16 years of democracy has failed to function in Nigeria- Polytechnic Don

From Ahmed Kaigama, Bauchi

The Dean Faculty of General Studies, Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi, Alhaji Hassan Hassan has said that the country operates a weak democratic structure that has failed to function.

Hassan made the assertion on yesterday in Bauchi, during an interview with journalists on sixteen years of democracy in Nigeria.

He stated that “I know that we came into democracy blindly, blindly because we have not made the conditions that we needed for the democracy to strive.

Hassan, who is also the Head of Department, Mass Communication of the Polytechnic said, “Firstly, we wanted democracy but nobody wanted to tell the condition that goes along with democracy, these are: tolerance, understanding, peace, and etc.

“So people saw democracy as a mean to actualize themselves against the state, against the government and in the end we have succeeded in establishing democratic system that has benefited individuals more than it has benefited the generality of our people,” Hassan said.

He said that “There is a little to write home, first the democratic structures are weak, they cannot function very well, secondly we have weaken the system further by emphasising money against all issues.

“Money is the business for the day individuals, for groups, for political parties and for the government and that has destroyed us much.

“This money is not everywhere, it is not in the popular hands, it is with selected few people who finds themselves in an opportuned, or organised platform, where they have for the 16 years stealing the resources the country,” Hassan said.