By Akpokona Omafuare
By definition, democracy as we were told is the government of the people by the people and for the people, in summary, it is the government of the people’s supremacy.
What obtains in Nigeria can only be described as a pseudo-democracy because power does not rest on the people stictu sensu, rather power lies with the supposed messenger.
Agreed, that we practice a representative democracy, a deep perusal of the process will reveal that representatives are inadvertently foist on the people by indirect tactics.
The process of choosing the candidates to represent the people is fraught with a well orchestrated anomaly designed toward a chosen end.
The people are only allowed to make a choice between those already chosen after the parties have selected their candidates in an often or mostly compromised delegates election.
I am of the humble opinion that if power truly rests on the people then all party members should be allowed to vote in a primary election, that will enable a true and popular candidate to emerge as a flag bearer.
The above scenario will blot out the often highly compromised delegates election as witnessed recently across the nation. Issues start with compilation of delegates lists, the powers that be only select their loyalists as delegates, so how then do you expect power to belong to the people.
This makes a mockery of democracy because power does not belong to the people but to the money bags who buy over the leadership of the parties in concocted primary elections.
If all parties members are allowed to vote in a primary election, then power will belong to the people and the unnecessary killings would be avoided.
Till the process is amended, I will borrow the words of the popular Edo State born musical Taliban, Osayomore, “we have no democracy”
Comrade Akpokona Omafuaire
PDP Aspirant
House of Representatives
Ughelli and Udu federal Constituency
