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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said that the collapse of democracy in Nigeria would lead to the collapse of democratic governance in Africa, especially as the country is the largest democracy in the continent.
Atiku, who stated this, at a press briefing by opposition parties in Abuja, yesterday, said the opposition must unite to rescue the country’s democracy.
The former Vice President, while noting that in 2014, when the opposition confronted the then ruling party, the challenges were insecurity and the economy, stated that things are worse in the country today than they were 12 years ago.
According to him, “What you must bear in mind is that the collapse of democracy in Nigeria is going to lead to the collapse of democracy in Africa because we are the largest democracy in Africa. These are some of the consequences that will definitely affect other democracies in Africa.
“But, let me advise that the speech delivered by the chairman should be sent to all the embassies, particularly the Western democratic embassies in this country, to reflect the position of the Nigerian opposition political parties.
“So, I will call on other opposition parties that are not here to make sure that they are part of this movement for the unity of opposition parties to ensure we restore our democracy.
“But a word of caution: we did this exercise in 2014 also. We came together and fought in this city because we felt democracy was faulty in 2014, only for us to end up in the same position we found ourselves in. The major challenges were insecurity, the economy and so on and so forth. Now it is really worse.
“So, we must bear it in mind that we must make sure we restore true democracy to our country. That was what we fought for. That was what the founders of this country fought for and what we fought for in the military. We must make sure that it is established in this country.”
On his part, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, while decrying the state of affairs in the country, stated that there was need for the opposition in the country to unite.
Obi noted that the present administration is the worst in the history of the country, stating that the citizens must rise up as the situation cannot be allowed to continue.
According to him, “there is a need for a genuine opposition party. Those who are not here today, we are pleading that we all come together to save our dear country. The government we have today is the worst ever in our country. There is no governance in Nigeria. The legislature is at its worst. The judiciary is no longer the hope of the weak or the poor.
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“Insecurity, killings and abductions are worse than even in countries at war. Just in the past week, I mentioned killings in Zamfara on Friday, and today, even while we are speaking, over 20 have been killed already in Adamawa. It is all about the country; I just mentioned a few.
“Poverty has increased dramatically in the past two and a half years, from about 87 million to about 140 million today, the highest in any country on earth. In fact, we now have almost over 30 percent of all the world’s poor living in Nigeria. We now have more poor people living in Nigeria, a country of about 240 million, than China and India combined.
“This government has borrowed more, according to records, than all the governments since 1999, without anything to show for it.
“Our appeal is that we, the masses of Nigeria, have to rise up now because this situation cannot be allowed to continue.”
Similarly, the former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, said the problem lies more with the opposition than with President Bola Tinubu.
He said: “Tinubu is not our problem; watch his government, watch his strategy to win elections. His strategy is simple; his pattern is simple. He tries something today, you are weak. He puts something bigger, you are weaker.”
The ADC National Chairman, David Mark, in his remarks, stated that the opposition was ready to defend its votes in the next general election and make sure the votes of the people count.
Mark, while stating that the party has learnt its lesson from the just concluded Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) Area Council election, cautioned the All Progressives Congress ( APC) led Federal Government that detaining opposition politicians would not help it.
“We will defend our votes and make sure that our votes count. We have learnt lessons from the FCT election. We have learnt them the hard way.
“But, I just want to assure Nigerians that this opposition will stand for the truth, will stand for justice and will stand for free, fair, transparent and credible elections.
“Let me just caution the administration: incarcerating opponents or people in opposition will not help their case. I think it is only fair and proper that, as Nigerians, they treat us with caution, treat us with respect and give us the opportunity to be able to stand as opposition in a free and fair society.”
