Nigeria democracy facing serious danger —Dogara

SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on Monday, said the nation’s democracy was facing serious danger.

This was as the elder statesman, Professor Ben Nwabueze, at the same event, said only restructuring would save Nigerian nation.

Both spoke in Abuja during the public presentation of a book: “Save Our Constitutional Democracy from Emasculation,” written by Professor Nwabueze.

Dogara, who was the chairman on the occasion, said the nation’s democracy was facing danger, while calling that it be rescued.

“We have seen a situation where the legislature and the judiciary pander towards the executive because it controls the resources,” he said.

The Speaker said for democracy to succeed in Nigeria, politicians, players and stakeholders must study the constitution to understand the limits of their powers.

He said that governance in the country would be more effective when all player in the three arms of government were clear on what powers the constitution granted to their offices and where those powers ended.

“To be candid, majority of us do not even know what constitutional democracy means or entails. Some of us in the system have not even studied the constitution,” he said.

He said that there was the need for understanding of the provisions of the constitution, which was drafted along the lines of that of the United States, stressing that the concept of limited government and limited powers must be understood by all the arms of government.