By Chinelo Obogo
Presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has cautioned Nigerians against gloating over the fall President Bola Tinubu had during the celebration of Democracy Day in Abuja on Wednesday.
President Tinubu had slipped and suffered a fall, while trying to climb the stairs leading to the presidential parade vehicle. Reacting to the incident, Obi described the fall as unfortunate, saying that no one achieves anything by gloating.
He said: “I was saddened to learn of President Tinubu’s unfortunate fall today. I wish him well. We achieve nothing by gloating about an accident that could well happen to any of us. We are all human beings and, while we profoundly disagree on how to move Nigeria forward, we must remember our common human frailty. Let us stay focused on the issues that will lead to a new Nigeria.
May this moment serve as a poignant reminder of our shared humanity and the need for compassion, empathy, and unity in our pursuit of a brighter future for our great nation.”
Earlier, the former Anambra State governor, said that while Nigeria may say that in 1999, it started in earnest in the right direction, he said today, the country has deteriorated into what can be classified as classical state capture and instead of benefiting all, it has become a deprivation to all.
He said: “The consequences of not being a true democracy have led to leadership failures that have resulted in uncontrolled systemic corruption, high levels of insecurity, lack of freedom of speech, increasing poverty rates, and unprecedented levels of hunger and hardship, which remain unsolved and are growing geometrically.
“True democracy should be people-oriented, where the rights of citizens are respected, the laws are obeyed, the leaders remain accountable to the people and people’s welfare and care, especially for the poor, become paramount and high priorities. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case in our situation.
“To further illustrate that we are not truly democratic and have only produced the vices enumerated above, we are now ranked as follows: In the measurement of democracy, we have a democracy index score of 4.23, which ranks us low on the Global Democracy Index. In the Corruption Perception Index, we are ranked 145th among the 180 countries measured, showing a high level of corruption in Nigeria. In the Rule of Law Measurement, we are ranked 120th out of 142 countries measured in the World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index, indicating that Nigeria suffers from gross disobedience to the rule of law.
“The 2024 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) describes Nigeria as one of West Africa’s most dangerous and difficult countries for journalists. Nigeria ranks 112th out of 180 countries where journalists are regularly monitored, attacked, and arbitrarily arrested. We are ranked 109th out of 125 countries measured on the Global Hunger Index.
“Let us, therefore, use the commemoration of June 12 as an occasion to return to a truly democratic nation. We achieved that feat on June 12, 1993, by collectively voting for democracy in Nigeria. We must stand in defense of Nigeria’s democracy today.I urge everyone to respect and protect the institutions of the democratic state, obey the governing laws of the state, be accountable to the people, and fulfill the responsibilities of responsible governance as contained in the constitution. As we build a New Nigeria, these tenets shall be the pillars of our true democracy. It is possible.”