Don Seeks Improvement in Nigeria’s Democracy
Funmi Ogundare
An emeritus professor of Philosophy at the National Open University of Nigeria, Godwin Sogolo, has called for the constant reformation and reworking of the country’s democratisation process, saying that such a move will lead to the desired perfection.
Sogolo said this during the maiden virtual seminar of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL) recently, titled ‘The Impact of Democracy on the Lives of Nigerians’.
He described democracy as an organic process expected to continue evolving and improving.
“There is always hope that relentless democratisation will lead to the perfection that we all desire. There is no perfect democracy anywhere in the world. Even more significant is the fact that there is no better alternative to democracy.”
According to him, democracy in the country has failed due to poor leadership, as democratically elected politicians hardly disregard the electorate’s interests.
“Nigerians are rooted in an authoritarian culture, tied to our traditional attitude of leadership and respect for elders; and more importantly, millions of Nigerians are mere spectators and peripheral participants in the drama of governance,” said Sogolo. “In fact, a majority of Nigerians are onlookers.”
He regretted the impunity in the country’s laws, rules and regulations, which were blatantly violated. He added that political leaders have increasingly become unaccountable to the electorate, and there is an increase in the general latitude towards criminality.
“The pillage of our commonwealth has gone ballistic in the last 23 years. Corruption has been unrelenting in upward march, as Nigeria leaders no longer steal in millions (except foreign currency), but in billions of naira,” Sogolo stressed.
He stated that the country’s leadership was self-serving and expressed concern about the pernicious consequences of poor governance in Nigeria, which has led to the rise of terrorism, banditry and the spread of kidnapping, saying that former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari were powerless to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, that had constituted a threat to the sanctity of the country’s sovereignty.
He also described the system of local government administration in Nigeria as a charade, accusing the governors of violating the Constitution by dissolving local government executives at will and putting their cronies in charge to hijack their monthly allocations.
