Political parties and eminent Nigerians on Sunday assessed 13 years of democracy in Nigeria. They came up with the verdict that it was full of failures and hardships.
But the ruling Peoples Democratic Party disagreed, saying democracy was on course in the country.
The groups and personalities, who scored the
country’s 13 years of democracy low, included the All Nigeria Peoples
Party, the Congress for Progressive Change and the Nigeria Labour
Congress.
Others are a foremost scholar, Prof. Itse Sagay, SAN, and lawyer, Mr. Fred Agbaje.
The Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Mr. Owei
Lakemfa, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said the
government had no regard for people’s opinions.
According to him, democracy is not merely the casting
of ballots or the conduct of elections every four years; it includes
the participation of the populace in the process of governance.
Lakemfa said, “What we have done is a transfer of
power in 1999, from military to civilian rule, not a democracy. In that
sense, marking May 29 as Democracy Day in Nigeria is a misnomer. It is
not about celebrating Democracy Day, it is about the commemoration of
the day, May, 29 1999, when military rule was succeeded by civilian
rule.”
PUNCH NEWSPAPER
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