Democracy
has been rightly described as the government of the people, by the
people, and for the people. This definition is axiomatic and clear. It
is believed that for any government to be labelled "democratic", it must
be a government where everybody is involved in governance whether
directly or indirectly and more importantly, such a government must
ultimately represent the interests of the masses. Unarguably, the
intentions of this well curled-up concept are beautiful and beneficial
to both the Haves and the Have-nots of the society, if properly
operated.
However, despite the earsplitting
and soul-wrecking day-to-day vociferations and even celebrations of
democracy in Nigeria, there remains too many instances questioning the
self-acclaimed democracy of the Nigeria state. A painstaking look into
the innumerable perceptible irregularities and imbalances in the system
keeps propelling the question; has Nigeria ever been truly democratic?
In
a simple clause, if calling Nigeria democratic adds to her pride as a
sovereign state, then, Nigeria operates an adulterated and RETRO-fined
democracy. A democracy that can be succinctly and well expressed as the
government of the few privileged old people, by the few privileged old
people and for the few privileged old people and their relatives.
Universally,
gerontocracy is a government by old people. Even though Nigeria has not
been formally declared a gerontocratic state, it is glaring the
sovereign state has gradually successfully retrogressed into one.
Basically, this retrogression started with the outset of the 4th
republic, and since then, it has become a norm in our system of
governance that a very large number of all the strategic political and
administrative positions are occupied by only very old men and women.
As
is known, oligarchy is a government of the privileged few for their own
selfish interests. This is equally another chaff in the wheat of
democracy in Nigeria as the few privileged old people in government are
all there to fill there pockets and bank accounts; people who do not
care about the masses who are supposed to be their major concerns. We
all know that a true democracy is supposed to be a government "FOR THE
PEOPLE"!
More so, how can we summon the consolation to pretend
not to notice the autocratic nature of the system? A system where a
single head at the centre tends to directly or indirectly control the
affairs of the others, where the constitution is not supreme, the
judiciary not independent, and the press not free.
Conclusively,
all these are a big cog in the wheel of our supposed-to-be democracy as
they negate its tenets. I opine that the not-too-young-to-rule movement
is a beautiful one that should be given a chance. Young Minds with
innovation and creativity should be allowed in the system with only few
experienced old people who can offer guidance and advice to the
youngsters in power.
But for now, HAPPY DEMOCRACY DAY to fellow political and civil members of our dear country.
Famakinde O. Michael
#theexcogitatoris
120619
0 Comments