Former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has declared that no country in the world can be prosperous with a weak parliament in a democratic setting.
According to him, there is a difference between government opposition and putting checks and balances in place.
Naijaonpoint reports that Saraki, who spoke during an interview with Vanguard, said if Nigeria does not build strong institutions, the country may experience another June 12 episode.
He explained that the protests and demands that followed the June 12 presidential election in Nigeria stemmed from people wanting their voices to be heard through the vote.
The former Governor of Kwara State added that it is important for Nigeria to build strong institutions that will outlast strong men and leaders.
Buttressing his point that strong legislatures are not enemies of the state, the former Senate President said a strong legislature promotes transparency, which is a bedrock for a strong and better democracy.
In his words, “To fellow public servants, let us retire the lie that strong legislatures and strong nations are enemies of the state.
“They are the same thing. There has never been a stable, prosperous, free country anywhere in the world built on a weak parliament. Not one. Name me one. There is not one.
“The difference between military rule and democratic rule is the legislative arm of government. We are here today as free citizens of a democratic republic because a generation before us decided that the voice expressed through a vote must be held.
“They did not have strong institutions. But they protested. They demanded. Do we think it is possible for a repeat of June 12? For as long as our institutions are not strong enough, unfortunately, it might happen again.
“Our task for this new generation is to ensure that institutions are strong enough to outlast strong men. By insisting that the legislature is independent, transparent, capable, and close to the people. Democracy is not a single election or a single office. It is a daily act of tending to it and ensuring it survives.”
“A strong legislature promotes transparency. Transparency inspires public trust. Public trust strengthens democratic legitimacy. And democratic legitimacy produces stability. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how we will have a better and stronger democracy.”
June 12 in Nigeria is recogniZed as Democracy Day, a national public holiday honouring the country’s return to civilian rule. It commemorates the historic, annulled June 12, 1993, presidential election widely considered the freest and fairest in the nation’s history, where Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola was the presumed winner.
