- I pledge to Nigeria my Country
- To be faithful, loyal, and honest
- To serve Nigeria with all my strength
- To defend her unity
- And uphold her honour and glory
- So help me God.
Undeniably, the chief purpose of any democratic government is to serve and protect its citizens.
Thank you for your attention to this public letter. Before I continue, I want to stress the obvious.
The DUTY of a democratic government is to SERVE its citizens under the constitution that institutes that democracy.
It is alarming that we live at a time when Nigeria’s fundamental democratic values are under attack. As citizens, we must continue to RULE over our government through active participation in the constitutional and civic process. We, the people, are responsible for guarding the constitutional values and norms of political behavior on which our young democracy depends. These core values and principles include; the rule of law, institutional checks and balances, separation of powers, press freedom, truthfulness to the public, and the integrity of our system of justice.
I want to note two recent instances of record where the Nigerian government decisively violated Nigerians’ fundamental human rights and constitutional rights through unprovoked violent and fatal military aggression against unarmed peaceful protesters and recently through unconstitutional orders, on 20th October 2020 and 4th June 2021, respectively.
For this reason, we Nigerians cannot afford to remain silent about President Muhamadu Buhari’s disregard of these core values and principles. We must also speak out against the elected senators and representatives of the Nigerian National Assembly who has participated actively and passively in this assault on our democracy. WE MUST SPEAK OUT. It is our constitutional RIGHT and DUTY.
We vehemently call the Nigerian Federal Government, including
- the executive arm of service (led by President Muhamadu Buhari)
- the Legislative arm of service (with the Senate and House of Representatives of the National Assembly),
- and the Judicial arm of service (led by Abubakar Malami SAN),
to respect and honor the following fundamental principles and norms of Nigerian democracy.
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- Independence, integrity, and the critical role of mainstream media
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- An independent and watchful mainstream media is, and always has been, an essential component of any functional and legitimate democracy.
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- Independence, integrity, competence, and nonpartisanship of the judiciary
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- Our judiciary’s Independence, integrity, competence, and nonpartisanship is a central pillar of our democratic system.
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- The truthfulness of public officials
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- Our democracy is built on trust and telling the people the truth about public matters; the maintenance of that trust and Nigerians’ ability to make informed and rational public decisions require our leaders to provide honest, factual information to us all.
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- The Independence, integrity, competence, and nonpartisanship of federal criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Justice and Nigerian Police Force
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- Nonpartisan Independence, integrity, and competence are critical to the fairness of our federal criminal justice system and law enforcement agencies.
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- Civil discourse and fair treatment, including the respect for rights and the dignity of all individuals, regardless of ethnicity, tribe, state of origin, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
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- Civil discourse and fair treatment, including respect for the rights and dignity of all individuals, is an essential ingredient of the Nigerian democracy.
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We will not be enslaved by the very men and women who we elected to serve us. Our security and livelihood will not be ignored by the same men and women we pay to protect us and our public interests.
We are tired of being terrorized and massacred by “unknown gunmen,” “bandits,” “attackers,” “herdsmen,” or any other euphonism the Nigerian government uses to escape the appropriate word “terrorists.”
WE MUST ACT NOW.
True POWER belongs to us, THE CITIZENS, who have pledged allegiance to our country, and WE must defend it.
The time for a new Nigeria is now.
The time for a better Nigeria is now.
The time to act is now.
How do we want history to judge us?
How do we want our children and grandchildren to remember us?
Are we the generation that stood up to the task and ACTED, or are we the lazy ones that just wished?
JOIN US IN THIS PUBLIC CRY AGAINST DICTATORSHIP, ANARCHY, AND DECISIVE ATTACKS AGAINST OUR FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS.
LET US MARCH PEACEFULLY ON JUNE 12TH AGAINST UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND ABYSMAL GOVERNANCE.
OUR DEMOCRACY IS TOO IMPORTANT.
OUR DEMOCRACY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN POLITICAL CONVENIENCE.
OUR DEMOCRACY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SENTIMENTS.
OUR LIVES ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN POLITICAL CONVENIENCE.
OUR PROGRESS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN POLITICAL CONVENIENCE.
THIS IS OUR COUNTRY. THIS IS OUR DEMOCRACY.
THE WORLD IS WATCHING.
THEY WILL NOT DARE SEND THE MILITARY TO MURDER US AGAIN.
No Nigerian is more Nigerian than any Nigerian.
Signed,
Peter Ajuzie
Co-founder / President, Board of Directors
HONG – Humans of Nigeria nonprofit organization