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Old Jun 7, 2009 , 08:44 PM   # 3 (permalink)
Default Re: The British: Turning Votes Into Stones



But the British, our former colonial masters, have unwittingly shown us the direction in which our democracy should be going. Can you imagine any Cabinet Minister in Nigeria criticising the President openly or walking out on government on the grounds of principle? Our Ministers and the commissioners at the state level worship the Head of Government. Why won't they? Nobody talks about expenses scandal in Nigeria. What is creating such a storm in Britain is accepted practice in Nigeria and to be a Minister in Nigeria is considered a lifetime opportunity. Besides, no Minister would have the confidence to step aside. The word out there is that you don't walk out on a Nigerian government, to do so is to sign a suicide note. "You want to walk out on them after they had called you to come and eat and you too don chop?" Nigerian democracy is still at the level of the stomach and what to eat, not principles. Even when a Nigerian Minister is accussed of wrong-doing, he would rather sit tight and hope that the protests will vanish after a while. The evidence is of course soon forgotten and the man of scandal is rewarded with chieftaincy titles and national honours..

Hmmmm...walk out or step aside is not in the Dic of any Nigerian Office holder...the only person that stepped aside did so reluctantly and his other half lambasted him big time.

British voters are impatient: they use their votes to make statements.
I believe Nigerians are ready to use their votes to make a statement...but will they be allowed to vote? And when they tried to the last time...we know what happened. Ekiti re-run is still fresh in our memory.

The key political reform that Nigerians need is such that guarantees the power of the voter and the integrity of the ballot. There lies the strength and power of democracy.
Welcome Reuby, you're just talking....we shall get there.....soonest.

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