Education
UNIVERSITY Students across Enugu State converged to deliberate on issues concerning the state of civic participation and engagement in the country.
The Campaign and Media Specialist of Gatefield Foundation, an NGO, Ebiuwa Uwagboe, organiser of the programme in a statement in Abuja, said the students spoke in a live discussion on Gatefied TV with the theme “StepUpTheCON.”
Uwagboe said StepUpTheCON is a project by Gatefield TV in collaboration with Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) aimed at engaging students on issues of electoral reforms in the country following the 2019 general elections.
She said the event which featured live comedy and discussions, started with the screening of a short play titled “In My Country’ that depicted the state of elections in Nigeria.
“It also depicted the associated challenges including electoral malpractice, violence, and transparency.
“Students at the event took turns to discuss issues that they faced concerning governance and electoral reforms,” Uwagboe said.
Stanley Igyuh, Project Manager with Gatefield, in his remarks, said the idea behind the StepUpTheCON project was to raise the consciousness and involvement of young people through conversations.
Igyuh noted that the conversations would help to shape the country’s electoral processes and post-electoral issues including accountability and civic engagement.
“The elections are over hence the need to creatively develop and deliver highly engaging new media content and programming that will excite and sustain the interest, involvement, and engagement of young Nigerians.
“The interest of young Nigerians need to be sustained on issues of democratic governance, the importance of value building and participation in the democratic process,” he said.
The students had the opportunity to express themselves on different issues affecting them in governance both at the state and national levels.
Friday Odoh, from the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu, said the programme was a unique way of engaging the youths.
Idika Chidinma from the University of Nigeria Nsukka said the country was at the stage where youths had lost interest in everything about governance, adding that the system did not show any sign of hope for the younger generation.
“With this kind of gathering and with all we’ve shared, I am hopeful that someday, things will change,” she was quoted as saying.
The event was attended by students, young political aspirants, government officials, and other stakeholders. (NAN)
– Feb. 11, 2020 @ 12:15 GMT |
Tags: Enugu varsity students converge to discuss electoral reforms in Nigeria
