To commemorate the 29th anniversary of Nigeria’s Democracy Day otherwise known as June 12, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) hosted a webinar on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, to interrogate the progress of Nigeria’s democratic journey focusing especially on contemporary developments in the polity such as shrinking civic space, monetized electoral processes and other pertinent conversations. The webinar which attracted diverse participants and speakers from the civil society sector, political space, and academia also offered constructive perspectives for upholding the values of democracy, inclusion, and respect for human rights in Nigeria, especially in light of the forthcoming 2023 general elections.[spacer height=”25px”]
Incase you missed it, no worries, you can watch the full recording here[spacer height=”25px”]
Webinar Theme: Democratic Impasse: Interrogating Nigeria’s Democracy under Elite Corruption, Shrinking Civic Space, and a Monetised Electoral Process[spacer height=”25px”]
Moderator: Zikora Ibeh, Policy and Research Analyst, CAPPA[spacer height=”25px”]
Speakers:[spacer height=”25px”]
- Sylvester Odion-Ahkaine Former Sec. Campaign for Democracy
- Abiodun Bayiewu – Executive Director, Global Rights, Nigeria
- Adeola Soetan National Coordinator, Democracy Vanguard
- Jaye Gaskia Member of Secretariat, The Peoples’ Political Movement
- Remi Sonaiya KOWA Party Presidential Candidate (2015 elections, Nigeria)[spacer height=”25px”]
Powerful Quotes from the Webinar:
‘‘We have lost the dynamism of the civil society that we had during the anti-military struggle. Save for clear-cutting issues on the table which are existential, it has been difficult to mobilize under democracy even though the absence of functional parties is what engendered the flourishing of civil society at the end of the day. We must begin to rebuild strategic alliances’’ – Prof. Sylvester Ahkaine, Former Sec. Campaign for Democracy[spacer height=”25px”]
‘‘When political parties fail to have ideologies, governance becomes based on personality rather than sustainable ideas. We must begin to lay the grounds for issue-based politicking, particularly ahead of 2023 elections.’’ – Barr. Abiodun Bayiewu, Global Rights, Nigeria[spacer height=”25px”]
‘’ Nations have their moments in history that must be seized in order to make progress. We suffer a fundamental failure of leadership in Nigeria and profound lack of understanding of our place in the world. We need a database of competent and capable Nigerians to deliver us into a new era!’’ – Prof. Remi Sonaiya, Presidential Candidate, KOWA Party (2015 elections, Nigeria)[spacer height=”25px”]
‘‘The quality of any democracy is about the outcome of the struggle for the definition of who the people are’’ – Comrade Jaye Gaskia, Member of Secretariat, The Peoples Political Alternative Movement (TPAP-M)[spacer height=”25px”]
‘‘Bourgeois political parties do not see parties as anything beyond business because politics has left the arena of popular participation. The working masses must begin to organize for power’’ – Comrade Adeola Soetan, National Coordinator, Democracy Vanguard[spacer height=”25px”]