Politics: Democracy, the real stomach Infrastructure eating our economy

We all hope that gaining independence will definitely bring an end to all hardship at some point, but we never knew that there was definitely a strong battle to face ahead. Gaining independence here in the year 1960 was indeed a great moment for all Nigerians; there were shouts of joy and a lot of excitement about it.

At this point, leaving slavery was paramount, and having such freedom from all those inflicting those things on us really shows how good it is to be free from all sorts of suffering. According to history, we were made to know that the hardship was much as our citizens were sold as slaves, with a lot of them losing their lives as a result of that. Boom, independence came, and all this became past tense.

I'm sure many didn't know that there was absolutely a lot ahead. I guess they all think that the level of corporation they have at gaining freedom will continue, but the case was different, and from there they introduced democracy. This is where the problem started.

Initially, we thought democracy was a system of government by the whole population or all eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. In other words, we thought democracy was supposed to be a government by the people and for the people, which means people come together to listen to each other and solve problems they have in all sectors.

When democracy was introduced, we actually thought that things would absolutely get better. We were hoping that our economy would take new steps, that all the social amenities that we suffered would be restored, that there would be quality education, and that life would be easy for everyone. But unfortunately, it did not end up this way. Our dreams ended, and the moment will bring in democracy everything turns into a stomach infrastructure overnight.

The democracy we have today

It is unfortunate that even though we have gained independence or freedom, we are still slaves, which indeed makes matters worse. In today's society, despite our claim that we are operating a good system of government, life is absolutely getting harder daily, as some sets of individuals have turned the so-called democracy into a stomach infrastructure just to feed themselves and enrich their pockets alone.

Even though we claimed to be independent, today we have indeed turned ourselves into slaves as the rate of hardship is getting higher and increasing daily.

A brief look at some of the problems we face today

**Bad Economy **

We actually thought things would get better since we operate a democratic system of government, but unfortunately, reverse is the case. The economy of the country is getting worse daily, and it is so painful to see how hard life is becoming and how those in power aren't seeing it. To my surprise, the level of inflation in the market today is increasing more and more, but nothing has been done to avert or put an end to it, so the leaders have decided to fold their hands just because they do gain from all this situation.

As part of a bad system of government and bad leadership, the country keeps on finding itself battling with recession often and often, and nothing can be done about it. The hike in price of goods and services is definitely making life hard and not giving the average man the ability to sustain himself.

Lack of empowerment

We all hope that in a democratic system, citizens should be empowered; they should have strength and the ability to stand on their own. Instead of our government aren't doing all this, they keep on allowing citizens to put hope in them and still keep on failing us on most occasions. This lack of empowerment seems to me to be another reason why the rate of unemployment is increasing rapidly yearly.

High Tax

With a system of government that refuses to help citizens with any capital to set them up, this same government keeps on charging a high tax rate on those who have gone out of their way to make sure they have something to feed on. It is unfortunate that the stomach infrastructure system called democracy is not helping to solve any problems, but rather making life harder. Even for companies that are trying to help out citizens, the level of direct and indirect tax charged is definitely affecting all of these organizations.

High Cost of Living

Just like this famous quote “The cost of living is almost killing the living”, this is certainly a very accurate fact. There is a rapid increase in the cost of living, which makes it very hard for the middle class to survive. The level at which prices of goods and commodities go up in the market today is very alarming. The government, on its own, has failed to stabilize the economy but rather enjoy giving fake promises.

Incurring unnecessary debt and loans

As we are hoping for a system of government that will change the citizens' lives, on the other hand, the government on its own is passing unnecessary bills that as indeed damaged the country's status. Today, the country is in great debt, as this government has refused to restore its own valuable resources that could help them achieve what they want, but rather they choose to put the country's cost of running on taking loans from other countries. It is deplorable that the debt rates of this country have risen so much that it has affected its currency and that as given no regard to it at all, the exchange rate today is alarming.

This is definitely not the system of government we strive for—a system of government where hardship has become the order of the day, a system of government that has deprived the middle class of quality education, a system of government that forces leaders on us regardless of our choices.

To me, it's no longer democracy; it is absolutely a stomach infrastructure where the set of leaders we have don't have interest in the economic growth of the country, the rate of inflation and crises keeps on increasing daily, and instead of them embracing other means of stabilizing the country's economy, they rather choose to fight them, just because it will stop them from dictating life and controlling the citizens the way they want.

It's sad and painful that the so-called dividend of democracy is not enjoyed by the citizens but rather shared among some specific individuals who only care about their stomach.