By Samuel Ogidan
Nigerians were yesterday charged to re-commit themselves to the foundational values and norms that undergird the nation’s democratisation process, as the nation marks its 15 years of unbroken democracy.
Nigerians were also charged to continue to pray for the well-being and safety of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls and support for the efforts of the government, the defence and security services and “our regional and international partners for their safe release from the clutches of the Boko Haram terrorists.”
Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN), in a statement by its Director of Public Communications and Strategy, Dr Udenta O Udenta, underscored the fact that the process of building a strong, united and democratic society where human infrastructure and human security “are mainstreamed is a slow, gradual, complicated and difficult process.”
The group pointed at the strengthening of the Electoral Act, the landmark judicial pronouncements on electoral disputes that had given rise to staggered governorship elections in a number of states, and the steady evolution of the political party system as clear pointers to the consolidation of the country’s democracy.
TAN, in their statement entitled “Nigerian Democracy is Being Steadily Transformed,” stressed that a lot more worked need to be done in the area of public enlightenment and voter education as a means of creating an all-inclusive political society “as the nation gradually enters the phase of issue-based electioneering campaigns.”
It, therefore, urged “the relevant government agencies charged with this responsibility and civil society organisations operating in the area of electoral reform, electoral governance and democratic institution building to redouble their efforts in this regard.”
