As the nation celebrates yet another Democracy Day marking almost two decades of unbroken democratic rule, Senator Solomon Adeola
Chairman of Senate Committee on Local Content, Solomon Adeola, has called on Nigerians to continue to work towards the deepening of the nation’s democratic experience as alternatives remain odious in the comity of nations.
In celebration of Democracy Day, the senator, in a statement by his Media Adviser, Chief Kayode Odunaro, stated that while democracy dividends, in terms of socio-economic and infrastructure development may be slow in coming, and in limited spheres, in the last 19 years, owing to many factors such as inexperience, external forces and mis-governance by some officials, “it is still better to continue to develop under a democratic system of government, under the rule of law, than any authoritarian system. As an active participant in elective positions at state and federal government levels in our current nascent democracy, my position is for both the leaders and the led to continue to work to ensure the survival of our democracy with qualitative developments as occurred in 2015 when a ruling political party for the first time transferred power to an opposition party”, the senator stated.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum and Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, maintained that democracy has finally come to stay in Nigeria.
The governor, who stated this in his democracy day speech, noted that for Nigeria to have remained under democratic rule for 19 uninterrupted years, in spite of all the challenges confronting her as a multi-ethnic nation, calls for celebration and sober reflection.
He advised that Nigerians, at this stage, should also grow beyond ethnic politics to help our democracy grow faster than expected.
“Democracy in Nigeria has come to stay and what is expected in the circumstance is for all hands to be on deck so that we can build a democratic Nigeria of our collective dream and aspiration, and where peace and unity abound,” the governor said.