Democracy Day: Celebration of mixed feelings

Today, the Federal Republic of Nigeria marked its 19th Democracy Day. As the nation celebrates, Nigerians have bared their mind on the good the bad and the ugly of what was won through blood, tears and sweat.

 Some are of the opinion that Democracy Day has become a day to cry for help as there is an increase at the rate of killings, insecurity and hardship across the country.

While others are thankful to God for keeping the country united and in a relative peace despite the killings, the insecurity and the hardship.

Though, the idea behind democracy was to have a government of the people, by the people and for the people. But, in the case of Nigeria, it seems democracy is the government of the few, by the few and for the few.

Little wonder, more people in this country rejoice when there is a change in government but their rejoicing end less than a month into the regime of the new government when they realise that the change in government is nothing but a change in the name of the president or the name of the political party. A situation one can illustrate by saying the Lion drop the crown, the Tiger takes over.

Since 1999 when the country began to enjoy this uninterrupted reign of democracy, it has been a state of comparison between what bad leadership has made to look like two unlikely evils. That is democracy and military regime.

Nigeria's 19 years old democracy and the way is being practised here has made the oppressed who are over 80% of the country's population to keep wishing for an obvious evil rather than a heaven of uncertainty and failed promises.

Every 29 of May, the incumbent leaders of the country keep coming up with the same promises, the same aspirations and projections in their democracy speeches. The funny part of it is that they always end it with the cliché "Happy Democracy Day". This leaves one to wonder how many of the over 180 million Nigerians are really happy to be reminded that this country is practising the same democracy being practised in USA, Canada, South Africa, Ghana to mention but a few.

Well, they say the last thing to leave a man with is hope and Nigerians have plenty of that. Hopefully, come 29th of May, 2019, this country will have a renew hope that will not end four years after in more lamentations but in a glorious testimony. Till then, let the celebration of mixed feelings continues.

Written by Olugbodi Florence and Victor Ernest.