A non-governmental organisation (NGO), Citizens Intervention & Accountability Network (CIAN), recently, unveiled a book and audio project – an empowerment resource materials – to guide voters on how to elect their leaders, particularly, Nigeria’s next president.
The book, aptly tagged “Nigeria’s Next President”, was presented at a Press Conference held at the Julius Berger Hall of University of Lagos, Akoka, it is scheduled for launching in Abuja, December 3, 2021.
Speaking at the event, the Committee Chairman, Mr Olawunmi Olaniyan, said that CIAN is a grassroots project implementation NGO dedicated to defending and dealing with issues related to human rights, and those aimed at advancing democracy and good governance in Nigeria.
“Being a people-oriented organisation that is guided by the belief that freedom is a universal human aspiration, we are thus moved by a moral obligation to take action and stand up for what is fair and what is just.
“On this score, we bear witness to human rights violations, injustice and corruption, in addition to challenging the systems of influence and privileges that have destroyed Nigeria and place disproportionate burdens on the economically disadvantaged and vulnerable people,” he said.
Mr. Olaniyan noted that with the recent rumblings in the Nigerian Senate and the Federal House of Representatives over section 52 (2) of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021, Nigerians cannot afford to throw their hands in the air and watch helplessly as this development portends the gathering of anti-democratic forces with a tendency towards a one-party state.
What happened in both hallowed chambers is a disgrace and a complete betrayer of public trust. “Nigeria’s Next President”, he explained, is a civic empowerment project, “produced to ignite a paradigm shift in the failed social contract between the ruling elite and the Nigerian peoples in addition to also foster eternal vigilance, inspire civic responsibility, and stir civic activism that will challenge conventions and demand accountability from elected officials.
“For these empowerment-resource materials to reach a wider audience and have a greater impact on the general voting public, the majority of whom are unlettered in the English language, CIAN has commenced the first phase of this national project with its translation into Efik, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, and Pidgin English while planning more local language translations in subsequent phases.”
