Shettima blames democratic failure in Africa on complex pressures 

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed regret that democracy in Africa is experiencing setbacks, blaming it on complex pressure, which includes past and contemporary challenges, like endemic poverty and insecurity in many countries of the continent.

Shettima spoke, yesterday, at the National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria, organised by African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD) in Abuja. He was represented by his Special Adviser on Political Issues, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed.

He said: “We live in a highly competitive world, where values compete for power to validate them, and a world where conduct of leaders often challenge assumptions that democratically-elected officers live by the highest standards of morality and rule of law.”

According to the Vice President, Nigeria’s position, as the bastion of democracy in Africa, is to respect the sovereignty of people and encourage a return to democracy because citizens in each country desire that return.

“Today, we stand at a point where only the most critical scrutiny of our democratic assets and systems will guarantee that they survive and deliver on their promises. We can rightly state that we have earned the right to live only under a democratic system,” Shettima added.

He said Nigeria would rise again, answer to its full potential and lead the way to a future that would have learnt lessons from the difficult past.

“It has been said many times that democracy is an imperfect system, yet superior to all others. We will continue to seek to provide evidence of the values of the democratic systems by, among others, fixing major weaknesses of the economy, securing our communities, fighting corruption and supporting free and fair elections.”

According to him, the current administration has a major interest in the quality of the democratic system and a key responsibility in improving the elements that constitute the democratic system.

EARLIER in his remarks, the founding Executive Director, of the centre, Mr Otive Igbuzor, said the centre organised the conference to initiate reforms that would enhance the electoral process and ensure that leadership selection would be credible in Nigeria and Africa.

Igbuzor lamented that, for too long, the political landscape in Nigeria had been dominated by the elite.

He added that it had left citizens feeling alienated from the governance processes that directly impact their lives.

“We are fostering the development of political parties that are truly representative, open to internal democracy, and accountable to the people. By addressing these issues, we’ll envision parties championing the voice and needs of Nigerians, providing viable choices for leadership and governance.”

“As conveners, we have assembled to address the complexities and setbacks Nigeria’s democratic system currently faces, to find actionable solutions that can restore and strengthen our national governance.”

According to him, Nigeria’s democracy will only flourish when backed by a collaborative approach that brings together government institutions, civil society, the media and citizens.

“The outcomes from this conference will provide a solid foundation on which we can rebuild confidence in our institutions, increase transparency, and set a standard of integrity for future governance,” he explained.