June 12 and Values of Democracy -By Adetunji Ayobrown

Ideally, two decades of uninterrupted civil administration of nationhood should provide an handful opportunities, not only to reflect on the journey so far but also to forge a clear and appropriate path of progress in terms of achievements.

But in place of our own openness, despite our desire to be carried along in the affairs concerning every one of us in this country, yet Mr. President is not being open. The fact is that Nigerians are shocked that while bandits were busy killing our compatriots in Katsina, Kaduna, Zamfara, Borno, Kogi, and various parts of our dear nation, even on the eve of his broadcast, President Muhammadu Buhari was claiming that his regime had secured the country.

As a matter of fact, the President seems not to be talking about the Nigerian nation, the 2020 Democracy Day broadcast by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) is classified by many as mere speech, lacking necessary ingredients needed to lift the nation out of its present political and economic predicaments. For example, in the 2019 Democracy Day address, he promised to frontally address daunting challenges, especially insecurity, the economy, and corruption bedeviling the nation. But today, the fact is that nothing has changed, instead, we have poverty and insecurity ravaging the citizenry.

For example, it was widely reported that insurgents killed over a 100 people in a brutal and daring attack in a swoop. Maybe they had a reinforcement or something of sort, Nigerians were made to believe that Boko Haram had been technically defeated. We never thought that in 2020, the only assurances would be the president’s message. For hours, while the attacks lasted, residents of these communities revealed that their attackers had no one to challenge them. Everyone thought that in a matter of months or perhaps just a few years at most, these stories would have become history. Instead and sadly, these problems have not only withstood the FG’s countermeasures they could offer, the whole scenario seems to be business as usual.

It has become seriously mind bothering for all and sundries. Why would the presidential address fail to show any commitment to our electoral reforms in his 38-minute pre-recorded message is another issue that calls for greater concerns and cause of worry at all levels of governance. Because without fair and credible elections, economic progress is rather impossible. Insufficiency in democratic practices among our politicians is also a worsening crisis of governance in our polity.

Nigerians have described it as an ordinary broadcast without any meaningful message, while some said it is a huge and unpardonable slap on the face of our nation’s democratic process. President Buhari has no assurance to give us about electoral reforms and credible elections, which are part of the hallmark of democracy.

Annulment of the freest and fairest poll ever in Nigeria’s electioneer history is considered by all as been responsible for the challenges facing the country today. Yet, as I write this, nothing seems to have changed under Buhari’s regime.

It was not enough for Buhari to merely declare June 12 as Democracy Day but would have been better to investigate and punish those behind annulment of the election in which the late business mogul, Chief Moshood Abiola, was wrongful denied his victory. Proper investigations into what transpired during the 1993 presidential election and appropriate punishment according to laws of the land should be meted to those responsible for dastardly act, in which notable figures, like Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd) and many more others were fingered.

The general opinion is that regardless of the assurances given by governments, the criminals will come back because they seem to have a better understanding of our security services’ intelligence and operations. Banditry and Boko haram are still intractable, in multiple attacks in Faskari, Gubio in Katsina and Borno states respectively, what seems like coordinated bandits and Boko Haram insurgents attacks swept across these towns, leaving close to a hundred mutilated bodies and many more with injuries.

If the government and the security services truly recognize and understood modifications from one level of criminality to another higher and more complex one, anti-terrorism response ought to have not only shown our preparedness in aborting such menaces.

Neither the states nor the Federal Government has proven that they know how best to deal with the crises of Boko Haram and issues of banditry. Banditry, in the beginning, was mostly limited to the northern part of the country but has now become a menace in the southern part, and obviously, the security agents seem to be overwhelmed.

Most Nigerians believed our president ought to know that for us to move forward as a nation, proper inventories are necessary, not minding where we are supposed to have gone wrong. The appropriate question is what could we have done differently or gone wrong?

Though the President assured Nigerians that security agents would apprehend the perpetrators, he attributed the renewed killings witnessed in Katsina and Borno states to the restrictions imposed to curtail the spread of Coronavirus. It was a flimsy excuse that bewildered some protesters in the President’s home state, Katsina, who burnt down a campaign billboard of the All Progressives Congress with pictures of Buhari and the state governor, Aminu Masari. Also last week, insurgents attacked Fanduma Koloram in Gubio Local Government Area of Borno State and killed 81 persons.

Up till a few weeks ago, the claims by the FG that banditry on one hand and Boko Haram on the other hand had all be subdued was believed to be an exaggeration. It is rather scandalous that after many of such broadcasts, Buhari’s Democracy Day speech seems too ordinary to citizens without any meaningful explanation but such that is worsening their predicaments.

There is no denying the fact that the media has been an effective watchdog for the society, especially in holding public officers accountable, he admitted that the relationship between the media and his government is awful, promising to ensure Nigeria is governed by the rule of law. This has made many to wonder how he has upheld the constitution while disobedience of the court’s rules and orders were the hallmark of his regime.

It grew from one point nine-one percent in 2018 to two-point two-seven percent in 2019 but declined to one point eighty-seven percent in the first quarter of 2020. On the economy, the macro-economy reflects negativity, achieved zero figures of lives of Nigerians, explanations around eleven quarters of consecutive GDP growth as described by Buhari has impoverished the citizens more.

So alarming is the unemployment rate; economists and financial experts pointed out long ago that without a declaration of a state of emergency on unemployment, no tangible difference may be achieved, the economic factor is a major factor. Records show that for every 1% of unemployment, there is about 8% rise in crime rates like armed robbery and suicide cases. A thirsty man is likely prone to drowning, unemployment, and crimes all walk hand-in-hand because idle minds are devils’ workshop, statistical data pointed that out clearly. Every day, vulnerable Nigerians are growing more in numbers because of poverty. About the time the Buhari government be proactive and check the unnecessary loss of lives to terror groups and insurgents.