TheCable

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has put together a symposium to mark 20 years of democratic rule in Nigeria.

The symposium, which will be chaired by Adebayo Olukoshi, director for Africa and West Asia, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) will hold at Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, on June 11.

According to a statement, Mahmud Jega, deputy editor-in-chief, Daily Trust Newspaper, will deliver a keynote address on: “A reflection on the 20 years of democracy in Nigeria”.

Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto and Kayode Fayemi, his Ekiti counterpart will be in attendance.

A panel session will include deliberations from Hafsat Abiola-Costello, civil rights and democracy activist and daughter of MKO Abiola.

Ayisha Osori, executive director, Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA); Onyinye Ough, executive director of Step Up Nigeria; and Julius Ihonvbere, human rights activist and former special adviser to ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, will also feature as panelists at the symposium.

Idayat Hassan, director of the CDD, said the panellists are “carefully expected for their contribution to the return to democracy and sustaining Nigeria’s democracy in the last twenty years”.

“This year, 2019, marks the twentieth anniversary of Nigeria’s return to civilian rule and the country longest uninterrupted run on democracy since independence,” she said in a statement.

“This is a milestone for Nigeria, considering her 58 years of independence have only experienced democracy between 1960-1966, 1979-1983 and proudly now 1999-2019.

“Between 1999-2019, the country has conducted six consecutive elections with some forms of improvement in election administration.

“The twenty years have witnessed an increase in the numbers of political parties, a rise of startups and civic techs, youth demography, opening civic space, some forms of infrastructure development, separation of powers and human rights.

“However, the twenty years have not been without its challenges; they include the ethnicization of politics, Ethno-Religious conflicts, corruption, poverty, insecurity, shrinking democratic space, booming population, amongst others.

“The questions on the mind of Nigerians at the moment is mostly how do we consolidate democracy such that the delivery of public goods and services shall be a right for all citizens and not a privilege.

“What practical steps do we take to sustain a longer run of democracy with all the variables suggesting otherwise and how do we collectively as a nation achieve a Nigeria we want.”