Democracy In Nigeria: A case for citizens’ participation by David Dimas

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A cross section of lawmakers at the national assembly

By David Dimas

A cross section of lawmakers at the national assembly

The dishonorable happenings in the 8th National Assembly have resolutely convinced politically-engaged Nigerians that a critical mass of politicians in the upper and lower chambers of our law making ivory tower are not there for representative democracy, but to earn the largest legislative allowances and wages in the history of democracy on earth.

From the melodrama produced by the Machiavellian process of picking principal officers in the lawmaking assemblage to the current Saraki saga, the drama seems to keep evolving unabatedly from the floors of the both house. Nigerians are finding it hard to move on with zest as expected by standard demands of citizenship because those they have elected to represent them at the National Assembly now advance their personal interest without recourse to their constituents.

Let’s face it, insensitive politicians, irrespective of party affiliations, love to spend funds on themselves irrespective of any opinion from the citizens they have been elected to serve. No doubt, democracy is expensive! But why should they spend so much to keep the wheels of governance spinning than on sustainable development?

How come solutions to poverty and unemployment at the grassroots are all about tricycles and sewing machines but N 3.8 Billion is spent on Sports Utility vehicles (SUV) for themselves?

Why do our public officers think that people at the grassroots should be the only ones to take the hit in the bumpy ride to economic reconstruction?

The answers would be that our public officials are not accountable to the public. The elected members even attempted to redefine what free speech should be in our democracy. Money and power always have a way of introducing a twist in noble human rectitude.

Why should they be held accountable in the first place? After all, as purportedly written …Read More

Source:: PM Newspaper