By Euclid Myke
Some political actors in Kwara state are in agreement that the coalition of politicians via African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a strategic move by the opposition group to salvage the country from imminent collapse.
The statement was made during Associate Professor Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia, second annual colloquium lecture with the theme: “Interrogating the Nigerian State, Its Democratic Institutions, and the Looming Threats of State Capture” which took place over the weekend in Ilorin, Capital of Kwara State.
In his welcome address, a former governorship aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state, Associate Professor Abdulmumin Yinka Ajia, at his second annual colloquium, stated that ADC is good enough as a credible coalition platform for the opposition.
“It is only a strong opposition, free of direct and indirect influence from the rulling party, that can wrest Nigeria from what can be called an irony of a collapsing rich nation”, he said.
According to him, ADC and other allied platforms symbolise more than party politics: “they are instruments of democratic restoration, vehicles of civic renewal, and tools to return power to the people.
Speaking on the theme of the colloquium: “Interrogating the Nigerian State, Its Democratic Institutions, and the Looming Threats of State Capture,” Ajia said: “their emergence is a reminder that democratic expansion and renewal is not only possible, but also already underway”.
“The colloquium stands in solidarity with all efforts, formal and informal, aimed at rebuilding the Nigerian State into a truly accountable, inclusive, and citizen-serving republic.
“This forum captures the urgency of our times, explained the essence of the platform as beyond an intellectual forum but as a civic duty, an annual call to interrogate power, demand reform, and reawaken the democratic spirit among citizens, thinkers, and changemakers”, he said.
In his presentation, the leader of “O to Ge” political movement that challenged and ousted the Saraki political movement in 2019, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, urged Nigerians to erect new virtues and values in the country.
As an agitator, he posited that Nigeria has not really benefited from the ongoing democracy, saying: “26 years of democracy has not substantially taken us far from dictatorship in content, if not in form.
“The structure built by the Founding Fathers has completely collapsed. We need new founding fathers with new values, new structure and new national purpose.”
The national coordinator of Obidients’ Movement, Tanko Yunusa, who eulogised the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), called for political awareness among Nigerians.
Speaking in the same vein, the state chairman/coordinator of Civil Society Organisations (CSO) on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), Antonio Oshinewe, listed various challenges generally confronting the judiciary, suggesting solutions to them.
