She stated this at the Office Of The
Citizen inauguration, which was organised by #FixPolitics.
The important thing, according to
Ezekwesili, who is also the founder of #FixPolitics, is that there has been a
phenomenal shift in political engagement.
“The apathy and lethargy of Nigerians are
what made the political class monopolist of our democracy; now that monopoly
will gradually be broken up and what we are doing today is to further
accentuate the quality of engagement that citizens must have to break the
democracy from being a monopoly in our country to be truly competitive.
“A competitive democracy is what leads to
better quality governance. We now know that without quality governance, we are
not going anywhere with development.”
Ezekwesili defined monopolistic democracy
as a situation similar to a marketplace monopoly, adding that citizens must
actively participate in governance to break the political elite's monopolistic
tendencies.
Monopolistic democracy exists in Nigeria
and some African countries, she noted, because citizens are not empowered to
participate actively in democratic processes.
“The reason we have monopolistic democracy
is because we have citizens that cannot engage,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer, School of
Politics, Policy and Governance, Mrs Alero Otobo, said the institution would
give community organisers more power to sway voters.
SPPG's work study group came up with the
initiative, a social campaign project that aims to encourage civic engagement.
Speaking on citizens’ awareness ahead of
the 2023 elections, she said there’s was phenomenal shift.
“I think Nigerians are already coming to
that place that I had prayed for so many years. Many citizens are participating
in the democratic process. In the 2019 elections, we could not get citizens at
the level that we are getting them now.
“We are seeing that the young and the women
are all engaged. When you see people who deride the interest of Nigerians in politics
saying ‘it is about social media’, don’t mind them, ignore them,” she warned.
In her address, the Coordinating Chair of
#FixPolitics Work Study Group 1, Mrs Bolatito Adeniyi-Aderoju, reminded
citizens that “by voting, we give authority to leaders to manage our collective
resources. So, we must seek to choose leaders the way we choose football teams;
elect leaders with competence, capacity and character. We need to vote in all
elections, especially elective positions close to the people, like local
government chairmen and councillors.
“With the OOTC activation, citizens can
become community organisers, who help communities understand how the political
process works to deliver public goods and services to Nigerians.”
She noted that more information on the OOTC
and community organising initiatives could be found at www.OOTCNigeria.org.
FixPolitics Work Study Group 1 is responsible for moulding an empowered and
engaged electorate, as well as activating the OOTC and community organising
initiatives. Community organisers will be trained by the SPPG .
Nigerian rapper and record producer, Jude
Abaga, popularly known as M.I. Abaga, said, at the event, that the idea to work
on raising awareness of the office of the citizen came up because the supply
side of politics was underperforming and needed to be energised to improve the
calibre of people entering the political space to run for elective offices.
In his vote of thanks, the Executive
Director, #FixPolitics, Anthony Ubani, said, “From the inception of
#FixPolitics, our vision has been to activate the OOTC and develop a political
class of servant-leaders.”
He added, “Citizens are the foundation of a
nation. Indeed the OOTC is the most important office in a democracy.
“Any reform solution designed to correct
the structural imbalances in Nigeria must necessarily begin with educating,
enlightening and empowering citizens to be able to play their role effectively
and productively in our democratic system of government. This is why we are
taking the historic step of activating the OOTC today.”