By Isah Hussein
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on Wednesday, convened a high-level meeting to boost citizen participation and protect dissenting voices in Nigeria’s democratic process. The event, held at Transcorp Hotels in Abuja, brought together stakeholders and experts to tackle the challenges facing citizen engagement in governance.
According to Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP’s Deputy Director, “a greater percentage of Nigerians only feel free to express critical views of government policies in private, with their friends and families, and colleagues.” He noted that this self-censorship has led to a significant reduction in citizen participation, with many only engaging in the electoral process every four years.
Honorable Akin Rotimi, Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, emphasized the importance of constant citizen engagement, stating, “It’s not just about electoral cycles; it’s not just during elections. Even after elections, there is a need to actually follow through with holding government accountable, with constantly engaging.” He highlighted the House of Representatives’ efforts to enhance citizen participation through functional constituency offices and active social media channels.
The meeting aimed to encourage an environment where citizens feel empowered to participate in governance and express dissenting views without fear of reprisals. As Oluwadare noted, “The government holds the responsibility to encourage an environment that allows people to participate in governance, or sometimes by lending critical voices to what government does and says it’s fine.”
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State who was represented at the event, highlights the state’s innovative approach to citizen engagement, stating, “One of the key pillars of our governance agenda in Kaduna State is nurturing citizen engagement.” He highlighted the state’s strategic meetings with stakeholders, including traditional rulers, religious leaders, women, youth, and development groups, to fashion strategies on how to win the minds and hearts of the people”.
The Director General of ALGON, Mr. Itiako Ikpopo, pledged to implement the meeting’s recommendations across all 774 local governments in Nigeria, stating, “We believe that recommendations from this meeting on issues of human rights, press freedom, inclusive democracy, citizen protection will help in strengthening our still fragile democracy.”
The meeting culminated in a call to action, with participants committing to implement recommendations aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s democracy, promoting human rights, press freedom, and inclusive democracy. As Uba Sani noted, “Protecting dissent is protecting the heart of democracy. It is safe, therefore, to say that SERAP’s initiative today aimed at enhancing citizens’ participation in the democratic process and the protection of dissent is not only timely but essentially imperative”