A former Minister of Education and chieftain of the Social Democratic Party, Professor Tunde Adeniran, has x-rayed the 20 years of democratic rule in Nigeria, saying we are where we are presently because we have failed to build democratic institutions.
Prof Adeniran lamented that rather than being focused, we gave greater attention to individuals struggling for positions.
Speaking exclusively with The Point at weekend, Adeniran said building stronger institutions is a sure way to having a long-lasting democracy.
“Nigerians have been trying to institutionalise democracy, trying to do things along the lines of democracy. Ordinarily, Nigeria should have consolidated the institutions and not only built them. We should have used the institutions to improve the lives of Nigerians generally so that there would be stability, peace and progress. There should be progress in the social-political rhelm and for economic development, but we have not achieved that.
“There are some areas of concern at this point, though we have done fairly well so far. At least, we are still in democracy. But, at the same time, the democratic processes are not perfect. While it is assumed that it cannot be perfect overnight, we do not have any reason to be where we are.
“We are where we are now because of the attitude of our people who are not ready to make the sacrifices that democracy demands. We want the end-product; dividends of democracy without being ready to make the necessary sacrifices to contribute to the growth of democracy to build the institutions.
“We have developed the attitude of personalising things.We think more of individuals, individuals struggling for positions, individuals wanting to be this or that, without thinking of building institutions. Whereas once the institutions are strong, it will not matter who is there. It will be difficult for anybody to tamper with it and try to injure the polity.
“So, we have a long way to go by making sure we de-emphasised the practitioners, the individuals, the dramatis personae in the political field and consolidate on institutions. Let’s build the institutions, let the parties be strong, let our judiciary be strong, and of course, we must think more of the nation. The more we think of the nation, the more we will be thinking of the future, not only for the coming generation but everlasting, so that it will be seen that whoever that is there in 100 years time will know there is a tradition to build on.
“Recently, you see what happened in Zamfara, that is a plus for the judiciary. It is also a lesson for all of us. You have rules set up by the political parties and those rules are not being obeyed. People believe they can do anything not minding the consequences for the individuals who are paying the bills in the belief that there are some rules.
“There is an excessive monetisation of the process and this is not good for the country. There are men and women of quality, particularly among the younger generation, that have so much to offer this country but because the process has been so monetised, these people are automatically ruled out.”
