Nigeria: NDD organizes virtual conference, deliberates national issues

Network for Democracy and Development (NDD) in Lagos State has organized virtual conference to deliberate national issues – insecurity, covid-19 pandemic, and economic instability.

NDD is a civil society group which promotes ethical leadership and good governance towards making governance work for the people. As a group driven by the desire to make governance work for the people, it is committed to promoting ethical leadership and good governance, advocating for the achievement of sustainable development, promoting democratic governance and electoral integrity and promoting peaceful co-existence among the people of Nigeria and the world.

At its virtual conference themed MAKING GOVERNANCE WORK FOR THE PEOPLE which was organized on Sunday 17th January, 2021, NDD made some observations and recommendations on some critical issues that affect politics, governance, development as well as national peace and stability.

According to the document signed by its National Coordinator, Tajudeen Alabede, and Director of Public Affairs, Dr. Abdul-Wasiu Moshood, the group noted that the major challenge plaguing the country is nonchalant attitude which is characterized by lack of proactivity in preventing crises, slow responses to issues when they happen and poor follow up after they might have been contained temporarily.

“In 2020, the Network for Democracy and Development (NDD) made a number of interventions on matters of public importance. Issues addressed through our public statements include the precarious state of security, COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic implications, upsurge in cases of rape and sexual violence, ASUU strike and the state of public university system, youths and the EndSARS protests and the implications of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah’s last Christmas homily on national peace,” the document reads.

On the issue of security, the statement says the state of insecurity in Nigeria has escalated in recent years as “Nigerians continue to suffer in the hands of terrorists, kidnappers, bandits, ritualists, cultists, armed robbers and other criminal elements.”

It adds that one of the recent positive developments in the area of security was the coordinated effort between the Governments of the affected states and federal security agencies that led to the release of the abducted students of Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State.

NDD, while commending the Government for this feat, appealed for greater coordination among the agencies of Government to ensure improved security for the citizens.

“In the same vein, we implore the Government not to relent in its efforts to secure the release of Leah Sharibu, the only remaining girl from among the abducted students of Dapchi, and the remaining Chibok girls who are still held captive by Boko Haram.

“NDD notes that the increased cases of criminal activities across the country have led to a proliferation of security outfits. Many State Governments and local communities have set up security outfits to complement the effort of federal agencies. While the precarious situation demands that all hands must be on deck, the proliferation, without adequate coordination, could be counter-productive in the long run.

“NDD, therefore, urges the Federal and State Governments to fashion out a new comprehensive and pragmatic National Homeland Security Strategy that would ensure devolution of more responsibilities to States, strengthen community policing and help achieve greater national security in a well-regulated environment.”

It suggests that the government invest more in intelligence gathering, motivation and proper welfare for security personnel and ensure that the equipment needed to properly combat the nation’s multi-faceted security challenges is provided.
While discussing the coronavirus pandemic, NDD maintained that Nigeria has witnessed a devastating impact of the second wave of COVID-19, including the death of some high-profile citizens in the past few weeks. The group expressed concern over the plans by educational institutions across the country to resume academic activities without adequate safety measures.

“It is discomforting that many Governments have not gone beyond merely issuing statements encouraging schools to observe COVID-19 protocols. In this situation, the hapless students, pupils and staff are literally left to their fate as adequate safety measures are not put in place by the Federal and State Governments. NDD considers this inappropriate as the primary duty of any Government is the security and wellbeing of the citizens,” the statement says.

“It is an irony that, while the plan for schools to resume is moving at a high speed, the same Governments are vigorously campaigning against large gatherings. That this is taking place against the background of insecurity across the country makes it all the more indefensible,” it adds.

It continues that the expectation of NDD “is for the Government at all levels to regard COVID-19 as a national emergency which would demand that affected sectors are provided with all the necessary support that they need to cope with the impact of the pandemic. In the minimum, Government should consider providing facilities for virtual classes, deploying health and security personnel to schools to handle emergencies, providing hand sanitisers and masks to students and staff, providing testing facilities for compulsory testing of all students and staff and setting up isolation centres in all Local Governments”.

“A major lesson that this unfolding crisis has taught us is that the nation has not been smart enough to invest in those basic things that matter most when every other thing in life fails. This crisis has exposed the gross inadequacies in the provision of basic social and physical infrastructure in Nigeria. Ill-equipped hospitals, out-of-date public education system, poor power supply, poor and pricy internet access, non-existent social security programme, lack of reliable data about the citizens, among others, provide real challenges as the nation strives to overcome this disease.”

On economic recovery and growth, NDD acknowledges and commends the efforts of the Federal Government at improving the state of the economy and the operating environment for businesses, especially with regard to the diversification of the economy, ease of doing business, interventions in a number of critical sectors and investment in physical infrastructure.

These notwithstanding, some key aspects of the economy need more attention.

The group also expressed its observation regarding the irregular power supply.

It said, “On power, we observe that the current arrangement with the DISCOs and GENCOs is not working to the advantage of the people. It is our recommendation, therefore, that upon expiration of their licences, renewal should not be guaranteed except for those who have met their obligations under the current contract.”

“We are recommending that the Federal and State Governments should work together to develop a more pragmatic power framework that will make life more comfortable for citizens and their businesses.

“With advances in power technology, there are already cheaper and more readily available alternative sources of power. Emphasis should now be on renewable energy which is readily available in different parts of the country: water (for hydropower), sun (for solar energy), wind (for wind turbines) and organic wastes (for biogas).”

While applauding the social investment program of the Federal Government, it however, highlighted some challenges that need to be fixed. According to the group, for greater transparency, it is important that Nigerians who are covered by the program are issued with a national social security number.

“Except for the recent COVID-19 interventions targeted at MSMEs, the amount of money given to the vulnerable women and traders is grossly inadequate to empower them on a sustainable basis. It is also not enough to give stipends to vulnerable people for feeding.

“A means can be designed to help them to make some savings and little investment against the future. This will have a multiplier effect on the economy and also empowers them on a sustainable basis,” it said in the statement.

Speaking about democratic governance, NDD reiterated the need for a more transparent and credible leadership selection process “that is not susceptible to brazen manipulation and hijack by money bags in political parties.”

“We have an unusual situation whereby a number of the existing political parties operate like businesses either as sole proprietorship or limited liability companies with several owners. One of the ways by which Nigeria can have truly independent and viable political parties is through compulsory financial contribution by party members. Every political party should be jointly owned by all its registered members.”

Worried by the proliferation of political parties that participate in national elections, as witnessed during the 2019 general elections, NDD supports the deregistering or delisting of the poorly performing parties. However, we believe that this measure may not be helpful in the long run.

NDD therefore, recommended that INEC and the National Assembly should consider categorization of parties.

“Thus, while some political parties may operate as national parties, others may choose to operate as local or issue-focused parties. There should be certain conditions that should be met before a party can be registered to participate in certain elections.”

“This way, a party that may not have the resources to participate in a national election may do well in local elections. In the same vein, a party that is interested in promoting a narrow yet legitimate agenda would have the opportunity to make an impact.

“This will also encourage more Nigerians to participate in the political process and engender cooperative attitude among parties as broad-based coalitions of like-minded parties may flourish.

“What’s more, the financial burden on parties to prosecute major elections will be reduced.”

Other issues of national concern — religion, ethnicity, peace and national stability — were discussed.