Nigeria and democracy

Nigeria, the ‘giant’ of Africa, is yet to have the real democracy since 1999 because what we have is Plutocracy.
Those who refer to “dividends of democracy” are simply clever thieves.
I’m sure if the military regimes had met the oil boom we’ve had since 2000, they would have performed much better than the political masquerades.
For instance, from $11 per barrel under the military, the price of our crude oil hovered above $100 for a good period of time until about 2013 when it dropped.
But where was the revenue generated? It was probably shared among few politicians that keep recycling themselves and their children as members of the legislature and the executive.
Everybody but the looters knows that it is morally wrong to pay somebody in one month what another compatriot cannot earn in 50 years.
It is strange that our leaders have closed their ears to criticism? No.
This is Nigeria.
They only don’t care whatever studies discovered that our officeholders earn the highest income in the world – for practically doing very little or nothing at all to improve the people’s living standards.
Most of the lawmakers are just bench warmers.
Others do present miserable bills and motions on occasion but practically none has affected the life of an average Nigerian in a positive way.
The number of those sharers of our common wealth keeps increasing in the executive arm.
One can only imagine the number in MDAs apart from the politicians – presidents, governors, ambassadors, LG chairmen, their special advisers, senior special assistants, special assistants, personal assistants, chiefs of staff, traditional rulers, members of several boards of agencies, first ladies and first concubines.
Politicians feed the thriving prostitution industry in major cities.
With ill-gotten wealth, members of both the executive and the legislature are able to influence the decisions of the third arm.
That, I believe, is why nobody has been convicted of any act of corruption, whether it is treasury looting or electoral theft until recently.
Things are really out of tune in our Nigeria.
For the change we all expected in 2015, we must embark on enlightenment campaign to educate the people on the dangers of money politics and vote buying by failed politicians that have nothing positive to offer.
Umar Duguri 07033873327