Twenty years into the fourth republic, the major opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kaduna state chapter has raised alarm over political development in the country with negative consequences on both Nigeria and the citizens.
The chairman, Hon Hassan Hyet raised the alarm after a careful look at political events within and outside his immediate environment at a recent press conference which featured the Party stalwarts in attendance where he alerted that the country’s Democracy Is Grossly in Pains.
Equating the complained situations with the happenings during the late Head of state, Gen. Sani Abacha’s administration, he enjoined progressive Nigerians to rise up against negative actions of APC government in defence of democracy.
“What is happening in the democratic set up of Nigeria today is appalling”, Hyat lamented, recalling that “when late Gen Abacha was in government, about four prominent Nigerians saw what was happening to the country, they came together and said bye-bye to their family and went to confront the government. All of them said bye-bye to their family because at that time nobody dared said a word against the government or calls for election.
“If you tune to NTA, you will see fine cap demonstrating towards Abacha and landed on his head with explanation and slogan that this is the head that the cap fit, meaning it was only Abacha that was fit to rule. Worried about this development, these people went out and confronted the government. The result of what they did was the return of democracy in 1999 which is the fourth republic that we have today.
“As people rose up during the Abacha’s reign of terror, we are calling on Nigerians to also rise up now and defend the constitution of this country, rise up to confront injustice in the country”, he challenged, stressing: “right now you could see that the National Assembly is in the pocket of the President, the Judges are no longer working freely” arguing “they have been harassed and intimidated, therefore whatever judgements that come now are questionable. Thus therefore, we are calling on Nigerians to rise up in unison to confront what is going on just like our great leaders did during the time of Abacha and that was demanding from him election to hand over power to a democratically elected leader.
Earlier in a text, the PDP Chairman regretted that “it is excruciating the rate at which various institutions in Nigeria that are statutorily saddled with the mandate of conducting free and fair elections have dramatically turned to gerrymander tools by the ruling party, the APC. The security apparatuses, INEC and the latest inclusion, the judiciary are like an appendage appellation of today’s government. This view point became evident at the 2019 elections and post-election tribunals across the country”. Thus therefore, “Our democracy is grossly in pains”, Hyet cried out, arguing that: “the democratic gains our great party, PDP, have lavishly given to this country since 1999 are currently being dismantled in the most bizarre fashion.
