By Olufemi Oni,

Ilorin The political class has been enjoined to build on the gains of the Nation’s fledgling democracy towards ensuring good governance and the entrenchment of government of the people by the people and for the people.Former Leader, Kwara State House of Assembly in the Second Republic and Member, Kwara State Governor’s Advisory Council, Chief Stephen Wole Oke, made the call in his message to mark the this year’s Democracy Day, noting that Nigeria has come a long way in her search and pursuit of a system of government best suited for its structure, which is embedded in her multi-ethnic nationalities. Chief Wole Oke, who is also the Jagunmolu of Shao, stated that since her days under colonial administration from the amalgamation in 1914, the country has passed through trying periods, which had thwarted her efforts at enjoying a stable democratic governance.He said: “In 1960, the year that marked the beginning of freedom from colonial rule, the Country has suffered a lot of instability in governance, a fate that has made her pursuit and desire for democratic governance an illusion: the Nigeria Army has become her troubler in this pursuit. In the 63 years of her independence, the military has usurped power four times, thus disrupting the democratic process which characterises civilian administration.” Chief Wole Oke, who was the former Kwara State Secretary of National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), explained that the most gruesome of these military interventions was the cancellation of the most universally endorsed to be the freest democratically conducted election of June 12, 1993.He observed that it was for the sake of entrenching democracy in the Country that led some prominent NADECO Nigerians to run out of the Country for their dear lives under the military dictatorship of General Sanni Abacha. Such prominent individuals, he said, included Late Chief Anthony Enahoro, former Governor of Kwara state, Chief C. O. Adebayo and the current President of Nigeria, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, adding that many Nigerian citizens lost their lives fighting for the entrenchment of democracy during the Abacha military era.”However, it is gratifying to note that the Country, now in the fourth republic, is currently enjoying 24 years of uninterrupted democratic civilian rule. June 12, every year has been earmarked as “DEMOCRACY DAY”, having been created by the former President of Nigeria, General Muhammad Buhari, to honour the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, judged to be the freest election ever held in the Country, Late Bashorun Mashood Kashimawo Olanbiwonninu (MKO) Abiola. “JUNE 12, being celebrated this year marks 30 years of that heinous and reprehensible political crime against this Country. “We salute and congratulate the Nigerian citizens for their endurance and resilience. Were it not for these virtues, the Country would have gone under, and in pieces,” he added. He warned the political class against giving room again for any military intervention in the Nation’s governance, pointing out that “one major justification often advanced by the military interventionists is always built around the allegation of corruption against the civilian rulers”. Ironically, he said history has over the years shown that the military dictators were more corrupt and they had, as a matter of fact, institutionalised corruption as a trait of rulership in the country. He warned: “Nigeria and her civilian leaders should by now have learnt the bitter lesson and should therefore never leave a loophole to justify any army takeover in Nigeria again. Let democracy reign and continue to flourish in our Country. Enough of military interventionism.”This year’s June 12 Democracy Day has offered a great opportunity to admonish our politicians to play politics of ideology, which will lead them to a focused governance devoid of corrupt practices and also put an end to the current practice among politicians which makes them change party membership as they change their daily dress.”