By Arogbonlo Israel

Democracy Day in Nigeria is being celebrated on the 12th of June of every year. All thanks to President Muhammadu Buhari who, in his solidarity with the late Moshood Abiola popularly called MKO, changed the date from May 29 to June 12.

This day marks the transition of power from the military to a democratically-elected leader in 1999. However, the question now is, is the Nigeria today truly democratic when we still have cases of election rigging among other pitfalls confronting the polity?

It’s true and logical to say no democracy in the world is 100% perfect, but I would rather subscribe to the school of thought that advocate better governance in place of political tyranny.

Reflecting on the life and time of the late MKO, it is crystal clear that the Democracy being practiced in this regime is in no way comparable with what obtained in the 1993 election, an event many observers have described as the most significant in Nigeria’s post-independence political history. It is still viewed as the freest, fairest and most peaceful election ever held in Nigeria.

The 1993 election reflects the true form of democracy Nigeria ever had, as an estimated 14 million Nigerians – irrespective of ethnic, religious, class, and regional affiliations, (in a period when religious acrimony and tension had reached its zenith) – defied bad weather to elect their president with the hope of ending eight years of military dictatorships. What a democracy to behold!

If Nigeria must overcome its present political quagmire, I think it’s high time we reflected on the good of the 1993 political dispensation and make do with the tenets of the true democracy it brought to bear.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/06/june-12-democracy-in-undemocratic-regime-what-next/

Noted