Political activist Deji Adeyanju has said that Nigeria is showing no visible signs of progress to justify celebrating its 65th Independence Anniversary. He is of the opinion that democracy in the country has been undermined in recent years.
Speaking via a press statement issued online, he insisted that Independence Day is supposed to represent continuous efforts toward genuine nation-building instead of just a symbolic date.
According to him, while democracy seems to exist only in Abuja, it is almost non-existent in other states across Nigeria, and this has given governors the power to do and undo with zero accountability.
“As Nigeria marks another Independence Day, it is important for us to reflect on the state of our democracy. Today, democracy in Nigeria seems to exist only in Abuja; it is almost non-existent at the subnational levels. Our governors wield excessive power with little to no accountability and are shielded from scrutiny even as their salaries and allowances continue to rise,” it read.
He further faulted the non-enforcement of the Supreme Court’s judgment on local government autonomy, stressing that leaders cannot decide which laws to obey.
Adeyanju concluded by saying that Nigerians cannot celebrate Independence Day when they are not even guaranteed security in the country.
“Independence means nothing without security. Every other day, we hear of ‘unknown gunmen’ unleashing terror across the nation. This cannot continue,” it added.
