Over 2500 years ago, in the Greek City State of Athens, a group of people led by Cleisthenes came together to lay the foundations for what would later be described as democracy; the government of the people, by the people and for the people. While it has its shortcomings, that form of government has overtime come to be universally accepted as the best form of government in different parts of the world.
Here in Nigeria, despite suffering various periods of interregnum which have hopefully become a thing of the past and which we shall never experience again, our democracy has continued to thrive. To achieve these giant strides, there have been sacrifices by the Nigerian people including those patriots who paid the supreme price and who we rightly celebrate today.
On this day set aside to celebrate Democracy Day in Nigeria, I join the President and the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Bar Association in wishing all Nigerians, especially the members of the legal profession, a happy Democracy Day.
This year’s Democracy Day is extra special as it comes at a time when we are preparing for another transition from one democratic government to another both in the NBA and at national level.
I call on all qualified NBA members to get involved and be ready to take part in the NBA Election as we aim towards building a Dynamic Bar that is fit for the 21st Century. This is the greatest form of expression of our franchise. I also urge all cleared candidates especially my co-contestants to be sportsmanly and comply with the guidelines set by ECNBA. We must set the examples that the rest of the country should follow in the upcoming general elections.
In the same vein, it is imperative to note that the past few months have witnessed some of the most unparalleled interest in our democratic development as illustrated by what the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has publicly acknowledged as, “an unprecedented surge in the number of people that wish to register as voters.”
It is in this regard that I join all well meaning Nigerians in urging INEC to extend the ongoing continuous voters registration (CVR) exercise beyond 30th June 2022 to enable as many Nigerians as possible to register for the next general election.
Once again, happy Democracy Day to all Nigerians.
