By; AMOS TAUNA, Kaduna
Director General of Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) and a former Minister of National Planning, Prof. Abubakar O. Suleiman has opined that for Nigeria to sustain and deepen democracy, it must imbibe the culture of political inclusion.
Speaking on Thursday in Abuja during the public presentation of a research report on inclusive practices of political parties in Nigeria organized by the Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) in conjunction with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), he observed that fake news, ethnic and religious sentiments, upsurge in politics of bitterness and animosity as threats to the existence of the country’s democracy.
He opined that there is casting of dark shadow over the significant achievements in the last two decades following some perennial challenges to the country’s democracy have continued to manifest.
According to him, “An essential requirement for sustainable democracy is political inclusion, especially for minorities and marginalised groups. Indeed, the very notion of democratic governance is premised on the notion of equal participation by all citizens.”
He lamented that women, young people, and people with disabilities need equal and meaningful participation and representation in all facets of the electoral process, stressing that women and youth constitute more than half of Nigeria’s population, yet their participation in governance processes where decisions are made remains peripheral.
Joseph Achie Abu, the National Organising Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), who spoke on behalf of all the political parties in the country, noted that the level of youths, women, and People With Disabilities, their participation in the electoral process has been low despite efforts to accommodate them through little or no charges for expression of interest and nomination forms.
