NGO Advocates Tolerance, Encourages Open Dialogue Amongst Kano Students
A non-governmental organization under the aegis of Gatefield Impact on Thursday launched its debut project, “Engaging Students in Democratic Discourse Across Nigeria” tagged FRAME Democracy, at Bayero University, Kano.
The project which was targeted at encouraging public dialogue among students about the state of democracy in Nigeria, had in attendance academia, seasoned journalists and captains of industry.
While delivering his welcome address, the project representative from Gatefield impact, Mahmoud Jafar, noted that the initiative is aimed at providing students across the country’s six geopolitical zones with a platform for open dialogue and debate, deepening their understanding of democratic principles and enhancing their ability to resist authoritarian influences.
Jafar stressed that the FRAME Democracy Project is involved in a series of 2-hour sessions held at higher education institutions. He added that the forums, named “Frame Democracy,” are designed to foster conversations among students about the values of democracy and the challenges it faces.
While speaking, Prof. Kamilu Sani Fagge of the Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano, opened the roundtable discussion by highlighting the distortions in Nigeria’s democracy over the past 25 years.
Prof. Fagge pointed out several factors that have hindered democratic progress.
“The fiscal processes of elections and the enormous amounts of money spent during democratic processes, categorization and value of youth involvement in Nigerian politics, tracing their roles back to the independence and pre-independence eras, and the role of youth during the Nigerian civil war from 1967-1970, comparing and contrasting the engagement and impact of youth then and now”, he said.
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The university don also addressed the role of youth in today’s political landscape, stressing that issues such as the inability to organize effectively and limited access to political processes, along with changes in behavior over time have affected Nigeria’s democratic development.
Also speaking was the Kano Programmes Manager of the Arewa, Wazobia, and Cool FM Radio stations, Prince Daniel Aboki, who questined Nigeria’s democratic progress since its 25 years of interruption, dating back to 1999.
Aboki also harped on the importance of freedom of speech and expression, adding that they remain the core fulcrums of democratic process.
While it was her turn to speak, Dinatu Dama Maji, Founder of Kasham Girls, Women, Youth, and Community Development Network (KGWYCD), pointed out the significant role of women in democracy, espousing the fundamental roles women have played in Nigeria’s democracy.
Dinatu noted that the active participation of women in decision-making and politics must be jealously guided to achieve equality, sustainable development, peace, and democracy.
She rued that women faced a lot of challenges despite having the fundamental rights of participating in active politics.
On his part, the Head of the Department of Public Administration, Bayero University Kano (BUK), Dr. Sa’idu Ahmad Dukawa, addressed the dilemmas facing Nigerian youth, emphasizing their disorganization and limited access to political engagement.
He questioned whether studying political education could mitigate these issues.
Dr. Dukawa responded that while political education alone may not solve all problems, it can help set the stage for some improvements.
“Youth engagement at all levels will help in peace-building, community development, and economic growth in this current democratic circle,” he added.
He concluded that Nigeria as a country must begin to look inward by actively engaging the youth in mainstream governance to bring enduring solutions to the numerous problems facing the country.
“When the youth are well catered for, there won’t be a need for them to join bad gangs and engage in other illicit acts,” he emphasized.
