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By: Cynthia Alo & Joseph Oso

Yiaga Africa has called on young women to actively participate in democratic processes and also get involved in political positions as the country gets ready for the 2023 general election.

The Director of Programs, Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, made the call while speaking with newsmen during a four-day Community Organizing Training (COT) for young women in Lagos.

She said “This one is specially designed for women because as yiaga Africa we believe it is time for women leadership and if we must achieve women leadership we need to also build leadership capacity amongst younger women and also prepare them to take charge and take ownership of the process’’.

Mbamalu also noted that young women play a vital role in the development of democracy in Nigeria and this training will be focused around organizing for change, things around building structures that can annex the powers of the people in the communities, things around identity and how you can use that identity to inspire a lot of things.

‘’ we will be using this platform to learn from stories from the past with people like Fumilayo Ransome Kuti, stories of Kajara Gambo from the north, Magret Ekpo, the daughter of Usman Dan Fodio, we will be looking at this women from stories from the past to inspire and learn from them, how can we leverage that for today’’.

She also expressed the fact that Lagos state remains the centre of Nigeria politics and economic growth but falls into the list with the lowest voter turnout.

‘’ Lagos plays a very important role in a lot of political system in Nigeria and Lagos is also one of the state with the lowest voters turnout, you still have low youth turnout and we believe that for the next election, this state that is in the heart of every protest and civic right activists should also begin to annex its potential to increase participation of young people especially young women as voters in the next election’’. She added.

Also addressing journalists, Governance Adviser with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Dr Matthew Ayibakuro said the FCDO has been a strong supporter of democracy in Nigeria and believes that democracy has a lot of promise and benefits to the people.

‘’Fundamentally it is about people been able to exercise basic freedoms and also been able to organize themselves in a way that works for everybody in the society and we think that as we build up to the 2023 general election every section of the society from the women to the young people, to the people with disabilities, will all be able to participate in the democratic process’’.

He also added that young women should own a democratic process, get actively

Involved and also exercise those freedom provided for them by democracy.

‘’ It’s simple, let them as young people own a democratic process, let them be active as much as possible, let them be able to exercise that freedom that democracy provides for them in their aspiration to ensure that democracy strengthens Nigeria for the purpose of achieving good governance to the democratic institution and processes that we have in the country’’.