Some political stakeholders in Kwara State have said the new African Democratic Congress (ADC) is a strategic move by the opposition to save the country from imminent collapse.
They spoke at a colloquium titled: “Interrogating the Nigerian State, Its Democratic Institutions, and the Looming Threats of State Capture,” held in Ilorin, the state capital yesterday.
The convener of the colloquium, Associate Professor Abdulmumin Ajia, said 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 ruling party, that can wrest Nigeria from what can be called an irony of a collapsing rich nation”, he said.
He said that ADC and other allied platforms symbolise more than party politics, adding that, “they are instruments of democratic restoration, vehicles of civic renewal, and tools to return power to the people.
“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, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, urged Nigerians to erect new virtues and values in the country.
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,” Akogun said.
The national coordinator of Obidients’ Movement, Tanko Yunusa, 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 and suggested solutions to them.
