2023 Presidential Candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, and the Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole, on Thursday disagreed over Nigeria’s democratic model with both men expressing variant views on the progress of democracy in Nigeria since 1999.

Sowore, while speaking during a panel session of a book launch written by Senator Abdul Oroh’s “Demonstration of Craze: Struggles and Transition to Democracy in Nigeria”, stated that the country’s transition to democracy in 1999 was hijacked by those he referred to as charlatans, adding that pro-democracy activists at the time of transition to a democratic government “made a mistake”, by allowing only a set of persons to acquire power for themselves.

“There was a mistake we must admit to that we made when democracy came about in 1999. In all fairness, we shouldn’t have allowed charlatans to hijack the democratic process; we did.

“And we are guilty of where we are today. In the US, they refer to democracy as government of the people, by the people and for the people.

“Abdul’s book title refers to democracy as ‘demonstration of craze’.

“But I have always referred to Nigerian democracy as ‘morontocracy’, a democracy that was hijacked by morons, and that is the result you can get,” Sowore said.

The two-time Presidential Candidate of the AAC argued that the government of the day still persecuted civil rights activists because there was no structure put in place to guarantee the fundamental human rights and well-being of citizens in the country, stating that countries like South Africa had a democracy that ensured that those who fought against the apartheid were rewarded.

Addressing the forthcoming elections in 2027, Sowore stated that what the country had during the 2023 general elections was a selection, adding that the country might witness another selective process in 2027.

He further alleged that the biggest culprits during the elections were the security agents who helped political office holders to rig elections, and not just the Independent National Electoral Commission.

“I have been introduced here as a Presidential Candidate; it is true that I ran for election twice in this country.

“Although I ran for election, I only saw on the day of the election a selection. And if we are not careful, which I’m sure you all know, the day will pass, and a set of people will have also selected themselves in power. And nothing will change in our lives.

“And I can say this because I know what we now have in terms of our electoral politics, that whoever you see in INEC today is most likely an APC card-carrying member.

“And for those of you who think INEC is the problem, you are making a mistake. The biggest people who rig elections in Nigeria, who fix selection, are in the military, the security services. I was in the DSS when the Kogi election happened in 2019.

“They emptied the place; the only people that were left at the DSS were the guys who were guarding myself, and the guys at the gate.

“Every other person went to Kogi State to rig the election for Yahaya Bello. That is what will continue to happen in this country,” he said.

In response, Oshiomhole during his goodwill message, faulted Sowore’s cynicism and dismissal of the democratic process, arguing that many activists at the time shunned the call to be part of the fight to entrench a better model of democracy.

He urged leaders not to discourage citizens from believing in a better future, adding that the gaps in the democratic system should rather serve as an “incentive for us not to give up on ourselves.”

The senator said, ”In the course of talking, he (Sowore) said we made a mistake in not contesting in 1999. It is this same cynicism, doubt, dismissal, sweeping generalisation, that misled those, or some of those, who struggled for democracy, to say nothing good can come out of the military, they don’t mean it, there would be no election, a rat cannot give birth to a rabbit.

“There were all kinds of stories. How can the military midwife real democracy? No, it is not possible. Because it’s always better to dismiss everything to get louder applause.

“Then the bad guys decided, since you guys who fight keep dismissing those who were in charge of the system you want to change, we will go in there.

“They went in and they captured power, and they changed the culture of power, they changed the rules of the game.

“And I can speak with authority when I say that when you dismiss in a very sweeping manner that the country is hopeless, the system is impossible, so we should begin to cry?”

Oshiomhole urged leaders not to discourage hope, saying that while the past and present aren’t ideal, the gap between where we are and where we want to be should inspire us to keep striving.

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