CIAN Committee members at the conference

By Oluwole Adeboye

Citizen Intervention and Accountability Network (CIAN), a non-governmental organization dedicated to defending issues related to Human Rights and good governance, has proffered solution to choosing Nigeria’s next president.

This was stated during a press briefing in Lagos in preparation for public presentation of the book NIGERIA’S NEXT PRESIDENT slated for 3rd December, 2021 at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Being a people oriented organization that is guided by the belief that freedom is a universal human aspiration, it believes that it’s a moral obligation to take action and stand up for what is right, fair and just.

The Nigeria’s Next President Committee Chairman, Mr. Olawunmi Olaniyan said “CIAN has worked in partnership with community based organizations, their leaderships, pressure groups, political parties and decision makers to articulate matters of public interest.

He took a swipe at the National Assembly over the members’ disappointing show regarding an important electoral reform bill recently.

“With the recent rumblings in the Nigerian Senate and Federal House of Representatives over section 52(2) of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2021, Nigerians cannot afford to throw their hands in the air and watch helplessly, as this development portends the gathering of anti-democratic forces, with tendency towards a one-party state. What happened in both hallowed chambers is a disgrace and a complete betrayal of public trust”, Olaniyan bemoaned.

“We would not fold our arms, and leave this parliamentary coup unchallenged, especially at a time when the power sector repeatedly becomes a grave yard of failed promises. At a time when emerging trend about those who assume power in Nigeria suggest accident of history, at a time when religion is seemingly becoming our nemesis, when democracy is on the path to detention, when women are politically ostracized from the power equation. At a time when the youths are disoriented by identity crisis, at a time when there is a mass unemployment, at a time when millions of our children are out of school, hawking in the traffic and dying of preventable diseases, at a time when millions of Nigerians live below the poverty line. When the nation’s development indices are amongst the worst in the world; and ultimately, when citizens are passive and not given to activism to challenge Nigerian’s unitary system being currently disguised as federalism, fortified by the fake and dubious military constitution foisted on the country”, he said.
Speaking in the same vein, the Committee Director of Information & Strategy Dr. Candy Fidel Onwuraokoye said it did not matter if the Nigeria’s next president came from the North or South. According to him, what matters is good governance.

He said “the next cycle of elections in 2023 will have to rely on a new social contract between the political elite and the Nigerian people, which prioritizes inclusion and Democratic participation. Our project, Nigeria’s Next President, does not as a caveat emptor claim to have all solutions to fix the mirage of problems bedeviling Nigerians leadership recruitment process but, it will for a fact ignite a paradigm shift that will birth the process of galvanizing the people for internal vigilance in the delicate construction of their destiny in addition rallying them for participatory change they so desire in the polity. A new Nigeria is possible, a new Nigeria is now”.

Also, the Deputy Director of Strategy, Rev. Tonia Omonze asked ‘how do we choose a leader? Who do we think the next Nigerian president should be? Should we have him/her from the younger generation, the indomie generations as they are called these days?”

“One with a heart will always defend, protect and seek the progress and create opportunity for greatness. We must also have a heart along with the next Nigerian president”, Omonze maintained.