Despite running a democratic government since 1999, a human rights lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ozekhome on Thursday said Nigeria is not practicing true democracy as elections do not reflect the wishes of the electorate.
Ozekhome, who spoke at the 22nd edition of the Annual Bishop Mike Okonkwo lecture in Lagos as the guest speaker, further said Nigeria is bleeding and thus requires urgent action from the ruled and rulers to address the situation.
Also, a former presidential aspirant and a Professor of Political Economy, Prof. Pat Utomi warned that the country is now more divided than before, a situation that portends danger.
Ozekhome, who spoke on “Nigerianization of Nigeria: A Look Inward”revealed that the political governance of the country began to be thwarted in Nigeria since1966.According to him, there have been several military takeovers until 1999, when the 4th republic came into being following the emergence of General Olusegun Obasenjo as civilian president.
His words: “This is 24 years of uninterrupted democracy, however, issues of national concern still abound that place the stability of the nation under conscious threats.”
He said no nation would develop or grow without putting forward its first eleven and in Nigeria, stating, ” in Nigeria, we put forward our worst 11 players.”
Ozekhome explained that national/state political actors have captured Nigeria and they decide what happens in the country without reference to the populace.
He added: “Nigeria is a nation still seeking nationhood at 63. Can we really say we are experiencing democracy? Nigeria is a country where cows are more cherished than human beings. It is even a country where vehicle owners wait for Cows to cross the road.
“We practice electionocracy, a process where people select their leaders. Nigeria is a country without democratic dividend for the people. Nigerians have not reaped the dividends of democracy. We do not elect our leaders but select them.
‘We saw it yesterday at the Presidential Election Tribunal. It is called judocracy, it is a process in which people vote but their votes do not count. We don’t practice democracy in this country. We have people that have stolen mandates governing us. We have rulers in the country and not leaders.”
To achieve Nigerianization, Ozekhome recommended a home grown Constitution for the country made by the people rather than an imposed Constitution.
He said: “We need a Constitution with Nigerians’ inputs. We need to do away with the 1999 Constitution and come up with a new one produced by the people.”
The legal luminary asked why the Nigerian government wants to interfere in the internal affairs of Niger and asked that when Nigeria experienced several military coups, did any foreign country intervene?
“We have no moral justification to lead ECOWAS to remove the military head of state in Niger. The Niger people celebrated and jubilated in the streets and welcomed the military coup,” he stated.
Ozekhome said if the country must move forward, “we need to remove ethnicity and religion. We need a credible election process to elect new leaders.”
Chairman of the annual Mike Okonkwo lecture, Prof. Pat Utomi said “currently Nigeria has never been divided like this before and the political class do not care.
Utomi added that in other countries, leaders build strong institutions to promote and protect democracy while in Nigeria, the reverse is the case.
“Nigeria has managed to become a criminal enterprise. Nigeria is moving but not heading anywhere,” he observed.
In his remarks, Bishop Mike Okonkwo, who turned 78 today, thanked God for the annual lecture, which focused on national issues.
Bishop Okonkwo said some politicians have bastardised the country and that many of them are only interested in themselves.
He warned that the country is leaning towards ethnicity and religious intolerance and urged Nigerians not to follow the crowd.
Culled from The Sun
