Activists Speak Why Democracy Day Celebration May Be Low In South East
As Nigeria marks her Democracy Day tomorrow, some Igbo interest groups are of the opinion that the country’s democracy is still far from being ideal.
According to them, there is not much to celebrate except that Nigeria now has trajectories of civilian-to-civilian transition of power.
Nze Kene Udeh is the leader of Omenani Igbo Amaka group, which is championing the preservation of Igbo values. He said the joy of Nigerians would be the fact that “we are no more in a military regime, but whether we are better off then or not is a story for another day”.
Quoting him, “Democracy is government of the people, for the people and by the people. Is Nigeria’s democracy of the people and by the people? It is not. It is of the few and for the few. So what are you celebrating when free and fair elections are not guaranteed? We might however be only celebrating Nigeria’s indigenous kind of democracy; the type that the privileged are above the law, and the type that the poor are sapped to feed the rich. Period.”
Engr KOK Ezeugwu is a public-affairs analyst and ex-administrator in Nsukka LGA. He said, “Democracy Day is worth celebrating, but are we really in a democracy? If we are, I’m yet to see the tenets of democracy in Nigeria. How about the rule of law? Is it when a court acquits and discharges an accused, and the country refuses to release him! You call that a democracy! I’m yet to see what we are celebrating.”
The Chair, World Igbo Congress, Dr Festus Okere, also berated Nigeria’s democracy in an address recently.
Quoting him, “Individual liberty is understood to mean fundamental rights of man, not savagery: It is freedom of expression, assembly and association without intimidation; protection of property and life without price; justice without purchase or delay; it is government without favor or favorites; it is freedom from torture; it is the right to fair trial, and the right to free election. It is an embodiment of justice for all. The list goes on!”
Recall that the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Tuesday, urged the people of the region to boycott all June 12 activities until the Nigerian government recognizes the Biafra Heroes Day which is celebrated on every May 30.
Comrade Emma Powerful, IPOB’s spokesman, stated that, “This is not just about IPOB. This is about our dignity, our truth, and our right to define who we are.”
Activists Speak Why Democracy Day Celebration May Be Low In South East is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
