‘OURMUMUDONDO’ Movement, a civil society group led by Charles Oputa, a.k.a Charlyboy, has called on elected  political leaders at all levels to deliver on their campaign promises for the social-economic wellbeing of  Nigerians.

Mrs Folake Agunbiade, who is the Knowledge Management and Learning Manager of ‘OurMumuDonDo’ group, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to Agunbiade, after the 2019 general elections, it is imperative for political leaders, especially those who emerged winners, to “put the intrigues of politics behind and deliver on their campaign promises to citizens.”

“The people are crying, there is high level of poverty in the land and young Nigerians are willing to do anything to run out of their own country.

“We encourage our political leaders at all levels, especially those who are coming on board after the elections, to listen to the people because leadership is about connecting with the people.

“You cannot serve a people you don’t listen to, and if you cannot hear them, you cannot meet their needs in terms of providing basic social amenities.

“We urge them to listen to the cries and yearning of the people and then take action to actually begin to grow our economy, reduce poverty and crime,” she said.

Agunbiade explained that the group, in its vision and mandate to hold both leaders and citizens accountable, has started a citizen awareness campaign toward building a better society for all.

She further explained that the group had launched its flagship ‘Social Contract’ initiative, and was set to take its “Na We be Government” campaign across the 36 states for citizens involvement in nation building.

She stressed that the group was non partisan and should not been seen as an activism movement, but an advocacy movement that “seeks to engage both leaders and followers’’.

“The Social Contract is that tool that we want to use to engage both the citizens and the government to collectively build a nation of our dreams.

“It is contract between the people and the government at all levels and these are our responsibilities as citizens, to vote, pay taxes, speak positively about our country and be patriotic.

“However, we as citizens also require that government provide basic amenities, protect human rights and guarantee the security of lives and properties.

“Citizens will do their part and political leaders should also fulfill their obligations as promised on their manifesto, and as required by the constitution,” she said.

Agunbiade however expressed concern that ordinary Nigerians were yet to see themselves as stakeholders who have roles to play in nation building.

She said that the group was having town hall meetings and other advocacy programmes to build citizens consciousness in holding leaders accountable.

“A lot of Nigerians do not believe they have a say in the affairs of their country, and this makes them to be docile.

“We are hoping that slowly but surely we shall change the mindset of people and get them to become socially conscious of the power that lies within them as citizens of Nigeria.

“As part of our social re-engineering efforts, we had town hall meeting in Lagos with Nigerians of different status in attendance and we hope to take it to other parts of the country soon.”

-NAN

BE

– Mar. 20, 2019 @ 16:47 GMT |