continue to lament and enumerate the problems. We must focus on debating our ideas on the Nigeria that we want after the next round of elections. We should all concentrate our efforts on discussing solutions to the problems that are threatening to bury our country. Our public space must now become an arena and open market for the contest of innovative ideas.

We must continue to engage each other and tolerate each other’s views. We owe it to ourselves to eschew all forms of violence. We must douse the tension that is threatening to envelope our country.

We have two years to the formation of a new government. This means that we have two whole years to put forward brilliant ideas on issues of security, education, healthcare, youth employment, revolutionising agriculture, human capital development, improving capacity for delivering good governance to the populace, and fostering unity among the people. It should be time to consider how to entrench discipline, equity, justice, respect for the rule of law, and accountability as part of our national ethos.

We must start to think. We must preoccupy ourselves with how to make democracy survive and how we can use it to better the lives of our people.

Once again, I congratulate Nigerians on Democracy Day 2021. I pray that Almighty God will heal our country and restore peace, unity, development, justice, equity, and other indices of good governance in our country. Long live Nigeria!

Signed:

Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON

Immediate Past President of the Senate