Hello everyone, I'm so glad we are talking about democracy this week because this is a national or will I say a worldwide issue that really needs attention. Whenever we are talking about democracy, we describe it as 鈥済overnment of the people, by the people and for the people", this definition has been in my head since secondary school days but it's like opposite is the case or will I say the reality we experience. Democracy is supposed to be the system where citizens has the power to choose their leaders and hold them accountable. In Nigeria, democracy is seen as the golden key to progress but hmmm has democracy truly helped us or not, is what I can't really say or is it because of the abuse of this democracy.
At first, democracy seemed like a fresh beginning in Nigeria when citizens could now vote, speak their minds and protest against bad governance without fear of being silenced after the end of Military rule. Democracy was supposed to give us justice, fairness, equal opportunities and the chance to elect leaders who would serve the people
However, for years now reality has dawned on us and we have been asking of the profit democracy has brought us, is our leaders getting better or getting worse by the day, are they really for us or for themselves?
In reality, democracy in Nigeria has become a system where a few people fight over power while the majority continue to suffer, it's like fake democracy. Elections are often filled with rigging, buying people's vote and full of violence. Politicians use sweet words to gain power but forget the people once they get into office and instead of accountability we see corruption and selfishness. The gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen and many Nigerians feel neglected because the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer so while democracy gives us freedom, it has not yet given us prosperity.
The issue of corruption, poverty, nepotism, ignorance, selfishness are some of the numerous reasons why democracy has not worked as expected in Nigeria. The percentage of corrupt leaders are too high for the effect of the good leaders to show and it's greatly affecting the progress of the nation. It's not funny that corruption has become a wide spread pandemic in Nigeria that almost every citizen is corrupt in one way or the other, that's why we keep getting the same attitude from our leaders every time even when they are not the same set of people, everyone becomes greedy anytime they set into power starting from the boss in an organisation to local government chairman to senators in the house of assembly etc, they are all looking forward to filling their unsatisfiable stomach first and this is killing us.
Some people argue that despite the reality and downturns of democracy, it is still the best system of government. After all, it gives citizens the power to remove bad leaders, they say the real issue is not democracy itself but the way Nigerians practice it and I agree with them if we can really practice true democracy in Nigeria, I think we will achieve better.
I believe democracy is still the most practical option for Nigeria, however democracy without accountability is nothing but a dirty game, in order to fix this and make it work, we Nigerians need to demand more from our leaders and refuse to sell our votes. People must be properly educated on governance and be exposed to information so that people vote with wisdom not ignorance and it will not just be about politics but also about knowledge and cultural values.
True democracy is more than just holding elections every four years or allowing people to cast votes, however it is a system where power genuinely belongs to the people and leaders are chosen to serve not to rule over them or for their selfish interests but where citizens are at the center of decision making and the government exists to protect their rights and improve their lives in every aspect.
Thank you so much for staying this far, hope you had a good read with me, see you again next time 馃榿
