The People and Defence of Democracy: Nigeria, A Case Study

Having realized that it is up to him to make or to mar his living in this world, man has been facing a lot of challenges. One of such challenges is that of governance-ability to govern himself well to the joy of all and to the sadness of none. In order to make a success of this task, every political system of government: monarchy, aristocracy, autocracy, military, dictatorship, tyranny, democracy, e.t.c., has been tried with little or no success. But the one, as experience has shown, which promises success is democracy. Democracy is people-centered. It encourages mass participation in governance and this makes everybody a stakeholder in matters of public interest. Democracy of all political systems treats people as ends themselves and not as objects or means to attain further ends. For this reason, democracy is seen by dictators, tyrants or autocrats as a thorn in their flesh and thus plot for its overthrow. Not to allow them succeed, the people must be alert and ready to defend democracy against any threat. SOPHIA: An African Journal of Philosophy Vol. 9 (1) 2006: pp. 49-55