Amid unrestrained condemnations from ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and former Governor Peter Obi that Nigeria’s democracy has floundered, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, says democratic rule is a “work in progress.”
Mr Kukah said this on Monday in Abuja while speaking at a colloquium to mark the 60th birthday of former Governor Emeka Ihedioha.
While Mr Obasanjo said democracy was dyingunder the All Progressives Congress, Mr Obi said it had failed and collapsed.
“Democracy is work in progress. Democracy gives you the opportunity to try if you failed and gives you a greater opportunity to correct the former mistakes,” the Catholic bishop stated.
“The American constitution was first written in mind to protect the white property,” Mr Kukah explained. “Democracy is for the good of the people, as it has helped to destroy feudal system of government all over the world.”
Mr Kukah noted that Africans inherited a system “that’s not ours, but we can’t say it’s not relevant to us.”
“There are differences between democracy in Asia and that of Africa. What do you make of the tenets of democracy in Africa?
“The democratisation of development leads to the development of democracy. That is if you decide to equitably democratise development, and not take every institution, university, medical school whatever to your village and if all the roads are done,” Mr Kukah said.
He pointed out that “if we do not have a mechanism by which we are measuring our growth, our chase for a democratic society becomes an empty chase.”
Mr Kukah argued that democracy and its principles “are endless contestation of ideas, opportunity and privileges,” highlighting that “those who are privileged want to hold on to their privileges and those who are victims want to insist that life can be better.”
Meanwhile, Emeka Anyaoku, former secretary-general of the Commonwealth, said “true federalism” would resolve national issues.
“The nature of our politics and the conduct of our politicians is another problem of our democracy. They have become instruments of capturing political power, Mr Anyaoku said. “There is the need to amend the 1999 Constitution to guarantee the management of diversity in Nigeria.”
