An emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the National Open University of Nigeria ( NOUN), Godwin Sogolo, has called for reformation and reworking of the country’s democratisation process, pointing out that there is no better alternative to democracy.

Sogolo, who was the guest speaker at the  maiden virtual seminar of the Nigerian Academy of Letters (NAL), entitled “The impact of democracy on the lives of Nigerians,” lamented that democracy has failed in the country.

He blamed the development on poor leadership, and accused political office holders, saying they are ”selfish and have no regard for the electorate.”

He described democracy as an organic process expected to continue evolving and improving, noting that “democratisation is an evolutionary and not a revolutionary process of governance.”

He said: “There is always hope that relentless democratisation will lead to the perfection that we all desire. There is no perfect democracy anywhere in the world. Even more significant is the fact that there is no better alternative to democracy.

“Nigerians are rooted in an authoritarian culture, tied to our traditional attitude of leadership and respect for elders; and more importantly, millions of Nigerians are mere spectators and peripheral participants in the drama of governance.In fact, a majority of Nigerians are onlookers.”

He regretted the impunity in the country’s laws, rules and regulations, which were blatantly violated.
He added that political leaders have increasingly become unaccountable to the electorate, and there is an increase in the general latitude towards criminality.

“The pillage of our commonwealth has gone ballistic in the last 23 years. Corruption has been unrelenting in upward march, as Nigeria leaders no longer steal in millions (except foreign currency), but in billions of naira,” Sogolo stressed.

He stated that the country’s leadership was self-serving and expressed concern about the pernicious consequences of poor governance in Nigeria, which has led to the rise of terrorism, banditry and the spread of kidnapping saying that former Presidents Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari were powerless to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, that had constituted a threat to the sanctity of the country’s sovereignty.

He also described the system of local council administration in Nigeria as a charade, accusing the governors of violating the Constitution by dissolving local government executives at will and putting their cronies in charge to hijack their monthly allocations.
He added: “Democracy was intended to rescue us from the arbitrariness, lawlessness, insensitivity, and corruption of military rule. It is difficult to say, after 23 years of democratic governance, that these objectives have been achieved. We are still plagued by many shortcomings, some with greater intensity.

“Given the gross insecurity of the Buhari (former President) years and the current harsh economic conditions, occasioned by the reform programmes of the Tinubu Administration, it would be difficult to find anyone with a kind word for our current political leaders, nor the system that produced them.”