Tuesday, 28 January 2025 08:55

No Political Peer Has Sacrificed For Democracy Like Me – Atiku

The former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has warned that democracy in Nigeria was failing to deliver expected good governance to citizens.

Atiku stated this while speaking as a thematic discussant of a Paper titled ‘Party Politics and Political Integrity: The Role of Political Parties and Opposition in Democracy’ presented by Professor Bayo Olukoshi at the National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria held at the Continental Hotel Abuja, on Monday.

 
 

Atiku noted that the nation’s democracy was at crossroads and must be rescued from its challenges.

 
 
 
 

“There’s no doubt that our democracy is at a crossroads. Put simply, it is at the risk of eroding completely. And it is not caused by one single person or one single administration.

“In fact, a number of us have been warning over the years that we may come to this pass if we lose our vigilance and fail to take corrective actions to protect and deepen our democracy.

“At the risk of sounding modest, I doubt that there are many contemporary senior political leaders who have spoken out and done more to promote democratic governance in our country than me,” he said.

The former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said some of the sacrifices he made for democracy in the country were a result of political struggles.

In addition to public statements and presentations, I brought some actions to our courts which produced landmark judicial decisions intended to uphold democratic principles and practices.

“Some of that effort was thrust upon me by circumstances of political struggles. But much of my effort was because of two things: my participation among other leaders in the struggles to ease the military out of power; and my deep and enduring belief that democracy is the best route to development and unity for our diverse country and peoples,” he stated.

Governance Failure and Electoral Malpractices

Former Vice President Atiku decried that democracy in the country has been devoid of good governance.

Discover The Secret To A 124-Year-Long Life!
CARDIOTON
 
Cleans Blood Vessels Better Than Any Pill! Try It!
CARDIOTON
 
Unlock The Secret To A 124-Year-Olds Vibrant Life
CARDIOTON

He noted that citizens have also been denied the right to elect their leaders as a result of state capture and electoral malpractices.

One thing we can’t seriously dispute is the serious decline in governance consistent with the erosion of people’s freedoms to choose leaders. Nostalgic references to First Republic’s development strides relative to the subsequent periods are indicative of this decline.

“The deterioration in people’s freedom to choose their leaders has led to what many now regard as state capture in our country, the gravest consequence of which is the increasing difficulty in removing those in power through democratic means.

“This conference is, therefore, very germane indeed. Change through democratic means is still better for democracy and development to endure. The work being proposed by the organizers of this conference is vitally important for safeguarding and deepening our democracy,” Atiku stated.

The Way Forward

On the way forward, the four-time presidential candidate called for institutional strengthening.

Starting from party politics, Atiku called for people-based ownership and funding of political parties to strengthen the nation’s political institutions.

Democracy can’t be sustained without strong political parties, especially opposition parties. Parties need to be strong and democratic enough to be able to fulfill their roles. Ownership of parties by or their subordination to individual big men is the antithesis of democracy. 

 

“Members must invest in and co-own parties. When people start from the point of view that ‘Tinubu is rich or Peter Obi is rich or Atiku is rich, so I don’t have to contribute, they surrender to the big man’s dominance of parties,” he said.

The PDP chieftain further called for a reform of the nation’s electoral laws and judiciary.

He emphasized that these institutions play a critical role for democracy to deliver good governance to citizens.

“If the rot in our judiciary persists without severe consequence for the perpetrators, our parties and our democracy are unlikely to survive,” he warned.



Join us on Whatsapp Channel Subscribe to Telegram Channel