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SWALLOWING THE BITTER PILL OF MAY 29 BY Here is a day that was meant to be a memorable one for Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora. May 29th, a day set aside to celebrate democracy in Nigeria, a day that promised holding more relevance than October 1st in lieu of the significance of a truly people oriented democratic rule as against the symbolic change of flags without appriopriate and truly sovereign structures that was October 1st 1960.
On May 29th 1999, Nigerians and friends of Nigeria across the world celebrated the return of democratic rule in Nigeria after years of tortuos military dictatorship. General Abdusalam Abubakar, the humble and statesmanly Head of state that came into the picture after the unscheduled demise of the ambitious dictatator, General Sani Abacha had hurriedly put up a transition to civil rule programme meant to finally end military rule. This transition programme that attracted both criticisms and applause from those who wished the amiable General Abubakar to hang on a bit more and those who just wanted the military to quit the scene immediately, finally culminated in the elections of 1999 and subsequent swearing in of General Olusegun Obasanjo as Nigeria's new civilian leader.
I wish to state that despite the apparent reality of the fact that the Obasanjo presidency was a thought-out agenda of a few power brokers who needed a more unsuspecting platform to retain power, and had nothing to do with the wishes of Nigerians, or even the immediate aspirations of a man who had just regain his liberty from a prison sentence, yet the realisation of democracy indeed was a dream come true and the actualisation of that dream on May 29th, 1999 made that day sacrosanct in history. As a matter of fact, by this time, Nigerians had become so emotional with the democratic experiment that anybody that ascends Aso Rock in the name of democracy will be widely heralded.
It was widely proclaimed then, and even now that "the worst of a civilian government is better than the best of military rule" However, events of the past four years has left Nigerians with almost nothing to cheer about. This democracy has not really delivered more than any other government, even though some will easily interprete the growth in personal wealth and capital accumulation by a priviledge few to mean progress. I refrain from talking about infrastructural development because it is a well known fact that there has been a negative growth in that area in this dispensation . What a shame for a developing nation not to have an infrastructural development policy.
The economy is still in comatose and every known index has deteriorated consistently while the Chief Economic Adviser to the president, Dr Magnus Kpakol keeps deceiving the nation with unrealistic figures portraying an utopic healthy economy. The educational sector has totally collapsed, the nation's tertiary institutions has been shut for the past 5 months as teachers protest against government neglect and under funding. The president however believes that all is well, after all, he his administration has tremendously boosted the pay package of the university workers, he also believes that he has granted autonomy to Federal schools in an attempt to boost funding.
What an indulgence in escapism. One will like to really find out if the president expects the teachers to use their highly enhanced salaries to furnish the depleted, empty and outdated book- shelves, or equip the the socratic-age laboratories from their personal emoluments, or may be lecturers should start donating mattresses to students (inmates) in the alcatraz-like hostels. The very idea of university autonomy is quite mischievious, obnoxious and destructive. Already the average Nigerian student struggles to pay the various fees and levies imposed by the universities, then what will happen if the Federal Government now withdraws the free tuition policy. What then will be the responsibility of the government to its subjects?
What a shame, that the government of an oil rich nation should at this point contemplate making education an exclusive reserve of the the rich and mighty. So what then are the dividends of democracy? Mind you, I am not in any way a military apologist, but I do believe that we should not deceive ourselves. Obasanjo's government has been nothing but a monumental failure, and in the practice of democracy, nothing more than a re-packaged military dictator.
The retired General is no less a military dictator, not with his intolerant posture towards opposing views, his self-opinionated and machievellian approach to power and administration. So what is democratic rule when the executive so tampered with the principle of separation of powers and checks and balances that the legislative arm became a mere rubber stamp, and at best a battle ground between presidential loyalist and other power brokers within the house.
I wish to also assert that the instability of the legislative arm in the past four years can be attributed to an imperialistic executive interference. What then is democracy? Already, the clamour for who leads the legislative arm is reaching an advanced stage, and yet again, it may be another presidential imposition. Some have talked about press freedom as a dividend of democracy, but I wish to state that freedom does not just entail being outside confinement.
There may not have been molestation of journalists, or closure of media houses, but I wish to say without any prejudice and discredit to the dynamic Nigerian press that there is a more subtle force of repression acting against dissemination of truth more than physical oppression. Many are dancing to the tune of the paymasters. They have come up with a propaganda of using preservation of democracy as a blackmail on reporters who insists on telling the truth as it is, they warned journalist not to contribute to "overheating" the system when they are the ones that ignited the the coal with the fire of electoral fraud and corruption.
They want the press to be in their mold, an average press conference in the wake of the elections was nothing more than an assault session (both the presidential and minister of Information press conference! s after the elections) where intimidating insinuations aimed at suppressing truth were the order. Or you need to hear the PDP chairman, Audu Ogbeh at their "cake cutting ceremony" threatening press men with coup and some childish rattlings about sharing the same prison cell if military should take over power. Where then do we get the press freedom.
FAITH IN DEMOCRACY Despite the foregoing, it is very interesting to note that Nigerians still keeps faith with the democratic culture, it seems to me that our people have imbibed the principles of democracy despite the fact that our leaders yet to do so. It is clear that the Nigerian people are so positive about the democratic experiment that they are looking beyond the inconsistencies of today. I must commend our people for keeping faith in the midst of leadership betrayal. Our people cherish and treasures democracy, but our rulers prefers to do it their own way, "they chose themselves, by themselves and for themselves."
The 2003 elections was no doubt an assault on the intelligence of the Nigerian people. I don't wish to dwell on the conduct of the elections, but I wish to state that it might as well go down in history as the most intelligently executed election fraud in world history. They claim the election was free and fair because the people were orderly and peaceful, I wish to tell them that the orderliness in voting did not constitute free and fair elections, because beyond the tranquility was the robbery and rape of popular mandate.
WHY MAY 29 WILL STAND However, despite the irregularities and subsequent threats and protests by the opposition, it does occur to me that the Nigerian people still treasure the significance of May 29 above whatever happens after, not even the threat of an imminent hike in prices of petroleum products as promised by the president during his campaigns, or the excercabation of poverty and capitalistic oppression with the furtherance of the privatisation project, nor the possibility of public universities closing down to give room for elitist private schools run by cronies and partners of government officials tends to be shaking the faith Nigerians have in democracy. Democracy has come to stay, and the average Nigerian is not considering a recourse, no alternatives, the military alternative never worked, so for Nigeria, it is democracy or nothing irrespective of the kind of democracy and how it is achieved and sustained.
What an irony, and what a price to pay for a people whose only natural limitation has been dearth of visionary leadership. It appears to me that the opposition can as well go and plan against a possible 100% PDP victory in 2007 rather than cry over a spill milk, the people have already express an outlook that implies that they are ready to acquiesce and capitulate to whoever is having the upper hand, in this case Obasanjo. People are more concerned about maintaining the peace than fighting a war for justice. so let it be. As the Obasanjo team are being sworn in for another four years in the saddle, I wish to remember the words of Chief Gani Fawehinmi, lawyer, human rights activist and presidential aspirant of the National Conscience Party, that " if truly Nigerian voted for Obasanjo in the last elections, then they have voted for poverty and backwardness".
That is why for Nigeria and Nigerians, May 29 is a bitter pill that we have chosen to swallow. May 2003
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