The Fourth Republic, which began on May 29, 1999 was received by most activists in Nigeria with contempt and outright denial. As a privileged leader of the pro democracy movement in Nigeria, I recall with utmost regret how we refused to participate in the Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar transition programme that ushered in the Fourth Republic. Being a founding member of the Campaign for Democracy (CD), and a founding member of Democratic Alternative (DA), it is painful to recall how we rationalised our refusal to participate in the transition…
Tag: Salihu Moh. Lukman
Nigerian Democratisation and Internal Party Contest for Leadership By Salihu Moh. Lukman
It was the American journalist and political commentator, Fareed Zakaria, in the book The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad who argued that democratisation everywhere is shifting power downward. According to him, the process of democratisation goes far beyond politics and result in hierarchies “breaking down, closed systems are opening up, and pressures from the masses are now the primary engine of social change. Democracy has gone far from being a form of government to a way of life.” The role of political parties all over the…