Politics
CIVIL society and humanrights activists are to gather at Unity Fountain, Abuja, by 4pm on Tuesday to commemorate June 12 and launch Civic Coalition for Democracy with the theme: “Democracy 360: The Shrinking Civic Space”.
The Civic Coalition for Democracy, CCD, is borne-out of the desire to ensure the preservation of Nigeria’s democracy by highlighting the assaults on the civic space in the country by the President Buhari’s Administration. The ability of citizens to call government at all levels to account and demand the quality of governance they deserve is the hallmark of a democratic society, a statement signed by CCD which was made available to Realnews Monday.
According to the statement “In the last two years, especially as we approach the 2019 general elections, our country has witnessed increasing attempt to shrink the civic space with considerable success. An example that easily comes to mind is the occupation of the Unity Fountain by the personnel of the Nigerian Police – preventing citizens the use of the space for demanding accountability.
“Our country has been thrown down the dark days of arbitrary human rights violations. From the killings of the Shiites during peaceful protests, decrying the government for flouting court orders and thereby violating the fundamental Rights of their leader to the attacks on Amnesty International who released a damning but true report on the activities of the Nigerian Army in the North-East and the tear gas attack on members of the #BringBackOurGirls to the routine killings of citizens and the brash disregard for the rule of law by the heads of government agencies. There is a deliberate action by the government to suppress citizens’ voice in the country.
“Following the announcement by the Federal Government to honor the winner of the June 12 election Late MKO Abiola and the political correctness of the event, it had become imperative to highlight the contradictions evident in our reality as citizens.
“On this note, we invite the press and the general public to participate in this historical event,” the statement said, adding: “This event is important because it is necessary to highlight the sacrifices made by other heroes such as Chief Alfred Rewane, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola & other unsung heroes who paid the price for our democracy. It is necessary to remind ourselves of their sacrifices so all Nigerians will know that the current state of the nation does not represent the ideals they fought, suffered and died for.”
– June 11, 2018 @ 9:10 GMT |
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