Written By Raji Ajarat Ajoke
Democracy is believed to be the governance rule of the people, especially as a form of government; either directly or through elected representative.
Shortly after the introduction of democracy which brought about independence to Nigeria in the year 1960, people believed to have finally find a lasting a solution to their years of hardship and suffering in the hands of the colonial masters but still yet they find it hard to swallow after learning that there are still some roadblocks to a strong and successful democracy in Nigeria at all levels of government.
However, after the inception of the Fourth Republic in Nigeria in May 29, 1999 after several years of military intervention and take-over in the Nigeria government (coup d tat), there was a rising expectation that the newborn democracy will deliver Nigeria from the long decades of savagery and oppression from both internal and external forces. A vast majority of Nigerian looked with great expectations of better things to come in the prices of governance and also to the freeing of National Commonwealth from the stranglehold of the greedy public officials and social service delivery in areas such as Education, Health Infrastructure, Poverty Alleviation, Unemployment and so on but it seems the wishes on exist in folktales and fairytales.
The conflict triggered by political and communial, ethnic, religious or resources allocation rivalries poses a great and major threat to democracy in Nigeria and that makes corruption to pervades the daily lives of Nigerians.
Again, democracy in Nigeria has been seen as a game of chess that is being played by two players who first and foremost have a basic knowledge of the boardgame and this is what makes the citizens to conclude that it is not all their votes that count and still having the believe that the government body already know who is next in line to rule from the very start.
The Way Out; Suggestion
Effective democracy in Nigeria requires our collective business as a citizen and also as a nation state. So, in democracy, the concept of the people is very critical in the measurement of the indices of its survival, growth and sustainability and also the electoral process which is a springboard for choosing public office holders is vital so they also must not be bias and the leaders must also have the country and her citizens in mind because consolidation of democracy in Nigeria must be a thing of the mind. It must come from the utmost desire to build a comprehensive platform for accountability, probity and responsiveness. The leaders should be bold enough to create an adequate force for decency, shun and neglect all forms of exotic thiefry and executive crimes capable of defacing the good image of Nigeria and not only at home; but also abroad, especially in the midst of members of the international front.
Raji Ajarat Ajoke is a Student Of I-CON UNIVERSAL POLYTECHNIC, MASS COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT.
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