By Our Reporter
CIVILIAN dictatorship is no better than military dictatorship, therefore we should all work together to deepen our democracy; meaning that we the political elites must commit to following the Constitution, the laws, and due process, Senator Seriake Dickson said in a statement after attending the 60th birthday colloqium of Chief Emeka Ihedioha in Abuja on Monday.
The colloquium themed, Is Democracy Failing in Africa?, drew Dickson’s attention and he posited that “Democracy is better than autocracy or dictatorship and we should always remember that we are there to serve the people and the common good, and that the people of Nigeria also need to be empowered to be woken up through sensitisations and workshops to enable them realise and assert their full rights as citizens, in concordance to democracy”.
Senator Dickson said that a more active populace was needed to sustain democracy. “We cannot have a democracy with docile and ignorant citizens, or a citizenry that is constantly manipulated along ethnic and religious lines.
“Citizens must have firm commitment about what they want from their leadership and be ready to pay the price. Going forward, we need to organise ourselves and get to the grassroots to sensitise the Nigerian citizens,” said the former Governor of Bayelsa State who represents Bayelsa West in the Senate.
Dickson who was with Ihedioha at the House of Representatives from 2007-2012 continued, “Democracy will continue to fail until the citizens wake up and are empowered by information and knowledge, alongside leadership and direction given by the elites to hold those who lead them or serve them to account and to assert the benefits conferred by democracy under the Constitution and laws.
“These we must commit to,” he concluded.
He commended the celebrant.
” I have personally followed Rt. Hon. Ihedioha’s trajectory in the public life and I must say he has bequeathed himself very well, right from his days as an aide to former Senate President, the late Chuba Okadigbo, to his election into the House of Representatives, his emergence as Majority Whip, and Deputy Speaker.
“I also recall that he was elected Governor of Imo State, even though I feel sad that his tenure was terminated the way it was. I am, however, impressed that he took his removal with equanimity, and he is today one of the major players around the Federation.
“I wish him the best,” Senator Dickson said.