Youth vital to deepening Nigeria’s democracy

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has said that the youths are vital to deepening Nigeria’s democracy.

Mr Abbas said this on Monday in Abuja during the grand finale of the national quiz competition organised by the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) for secondary school pupils across the six geopolitical zones in the country.

Represented by Mark Useni, chairperson House Committee on Basic Education, the Speaker said youth development was a critical part of the legislative agenda of the 10th House under his leadership.

Mr Abbas charged the quiz participants to imbibe the lessons learnt from it, saying their engagement with democracy is not a one-time event but a lifelong journey.

“Whether you choose to become lawmakers, educators, entrepreneurs, or activists, your understanding of how the legislature and democracy work will guide your decisions and actions, he said.

The essence of the competition, apart from winning the prizes, the Speaker said, is to broaden the participants’ knowledge of Nigeria’s democratic heritage and legislative processes.

Mr Abbas commended NILDS for organising the quiz competition, saying it helps to promote students’ understanding of democracy and civic governance.

The Speaker said the quiz initiative was “a testament to NILDS’ commitment to legislative advancement, democratic education, youth empowerment, and nation-building, and it is something we all should celebrate and support.”

Why we organised the quiz – NILDS DG

In his remarks, the Director-General of NILDS, Abubakar Sulaiman, said the competition was to provide continued education to students on the legislature, its history, practice and procedure.

Mr Suleiman, a professor, explained that the quiz was aimed at encouraging a deeper understanding of civic and democratic governance in the country.

He said the competition is also targeted at stimulating the interest of young students in politics and making them more proactive in matters relating to the legislature and democracy.

Democratic participation, Mr Sulaiman said, is a “fundamental pillar of our governance system and it should be inclusive of children and young people.

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“One way of engaging our children very early in their development is through civic education which is an important and effective tool that facilitates the participation of citizens in democratic and development processes,” he said.

About the quiz

The quiz competition, now in its 9th edition, starts at the six geopolitical zones followed by the convergence of zonal winners in Abuja for the grand finale.

At this year’s grand finale, which was anchored by ace broadcaster Cyril Stober as the quiz master, Enitona High School, Port Harcourt, emerged champions.

The school, which represented the South-south zone, scored 70 points to emerge victorious, while School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada, FCT, which represented the North-central, scored 65 points to emerge second.

Also, Bishop Otubelu Juniorate, Trans-Ekulu, Enugu State, which represented the South East zone, came third with 55 points.

Participants, two per zone, from the North-west, North-east and South-west were earlier eliminated from the first and second rounds respectively because of insufficient marks.

The participants were given laptops and certificates of participation, while the winners were given scholarships and cash rewards.

Other dignitaries who attended the event were Sariki Dahiru, member governing council of NILDS, Clerk of the National Assembly represented by Ali Umoru and Deputy Speaker Ben Kalu represented by Ginger Onwusibe, member of the House of Representatives from Abia State, among others.