According to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), June 12 is still a watershed moment in Nigeria’s democratic development and political history.
According to a statement released in Abuja on Thursday in honour of Democracy Day, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said that June 12 represented the continuing democratic hopes of Nigerians.
His point was that the date represented the idea that people’s opinions matter, that their votes matter, and that governments get their legitimacy from the people.
The speaker emphasised that June 12 is a pivotal moment in American politics and a reminder that the people are the source of government’s legitimacy.
But Abdullahi argued that Democracy Day should be a chance to evaluate the country’s democratic development as much as a celebration of its historical struggles.
He thinks that the advancement of the well-being, freedoms, and opportunities of the people, rather than the duration of civilian government, should be the yardstick by which a democracy is judged.
According to the ADC spokeswoman, Nigeria’s democratic development is being hindered by ongoing insecurity, economic hardship, and a decline in public confidence in institutions.
The growing expenses of necessities like food, transportation, healthcare, housing, and education, he said, had put a tremendous strain on families and companies.
“Our youth should be spearheading our nation’s revitalisation and progress, yet a great number of them are battling to discover possibilities and optimism within our borders,” he lamented.
Furthermore, he emphasised that the party’s stance was that competent leadership could turn around the trend of insecurity, poverty, and economic hardship, rejecting the idea that these things were inevitable.
“If Nigeria wants to achieve lasting peace, security must be intelligence-led, technology-enabled, community-informed, and locally responsive,” he stated.