|
A commission�s nudge for democratic norms
Semiu Okanlawon
Since the inception of the present democratic experience in Nigeria in 1999, the Justice Development and Peace Commission, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State had embarked on a project, aimed at making elected office holders to be accountable to their people. It was the conviction of the JDPC, an arm of the Catholic Church based in Ijebu-Ode that the project, tagged �Democracy Monitoring�, would help re-orientate politicians and those who give them their mandates.
With Democracy Monitoring, the commission was sure that the myth around governance that had encouraged fraud and led to poor performances in the past would be checkmated. To further this project, the commission even created a monthly magazine called Democracy Monitor, an organ with which the commission also published stories of developments and otherwise in the areas to where it had extended its operations. By the end of last year, the JDPC had extended the coverage of its monitoring activities to at least 18 states of the federation by appointing Democracy Monitoring coordinators in the states to where the commission had spread its tentacles.
This project had afforded the electorate in the areas covered to question some of the decisions of their elected representatives as the commission had also organised series of seminars and training conferences to equip the electorate with the necessary tools for doing so.
In furtherance of this project, the commission recently embarked on another round of elected-electorate meeting point by putting in place, what it called the constituency cultivation project bringing face-to-face, politicians before those who gave them their mandates.
The commission, in conjunction with the Ogun State branch of the National Orientation Agency, has, since August this year, started the project on the basis of senatorial district by organising the constituency cultivation meetings at different local governments in each of the senatorial districts in Ogun State.
At the Ogun East Senatorial district where the project commenced, JDPC and NOA officials led elected officials of the local governments under the area to face their people who had the opportunity to ask various questions. In some cases, angry residents demanded from the chairmen of local governments, who did the local government consult before embarking of particular projects that, to the people, were not of priority. At Atan, in Ijebu North-East Local Government area of the state, it was a good opportunity for the officials to explain some of the issues that had generated tension before. From here, the train moved to Itele where another meeting held with the council officials giving account of their stewardship. By last week, the train had moved to Odogbolu, Ogun-Waterside and Ijebu-North Local Government areas of the state.
Ogun State Director of NOA, Mr. Sola Babalola, who has since been attending the meetings, said the agency was involved because it saw the project as another way of re-orientating the voters who are largely illiterate on what is supposed to be the relationship between them and those they elected into offices.
Babalola said: �This is part of our responsibility to ensure that the electorate is carried along in the business of governance. The current democratic experience is about 5 years old. Nigeria, being a country with large population of illiterates, the NOA is very much interested in projects such as this so that over time, the people will be able to appreciate the norms of democracy better. It is only when people know what is expected of them in their relationship with the elected officials that democracy can survive in the country.�
Director of the JDPC, Rev. Father John Patrick Ngoyi said the impact made in the last 5 years of democracy monitoring encouraged the commission to embark on the new project.
He said: �The project is not entirely a new idea. It is merely in furtherance of our desire to monitor democratic performance by encouraging participation by the people. Democracy has no meaning if the people are excluded from decision-making. So, this kind of forum will ensure that the elected officials carry the people along since they know that their actions or inactions can be called to question.�
A community leader in Atan, in Ijebu North-East Local Government area, Pa. Adesanaya Adeosun who witnessed the constituency cultivation meeting told our correspondent that the meeting would go a long in removing the secrecy that surrounds governance.
He noted: �Decisions of government had before this time, remained something of a myth in the minds of the people. In fact, it would sound like a taboo for you to ask any government official why a particular decision was taken or how much was spent on a particular project. But if we look at it very well, this is why there has been so much misrule in the country. When they know that we can ask them questions, there will be a greater sense of responsibility in government circles.�
What the JDPC is doing in Ogun State at the moment is like a pilot. After all the senatorial districts in the state, the commission intends to move to other states especially where it has presence in its democracy monitoring exercise to do the same.
The Punch, Wednesday October 13, 2004
|
|
| |
Copyright 2003 - 2004
Punch (Nigeria) Limited. All Rights Reserved
Powered by dnetsystems.net
dnet�
|
|
|
|
