Politics
Was There Need To Celebrate This Year’s Democracy Day?
Mr Titus Achor – Business Man
I think it is worth celebrating Nigeria at 54 because there has been a lot of development in the country. It is true that some people are still unemployed but many graduates especially those in the engineering field are securing employment. Government of President Goodluck Jonathan is trying to make life better for us so we have to celebrate. It is also true that there is insecurity in the country, Chibok girls are not yet released but that shouldn’t stop us from thanking God that the country is still moving on despite all odds.
Mrs Lilian Okonkwo – Nawoj Chairman
For me, Nigeria at 54, I wouldn’t say it is so good, I wouldn’t say it is so bad. The reason is that there is always room for improvement.
We always think that things should have been better than what it is now. However, for me, I think there is reason for us to celebrate even if we have problems, after all, for those of us who are Christians, the Bible will tell you that in all things you give thanks. We haven’t done so bad even if it is not so good. I know that we have challenges talking about the insecurity problems. But you will find out that there are countries which have gone through the same challenge and it resulted to Civil War. But some how, we have been able to manage our problems and we have remained one indivisible country. And so for us as a country, that we are still one indivisible entity, it calls for celebration.
Having said that, we still have a lot of problems which we need to tackle to make the country better – corruption, self-aggrandisement of our leaders and so on. So we wish that things will get better. We wish that we move from where we are to a higher ground. I want to see a situation where we will have regular power supply so that people’s business will move forward, a situation where the insecurity in the northern part of the country wouldn’t be there and things will be better than it is now.
Despite all these, yes, the Chibok girls are yet to be found but a lot of things still have to go on.
We can’t mourn for ever, the country has to move on. In my own view, there wasn’t even much celebration this year. The celebration was in low key, you cannot compare it to what it used to be in the past. The lectures, the national honours award and a few other events that formed part of the celebration, were in order. Even when a President of the country died, the country moved forward. Amidst the situation, the country has to move on. It is like somebody having a problem and he sinks in it, no! there still has to be a way out. We still have to move forward, hoping that things will be better. We the citizens of Nigeria should also do the best we can to improve the country.
Mr Lukeman Abiodun-Printer
To me, the country is not okay. The economy is in disarray, people are not happy, things are generally tough for the masses, so what are we celebrating? Most Nigerians are living in abject poverty.
Yes, a 54-year-old man is a full-fledged man but the challenges the country is facing makes it difficult to perform. So the country is still a baby, not a man. For people in government, things are okay for them but for us, the poor masses, trying to eke a living, things are not okay. So for those in government , they can celebrate independence but for us, there is no need for celebration. Look at me now, I should have travelled to my village for Eid-el Mubarak celebration because I am a moslem but I couldn’t do that because there is no money. Even the people I worked for couldn’t pay because of lack of money. People can’t celebrate when they are hungry, , when the country does not cater for them.
Mrs Jane Beluonwu – Teacher
There was no need for independence celebration this year because Nigeria is not at peace, no happiness because of the crises here and there, Boko Haram and all the kidnappings. We can’t celebrate in the midst of all these. It is when you are happy that you celebrate. The national honours award, the independence lectures and all that should have been put on hold till next year, when the country shall have hopefull been better. Personally, I am not happy with the present day situation of things in the country. Look at the school children that were kidnapped many months ago and are yet to be found. If you are their parents or relation, will you want to celebrate independence in that state? Our leaders should give us a reason for celebration by making the country a better place.
Mr Ngozi Williams – Transporter
I think we should annually celebrate Independence Day as usual.
Before, when independence was independence, when things were moving fine, the celebration was groovy. Everybody took part in the celebration one way or the other. But this year, I didn’t see much activities. May be because of scarcity of fund and non-payment of workers salaries, the celebration was dull.
However, looking at it the other way round, abduction of over 200 girls from Chibok, Boko Haram problems and other issues, we ought not to celebrate independence this year because there are too much problems in the country. Infact, we want Nigeria to be divided. Let the northern and southern parts of this country go their separate ways so that there will be peace in this country.
Mrs Stella Njoku – Self-employed
That we are one as a country till 2014, we should celebrate and thank God. Many professed about Nigeria disintegrating and all that but we have continued to be one, that calls for celebration. Many people say there are many problems in the country so we should roll out the drums to celebrate our independence but as far as I am concerned, problems are part of life. We cannot have a problem-free society. It is not possible. A man’s ability to forge ahead despite the mounting challenges facing him makes him a man.
Having said that, I will like to add that I personally, do not buy the annual ritual of giving national awards to people. We all know that many of the awaredees do not deserve the award. Some of them are very corrupt. Some contributed to the poor economic and infrastructural state of the nation, yet we honour them, for what? So, there was nothing wrong in thanking God. We have remained one entity despite all challenges but I don’t subscribe to the national honours award.
Prof. Amupitan gave the warning on Saturday, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during the South-South Zonal Readiness Assessment and Interactive Staff Engagement organised ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He said insecurity remained a potential challenge to the electoral process but stressed that the Commission would not allow threats against its personnel to undermine its constitutional responsibilities.
“Insecurity may pose a challenge, but our collective constitutional resolve is far stronger. Let me again send a clear message from Port Harcourt: anyone who attempts to threaten, intimidate, or harm our ad-hoc staff, NYSC members, or permanent personnel will be brought to justice under the full weight of the law,” he said.
The INEC Chairman, who was accompanied by National Commissioners, directors and technical aides, disclosed that the South-South engagement was the fifth in a series of zonal assessments, following similar exercises in the South-West, North-West, South-East and North-East.
He explained that his physical presence across the geopolitical zones reflected the Commission’s field-first approach, emphasising that electoral integrity must be established through effective operations at the grassroots.
According to him, the assessment would cover operational preparedness across the 123 Local Government Areas in the six South-South states.
On election security, Prof. Amupitan said INEC had moved away from reactive security arrangements traditionally activated around election day to a proactive, intelligence-driven framework known as the “ICCES Tentacle”.
He explained that the framework was designed to extend inter-agency security coordination from national and state headquarters to local government areas and Registration Area Centres, including remote communities.
He identified three critical pillars of the framework as mapping and mitigating security threats, protecting electoral personnel and infrastructure, and guaranteeing safe access to polling units.
The INEC boss said the security arrangement would provide comprehensive protection for electoral personnel, technological infrastructure, including Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices and server infrastructure, as well as voters.
He added that the framework was intended to ensure that every polling unit, irrespective of its geographical location or history of security challenges, remained safe and accessible for the exercise of democratic rights.
Prof. Amupitan disclosed that the South-South security architecture comprised approximately 60 major operational formations, headquarters and state commands operating under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).
The network, he said, brings together military, naval, air, police and other security and intelligence agencies across the six states.
“Together, this integrated multi-agency network represents the operational backbone that guarantees intelligence-led protection across every riverine creek, coastal axis, and land-based polling unit in the Niger Delta,” he stated.
Providing an overview of the region’s electoral significance, the INEC Chairman said the South-South had the fourth-largest voting bloc in the country, with 15,823,550 registered voters, representing 15.30 per cent of the national register.
Rivers State alone, he said, accounts for 3,736,434 registered voters spread across the 23 local government areas.
Alhaji Abubakar made the demand following revelations that some INEC registration officers allegedly abused their access to the voter registration system to introduce irregular records into the database.
In a statement issued by his Director of Strategic Communications, Mr Phrank Shaibu, the former vice-president described the development as a serious breach of the Commission’s internal safeguards and raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
He urged INEC to identify the officials implicated in the alleged misconduct and explain what disciplinary or legal measures had been taken against them.
Alhaji Abubakar also called for an independent forensic audit of the preliminary voters’ register to establish the scale of the alleged manipulation, identify affected records and determine how the questionable entries were introduced into the system.
He further insisted that INEC preserve all relevant voter records, image files, system access logs and electronic audit trails to prevent the destruction or alteration of evidence before an independent examination could be conducted.
The former vice-president also demanded that the Commission disclose the identities of companies contracted to produce sensitive election materials ahead of the 2027 polls, arguing that transparency was essential to building public confidence in the electoral process.
INEC’s Director of Information and Communication Technology, Dr Lawrence Bayode, had earlier disclosed during a television interview that some registration officers across the country allegedly used their official login credentials to introduce irregularities into the voters’ database.
Dr Bayode explained that the Commission’s Automated Biometric Identification System helped identify questionable records and establish how some irregularities entered the system.
He, however, clarified that not all suspicious photographs were AI-generated, as some resulted from poor registration procedures.
The development followed public concerns over suspected AI-generated photographs, alleged duplicate entries and other inconsistencies discovered in the preliminary voters’ register published online on October 26, 2026.
INEC has maintained that the published document is a preliminary register and that it is reviewing questionable records ahead of the certification of the final Register of Voters.
The controversy has intensified calls for greater transparency and accountability in the management of the voters’ register as preparations gather momentum for the 2027 general elections.
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