BY CHIKA OKEKE Dr Philip Njemanze As Nigeria marks 27 years of democratic journey, the Chairman International Institutes of Advanced Research and Training at Chidicon Medical Center Owerri, Imo State, Prof Philip Njemanze has demanded constructive dialogue on reforms needed to strengthen healthcare regulation and safeguard human dignity. He specifically called on the citizen, lawmakers, healthcare professionals, religious leaders, and civil society organisations to engage in the reforms, adding that democracy day should be more than a celebration of political freedom but a call to civic responsibility. “If democracy is truly government of the people, by the people, and for the people, then every Nigerian has a duty to participate in shaping laws that protect life, uphold justice, and secure the future of the nation. “Nevertheless, democracy remains worth defending because its ultimate purpose is the protection of human freedom, dignity, and the common good,” he added. In a ...
As Nigeria celebrates long walk to democracy, CHIKA OKEKE writes that 27 years after the civilian administration, strategic sectors of the economy remain at wobbly stage despite huge borrowings from the global community and annual budgetary allocations. But no nation can base its survival and development on luck and prayers alone while its leadership fritters away every available opportunity for success and concrete achievement . ~~ Ibrahim Babangida ‘The land flowing with milk and honey, laced with abundant human and natural resources, the giant of Africa; 5th best English-speaking country in Africa, 29th in world-these were the some of the performance index linked to Nigeria’. However, the uncertainties revolving around the country seem to diminish the hard-earned reputation. But on May 29, 1999, Nigeria transitioned from military to democratic governance, an event that was widely celebrated as the advent of good tidings in both human and materi...