Democracy Day: Nigerians still waiting for true democracy —NLC chief

By Moses Akwashiki, Abuja

As Nigeria marks Democracy Day, the Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Denja Yakub, has declared that the country is yet to attain genuine democracy despite over two decades of uninterrupted civilian governance.
Yakub, a veteran pro-democracy activist, argued that what exists in Nigeria today is merely “civil rule,” stressing that the core ideals that inspired the struggle against military dictatorship remain unrealized. According to him, true democracy is fundamentally rooted in protecting citizens’ rights—including the right to life, quality education, healthcare, and decent living conditions.
“What Nigeria fought for was democracy, but what we have today is civil rule,” Yakub said. “Democracy is all about the rights of the people, but these rights have consistently been violated by successive governments since 1999.”
The labor leader lamented the absence of internal democracy within political parties, weak governance structures, and a leadership culture that operates with a military mindset. He accused successive administrations of imposing heavy taxes on citizens while failing to provide basic infrastructure and social services.
“We pay taxes, yet we have no roads,” he lamented. “Citizens buy land, build their own houses, construct access roads, dig boreholes for water, and purchase generators because public electricity supply is completely unreliable.”
Yakub also raised alarms over the growing unemployment crisis, blaming the collapse of local industries and inadequate infrastructure for the lack of job opportunities for thousands of fresh graduates. Furthermore, he questioned the rationale behind continuous government borrowing despite claims of recovering looted funds and increasing internally generated revenue (IGR).
Critiquing the nation’s democratic pillars, Yakub stated that the electoral body is not truly independent, the judiciary is compromised, and political parties lack internal order. He particularly knocked the trend of telling aggrieved candidates to “go to court” after flawed elections.
Calling on Nigerians to use Democracy Day as a moment of deep reflection, Yakub—who was recently honored by the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) for his contributions to the struggle—urged citizens and pro-democracy groups to unite for genuine democratic governance.