Community Democracy for Local and National Development

“Taking democracy seriously” is a title of a contribution made by a writer in a book he edited on democracy. The growth of democracy over the past ten years in Nigeria has created opportunities and challenges for development of local communities in Northern Nigeria and Nationally. But there are many blockages to allow democracy to thrive and give rise to openings for development.

The younger generation are particularly concerned with these obstacles. A youth organization of a coalition of many groups are determined to face this challenge. The following could help them to expand and put together many communities for democracy and development:
1. Establish independent community organization of students, women, unemployed youth, various occupational groups, etc.
2. These would with common agenda constitute communities of democracy and development in their local areas.
3. These together, networking in many ways are to become promoters and bulwark of democracy and development in the larger society.
4. They are to be exposed to values of democracy by putting them through collective efforts to deal with local problems.
5. To educate them to adhere to team and group work to make it easier for development of leadership.
6. To articulate demands of each group through conference and workshops and educate them on how to pursue the demands through local authorities and beyond.
7. To make them establish relationship with other groups in the communities to build support in case there will be a need for united action.
8. In order to empower them economically, students for example are to demand for scholarship from local authorities, unemployed youth to be recognized as an organization which has the right to speak on behalf of its members, various occupational groups for support of guarantorship and credit facilities from the local authorities.
9. To promote education in general and civic education and literacy in particular among the people.
10. Facilitate citizen access to information.
11. Give the people the right to demonstrate without molestation by the police.
12. Expose them to ideas of democratic principles, development as well as of human rights.
13. Strengthen their awareness and capacity to fight corruption and patronage.
14. To be shown that public service is not for few but that every person has equal access to public resources, and to take part in the conduct of public affairs.
15. People are to be educated on both the National and the international codes that every person has the right to enjoy equal protection before the law, without any discrimination based on religious, nation or social origin, property or other status.
16. For a fair-leveled play ground all rights including of religious belief, personal opinion, etc. which are essential to full and effective participation in a democratic society, be enforced by independent and impartial judiciary, open to the public.
17. That elected leaders uphold the law and function strictly in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Procedures established by law.
18. Accordingly to ensure that Government refrains from any extra-constitutional actions, in its dealing with people.
19. To ensure respect of ownership of land and when is needed for any public purpose to pay compensation immediately before use.
20. In order to prevent threat against these principles and generally democracy and efforts for development all organizations and individual members or leadership of these must show accountability, transparency and avoid godfatherising.
These and others not mentioned will set multiple processes for democracy and development in local communities which may in turn create potentialities for longer democratic society.

However, these may create unwelcome responses, therefore there will be need of patience and courage to continue

M. M. Yusif
04/07/2011