Page 214 - Blooms Schools Yearbook 2019

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DEMOCRACY AS A TOOL FOR PROMOTING
NATIONAL UNITY, PEACE AND STABILITY

the next government. For example, the rail project that had been started by the Obasanjo's
government was passed on to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan and is being completed by President Buhari.
What we experienced during the military era was abandonment of any projects that were initiated or
started by the previous administrations no matter how well-meaning.

Apart from that, a zoning arrangement is made active so as not to keep power perpetually in one part
of the country. This makes people feel short- changed and start agitations resulting in subsequent
instability.

Having said that, we must accept that our democracy is still a fledgling one and that is to say that it is
not without its teething problems. Even though we have been practicing democracy for some time,
we have in our nation some people that still are dissatisfied with all that they get and would like to
have more. That is manifesting through insecurity in various parts of the country in form farmers and
herders, kidnapping, pipeline vandalisation, Boko Haram, calls of restructuring, among others.

Then of course, come the challenges that have to do with the practice of democracy itself. A lot of
undemocratic practices are being experienced in the course of conducting elections. It is common to
hear of acts like under age voting, over-voting, rigging, vote-buying, ballot box snatching and the
like.

Concerning this, may I state here that democracy is a journey whose destination is never achieved
in one day. Rome was not built in one day. We may not have got some things right in the practice of
our democracy but given the time, we would surely straighten out the crooked spots.

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