THE AUTOCRACY IN DEMOCRACY: A CRITICISM OF THE UNDEMOCRATIC DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA.

The struggle and liberation from British imperialism finally came in 1960. We Nigerians became the most happiest people in Africa. Our leaders who took over power formed the first republic. They were eager, tasty for power and desperate to rule. This desperation for power blinded their eyes. Ethnicity and greed crawled and penetrated into them like a venomous snake and power became the end result of which they all carryout various ritual to achieve hence, the beginning autocracy and undemocratic practice was invited into our democracy. Because of the struggle for power, they could not manage the political system of the country and everything became corrupt and tyranny prevailed in a democracy. There was rigging everywhere, forceful imposition of candidates on us and men killed their fellow men all for power and crisis became a way of life in our country. But in January 15 1966, the political atmosphere of our country changed and the wind of the military came in with force and blew away the first republic and it's politicians. The coming of the military brought hope in our minds but this hope became our terrible nightmare because another higher tyranny emerge which restricted our freedom and limited our happiness. After years of military rule coupled with the unnecessary civil war, the political system of Nigeria was still characterised by greed where power fell from one military government to another civilian government until 1999 when power finally fell in the hands of another civilian government.

We became happy again. We had a strong feeling that this time our democracy will be restored. But from 1999 till date, our democracy was not only restored but it was restored with many elements of undemocratic practice. This restored democracy undermined our Popular sovereignty. Our leaders who regulated this democracy since 1999 became the worst form of mischievous leaders and charlatans who became more dangerous to our lives. It became so worst that candidates are picked by the shadow Cabal and imposed on us as leaders. From every state of the federation, there are godfathers who determine how the politics of their state will be run. The cabal who are mostly behind the scene always influence the body responsible for the conduct of every elections in the country just for their godsons to emerge victoriously. It became so worst that power was so sweet and our leaders will threaten to unleash war and terror on us if they failed their second tenure election. In other for the cabal to always run the system, they created poverty through their unending looting in other for us to starve and hunger so that at the end of every four years they will give us peanut for us to sell our votes and elect their godsons for the status quo to be maintained. Under this democracy regulated by our so called leaders especially the ones in the Northern part of the country, the elites deliberately refused many children from going to school in other for them to be used for campaign, rigging and manipulating of electoral process for the interest of the cabal. Our leaders who we elect became our masters and we became their slaves crying and begging them for crumbs of bread. Our national assembly and legislative members who are supposed to represent our interest effectively, have become stooges in the hands of the executive. Separation of power, checks and balances and the rule of law have all gone into extinction. Our leaders no longer respect court orders because they feel they are the laws themselves. In other for them to have control of any position, they give guns and other weapons of violence to our youths just to do their dirties while their own children school and live comfortably in developed countries with funds looted by their fathers and mothers.

Our law makers who we made cannot pass a bill or approve our country's budget unless they are bribed and lobbied. They see the assembly as a lucrative business firm where they enrich themselves and their families without any meaningful development to their constituencies. The corruption in this democracy became so worst that even our police force see bribe as a culture in the Nigerian politics. They no longer protect lives and property of we the ordinary Nigerians rather they are mostly assigned to protect the cabals and their families just for peanuts and crumbs of bread to be given to them. At the end of every four years, the atmosphere of our beloved country is always characterised with kidnapping, assassination, human ritual and bloody violence. At the end of every four eyes, new promises are made even building a bridge where there is no river. At the end of every four years, no one wants to relinquish power and allow others to take over. At the end of every four years, monies that are stolen from us will be shared to us with bag of rice and plenty of food stuffs but after the election, we are taken back to our prisons of hunger, poverty, slavery, oppression and exploitation by the same people who promised to bring heaven down to Nigeria.

Is this what we call a democracy? Is this what we celebrate every May 29th?. We celebrate autocracy and tyranny and we call it democracy. We celebrate oppressors, tyrants, kleptomaniacs and we call it democracy. A democracy that cannot put food our table. A democracy that cannot make your parents to pay your school fees. A democracy that made most of our youths unemployed after graduation. A democracy that has frustrated our pensioner parents. A democracy where our youths are described as lazy and beggars by our own leaders. A democracy where our leaders will loot our money, take it abroad and lie to us it was swallowed by a snake. A democracy where a south south cannot go to the North with confidence. A democracy where we are colonised by our own indigenous people. A democracy of illusion and false promises and a democracy where we wait for money and food to be given to us before we vote. Is this the democracy we are celebrating?. People of this great nation, it is time to wake up from our slumber and understand that democracy is for discipline people and it's leaders. We cannot continue to celebrate what we do not practice. If we must continue with the celebration of democracy then we must practice it sincerely. It is time to know that what we celebrate is nothing else but autocracy in disguise of a democracy which favours only those who get their wealth from our suffering. It is time to stop pretending when we know we do not practice a democracy as we claim. This is a clarion call and every Nigerian must do something for our unborn children not to inherit a country which we have failed to repair.