Democracy Day: Lawan, Atiku differ on Nigeria’s democratic process

…No reason to doubt our ability to govern ourselves, says Lawan

…21 years after, Nigerians yet to enjoy full dividends of democracy – Atiku

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

As the nation marks the June 12 Democracy Day today, politicians held divergent views on how the nation’s democracy has fared in the past twenty – one years.

While the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan credited the ability of leaders at different levels at self – governance, former vice – president, Atiku Abubakar said Nigerians are yet to enjoy full dividends of democracy.

Lawan said the heroic demonstration of patriotism by the Nigerian voters on June 12, 1993 will continue to inspire generations of their compatriots to promote national unity and defend democracy in Nigeria.

In a democracy day statement, the Senate President said:”Having come this far in our journey as a nation, we have no reason to doubt our ability to govern ourselves and attain our great potential as a nation.

“Our uninterrupted practice of democracy in the last 21 years attests that democratic civil rule is taking roots and becoming firmly entrenched in Nigeria.

“While there is a consensus that democracy is the best form of government, it is also important to stress that democracy is a process that evolves with time.

“We should, therefore, continue to have faith in the capacity of our system to deliver the dividends of democracy to our people”.

He assured that the Legislature will continue to provide the platform for improving that system and democratic practice across board.

Lawan said the on-going process of constitutional amendment and the much awaited electoral reforms will take cognizance of past pitfalls and the democratic ethos required to guide us to where we want to be.

He urged all Nigerians to embrace a healthy democratic practice devoid of desperation and violence.

Former vice – president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar said what is currently in operation in the country till date is pseudo – democracy in which most trappings of participatory government and acceptance of primacy of the rule of law are lacking.

In a statement commemorating the Democracy Day celebration, Atiku said “while we may have a day dedicated to celebrating democracy, it remains saddening that we have not delivered enough dividends to our people to be happy over”.

The 2019 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blamed this on inadequacy of qualitative leadership in the polity between 1999 to the present time.

He said: “Our democracy has thrown up all shades of characters at the leadership levels. Many, if not all of them have tried their best to deliver good governance to the country. But the results of their efforts, judging by what we have at hand today, clearly shows that our best has not been good enough thus far.

“It is clear that the problem of leadership is at the epicenter of governance issues that has afflicted Nigeria since the restoration of this democratic dispensation.

To get at this problem, the Turaki Adamawa advised the voting citizens of the country to undertake a more critical evaluation of national leadership recruitment – a rare gift which democracy guarantees through the instrumentality of periodic elections.

“However, to ensure the integrity of the electoral process, that votes are not only counted, but that they do count, there is an urgent need to accelerate needed electoral reforms that will address the lapses in previous elections.

“It is when we do that, that democracy can pass as a self-correcting mechanism and when it is denied, we are left with a pseudo-democracy which is counterproductive to the notion of participatory democracy.

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“As we celebrate today our 21st anniversary of unbroken democratic rule, it is necessary that we canonize the memories of our heroes of democracy by expanding the application of democracy as a mechanism of good governance by making sure that ballots cast during an election are sacrosanct in order for leaders who represent the true aspirations of the people to emerge”, he said.

According to Atiku, during Nigeria’s democratic struggle which spanned decades, many a compatriot paid the ultimate price. He called for a remembrance day for fallen heroes of democratic rule.