Ahead of Nigeria’s Democracy Day celebration on June 12, 2024, an Owerri-West Traditional Prime Minister, Chief Kelechukwu Okere, has berated the state of the economy, stating that Democracy Day is not worth observing or celebrating.
Recall that Nigeria always marks Democracy Day on May 29, but this was moved to June 12 to commemorate the democratic election of Moshood Abiola and remind Nigerians of one free election after which the presumed winner along with Nigerians was denied their rights and choice.
In an interview on Monday, Okere said it baffled him how the country should be thinking of and celebrating Democracy Day.
He asked how many politicians come to power through democratic means of the electoral process. How many lives were lost and how a clean land became polluted with the blood of innocent Nigerians?
He averred that the celebration goes contrary to the importance of June 12, considering what happened during the last election.
Bemoaning the state of the economy, Okere lamented that people were dying of hunger, occasioned by the high cost of commodities and families could barely get by.
He pointed out that millions of Nigerians still live below minimum wage, which he said was barely $20 a month, not until recently did the labour union protest for an increase in the minimum wage.
He said, “Politicians feed fat at the expense of the poor masses they are expected to protect and care for by implementing policies that can ease the burden on citizens.”
Recounting further, he stated that South-Easterners were marginalized and in a state of agitation, yet the leaders could not have round table conversations to allay their fears and agitation.
He, however, called on Nigerian leaders to rather use the day to reflect on their failures and make amendments.
