A former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has warned of an impending problem should some issues are left unattended.
Atiku said that the democracy practised in Nigeria is at crossroads.
The 2023 presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said this while speaking as a discussant at the National Conference on Strengthening Democracy in Nigeria in Abuja on Monday, January 27.
Atiku emphasised what Nigeria needs is the building of a coalition and an outright political party merger that could oust the All Progressives Congress party.
He also said that Nigeria is struggling with state capture which has made it impossible to achieve a democratic change.
His words, “There’s no doubt that our democracy is at a crossroads. Put simply, it is at the risk of eroding completely. And it is not caused by one single person or one single administration.
“In fact, a number of us have been warning over the years that we may come to this pass if we lose our vigilance and fail to take corrective actions to protect and deepen our democracy,” Atiku said.
Stating that he has continued and would continue to speak against the the happenings across the nation, Atiki said he has taken some actions to courts which produced landmark judicial decisions intended to uphold democratic principles and practices.
“Democracy is characterised by, among other things, people’s freedom to choose their leaders; periodic elections, which partly ensure leaders’ commitment to the welfare of the governed, leaders’ acceptance of guardrails (without restraints leaders tend to accumulate and abuse power); consequences for non-compliance, including rejection at the polls,” Atiku added.
