Democracy day and it's high rising questions after the military rule transition( is there change after all these years)

Wow it's another democracy day and questions arising with slot of tales( it's again that word,is it really working this democracy)

Hop in let's find out

Democracy day and the whole tales of our state and what really is happening,is it working( read up

First published by Okereke Ikechukwu ( hop in)

Two decades ago, in a colourful ceremony held in the capital, Abuja, Nigeria's military handed over power to an elected civilian leader.

Generals had ruled the oil-rich West African country for the previous 15 years.

The ceremony was attended by heads of state and representatives from more than 40 countries.

The mood was upbeat and the new leader promised prosperity to the thousands of his countrymen who were in the stadium. Millions of others watched the ceremony on television. Others listened to newly elected president Olusegun Obasanjo's speech on radio.

But after 20 years of democracy and four presidents, where is Nigeria today? That's the question I'm placing in todays post and solutions I bet to proffer for a better democracy and economic growing country with peace at it's stride. Underneath are various problems still prevalent in a country of various promises and a democratic leadership we did pray for during the surge of the military regime and Tet the same thing we still.see.(There is God oh)

Economic Malaise

The country's economy has seen a boom since the return of civilian rule. Nigeria's GDP has grown six-fold since 1999, according to World Bank data.

In 1999, despite its vast oil wealth, Nigeria's GDP was a mere $59bn. That figure skyrocketed to $375bn by the end of 2017.

"The economy is doing much better now because there is a greater level of trust in our economic institutions. There is also more foreign investments now compared to the military era," Aliyu Audu, an Abuja-based economist, told Al Jazeera.

Nigeria, the continent's most populous country, is still heavily reliant on oil. Petroleum represents more than 80 percent of total export revenue, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

When the global oil price crashed in 2016, Nigeria's economy was not spared. The country went into a recession, its first in 25 years.

Yet at the moment we are ranked the world poverty capital with up to 60%of the populace either unemployed or below the poverty line.

"Nigeria’s economy needs to diversify. We need to tap into the agricultural sector where the country can put millions of the unemployed to work. Investment in infrastructure will also put many young people to work and reduce double-digit inflation," Audu said.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics figures, 43 percent of the country’s 190 million population is either unemployed or underemployed.

Despite the recent economic boom, extreme poverty is common. Some 87 million Nigerians live in dire poverty, according to Washington-based Brookings Institution.

Nigeria overtook India, a country of 1.3 billion people, last year as the country that is home to the most extremely impoverished people in the world, it said.Here is a video of our democracy and it's state over 20 years of it's present existence in Nigeria.

Vast corruption

Nigeria still remains one of the most corrupt nations on the planet. Transparency International ranked the country 144 out 180 in its 2018 corruption perceptions index.

If corruption is not dealt with immediately it could cost Nigeria up to 37 percent of its GDP by 2030, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a global auditing firm.

This cost equates to nearly $2,000 per Nigerian resident by 2030, PwC said.

President Muhammadu Buhari launched an anti-corruption drive after taking office in May 2015,yet are we seeing it's impact with the high case of rape,financial laundering,cyber crimes and other corrupt practuves acted upon as the days turns into months and years.

"Corruption is still a huge problem, but it is not like what it was before. That is because the people have the choice to get rid of a leader if he is corrupt. That was not possible under the military generals. There are also whistleblowers now," Audu noted.

Security problems

Since 2009, northeastern Nigeria has been hit by security challenges. Boko Haram, a group that wants to establish an Islamic state following a strict interpretation of Islamic law, has waged a deadly insurgency,this is even seen in the whole trending tweet giving the hashtags of #nothernlivesmatters have seen the orevkence of people killed by these insurgents either for their beliefs or whatsoever.

The violence has killed thousands of people and forced more than two million from their homes.

The United Nations and human rights activists accused both Boko Haram  the Fulani herdsmen and security forces fighting it of putting civilians, including many children, in harm's way.

The violence has spread to neighbouring Niger, Chad and Cameroon, prompting a regional military coalition against the armed group.

In recent weeks, the coalition forces have pounded Boko Haram hideouts in the Lake Chad area with air strikes as well as launching ground assaults.

"More needs to be done to protect and preserve basic human rights in parts of the northeast. People live in fear from Boko Haram," Eze Onyekpere, a human rights activist, told Al Jazeera.

"Apart from the areas facing Boko Haram insurgency, rights of citizens have improved significantly since the return of civilian rule. Arbitrary arrests and torture are not common. We also have a constitution that safeguards the rights of all citizens," Onyekpere added.

Press freedom

Under the military, press freedom was severely restricted. Whistleblowers faced detention and possibly torture in custody.

Twenty years later, Nigeria has a vibrant media with the country also hosting bureaus for some of the world’s major media groups.For instance, since the beginning of this administration there has been a campaign to have the National Assembly pass the Freedom Of Information Bureau into an act; that?s not happened so far and there are still some areas the press cannot operate in effectively. They still cannot get certain information that ordinarily they should get if they?re going to enlighten the populace about what is happening in the country.? 

Obo Effanga is the parliamentary liaison officer for Action-Aid International in Nigeria. He told Voice of America reporter Cole Mallard that democratization in Nigeria is successful in that there are many more political parties that can contest the elections. He said the number has increased from three in 1999 to thirty in 2003, and by the time of the 2007 elections there will be more than forty, with the capacity to register even more. But he says ironically, the more political parties registered, the less ability they have to effectively challenge the incumbents:

because the incumbent party has been growing in leaps and bounds and since they?re in government they are effective on the ground. But most of these other political parties do not have much of a presence across the country? because they are not national political parties in the truest sense of the word. And those that can be called national political parties are not very strong because few of them are in government at the state level.

He adds that many of these national political parties have a long way to go to challenge the party in government now. Effanga says the press is freer now than during the military era, but there is still room for improvement:

For instance, since the beginning of this administration there has been a campaign to have the National Assembly pass the Freedom Of Information Bureau into an act; that?s not happened so far and there are still some areas the press cannot operate in effectively. They still cannot get certain information that ordinarily they should get if they?re going to enlighten the populace about what is happening in the country.?

Effanga says despite the increase in activity, the political climate is still uncertain:

?The ordinary people are not being taken on board in this exercise. It?s gradually becoming a decision of a small cabal who decides who gets into power and continues in power.?

Reporters Without Borders ranks Nigeria 120 out of 180 in its 2019 press freedom index.

"Nigeria has come a long way, but it still has a long way to go. We could have been far ahead of where are currently," Onyekpere said.

strongly believe Nigeria needs to restructure its governmental system to more accurately reflect the complex nature of the Nigerian people rather than copy some foreign system that happens to work for some other nation. Of course, this can only be done after a comprehensive study of the things that make us unique as a nation as well as the many challenges we face as a result of our complex nature. The resulting system of government emanating from such a study and a consequent revamp might not be deemed absolutely palatable by the globalization-crazy international community but it might go a long way in helping.

Nigeria make giant strides towards being a nation that would be a model for others rather than a hapless copycat.

With this I end my posting that on this democracy day on which we access the strides taken by the government in ensuring a peaceful democracy for it's citizenry as well a good start of livelihood but at the moments what is our say on our level of democracy in this country.

Drop your comments and share as well as state your views and put into words your reactions cos Rabbonisactum is available to attend to your views with lovely replies .