…As stakeholders push citizenship as political ideology

By Yinka Kolawole

As Nigeria experienced its seventh consecutive democratic transition with the swearing-in of President Bola Tinubu, citizens have been charged to get more involved in participatory politics as they hold the key to unlocking the opportunities that can be delivered by the government in the country. 

Ms Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, Co-Founder of Lagos Island Connect (LIC), along with other stakeholders in the political space, made the call at an online conference organized by the International Centre for Tax Research and Development with the theme, “Promoting Citizenship as a Political Ideology”. 

She said that the citizens hold the key to unlocking the opportunities that can be delivered by the government in any country.

To be politically motivated, she said: “Citizens should be: enlightened – must be interested and informed about current affairs; economically empowered or have the potential to be productive citizens, students, persons with disabilities; ready to collectively participate and consistently engage with the system through consultation and feedback mechanisms, not just complain in groups or on social media.

“They should patronise made-in-Nigeria goods and services; contribute to the local economy by patronizing local businesses in their communities; and recruit personnel from within their local governments. These practices and orientation all have to start in the family environment.” 

Ransome-Kuti further stated: “For citizens to operate effectively in the political space, trust must be engendered between the state and the citizen, and between the citizenry. 

“I suggest that this can be achieved by establishing a Legal framework for Stakeholders/Citizens Engagement in every Ward and Local Government, compelling citizens and government officials to dialogue, input into and agree on policies, strategies, budget, implementation and monitoring mechanism processes. 

“Lagos State has a model in the CDA structure, where all those interested in political citizenship engage.” 

She noted, for instance, that Lagos Island Connect (LIC) has a program, ‘Promoting the 2km rule’, that strives to promote citizen engagement. 

“The 2km Rule is an initiative aimed at promoting the purchase of goods and services and recruitment within a 2km radius of a business enterprise operating out of Lagos Island, in order to promote the growth of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) within Lagos Island, as a pilot, and then subsequently throughout Lagos State. The idea is that they will recruit staff and purchase goods and services from within Lagos Island first, before searching outside the locality,” she added. 

In her remark, the convener of the conference, Mrs Morenike Babington Ashaye, said it is important to let United Nations be aware of its responsibilities to protect citizens of nations and not their government. 

“Any government that is not running the government with the people’s constitution should be de-registered. World Bank, IMF, and other lending Institutions around the world should have nothing to do with such governments. Any loan taken is the responsibility of the administration and not that of the people of that nation. If the world is really serious about protecting democracy, these are things that should be done,” she stated.