{"id":62383,"date":"2018-05-29T19:10:17","date_gmt":"2018-05-29T18:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=62383"},"modified":"2018-05-29T19:10:17","modified_gmt":"2018-05-29T18:10:17","slug":"democracy-day-ibb-insists-on-two-party-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/democracy-day-ibb-insists-on-two-party-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Democracy Day: IBB Insists On Two Party System"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has said<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">that establishing a two-party political system in the country is critical<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">to building the nation\u2019s democracy.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">In a message to Nigerians ahead of the May 29 Democracy Day celebration,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Babangida said he is worried about the country\u2019s political structure and<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">the absence of a clear-cut ideology by political parties.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">He also alleged that democracy in Nigeria has been polarized in the last<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">18 years and therefore, he wants the nation to consider adopting a<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">two-party structure as a way to solving many of its challenges.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\u201cLet me reiterate my resolve as a Nigerian to the unity and indivisibility<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">of our dear nation, which our founding fathers struggled to gain from the<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">British colonial rule.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\u201cAs we celebrate 18 years of democracy in our country, Democratic<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Governance has been polarized along divisive ethnic and religious lines.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">It is indeed worrisome that active politicians are not adhering to the<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">rule of the game of politics.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\u201cOur political parties since May 29, 1999, have no distinct ideologies<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">with internal squabbles and cross carpeting that is not healthy to our<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Democracy. It is high time we look once more on the need to build a unique<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">two-party structure in the country at this critical period of<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">electioneering year\u201d.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Speaking further, Babangida urged Nigerians to always remember the roles<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">and sacrifices of the armed forces in upholding the country\u2019s unity.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">He also said regardless of the challenges the nation has witnessed,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">citizens should remain committed to building a united nation.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">The former head of state also noted that he is optimistic that the 2019<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">elections will further consolidate democratic governance, freedom and<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">security in Nigeria.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">He said, \u201cOur journey to Nationhood and Democracy from 1960 to date has<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">been characterized by upheavals and turbulence, yet we must cherish our<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">commitment to remain a united country, in brotherhood and respect for one<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">another. We must also appreciate the strength and value of our diversity,<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">with due understanding and recognition of the interests of various ethnic<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">nationalities in our hearts.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\u201cNo doubt, Nigeria has had its share of conflicts and political<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">instability, just like many other nations and states, but we have always<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">survived against all odds. In our efforts to promote and protect<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">democratic institutions, we should not forget the roles and sacrifices of<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">our gallant armed forces in the checkered history of nation-building.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">Therefore, it would be in our own interest to look for solutions to the<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">problems confronting us as a nation. \u201cIn whatever circumstance we find<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">ourselves, we must continue to exercise democratic tenants which promote<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">freedom and respect of one another\u201d.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWhile saluting the resilience of Nigerians in adopting democratic<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">structures across the three-tiers of government for an interrupted period<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">of eighteen years, it is my hope that the general elections next year will<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\">further consolidate democratic governance, freedom and security.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"ltr\"><\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has said that establishing a two-party political system in the country is critical to building the nation\u2019s democracy. In a message to Nigerians&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Democracy Day: IBB Insists On Two Party System - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/democracy-day-ibb-insists-on-two-party-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Democracy Day: IBB Insists On Two Party System - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, has said that establishing a two-party political system in the country is critical to building the nation\u2019s democracy. 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