Pro-Democracy Conference Gives Options To Save Nigeria’s Democracy

The 2019 Pro-Democracy Conference has called on the Nigerian judiciary and the legislature to exert their independence of the executive arm of government by promoting actions that will build the country’s democracy.

The democracy conference which held in Lagos with participation from civil society organisations also lamented what was described as the progressive collapse of the country into a dictatorship.

The Pro-Democracy Conference was organized The Social Development Integrated Centre (Social Action) in partnership with African Centre for Media & Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC).

Following observations, the conference recommended among others that:

“The current battle to reclaim Nigeria is complex. We need an alliance of forces that would lead to the formation of a radical pan-Nigerian organization, taking into consideration the nuances of the Nigerian situation.

“We must answer the question of the structure of the Nigerian state.

“We must all, as lovers of freedom and people who have the interest of the nation at heart, start organising to ensure that our democratic rights are protected.

“We must all begin to act, to organise in our different localities to stop the encroaching fascism. We must not rest until journalists, activists and other individuals jailed are released.

“No matter the differences we have, we must decide on a few things: accountability of those in power, regardless of who is in power. We must ensure that the right of minorities is protected and that our freedoms are guaranteed.

“We must revive and restructure pro-democracy organisations and use them to make our voices heard and sustain the tempo of our activism.

“The pro-democracy movement should stand in solidarity with student unions across the country in order to strengthen their activism. We should also stand strongly against the victimization of student union activists in our various universities.”

The conference also agreed that the pro-democracy conference should be held at least once every year as a rallying point for activists and citizen across the country to continue to uphold the tenets of democracy.

“It called on the judiciary and legislature to show commitment to country’s democracy. The judiciary should restore its independence while the legislature must always demonstrate commitment to the tenets of democracy by holding the executive accountable.

“It condemned the proposed social media bill and hate speech bill which it said are aimed at curtailing the freedom of expression of Nigerians.”

The communique was signed by Dr. Isaac ‘Asume’ Osuoka Social Action, Dr. Chido Onumah AFRICMIL and Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) CISLAC

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