Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has said that Nigeria’s democracy is in detention.
Atiku who stated this in his Democracy Day message, said the efforts of all Nigerians were needed to rescue the country from the hands of those who hijacked it.
The PDP presidential candidate said the desire to make Nigeria’s democracy self-sustaining and independent of anti-democratic elements is the new frontier of participation by all democrats.
According to Atiku, Nigeria is only celebrating a return to civil rule and not democracy yet.
“This year’s Democracy Day celebration is a time for us to reflect as a people and a country on our journey to becoming a democratic society,” Atiku said.
Nonetheless, the former Vice President noted added that it was important to appreciate the few successes achieved in the country since the return of democracy.
He said that the present democracy outweighed the dark days of military dictatorships.
“But democracy without a corresponding commitment to the principles of fairness and fidelity to the rule of play by stakeholders in the processes of conducting elections still leaves the people prostrate to tendencies of dictatorship.
“For our democracy to be fully fledged, it must constantly evolve away from the current practice where the governing elite determines the outcome of elections.
“Many times, when I take stock of the activism that birthed the current democratic dispensation, I am even more convinced that a lot of work still lies ahead.
“Democracy and the process of democratisation is a constant work in progress. While what we celebrate today is a return to civil rule in Nigeria, the desire to make our democracy self-sustaining and independent of anti-democratic elements is the new frontier of participation by all democrats,” he stated.
He challenged Nigerians to ensure that democracy works in the country.
“The challenges ahead of the country and the future of its democracy will rely heavily on what Nigerians do or fail to do today.
“As I congratulate Nigerians on this day, in celebration of the return to civil rule, I also call our consciousness to the reality that democracy in Nigeria remains in bondage and it will need the energy of all of us to rescue it.
“To achieve this noble goal, our commitment to the cause of democracy must be eternal. Folks on the other side, enemies of democracy, whom we are up against, are not resting. To defeat them, we must do more!”
