How Nigeria Can Achieve Working Democracy – IMS

For Nigeria to achieve a working democracy, there must be inclusion, the voices of the people must be heard and a pluralistic platform must be created, the Institute for Media and Society (IMS) has said.

The Program Manager of the Institute, Mr Timothy Olusola Bamidele who spoke at a roundtable meeting with community leaders and the media on gender equity and inclusion for local development in Lagos State also noted that to have democracy, the media must be strengthened.

He further stressed the need for the inclusion of women, youths and people with disabilities in leadership.

The roundtable meeting which was held at the Isolo campus of the Yaba College of Technology with the theme ‘Promoting empowerment of women and vulnerable groups for participation and inclusion in social and economic development in peri-urban areas of Lagos State’, had in attendance community leaders, women leaders, people with disabilities and youths from Alimosho and Mushin Local Government Areas of Lagos State.

IMS is a Non-Governmental Organisation working in the area of capacity building for media professionals in Nigeria.
According to Bamidele, IMS is working with the media to ensure that democracy is strengthened in the country.

He said, “Journalism is a profession that is acknowledged in the Nigerian Constitution and being a democratic country, to have democracy, the media must be strengthened. Our organisation intervenes in the area of friendly journalism practice, and capacity building while we engage stakeholders and regulatory bodies as well as ensure that there are reforms that will serve the interest of Nigerians.

While he noted some gaps in the society which IMS is positioned to fill up; he made known that IMS embarks on community duties and engagement. “There are lots of gaps in our society, in the rural, suburban and urban areas but this roundtable meeting with community leaders and the media has given us insights into a particular area that should be given attention, especially in the inclusion of women, youths and people with disabilities.

“We have allowed the community, the people to have a say and amplify their voices and in that process, we have been able to address the issues of development bottom-up and at the same time, we have given the people the consciousness to take their destinies in their hands and project their views.”

A columnist at the Punch Newspaper, Mr. Lekan Sote who also spoke at the meeting explained that the essence of the meeting was to examine if there were gaps between the intentions of the previous programs of the organisation and to examine if it was visible in the outcome of the recently concluded elections.
Commenting on how Nigeria can achieve gender equality in the political space, Sote who is also a columnist at The Point newspaper went down memory lane to reflect on the Beijing Conference of 1995, calling for the domestication of certain laws to help women in politics and the public space.

“Remember in 1995, there was the Beijing Conference and I think the first lady of Nigeria at that time, Mrs Maryam Abacha, led women there. What did they bring back and how did it affect policymaking? It was said then that henceforth from 1995, 35 percent of all political positions, and public positions should be ceded to women. How far have we gone, who is monitoring that process?” he queried.

He, therefore, appealed to civil society to keep a tab on political officeholders who should be mentored to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.

Also lending her voice, a community leader in Alimosho LGA, Mrs. Abiodun Giwa-Oroja, stressed the need to assist the women folks to achieve the 35 percent affirmation action in the political space.

Giwa-Oroja pointed out that to achieve more political positions in the future, men must learn to assist women. “Without men, we can’t get there, they are our fathers, our husbands, and we need them to get there. As we support the men, they should support the women to achieve the 35 percent affirmative action at every level,” she said, arguing that there are more qualified women than men that should be given the chance to lead.