A don, Dr Lawrence Odeh, says Nigeria’s biggest democratic achievement is the 26 years of civilian rule without military interruption.
Odeh, of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Benson Idahosa University, Benin, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Friday.
He, however, decried what he called failure of successive administrations to deliver the expected dividends of democracy to citizens, particularly in the areas of welfare and security.
Odeh said that in terms of sustainability, Nigeria had achieved a major feat by maintaining democracy for 26 years without military intervention, though there was a threat.
“There is a pass mark that for 26 years, Nigeria has witnessed a democratic regime that has been unbroken, that has not been interrupted.
However, Odeh said Nigeria had not met key democratic indices required for true democracy, citing section 14, subsection 2b of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The section, according to him, stipulates that Nigeria shall be a welfare state that guarantees security of life and property of citizens.
“Measuring the democracy with those constitutional clauses, we will say that these have not been fulfilled in the lives of the citizens.
“Security-wise, Nigeria is at its low edge. Security has been very poor in the country over the years,” he said.
The don identify the essence of security as protection than rescue after kidnapping and abuse.
He said that the welfare aspect of the constitution had also not been guaranteed.
“The constitution guarantees welfarism. There are no welfare packages from the state.
“For instance, the unemployed have nothing to cushion the effect; for the aged, health facilities are a major challenge.
“The maternity and primary health centres for grassroots dwellers are also not functioning properly,” he said.
Odeh, while assessing democratic institutions in the country, said they were weak and suffering from public distrust.
He listed INEC, judiciary, legislature and political parties as some of the institutions that were merely surviving compared with what they used to be at the outset of the Fourth Republic.
“These are the aspects that are still lacking which I describe as the indices of democratic governance,” he said.