By Japhet Alakam

Democracy as a system of government is defined as government of the people, for the people and by the people. But what has been a subject of debate for years is the type of democracy that is practiced in Nigeria. Is Nigeria practicing true democracy or not? To some it is, but to others it is not so, as candidates are imposed upon the parties, people are not given the chance to nominate or elect the people of their choice but those favoured etc. While it remains true that Nigeria is governed by democratically elected leaders at the federal and state levels, Nigeria is yet to institutionalise democracy after a century of existence as a political entity.

This issue has been a subject of scholarly debate and many scholars have written on it,but the debate rages on, it was on the basis of this that Architect Paul Okwudili Eze, a grassroots politician who has seen it all having participated in many elections from the grassroots and seen the intrigues and others came up with a new book entitled; Democracy at the Grassroots; My early Experiments, Observations and Commentaries.

The exciting and stimulating 309 page book published by Alpha Vista International Nsukka, Nigeria can be described as a vivid account of the author’s early political experience at the grassroots level in Nigeria’s experimental democracy during the aborted Nigeria’s Third Republic. The General Ibrahim Babangida’s Dawn of a New Socio-Political Order that created the catalyzing dynamo that propelled him to participate and be elected as the Executive Chairman of Uzo-Uwani local government area, Enugu State from 1991 to 1993, the politics that played within the council, his subsequent move to take part in future elections and how the powers that be turned him down and others.

Segmented into 12 chapters for easy reading, the author in the introduction narrates how the neglect and underdevelopment of Nsukka zone by previous governments propelled him and others to form pressure groups like Association for the Protection of the Rights of the Common Man, APRCOM, NPL and other bodies that fought for the election of credible candidates.

As a teacher, he traced the evolution of governments in Nigeria in general and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area in particular.
Continuing, the author explains the meaning of democracy, the two types and the inherent problems of lack of intra-party democracy in Nigeria’s political parties, which is the bane of of Nigeria’s political parties and the resultant leadership failure.

He also went on to highlight how he took the giant stride by resigning his plum job as a lecturer at Oko Polytechnic and joined the Social Democratic Party, SDP, during the IBB’s experiment of two political parties that provided for the first time equal opportunities and a level playing ground for all interested politicians unlike what is obtainable now.

The book also tells the readers about the author’s campaign promises that captured how he will tackle all the problems in the zone, how his team presented the program to the populace that eventually led to his emergence as the Executive chairman of Uzo-Uwani LGA. The turbulent start where he narrated the different court cases against him and the great battle of Ugbene-Ajima where the NRC used the state power to oppress, intimidate all for the seat of Uzo-Uwani South State constituency.

What he achieved within the short period, which includes the sitting of a campus of Enugu State University of Science and Technology at Uzo-Uwani were also captured.

The politics of impeachment, how it was used against him several times and how he survived were also recorded and finally, the author parting note, an advice for elected chairman in what he termed keys to successful grassroots governance. Here, he points out some of those things they will do to deliver the much needed dividends of democracy.

Written in very simple English language for easy understanding and laced with historical records with images of those that shaped Nigeria and Enugu state politics, the book Democracy at the Grassroots is the author’s attempt at addressing the missing link in Nigeria’s search for a true democracy.