Democracy day is June 12, a national public holiday in Nigeria. It marks the day the military handed over power to an elected civilian government in 1999, marking the beginning of the longest continuous civilian rule since Nigeria’s independence from colonial rule in 1960.
Speaking on the journey since restoration to democracy and commemorating the day; Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi, a Presidential Aspirant in the just concluded 2023 elections expresses the importance of electoral participation and her views on
‘NIGERIA IN TRANSITION’
Excerpt from conversations with her:
“The walk to democracy is hard and never done. All great nations are built with intentionality and a collective psychological contract for peace.
I stand with a heart full of gratitude for our leaders of fore who brought us out from political terrains resembling gestapo regimes and managed to offer us alternative freedoms otherwise bought with blood and the lives of our fellow people.
Fellow Nigerians, we mustn’t forget the errand! The errand is a burning desire and determination for improved welfare of the people. A desire for fair & even handed policies where everyone has a stake. We must amongst ourselves craft corresponding opportunities as well as community moral monitors. It is always a great time in history to galvanize a National thinking, where we strive towards a less individualistic larger society.
A United Nigeria is the solution. One that has a workable, operatable model of promise.
⁃ a promise of a safe nigeria
⁃ A promise of hope & future to our children
⁃ And a government that doesn’t steal from us
To all the leaders across the country, Nigerian leadership is essential to keeping us safe and our economy growing in the years ahead. It would be a dangerous mistake for you/us to abandon our responsibilities. We must fight to inspire, educate and empower women to become active participants in the political process; women’s issues are everyone’s issues. We must coordinate our actions to address economic insecurity, specifically youth un and underemployment, gender inequality, child labor, cybersecurity, pension fraud, traditional institutional management, food exports, housing plans, empowered local governments, maritime laws, power regulation timeline and debt capitalization, taxation and forex roadmaps. The security frameworks, interventions and welfare of youth foot soldiers. All to buffer value from harnessed capacity.
Democracy is our privilege; our rights to defending freedom, championing opportunity and the expression of liberties with dignity.
It depends on open and vibrant civic space in which we all can advocate our rights without discrimination. It also enthrones us with the responsibility of unburdening future generations unborn of the tasks of inclusive growth, national integration and accountable workable plans all while adapting and collaborating for effective ordinance. Today marks the continuity of our individual and collective sovereignty as a state for the purposes of legal and constitutional privileges of the office of the citizen. The function of government is to protect the voices and dignity of all citizens. These are the real dividends of democracy.
Happy democracy day!”
– Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi is a social impact entrepreneur and Founder, SLICE MEDIA GROUP.
