Itunuemma!!! I heard that voice call me in the
early hours of today. "Today is democracy day in your country." “YES”
, I replied. The question that came striking my medulla was: “Are there things
to celebrate today?” The response to this question has generated a very strict
pendulum of opinion. Some agree that there are things to celebrate but my very
curious mind kept asking the question. Then I stopped for a while and started
making an inventory of the country's arrangements since June 7, 1998, July 8,
1998 and finally had a brief stop at May 29, 1999. I asked isn't it a calamity
that Nigeria decided to embrace democracy or is the calamity in the death of
Musa Yar' adua or is the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan the ultimate calamity?
I searched through the history of Carthage,
Rome, Greece and the old Empire of Benin to take a serious look into the issue
of patriotism. I discovered that patriotism at a time or the other helped each
of these kingdoms and empires to gain prominence over a vast domain but they
were eventually brought down by enemies within collaborating with external
forces which is the exact situation of our beloved country Nigeria.
So much is responsible for the struggle for
national development and unity. Negligence, nepotism, ethnic sentiment,
favoritism, religious intolerance, corruption and lots more that I call
"forces of entropy". These have in no small measure destroyed the
country once built on the proceeds of cocoa, cola nut, groundnut, beans
pyramid, palm oil from the oil rich zone of Niger delta, coconut, etc. Our
economy at a certain stage was basically agrarian, yet we could afford free
education and free meal, give scholarships to students to study abroad, world
class basic amenities, etc. I find it difficult to understand why a country who
was an economic reference became a midget in terms of every available index.
The nation can't afford anything good anymore. Industrial action is the order
of the day, ASUU, NLC/TUC, COEASU are always embarking on industrial action. There
is acute unemployment and the nation is almost 60 years.
How many have gone to the people they elected to
represent their constituency to make life easier for them and asked them, “Sir/Ma,
what is the essence of sending you to represent our interests if you are not
delivering?” Nigerians lack the culture of reporting or better put, Nigerian
political leaders lack what you can call the sense of accountability. Invite
them to a town hall meeting and you will discover that they are comedians, but
they will try to sweet talk you and come back to request to be voted back into
office in spite of the fact that they are as empty as emptiness.
Nigerian youths can no longer compete with their
contemporaries in the larger world. Why? The answer is right there on the table
of the ministers of education, national planning, etc.
I have been outside of Nigeria, I have seen the
same things we have in Nigeria in some places I have had the opportunity of residing
in: fire service, effective policing, excellent infrastructure; and I know
Nigeria is rich and can afford all these things. I am not expecting Nigeria to
get to the same level as Britain, Japan, USA or Germany in one day, but the government
should be able to give the citizens at least 40 percent of what people in
Europe and America enjoy. Nigerians are not animals. We are human beings. I am
waiting for the day when Nigerians will boycott elections and make request for
better life and governance from the ruling few. I will help challenge in my own
little way and style.
Since 1999, please go ahead and read, check out
and ask the leaders from local government councillors to chairmen, House of Assembly
members, governors and commissioners, senators and members of the House of
Representatives, ministers and presidents what have they to show us for our
uninterrupted democracy. What we demand as Nigerians is a better life.
What are we celebrating, DEMOCRACY OR DEMOCRAZY?
Akorede Itunulevi 05-29-2014
The views expressed above are solely that of the author and not of darasimioshodiblogspot.com or its associates.
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