CITY TALK ON DEMOCRACY DAY: The greater Danger is an Unchecked Government

.....Case study Of Nigeria with; 1 President, 109 Senate and 360 Reps

Today, we are told to celebrate. Light the candles, roll out the drums, and mouth hollow platitudes about 27 years of unbroken democratic rule. But what exactly are we celebrating? A charade? A sophisticated system of legalized plunder dressed in the borrowed robes of a Republic? Spare me the congratulatory messages. There is nothing happy about a Democracy Day that dawns with the stench of blood from mass graves and the agonizing cries of a hungry populace whose next meal is a gamble with fate.
We boast of one President, 109 Senators, and 360 House of Reps members. A legion of 470 souls at the federal level alone, sworn to protect our collective destiny. Yet, look at the nation they preside over: insecurity has mutated from a problem into the very air we breathe, and poverty is no longer a statistic—it is a devastating, suffocating blanket smothering the dreams of over 200 million people. We are not living; we are merely surviving, huddled together on a sinking ship while the captains bicker over the menu.

The greater danger, as you rightly identified, is not just the terrorist’s bullet or the kidnapper’s machete. The greater danger is an unchecked government that has weaponized state machinery to stifle dissent while it remains powerless to secure a primary school or stabilize the price of a loaf of bread. Where is the outrage of this so-called legislative arm? A legislature that cannot say NO is not a legislature at all; it is a taxpayer-funded choral group singing the perilous lullabies of a runaway executive. Our "honourables" have perfected the art of the rubber stamp, cashing monstrous allowances while their constituents become statistics in a gruesome daily harvest of violence and despair.
The remedy is a strong institution. An institution that bites, that jails the corrupt regardless of the colour of their party card, and that restores the dignity of the citizen. But institutions do not fall from the sky; they are built by men and women of conscience who remember the electorates. Politicians should also remember electorates. Everyone of us has a role to play. The patience of the impoverished and terrorized masses is not a limitless resource. The street is hungry, the street is angry, and the street is bleeding. You cannot legislate away a revolution born of empty stomachs and mass graves.

So, while I wish every long-suffering Nigerian the resilience to survive, I cannot wish you a happy Democracy Day because it rings hollow. I will instead issue a sobering reminder: the emergency is now. We must either rouse a sleeping, complicit legislature to roar against impunity, or we shall all be consumed by the anarchy that an unchecked government invites. This is not a celebration; it is a distress call. May the blood of the innocent haunt the dreams of those who have turned governance into a criminal enterprise.

Wishing all NIGERIANS a reflective Democracy Day.

Credit: Akinlabi Segun O (EGALITARIAN)
Convener, Egalitarian Team

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