Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar on Tuesday lamented that Democracy in Nigeria will continue to be threatened as long as opposition parties fail to put the ruling parties on its toes.
Atiku in a statement to mark the Democracy Day, said that the secondary purpose of declaring every June 12 as Democracy Day in the country is to commemorate the history of the nation’s long journey of becoming a stable democratic country.
He said that democracy is not yet virile if it continually fails to deliver the promises of prosperity and liberty to the people.
“The past nine years has thrown up a regime of extreme hardship manifested in excruciating poverty and unprecedented levels of violence and insecurity upon our people. Sadly, the ruling All Progressives Congress is to blame for bringing forth this dawn of gloom.
“But the opposition political parties are even more guilty than the ruling party for the seeming lack of capacity to come together and galvanize a coalition that will retire the ruling party and articulate a plan of good governance that will earn the conviction of Nigerians.
“Today, the failings of the opposition parties to uphold the functionality of their existence is the major threat to our democracy. The earlier they realise that the fortunes of Nigeria lies in their forging a coalition, the better it will be for our country and the people”.
He praised some of the founding fathers who helped to entrench a democratic culture in the country.
“Our current democratic dispensation is a quarter of a century old, it will not be out of place to pay tributes to the sacrifices made by many patriots, chiefly among them Basorun MKO Abiola and his beloved wife, Alhaja (Mrs) Kudirat Abiola, Tafida Shehu Yar’Adua and Alfred Rewane, among many others.
“The historical timeline of the struggle that birthed this democracy is abundant with a series of coalitions and alliances amongst the political leaderships of that era to flush away the vestiges of military and dictatorial governance in order to return power to the people”.
He said that the country in the past 25 years, have witnessed an uninterrupted season of electoral politics.
He added that it is worthy of celebration and commendation must go to the people of the country and the political class for having embraced the rectitude of nurturing a democracy, as well as the civil society.
He said that it is important that all stakeholders continue to do their bit to ensure the sustainability of the democracy.
