A Nigerian lawyer has said that the system of government practiced in Nigeria is a civilian government, lacking necessary institutions and not a democratic government.
On Channels Television’s programme, Sunrise Daily, Mr Robert Clarke, said that Nigeria had only shifted from a military system of governance to a civilian system of governance, as against the claim that the country was practicing democracy.
“We have not attained 10 per cent of democracy as being practiced in the civilised world. Democracy means institutions. They are the pillars of democracy. If you don’t have the institutions in place you can never have democracy,” he said.
Mr Clarke stressed that the civilian government has not been able to put in place institutions that would have enable democracy to be built.
He said that the lack of institutions would lead to lack of developmental stability.
As 2015, the year of general election, is approaching, Mr Clarke stressed that 2014 would be a year for Nigerians to decide whether the country would move forward or not.
He said that politicians were the problem that Nigerians were facing. “Power greed is the problem.
“In Nigeria’s politics there is no ideological training or anything. The leader of a tribal group stands up and says he is going to join a political party and his kinsmen will follow him.
“Nigeria is going to pass through a phase within the next six months that will determine whether we will move forward as a nation or not. Not that we are going to be split. What makes Nigeria strong is the diversion, he stated.
