Many years ago when the late Afrobeat maestro and prophet, Fela Anikulapo Kuti lamented about our brand of democracy and concluded in his songs that it was rather a demonstration of craze, many did not see what he saw but today he is vindicated.
Since 1999, every administration had always tried to improve the lots of Nigeria, except Buhari’s administration. Not only that he toppled a democratically elected government as a military dictator, he has gone ahead to rubbish all the tenets of democracy in his second coming.
The question arising from happenings today is whether Nigeria still practices democracy under Buhari.
Buhari’s is a type of democracy where a man was jailed because he named his dog Buhari. A democracy where Judiciary was raided like den of robbers. A democracy where the legislature has turned to a toothless bulldog. A democracy where anyone who disagrees with Buhari’s government is hounded.
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Same enemy of democracy suddenly asks everyone to celebrate June 12, 1993 as a democracy day. That’s quite hypocritical of him because June 12, 1993 is synonymous with free and fair elections.
Are the elections Buhari conducted anywhere near the ones conducted by successive administrations, let alone the 1993 elections?
He has instituted killings, ballot box snatching, thuggery, vote buying, over voting, inconclusive elections in Nigeria.
Buhari’s is a democracy where freedom of speech, worship, and other fundamental human rights are constantly trampled upon. A democracy where it’s now a privilege for the masses to see their president address them publicly. What we now see is what the “PRESIDENCY” said, and not what the President said. The President only communicates to the people on recorded and not live broadcasts like other leaders elsewhere in the world.
What kind of democracy is it where licensed firearms are mopped up and, unlicensed rifles left in the hands of Fulani herdsmen who have turned Nigeria into a killing field?.
The Buhari administration has made Nigerians to lose interest in the country entirely. This is why while Nigerians are being slaughtered in their hundreds on daily basis in various parts of the country, the masses instead of taking to the streets to draw the attention of the world, opted for ‘black lives matter’ protest for George Floyd killed in far away US. Are the hundreds of people killed here daily not blacks, or is it that our lives doesn’t matter? That’s the pathetic situation we are into as a result of insensitive leadership.
The greatest disservice Nigeria is doing to its young population is keeping them in perpetual ignorance of our history. Most of them do not even know what is being celebrated, and why June 12 now replaced May 29. The very young population is in course to repeat the same mistakes of the past.
Nigeria is increasingly on a downward spiral, and all the gains made so far in our democracy have been bastardized. Imagine screening a sitting Governor of Edo State out of a party primary because of the same certificate he used to clinch the same governorship seat, all because a godfather do not want him anymore. The irony of the whole thing is that it happened on democracy day.
If Fela was alive today, he would have been ashamed that the man he rightly described as “Animal in craze man skin” is presiding over the affairs of humans once again. He would be laughing in his usual way that a renowned dictator was christened a “converted democrat”. He would have been ashamed that the youths have all turned sycophants and are celebrating “International thieves”.
Fela would have been laughing at us that the same man who bought austerity measures, still got us into recession again. He would have been awed that we are demonstrating our craze stark naked today.
He would rather be amazed that the citizens actually joined to celebrate this demonstration of craze.
By Odumodu Gbulagu
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
