Two prominent lawyers have asserted that Nigeria’s democratic practices will attain maturity in the next 25 years. Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, a former presidential aide, and Justice Osai Ahiakwo, a lawyer and public affairs analyst, issued separate statements to mark Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999. Both agreed that Nigeria’s democracy and its institutions are young and even embryonic, requiring time and patience. Obono-Obla said, “In May 2049, which is 25 years from now, democratic civil rule in Nigeria will have attained maturity and democratic culture and values more ingrained in our inst…