Opinion: Democracy, Corruption and Countrymen – By Lukman Sarumi

Across the world today, Athens jusxtapositional  system of government is the most widely practiced form in every sphere of a nation’s affairs, indirect democracy is adopted in replacement of the direct form practicable in the ancient Greek city state as the best system of government. This is however unconnected with it basic principles which provides utmost fairness for the governed populace. In Africa, the tenets of a democratic system of government in replacement to the junta sit tight administration is been adopted. Akin to the experience of many countries in Africa, Nigeria returned to a democratic-civilian rule in 1999 after the “Say, touch, do and Implement” theory of the military governments.

 Latent rosiness and renewed hopes filled the air upon the return of a democratic-civil rule in Nigeria, the hopes wore was in celebrating the future of seeing economic development rise to it peak, sustenance of  security of lifes and property, accrument in her citizenry welfarism and above all regard for a vital feature of democracy “rule of law”. Dismally this optimism seems to be a mirage, disapppoinment was borne in the breed representative democracy provided us with, money bag politics, corruption, impunity were the end result.

Article 21 of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights stipulates: “The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures”. Once again the polls were approached and the cornerstone rode on the platform of change and gracefully the will of the people prevailed.

Just when the hearts saw giving up as an option, a sheriff who refused to give up on his mission came running again however on a major collaboration and he is fit  to be conferred the honor of an old tenant, One who knows the nooks and crannies of his abode, one who knows what to do when he needs discharge an overstaying visitor. He lives in a majestic ‘aso’ at the top of a rock coupled with vast royal diadem. His story is that of a general whose cycle of progression enabled him leave behind his khaki for agbada, this evolution can as well be linked to what is called the cycle of progression or movement pattern.

A land filled with milk and honey was what we use to have, in abundance we ate, without worries we transacted, daily we woke up to the news of how big and mighty our giant was within it peers, in it simplest form haggling was minimal they had lots to deep into hence they had no reason to beat the price, all that mattered was the end product.  A cleansing process is required, our sheriff was willing to restore sanity, the yam eaters he was willing to curb, our system he wanted to set right only to be met with our hypocritical demons, with a head raised with pride we stood and marched for the goats accused of eating our common wealth, with utmost disregard for our moral values we sang praises of witch hunt, regional, ethnical alongside religious rants succeeded in becoming the basis. Gullibility at it peak, the eaters are united in amassing the collective wealth while we fall prey to the divide theory.  In the front line are those who we call the future, agog they went upon the arrival of a sentenced goat.

 Once again our optimism for a better democratic system via the mantra of change is a mirage, old wines are back in a new bottle.  Our milky lands are losing it source and a river that sets to forget it source will cease to flow, your hands must be clean in a bid to cleanse a land you all brought destruction to. The never relenting not too young to run campaigners seek not to extirpate the act of corruption rather within their various jurisdiction they exhibit acts advocating the opposite.