High chief (Senator) Olalekan Moshood Balogun, Osi Olubadan of Ibadan land, a former Senator and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria and an ardent politician, while assessing democracy in Nigeria, said Nigeria is still far from practicing perfect democracy.

While speaking in an exclusive interview with CEOAFRICA online news at his residence on Monday, he said “Nigeria cannot even run a flawless democracy’’.

Chief Lekan Balogun said the “Nigerian character and ego’’, which according to him are corruption, impatience, selfishness and self centeredness, ethnicity and religious crisis, are major causes hindering the smooth running of democracy in Nigeria.

According to him, Nigeria will eventually reach the promise land only if we stop being stupidly parochial, selfish and self-centred.

While talking on the issue of National Conference, the prominent PDP chieftain said it is necessary at this point in time as it will afford Nigerians the opportunity to site how they want to be governed. it is a solid base for development. “We haven’t done that before’’, he said.  “confab is the solution to the problem of Nigeria now, because we have been agitating for it for over 25 year now’’.

“It is an opportunity to ask whether the state a president or governor comes from, the religion he practices, should matter in our collective national interest. It is a forum where by the fundamental rights of individual will be made known, it is an opportunity for the peoples’ constitution to be created’’, he said.

Chief Lekan Balogun has however said that the reports of the national conference should be subject to endorsement of the National Assembly saying that it is the only sovereign body in Nigeria.

When asked on how to tackle the security challenges of Nigeria, he said amnesty cannot be given to criminals; otherwise it will be a ticket for them to commit more crimes. “Deal with them with strong hands provided by the law of the land’’, he said.