The former Director General of the Nigeria Law School, Professor Isa Hayatu, has called for reforms that will restore trust in the country’s democracy.
Professor Hayatu made a call at a colloquium in Abuja to mark the 60th birthday of civic advocate Chief Ezenwa Nwagwu.
The occasion also witnessed the presentation of Chief Nwagwu’s book, titled “Eze Unhinged: Electoral Reforms, A Participant’s View and Reflections”.
The former Law School Director-General, who was also the Chairman of the occasion, commended Nwagwu for documenting his experiences and reflections on Nigeria’s electoral process, describing the publication as a contribution to ongoing discussions on electoral reforms and democratic development.
He noted that sharing practical experiences and lessons from the electoral process “could help deepen understanding of the challenges confronting Nigeria’s democracy and inform efforts to strengthen its institutions”.
Also speaking, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Dr Ike Neliaku, called on political leaders to move beyond ethnic, religious and generational divisions, arguing that inclusion was essential to national progress.
He advocated collaboration between younger and older Nigerians, noting that young people brought energy, creativity and innovation, while older generations offered experience, networks and institutional knowledge.
In his address, former Senator representing Kogi West Senatoral Zone, Mr Dino Melaye, criticised Nigerian political parties for what he described as “a lack of clear ideological direction, arguing that the country had yet to develop a sustainable democratic system despite 27 years of uninterrupted civilian rule”.
He urged citizens to understand their power within the democratic system and demand accountability from elected officials.
Melaye identified “representation, lawmaking and oversight as the three fundamental responsibilities of legislators”, saying that effective performance of these duties would improve democratic governance.
He also called for equal civic rights for Nigerians regardless of where they lived within the federation and urged political parties to provide meaningful opportunities for women and young people.
Keynote speaker of the occasion and the presidential candidate of the Accord Party, Mr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, identified distrust in the electoral process, poverty, insecurity, logistical challenges and dissatisfaction with candidates as factors contributing to declining voter turnout in Nigeria.
He called for independent democratic institutions, wider economic opportunities and a national identity that transcends ethnic loyalties.
The keynote speaker said Nigeria needed to move away from a system dominated by powerful individuals towards one in which institutions operated independently and protected citizens regardless of their political affiliation or social status.
Noting that sharing practical experiences and lessons from the electoral process could help deepen understanding of the challenges confronting Nigeria’s democracy and inform efforts to strengthen its institutions, Olawepo-Hashim, who was represented by the Vice-Chancellor of Baze University, Professor Abiodun Adeniyi, said, “Presidential election turnout fell from 69.08 per cent in 2003 to 26.71 per cent in 2023, citing figures from International IDEA,” and purged authorities to make elections safer, more accessible, transparent and meaningful”.
He argued that democracy should be judged not only by the institutions a country establishes but also by the opportunities they create for citizens to live with dignity and contribute to national development.
He cited high energy costs as an example of the disconnect between the country’s resource wealth and the realities confronting households and businesses.
He advocated transparent cost accounting, reliable domestic crude supply and efficient refining, alongside attention to foreign exchange, logistics and taxation, to reduce energy costs.
Olawepo-Hashim also called on the government to take measures that will alleviate the economic challenges Nigerians are facing as well as “economic reforms that would translate Nigeria’s natural resources into jobs, enterprise, productive capacity and improved living standards”.
The celebrants and author, Chief Ezenwa Nwagwu, identified what he called “restrictive cultural practices, financial constraints and political interests” as major obstacles to women’s participation in politics.
He criticised the limited representation of women in political party leadership structures, noting that assigning them designated leadership positions did not necessarily give them sufficient influence over party decisions.
He called on political parties to dismantle the financial, cultural and political barriers preventing women and other under-represented groups from participating fully in politics.
A review of the book by a participant, Adaora Sydney-Jack, stated that the author wrote from “the peculiar authority of the participant-observer, someone who has not simply studied Nigeria’s electoral machinery from the balcony but has spent years inside the arena, engaging electoral officials, civil society actors, journalists, political actors and citizens.
“The book therefore reads less like an academic autopsy and more like the testimony of someone who has been in the room when the decisions were made, in the field when the consequences unfolded, and in the aftermath when everybody suddenly became an expert. That is its first major strength,” she said.
Present at the occasion were the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Presidents of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the ); Executive Secretary National Human Rights Commission, the Director General of the National Institute for Democracy and Legislative Studies (NIDLS), the former Executive Secretary of TETFund, Pastor Amaechi Udeaku, the Zonal Director of Christ Embassy Zone 2 Abuja, and the Director General, the National Institute for Sports, Philip Shuibu, top civil society actors, among others.
