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Nigeria’s opposition leader and former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari accused the western powers and ruling class for the failure of democratic progress in the country, saying that, they succeeded in faltering the democracy
Buhari who was two times Presidential candidate of the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) before his recent move to a new party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was in the United Kingdom to deliver lecture on ten years of democracy in Nigeria.
He said the Western nations’ ambivalence to the willful subversion of Nigeria’s democracy by the ruling class accounted for the lack of noticeable progress in the country’s democratization.
He observed that, “In spite of decades of democratization, Nigeria’s major problems have remained largely unresolved.”
He blamed the situation on the West’s short-term economic considerations over the larger interest of Nigeria.
He said that when Nigeria and Zimbabwe conducted elections within months of each other, “Western governments and media pulled out all the stops to heavily criticize the elections in Zimbabwe and belabored Mugabe with threats of further sanctions”, while turning a blind eye on Nigeria’s elections which he said were clearly worst.
“Nigeria’s elections by all accounts were the worse, yet the West turned a blind eye to this huge crime,” he added.
Buhari said, “It would be an extremely short strategy if short-term economic considerations are allowed to weaken the resolve and divert the attention of the major Western countries from giving sustained and principle support for and backing to our democratizing enterprise.
“What the West doesn’t get from democracy, it is unlikely to continue to get from those subverting it”, adding that only with stable and sustainable democracy in Nigeria can long-term oil supplies be guaranteed,” he added.
He asserted that Nigeria’s ruling class’ biggest blunder was its failure to build strong and stable social system to provide the kind of atmosphere that democracy needs to take root and flourish.
Nigeria’s opposition leader and former Head of State General Muhammadu Buhari accused the western powers and ruling class for the failure of democratic progress in the country, saying that, they succeeded in faltering the democracy
Buhari who was two times Presidential candidate of the opposition All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) before his recent move to a new party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) was in the United Kingdom to deliver lecture on ten years of democracy in Nigeria.
He said the Western nations’ ambivalence to the willful subversion of Nigeria’s democracy by the ruling class accounted for the lack of noticeable progress in the country’s democratization.
He observed that, “In spite of decades of democratization, Nigeria’s major problems have remained largely unresolved.”
He blamed the situation on the West’s short-term economic considerations over the larger interest of Nigeria.
He said that when Nigeria and Zimbabwe conducted elections within months of each other, “Western governments and media pulled out all the stops to heavily criticize the elections in Zimbabwe and belabored Mugabe with threats of further sanctions”, while turning a blind eye on Nigeria’s elections which he said were clearly worst.
“Nigeria’s elections by all accounts were the worse, yet the West turned a blind eye to this huge crime,” he added.
Buhari said, “It would be an extremely short strategy if short-term economic considerations are allowed to weaken the resolve and divert the attention of the major Western countries from giving sustained and principle support for and backing to our democratizing enterprise.
“What the West doesn’t get from democracy, it is unlikely to continue to get from those subverting it”, adding that only with stable and sustainable democracy in Nigeria can long-term oil supplies be guaranteed,” he added.
He asserted that Nigeria’s ruling class’ biggest blunder was its failure to build strong and stable social system to provide the kind of atmosphere that democracy needs to take root and flourish.
