From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Nigerians have made a passionate appeal to both chambers of the National Assembly to consider a bill to seal the age at which politicians can contest for elective positions in the country.
The concerned Nigerians under the auspices of National Association of Liberated Tigers (NALT), argued that there is a need for both chambers of the National Assembly to consider sponsoring and passing #TooOldToRun Bill into law after successfully concluding the #NotTooYoungToRun Bill into law.
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The agency also rated Nigeria as one of the most politically challenged nations with high indices of abuse of incumbency powers, corruption, increasing poverty levels and rising levels of religiosity with attendant intolerance.
Director, Democratic Futures in Africa, Open Society Foundations, Dr. Chukwuemeka Eze, had claimed that social justices are the lifeblood of democracy as they cultivate an engaged citizenry, challenge entrenched power and build resilient communities.
While advocating that the National Assembly should consider a bill to seal the age at which politicians can contest for elective positions, Eze also cautioned against the country sliding into a one-party state, charging NALT members to always advocate for a robust space that allows for the expression of interests and options.
“While I will congratulate the National Assembly for passing the #NotTooYoungToRun bill into law, I want to also urge them to consider another bill, #TooOldToRun. This will help open the space more for vibrant and intelligent young people to serve the nation at the highest level.
“I have been a tireless defender of democracy all my life because I am convinced it is the political system most conducive to peace, sustainable development, the rule of law and the respect for human rights. But even in democracy’s historic heartlands, we are witnessing a shift in the perceptions and practice of democracy as evidenced by the ever lower levels of voter participation, falling membership of political parties and declining trust in politicians and institutions,” he noted.
Also in his address, the international President of NALT, Mr. Obinna Amoke, who made the assertion that Nigeria has become one of the most politically challenged nations in the world with high indices of abuse of the incumbency powers, added that in recent times, violent democratic transitions had characterised the experiment due to a result of poor culture of electoral dispute management, weak democratic structures and institutions to deal with sectarian politics fuelled by ethnic and religious sentiments, among others.
“In many countries, especially in Africa, politicians have used regular elections to claim the existence of democracy, whereas in reality these countries can best be described as elected autocracies.
“According to Hilary Clinton, the former US Secretary of State, to be considered democratic, a country must choose its leaders through fair and competitive elections and ensure basic liberties and respect for the rule of law.
“Many deeply divided societies, such as ours since the 1990s have turned to democracy as a way to exit intractable conflict, institutionalised marginalisation and corruption, as well as inequality in all forms and ramifications. However, this is not necessarily true in all cases.”
Similarly, Obi Nweze, who is among the four founding fathers of the association, equally admonished members to always remain faithful to the ideals of the founding fathers, which include sustaining the truth, helping the needy and maintaining peace and diligence at all times.
According to him, “While I will congratulate the National Assembly for passing the #NotTooYoungToRun bill into law, I want to also urge them to consider another bill, #TooOldToRun.
Dr. Obi who is among the four founding fathers of the Association told the members to ensure that NALT remains one indivisible entity, adding that while they establish viable chapters across the world, its corporate headquarters must remain in Nigeria.
He also said that every chapter has been mandated to publish its statement of account every two months and that the zonal representatives’ position has been abolished so as to have a more efficient management.
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