When hypocrisy and doublespeak define a nation, by Ikechukwu Amaechi

On this day, October 1, 66 years ago, Nigeria gained flag independence from Britain. Within these years, the country reached another milestone – 27 years of unbroken civilian rule, which many confuse as democracy. Ours is not yet a democracy. It may well be with time, but democracy and civilian rule are poles apart. In a civilian rule, power is concentrated and recklessly abused by the political elites without public oversight but the idea of democracy calls for something more fundamental: it requires popular participation, free and fair elections and strong institutional checks and balances. Democracy is not just the absence of a military junta, it specifies how leaders are chosen throug...