Celebrating 25 years of un-interrupted democracy can be best described as a mile-stone for the country, consid-ering the fact that in the 64 years of independence, Nigerians have only experienced democracy between 1960-1966, 1979-1983 and so doing 25 years of unbroken democracy, the longest of the stretch, from 1999-2024 is worthy of celebration. It is possible to lament that we have not gotten to the Eldorado within the long stretch, as some Ni-gerians will easily express their dis-appointments at not only the pace of the journey but some of them can-not come to terms with the pace of the movement. Some will be quick to say that Nigeria has retrogressed. Their reasons are very simple, looking at the facts on ground they are right to lament that the divi-dends of democracy haven’t gotten to them. Others will say that they don’t understand the model of democ-racy that is being practiced in the country with the largest population of black people in the world, and wondered why things are working in other climes and not in Nigeria. This has prompted the call in some quarters for a change of the system of government. Some say if there is a change to the parlia-mentary system, maybe things will improve for the citizens but the dis-turbing part of it is that the ruling class believe that though the country may not be where it ought to be, the journey has been promising within the 25 years. According to them, 25 years may be a long time for humans, it re-mains insignificant in measuring the progress of a country. There is the speculation in some quarters that the reason things seem not to be working is because the leaders need attitude change and commitment to deepen democracy. The problem may not be in the change of system of government as some people have advocated but in attitude change and the realization that leaders are indeed servants as opposed to the notion of master pos-ture by some political office holders. Former President Ebele Jona-than, in his remark at the 2024 De-mocracy Day Anniversary Public Lecture, with the theme: “25 Years of Enduring Democracy: The Pros-pect for the Future” in Abuja on Tuesday insist that leaders must lead by example for dividends of democracy to be achieved. Jonathan said that for democra-cy to yield its desired dividends, the political class and elite must lead by example and work with unity of purpose to guarantee peace and so-cial justice to the citizens. According to Jonathan, the return of democracy in 1999, af-ter many years of military reign, signaled a new phase in national journey and shared vision of unity, peace and progress. He noted that in the last twen-ty-five years, Nigeria has made modest progress in this regard amid some challenges. “As a nation, we built an econ-omy that was once the biggest in the African continent, experienced significant infrastructural growth, made strides in the arts and sports, and recorded many peaceful politi-cal transitions at the national and sub-national levels. “We must work together despite our political differences, accommo-date our diversity and prioritise pol-icies that will impact the lives of our citizens. “As we project towards celebrat-ing the golden jubilee of our uninter-rupted democracy, it is imperative to state that we need to work assidu-ously towards further strengthening state institutions so that they can withstand the shocks that threaten democratic governance. “Democracy as a form of govern-ment is anchored on sets of prom-ises in line with a nation’s develop-ment and growth aspirations. The fulfilment of these promises rein-forces the citizens’ trust and faith in the government. “As we celebrate 25 years of un-broken democracy. We look to the future with the hope that democracy has come to stay and that democracy will continue to take firm roots in our nation, and we will have cause to celebrate a centenary of uninter-rupted democratic governance. “25 years ago on May 29, 1999, the Fourth Republic was birthed, and our nation embarked on a historic journey that would forever shape our country’s future. He said, “Against all odds, we emerged from the shadows of mil-itary rule and ushered in a new era of democratic governance. This achievement is a testament to the resilience, courage and unwaver-ing determination of the Nigerian people. “At this point, let me commend General Abdulsalami Abubakar who stood against all temptations and pressure to prolong military rule in Nigeria. “Today we look back with a sense of gratitude to God and appreciation to many of the heroes of our nation, who through selfless service and courage worked towards the democ-racy that we enjoy today. Commenting on the event of June 12 and how t shaped our democracy, Jonathan said, “When we mention June 12, we remember Chief MKO Abiola for his contributions to the consolidation of our democracy. We also remember the famous let-ter signed by eighteen northern elders and delivered by Chief Sol-omon Lar, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, Ahmed Joda and Chief Sunday Awoniyi to Gen. Sani Abacha demanding the re-turn of Nigeria to democratic rule. The signatories to the letter were: Chief Solomon Lar, Alhaji Adamu Ciroma, Alhaji Lawal Kaita, Alhaji Abubakar Rimi, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, Prof. Ango Abdulahi, Dr. Suleiman Kumo, Mallam Lawan Dambazzau, Alhaji Iro Abubakar Dan-Musa, Al-haji Sule Lamido, Prof. Jerry Gana, Col. Abubakar Umar (Rtd), Hon. Isaac Shaahu, Dr. Usman Bugaje, Alhaji Mohammed Arzika, Dr. Steve Achema, Dr. Farouk Abdulaziz and Prof. Musa Yakubu. The former president added, “Considering our political history as a country, 25 years of unbroken democracy is a milestone worthy of celebration. As it shows, we are making some progress in democrat-ic governance despite the challenges we face in our journey of nation-hood. “Notably, the path towards dem-ocratic consolidation has been a difficult one. The First, Second and Third Republics of our democratic experiment were abruptly ended by the military, amid political crises and social tensions. “After the G18 letter, on May 8th 1998, members of the G-34 in a letter signed by Dr. Alex Ekwueme, the for-mer Vice President, had also urged Gen. Abacha to reject his adoption as presidential candidate and quit power. “The return of democracy in 1999, after many years of military reign, signaled a new phase in our national journey and our shared vision of unity, peace and progress. “In the last twenty-five years, we have made modest progress in this regard amid some challenges. As a nation, we built an economy that was once the biggest in the African continent, experienced significant infrastructural growth, made strides in the arts and sports, and recorded many peaceful politi-cal transitions at the national and sub-national levels. “Democracy has also brought about improved access to gover-nance, amplified silent voices and reinforced the idea of sovereignty. “Whenever I tune in to Nigerian TV stations, especially in the morn-ing and see young men and women discussing and interrogating con- temporary political issues and holding lead-ers to account, I thank God for democracy and appreciate the gains we have made over the years. “Today, citizens have come to terms with the idea of representative governance, as they have over the years expressed their power to choose their leaders and demand accountable leadership and good gover-nance. “Our civic space has largely flourished, with a vibrant civil society community, in-creased media freedoms and an active press. Meanwhile, Ambassador Babagana Kin-gibe who was the Vice Presidential candi-date of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 1993 election that MKo Abiola was the acclaimed winner. Kingibe who also co-chaired at the event with Jonathan said that in the last 25 years democracy has provided Nigeria with polit-ical stability and continuity in governance. “During this period of uninterrupted democracy fundamental freedom has been enhanced and generally protected. Personal freedoms and expressed beliefs and opin-ions, freedom of association, freedom of the press, civil society activists, including trade union activists have all relatively thrived. Similarly advanced culture of the rule of law and strengthening of democratic insti-tutions, such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the judicia-ry and the police are all ongoing work in progress. Efforts have continued to be made in the area of accountability through such mechanisms as parliamentary oversight and the work on anti-corruption and sim-ilar agencies are the work to be done. So, government by the consent of the people, civil liberty, personal freedoms, and rule of law, strong institutions and accountability are the strong pillars on which democracy rests. We might ask whether we’ve succeed-ed in entrenching this in the last 25 years. The answer of course is no. Building and sustaining strong democracy is a lifelong endeavour in any nation, it’s always work in progress. Even older democracies as shown by just concluded parliamentary elections in Europe, just like in the U.S which has been practicing democracy in the last 250 years, they’re still grappling with the challenges of perfecting their democracies, “he said. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo who played a vital role in the beginning of the fourth Republic being the first president in that republic. During his assessment of President Bola Tinubu one year in office said that the pres-ent administration has not found the right way to handle the economy to engender confidence and trust for investors to start trooping in.” Obasanjo who spoke at a colloquium with the topic “Nigeria’s Development: Navigat-ing the Way Out of the Current Economic Crisis and Insecurity”, noted that the re-cent government decisions, describing for the instance, the policy on fuel subsidy re-moval and exchange rates as necessary but “wrongly implemented.” Obasanjo emphasised that the path to economic progress lies in production and productivity, which requires trust in gov-ernment leadership. Building investor con-fidence, he argued, necessitates change in leadership characteristics and attitudes. Recall that the former president has nev-er been a fan of President Tinubu with bad blood between them dating as far back as the beginning of the 4th republic when the former was commander in chief of the fed-eration and the latter was the governor of Lagos State. But, such was the acceptability of his assessment of the present administra-tion that many Nigerians opine that while the messenger can be ignored, the message should not. The negative reception of President Tinu-bu’s critical policies has been exacerbated not least by the process that produced him as president. The 2023 presidential election seen in many quarters as arguably Nigeria’s most divisive election left further doubt in Ni-gerians and increased the distrust among the populace, especially towards the ruling class. And because of the president’s back-ground as a kingmaker, it is difficult for most Nigerians to separate his policies from political strategies towards replicating his stronghold on Lagos State at the national level. Where the political dimension comes in as argued by those close to the president and leaders of his political party is that the tough decisions had to be taken early so as not to jeopardise the second term bid. What they mean by this is that regardless of how Nigerians feel about the decisions now, things can only pick up and by the time 2027 approaches, most Nigerians would have forgotten the pains of the first year with the expected positive impacts of the tough de-cisions. In his remark on the way forward for deepening the country’s democracy, the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has noted that the failings of the opposi-tion parties to uphold the functionality of their existence is the major threat to Nige-ria’s democracy. The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, in his Democracy Day message to Nigerians on Tuesday noted that the earlier the opposition political parties re-alise that the fortunes of Nigeria lies in their forging a coalition, the better it’ll be for the country and the people. The message read, “The secondary pur-pose of declaring every June 12 as Democ-racy Day in our country is to commemorate the history of our long journey of becoming a stable democratic country. Truth be told, there’s no substitute to democracy as a form of government. “Whereas our current democratic dis-pensation is a quarter of a century old, it will not be out of place to pay tributes to the sacrifices made by many patriots, chiefly among them Basorun MKO Abiola and his beloved wife, Alhaja (Mrs) Kudirat Abiola, Tafida Shehu Yar’Adua and Alfred Rewane, among many others. “The historical timeline of the struggle that birthed this democracy is abundant with a series of coalitions and alliances amongst the political leaderships of that era to flush away the vestiges of military and dictatorial governance in order to return power to the people. “It’s commendable that for 25 years, we’ve witnessed an uninterrupted season of elec-toral politics. It’s an unprecedented epoch in our history. “It’s worthy of celebration and commen-dation must go to the people of our great country. I must also congratulate the politi-cal class for having embraced the rectitude of nurturing a democracy, as well as the civil society. It’s important that all stakeholders continue to do their bit to ensure the sus-tainability of our democracy. “But our democracy is not yet virile if it continually fails to deliver the promises of prosperity and liberty to the people. “However, the past nine years has thrown up a regime of extreme hardship manifested in excruciating poverty and unprecedented levels of violence and insecurity upon our people. Sadly, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is to blame for bringing forth this dawn of gloom. “But the opposition political parties are even more guilty than the ruling party for the seeming lack of capacity to come together and galvanize a coalition that will retire the ruling party and ar-ticulate a plan of good governance that will earn the conviction of Nigerians,” Atiku added. On its part, the PDP it its Democracy Day message urged President Bola Tinubu to use the occasion of the Democracy Day to have a deep reflection on the state of the nation under his watch The party noted that June 12 is a day set aside to celebrate the return of democracy in the country and berated the APC admin-istrations since 2015 for desecrating the democratic principles, legacies and values which the late Chief MKO Abiola laboured and died for. The party charged Nigerians to use the occasion of this year’s Democracy Day to speak against the anti-democratic tenden-cies of the insensitive APC which is asphyx-iating, inflicting hardship, trampling on the Will and rights of the citizens and seeking to foist a totalitarian system on our nation. PDP, in a statement by its spokesman, Hon Debo Ologunagba, said that it is dis-tressing that the nation is observing the Democracy Day under a system that relish-es in brazen violation of the Constitution, election rigging, stifling and manipulation of opposition, muzzling of dissenting voices; undermining the judicial system and other democracy institutions in desperation to turn Nigeria into a one-Party State. “More disquieting is that all the progress and gains made by successive PDP adminis-trations in entrenching democratic practice in Nigeria have been reversed by the APC administrations. “Nigerians can recall with nostalgia the glorious days of the PDP at the return of Democracy in 1999 to 2015, which period wit-nessed the expansion of democracy practice and dividend; notably the conduct of free and fair elections; adherence to the Rule of Law and Principle of Separation of Powers, economic transformation resulting in Nige-ria becoming a preferred foreign investment destination in the world. “Also, the PDP government through its privatization and commercialization policy liberalized the economy and the consequen-tial improvement in the fortune of Nigeria citizens.” PDP noted that the APC has completely violated the ideals of democracy, added that “democracy is all about the supremacy of the Will of the people, the Rule of Law and the pursuit of the security and wellbeing of citizens. “These ideals have been completely vi-olated by the APC administrations which leaders have no respect for public opinion but delight in burdening the people through multiple taxes and looting of treasury to fi-nance their luxury appetite while subjecting other Nigerians to a life of fear, uncertain-ty, despondency and abject poverty,” PDP stated.
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