Today, we celebrate the labour of our heroes past. We celebrate the establishment of people power. We celebrate the universal right to vote and be voted for.
As we celebrate this milestone, we also celebrate what is widely regarded as the freest and fairest Nigerian national election ever held, where the people spoke and their voices counted – the 1992 general elections in which Bashorun M. K. O. Abiola was victorious.
Several years from that day, we still grapple with various vices that make it impossible to attain the same result. We still struggle to have elections where the true will of the people is heard.
Fortunately for us in the Nigerian Bar Association, we now have a system of democracy where all are entitled to a voice in deciding who our leaders are.
As a leading professional body, the NBA ought to be a leading light for the Nigerian society in this regard. We ought to show everyone else what democracy truly is.
The question that comes to my mind is “has the NBA lived up to that expectation?” If we have not, what can we do better?
As we approach the NBA national elections, these questions are more and more important to me and, I assume to you too?
Let us play our part in making things right.
Happy Democracy Day!
Let’s do better.
Dr. Babatunde Ajibade, SAN, FCIArb
