By 
PETER OKORE, Umuahia
Abia State governor Dr. Alex Otti has used the occasion of this year’s Democracy Day celebration to bare his mind on the performance of democracy in Nigeria, 24 years after.
To him, Nigeria is still playing to the gallery in the true sense of the meaning of ”Democracy,” regretting that after these years of democratic experiment, the process remains flawed in Nigeria.
“Nigerians are understandably disappointed and it would be cruel to dismiss their angst and frustrations”, he lamented.
In his broadcast to the state to mark the occasion in Abia, Governor Otti declared: ”We cannot address the roots of our frustrations with democracy in Nigeria by isolating ourselves or watching from the sides. We must all get involved because by being indifferent to the process, we unwittingly subject ourselves to leadership systems that offer poor or no solutions to the social and economic problems confronting us.
“I would be the first to acknowledge the performance of democracy in Nigeria because” I have been a victim of the many aberrations of it”.
Otti has been contesting the governorship seat of Abia state since 2015 and claims he won in each case; but was robbed of his victory in two occasions through faulty electoral sytem.
He believed that he was only declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the 2023 race by Divine intervention and the overwhelming determination of Abians at home and in the diaspora that “enough is enough” in the state.
Otti’s victory was made possible due to the discovery of a customized rigging mechanism called the “Obingwa magic”, perfected by the then ruling party party (PDP) to ensure the party continued winning all elections in the state.
The game plan came to limelight when it was discovered that the total number of votes cast in the Local government area was far more than the number of voters accredited to vote there. This was alleged to have been the practice over the years the PDP was in power in Abia; and could be responsible for the underdevelopment as well as enthronement of inept leadership in Abia since 1999.
According to Otti, what Nigeria could term achievements under the on-going democratic dispensation, in terms of social and economic progress, are still a far cry from what the men and women being celebrated today(as champions of democracy) gave their energies, material resources and lives for.
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