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Friday, September 21, 2018

Ayo Sogunro -- Nigeria: Why Buhari Is Right, Wrong On Rule of Law

By Ayo Sogunro

It would be comical - if not scary - to think that, barely 20 years after Nigeria transited from military rule, our attempt at practicing the tenets of constitutional liberal democracy seems to be unravelling. Democracies ought to grow stronger as time passes. However, in Nigeria, it seems we have forgotten the foundational and settled concepts of liberal democracy. Ideas such as the sovereignty of the people, fundamental rights, independence of the judiciary, freedom of the press, and the separation of powers now mean little to us. It seems we only just want to vote every four years - and no more.

But, in the last three years, no principle of liberal democracy has riled up the current administration as much as the rule of law. This phrase triggers officials of the Buhari government into spasms of apoplexy, quickly stripping our democratic façade and exposing our political system for the anocracy that it really is.