June 12 is a day to celebrate the first try by Nigerians to take power out of the hands of a military government and embrace democracy.
Sadly, many Nigerians are reluctant to even celebrate it as the many challenges we have been faced with over the years still linger.
Some years ago, this day was just about remembering the struggles of 1993, when Nigeria made the attempt to make a transition from military regime to a democratically elected government.
However, President Buhari changed the date to Nigeria’s Democracy Day. It now represents when the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999.
Prior to the change, Democracy Day was marked on May 29.
The end of military rule brought about a new era of regular elections as well as the return of civil liberties, a free press, and an end to arbitrary arrests and torture, although human rights violations still occur regularly.
As we celebrate this day, Nigerians cannot help but cling to the hope that things get better in the present Tinubu-led administration, as many are almost losing hope in the country.
This is evident in the number of brain drains we have and the number of youths leaving Nigeria in search of greener pastures.
Over the years, these challenges have paralysed Nigeria’s economy and severely tarnished its international reputation.
Corruption
One of the major concerns of the Buhari-led administration in 2015 said it would tackle was corruption.
In fact, it was the reason people voted for him, but that fight did not go as expected.
Unfortunately, corruption still remains a cankerworm that has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation.
Insecurity
The northern part of Nigeria has been ravaged by the operations of terrorist groups.
One significant one was the kidnapping of schoolchildren in Chibok in 2014.
Some of those girls have not returned till date.
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Farmers and traders go to work in fear of being killed or kidnapped by bandits.
The highways are not exempted from the activities of terrorists, as travelers are forcefully taken and asked to pay a ransom for their lives.
The Kaduna-bound train incident is still fresh in mind.
Power Shortage
Nigeria will do much better with electricity, as inadequate power supply has affected many businesses and other sectors of the economy.
High cost Of governance
The high cost of getting into government makes it difficult for the average Nigerian to get involved in politics.
Other factors that pose a threat to Nigeria’s democracy are:
Crude Oil Theft
Currently, Nigeria is losing huge amount of money to the activities of oil thieves, forcing production down and lowering the nation’s revenue.
Poor Justice Delivery
The justice system in Nigeria still needs a lot of reform to ensure cases are handled as quickly as possible and that corruption among officials is vehemently eschewed.
We are hopeful as Nigerians that these problems will be solved in the Tinubu-led administration and that people’s choices in governance will be respected.
This way, Nigerians can celebrate democracy with great joy.
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