June 12: Nigeria Celebrates Elections, Not True Democracy – Udenta

Professor Udenta Udenta, a political analyst and the founding National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy, argues that Nigeria is not truly celebrating democracy.

Speaking on Arise Television’s “Prime Time” on Friday, Udenta said the country is only celebrating electoral processes.

He made the remarks as Nigeria marked the 27th anniversary of uninterrupted democratic governance.

“Nigeria is not celebrating true democracy but electoral processes. What we now have, as I said, is the tipping of the form of democracy. We don’t have literal interventions,” Udenta said.

“We are celebrating with the president 27 years of an uninterrupted march of democracy. That’s not democracy marching, that’s electoral processes matching.”

“Democracy is not just about legalism; it is about legitimacy. While we may have stability in terms of democratic order, there is an emptiness in the substance of democracy, as people are increasingly hungry and overwhelmed by despair and discontent.”

“Today in Nigeria, we are facing one of the worst cost‑of‑living crises in a generation,” he added.