National
leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has
stated that since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, most of the
elections in the country have been full of irregularities and frauds.
Tinubu said the development was a mockery of democracy.
The former
Lagos State governor gave this disclosure during the inaugural lecture
of the Freedom House Democracy Lecture series in Lagos on Monday.
Speaking
on the recently concluded governorship election in Ekiti State, where
Ayo Fayose of the PDP was declared winner, Tinubu said stopping key APC
members from travelling into Ekiti state prior to th election was
undemocratic.
According
to him, “Instead of being the periodic celebration of democracy,
elections in Nigeria have generally mocked the very notion of democracy
they are supposed to uphold. Worst has been what comes after elections.
“Since
the winner often is not chosen by the people but by some subterranean
process, he continues to dishonour the people while resorting to that
subterranean process in how he rules. Generally, these office holders
believe they have the inborn right to rule instead of been given a duty
to govern.
“For the most part, elections have become a perverse
form of modern coronation. Instead of choosing public servants,
elections in Nigeria have been basically to select a new aristocracy, an
elected royalty.”
Also speaking at the event, Rivers State
Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, called on Nigerians to mobilise for street
protest as a way to stop stealing by public funds, adding that pelting
of guilty public leaders could also deter them from diverting government
funds for their private use.
He
said, “The only way to stop us from stealing is to stone us. The
followers are equally guilty as the leadership. The institutions are
already compromised and there is no alternative to them. Nigerians seem
not be against corruption but they are against how long you stay being
corrupt. Don’t expect those in public office to fight corruption.”
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