Nigeria has democracy without democrats —ASUU

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Friday called for equitable redistribution of the country’s wealth to improve the quality of lives of Nigerians as the country marked the 2020 Democracy Day.

ASUU National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, who made the call in a chat with journalists in Ota, Ogun State, said the country “has a democracy without democrats.”

According to him, Democracy Day should be a day of reflection for Nigerians to have a rethink of where we are as a nation.

The ASUU chief also implored the country’s leaders to rethink their roles in a democratic system in order to implement policies that would enhance the quality of lives of ordinary Nigerians.

Ogunyemi added that Nigeria still has a long way to go as 90 percent of the nation’s wealth are being controlled by just two percent of the population.

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He urged the Federal Government to “go back to the drawing board” and define the type of democracy we want for the country.

The ASUU president said: “Is it a democracy that will redistribute wealth for an average Nigerian or continue making a few people richer at the expense of others?”

“The leaders should put in place policies and programmes that could enhance the quality of lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“Social welfare is not a luxury in advanced societies where Nigeria copied her system of government from, as there is a limit to the amount of public wealth an individual can control.

“The nation needs to know how far our leaders had taken us in terms of developing and implementing pro-people policies.

“Our politicians have not been tolerant of the opposition as the nation has democracy without democrats.”

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