TheCable

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, says the history of Somalia, Burundi, and Rwanda should be “strident warning to all of us”.

Abubakar said this in a statement on Tuesday to commemorate Democracy Day.

He said those in government whose jobs are to keep the citizens safe should desist from making ridiculous excuses and “engaging in diversionary finger-pointing”.

Abubakar said: “Let us spare some time to reflect and to mourn all those murdered in the ongoing needless killings across our dear country.

“These Nigerians have been killed in the continuing murderous rampage of criminal elements across the country but especially in Borno and Yobe, and the Benue River Valley, stretching from Adamawa through Taraba to the confluence of Kogi and Benue, and including Nasarawa, Plateau, Southern Kaduna, and Zamfara.

“Others have been killed by armed robbers, kidnappers, cattle rustlers and other marauding bandits. The killings have even extended to sacred places of worship where innocent Imams and Christian clergy and worshipers are slaughtered.

“This carnage has gone on for too long and must stop. In a letter that I sent to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria recently on these killings, I pointed out, and I repeat it here, that only government can stop these senseless killings if we are to avoid major and further damage to the fabric of our fragile unity.

“The recent history of Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi and Central African Republic, among others, should be a strident warning to all of us, especially those in government whose primary responsibility is the protection of the citizens, but who have been dithering, making contradictory and ridiculous excuses and engaging in diversionary finger-pointing.”

The former vice-president said democracy should be nurtured not just as a mechanism for a periodic change of government but as a social construct in honour of patriots who paid the supreme price.

“The ultimate virtue in democracy is the power that it bestows in the people. The very essence of that power lies in the ability of the people to live a complete lifestyle that enables every man or woman to triumph in his or her legitimate pursuit. The concept of democracy is absolutely incongruent with a notion of regimentation either in the political or economic sphere,” Abubakar said.

“As we move forward as a country, it is important that we respond to the dynamics of time in proffering solutions to some of the challenges that beset us. Today, the popular clamour amongst our people is the need to make government more responsive and responsible.

“Our challenges about insecurity and diversification of the economy have acquired new phases in the past few years and thus should our solutions to those challenges require a brand new thinking.

“As the nation goes through a cycle of elections in the coming months, it is important that the integrity of the electoral process is sacrosanct with guarantees of free and fair election. Democracy is by itself a self-correcting concept, but only if there is guarantee of credibility in the electoral process.”

Furthermore, he said the country needs to invest more in infrastructure.

“Our communities and associations have become so divided and apart that we cannot even begin to confront the most basic of our challenges when we don’t share a mutual sense of belonging,” the former vice-president said.

“These are some of the challenges that we must begin to re-evaluate their manifestation, and the significance of our celebration of democracy today should mean that we employ the broadmindedness and participatory notion of democracy in seeking solutions to them.”