Is Nigeria a Democratic Nation?
Nigeria fought for its democracy in 1963. Fast forward to 2021, one has to wonder is Nigeria really a democratic nation? As tyranny appears to have fully taken shape in the country.
President Buhari during his presidential campaign in 2015 promised us CHANGE. Who would have thought it was a change from a democratic nation to that of a DICTATORSHIP.
Tyranny in Nigeria(A supposed democratic nation)
Dictator and Tyrant is the new adjective for the President of Nigeria. This is because His actions so far show that of a dictator who many times have ignored the right of an individual. We ask ourselves, is Nigeria a democratic nation.
The president who termed himself a repentant Democrat seemed to have slipped back to his old ways. During his campaign in 2015,
He said:
“Before you is a former military ruler and a converted democrat who is ready to operate under democratic norms and is subjecting himself to the rigours of democratic elections for the fourth time.”
In desperate need of change, Nigerians came out in numbers to vote for him in the 2015 elections. There was warning he could return to his autocratic ways and human rights abuses. Nigerians had high hopes. His military background was supposed to help in the fight against Boko haram and the insecurity ravaging the country at that time. Little did they know that insecurity would still be the subject of the day in 2021.
Many Nigerian youths are looking for means to leave the country and the Government is already thinking of ways to stop that from happening. What exactly did we do wrong?. Where did we go wrong as citizens of this once great nation?.
Nigeria Bans Twitter
The Twitter ban was an eye-opener to many who were still in doubt about the dictatorship attributes of the president. This ban had left many Nigerians frightened about what the future holds for the country. The president who had kept mum on the insecurity in the country, used threatening language on Twitter. The tweet was in response to the uproar in the southeastern part of the country. Twitter deleted the tweet for violating its policies.
The deleted tweet of the President came as an answered prayers to the Nigerian government, which has been trying to pass a bill to regulate Social Media but has proven abortive. They banned Twitter indefinitely days after the deleted tweet.
Minister of information and culture Lai Mohammed said;
“the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”
as the reason for the ban.
However, there will be no ban when Twitter submits to local licensing, registration, conditions and the government.
“It will be licensed by the broadcasting commission, and must agree not to allow its platform to be used by those who are promoting activities that are inimical to the corporate existence of Nigeria.”
Certainly, this was another scheme to quiet the voice of the people.
The country which was always known for the delay in implementation took no time to enforce the ban, Twitter’s site became inaccessible for many Nigerians from the early hours of Saturday after the news of the ban. Many Nigerian youths had switched to the Virtual Private Network(VPN); a network that allows users to access public networks with encrypted internet connections. Nigerians continued tweeting in defiance of government threats to arrest and prosecute anyone failing to observe the ban on Twitter.
Google deletes Crowwe App From Playstore
The founder of Crowwe Adam Garba, who originally filed, and withdrew a lawsuit against Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, for supporting the #EndSARS protests was pleased by the news of the Twitter ban, putting into consideration he had earlier pushed for the ban of the app after the presidential tweet was deleted.
He wrote:
“Twitter has no right to infuse into our local political affairs. It’s a company, not a government.
Mr Garba’s involvement in the ban had left many Nigerians furious. As a form of retaliation, they put up negative reviews about Crowwe, the instant messaging and financial transaction app. The bad reviews prompted Google to bring down the app.
Firstly, the mysterious shooting at Lekki during the #EndSars protest. Secondly, the continuous unrest in the Eastern part of the country. Thirdly, the Fulani attacks the West, and most recently the Twitter ban. All these make you wonder if this is a military/dictator regime or a democratic one.
Many Nigerian Youths are waiting for the 2023 elections to see the end of the “Tyrant Buhari” and his administration. The truth is, will that free us of dictatorship in the future? If you ask me, it doesn’t.
In conclusion, we need to ask ourselves this, is Nigeria a democratic nation? If we are true to the answer maybe then we can be liberated.
Tell me your answer in the comment sections.
