Nigerias 2017 Democracy Day, What Are We Really Celebrating?

President Buhari

Every May 29th of the year is observed in Nigeria as the democracy day, historically, its the last Military junta headed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar handed over the mantle of power to the first democratically elected civilian government after over three and half decades of successive military rules that spanned from December 1983 when the current President, Muhammadu Buhari took over from erstwhile civilian president Alhaji Shehu Shagari in a military coup which ushered in series of events from then on till May 29th 1999 when former President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in as Commander In Chief of the Armed forces of Nigeria.

This year's democracy day which comes up in few days has left Nigerians wondering whats in it to celebrate bearing in mind it will mark the second year anniversary since the present government was inaugurated after a keenly contested election between the immediate former president Goodluck Jonathan and the current ruler Muhammadu Buhari in March 2015. it was a precendeted election in the history of Nigeria and indeed in Africa bearing in mind the series of events and anxiety leading to the elections that saw the incumbent of the People Democractic Party PDP defeated by a newly registered party after a merger of several political parties mainly from Action Congress Of Nigeria ACN, All Progressive Party and several others formed a mega party christened The All Progressive Congress APC.

The election victory was received with all hopes and promises of better days ahead for Nigerians who at that time were tired of the status quo being given to them by the PDP who by then has ruled for 16 years and nothing positive to show for it at least according to the several publications and campaign promises put up by the then major opposition party APC. Wide jubilation erupted in almost every part of the country with so many referred to the candidate of the APC as the Messiah sent from above to change things for better. The change slogan was well accepted in every nook and crannies of the country with shouts of "Sai Baba" the preferred choice over a young and dynamic Goodluck Jonathan though seen as clueless and unable to run the affairs of the country with several accusation and counter accusation of corruption flying around his government.

As soon as the government was inaugurated on 29th May 2015 there was a huge sigh of relief across the country and Nigerians who could not wait to start seeing the dividends of all the promises the party offered during the campaign period. A lot of people were however shocked to see the government dragging its feet for over 5 months as the President couldnt even form his cabinet team thereby sending a lot of wrong signals to the people that things are not coming out the way they had expected. Things began to nosedive negatively in all spheres, economy was taking a down turn the erratic electricity supply that seemed a bit stable after the election which was quickly ascribed to Buhari's body language setting things in place quickly became worse in a short period. 

Its been 24 months now, and all the promises made for Nigerians are gradually vanishing right in front of them. The economy is its lowest with a current GDP of -0.52% for the first quarter of 2017 despite several assurances by the Buhari economic team that Nigeria will be out of recession by last December. Unfortunately, the current figures critically shows Nigeria is still deeply enmeshed in recession which it entered in the first quarter of 2016 and which was largely blamed on the past administration by the supporters and aides of the president. Things doesnt seem to be looking up in any way especially in terms of the economy bearing in mind the party promised a "real" GDP of 10% in its first year in power.

The president Buhari's government despite its failures in handling the economy and complementing on the gains of the past administration drive towards making Nigeria one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the first in Africa has been able to do so much in terms of security even though there are still pockets of internal security challenges especially in the North East by the Herdsmen and the challenges faced by militants in the Niger Delta region. More still needs to be done to assure the people of Nigeria of adequate security and safety of lives and properties in every corner of the country. The partial release of the abducted Chibok girls by Boko haram especially the 82 of them recently released in exchange for some top Boko Haram commanders is a good sign and a welcome development even though there are still several grey areas as regards the release and the inability of the government to allow the children back to their parents is still raising enough dust.

Top of the reasons why this year's democracy day celebration may not be well accepted by Nigerians is the well being of the president who is presently receiving treatments in an undisclosed location in United Kingdom. President Buhari has been sick for a while, although this is unexpected bearing in mind he is well above 70 years, but the handling of the whole sickness and the responses of the president's aides whenever questions come up as regards his state of health brings more to ponder on than answer. Some opponents of the President's policies are of the opinion that with the government consistent insistence of patronising the local products and utilising our own medical facilities instead of flying abroad for treatments that could be handled here at home believe that the president is really not practicing what he preaches. based on the" Change begins with me" programme launched recently by the government, it is imperative the president should have remain here while he is treated like every other Nigerian if the programme is anything to be taken seriously.

This year's democracy day will in doubt be a real test of popularity for the incumbent president to take stock, Nigerians are watching and taking note of every step and policies that has seen them going from frying pan to fire. Instead of trying to put more efforts in making the present dispensation work for all and putting smiles on the faces of the people, the president's aides and supporters are busy dishing out how the president will win another run of presidential election comes 2019 even when the president is presently incapacitated and seriously sick. His health should come first in whatever game plan or permutations they are throwing up at this decisive period of the administration. Celebrations of whatever form should be put on hold and efforts placed on alleviating the sufferings and hardship Nigerians are going through. Aso Rock needs to reassure Nigerians that they mean business.  Two years is enough to change the we things are done, two years is enough to have a directional economic policy which will guarantee a better future for the youths. Its not unexpected that there are agitations here and there as to what next after the change promised Nigerians. The time is now to place the country on the right path to glory which will make life meaningful for the people and make Nigeria a country we can all be proud of.