Bugaje calls for review of democracy

A former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Usman Bugaje, has said Nigerians need to take a holistic look at the democracy being practised and see if it has met the expectations for which it was adopted as a form of government.  Speaking at the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Roundtable organised by the United […]

A former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Usman Bugaje, has said Nigerians need to take a holistic look at the democracy being practised and see if it has met the expectations for which it was adopted as a form of government.

 Speaking at the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Roundtable organised by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Bugaje said it was time for Nigerians to begin to ask fundamental questions about its democratic experience and “interrogate whether our democracy is working and serving its purpose.” 

Bugaje, who spoke on the ‘Imperative of Evolving Strategies towards Peaceful and Credible Elections in 2023’, said Nigerians need to ask, is the “Democracy working, has it been serving its purpose, do we have peace, is our infrastructure the way it is supposed to be? Has poverty reduced?” 

“If not, we need to sit down and think of the way forward. Nigeria has gotten to a point where we don’t know who to elect anymore; is this democracy capable of giving us leaders that can salvage the country, if not what is the way forward?”

He therefore added that Nigeria has come to a time to answer the question of whether democracy is the answer to our woes, adding that if not, we need to work out something different. 

In his opening remarks, Ambassador Zango Abdu, Country Manager of USIP, Nigeria, told the gathering that the roundtable was a series put together to discuss the issues surrounding the election in Nigeria as 2023 draws closer. 

 He said the challenges in the country are many and the only way forward is for all to come together and discuss the larger picture.