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The Electoral College Nigeria: Celebrating Two Years of Politeracy Advocation
The Electoral College, Nigeria unlike its American counterpart is a non-governmental organization with clear targets on “Politeracy”, a term coined by the college connoting “Political literacy”, a concept that is grossly below parity in a country that is known to be the most populous black nation in the world.
Has Nigeria been haunted by its poor political decisions? Absolutely. The most glaring culprit being that many citizens perceive political events as confusing and difficult to understand. They struggle to organize and comprehend the complex and complicated political world surrounding them. At the same time, citizens find themselves in a powerful position in a democracy. In reality, there is lack of political awareness and a mystical perspective attached to governance and electoral processes.
A politically literate citizen not only comprehends the current state of governance, but also participates in an active and effective way and directs it. An individual with politeracy has the skills of understanding people’s viewpoints, realizing their effect upon her/him and responding to them in an ethical way.
The Electoral college has labored since its inception to bring to the awareness of citizens that they have a significant influence on the political decisions that they themselves submit to.
With a very simplified approach and a foremost goal to educate the citizen on politics and governance, these are a summary round up of the activities that have taken place within the college in the past year.
The Electoral College In focus in 2020
In March, the college’s advocacy for the need for politeracy caught the media’s attention and was featured on Sahara Reporters.
In April, the college launched it’s first virtual bouquet of classes for the course ‘Politeracy and Governance 101’.
In May – In Conjunction with PGI, the college launched a forum for black people In Governance across the world which was held virtually and themed ‘Connecting the Dots’.
On the wake of some actions on social media, true to the college’s mandate to provide deliverables to citizens, the college developed the social media guidelines for communication – for people in Governance, to help provide a cordial relationship between the government and people of Nigeria.
In June, the college was featured on Independent Newspaper on making a difference.
In July, we commenced registration and intake of the Second batch of Associates for training.
In August 120 students graduated from the college.
Also, the College in collaboration with We FM 106.3 Abuja rolled out the Politeracy and Governance bouquet on radio which airs every Tuesday at 8.05am
In September – the College in partnership with the Embassy of Sweden commemorated the international day of Democracy.
In October – intake and commencement of third batch of its Politeracy and Governance class with a record over 29,000 registrations and full participation of 1,710 students.
In November – The Electoral College Nigeria in conjunction with One Voice Hosted the Lagos East Senatorial debate which was well attended by candidates and the electorate.
In December, the Electoral College graduated 235 associates from its class.
With droplets of resources from friends of the college and the board, the college in 2020 and 2021 have trained over 7,000 people virtually and physically and would be working towards training over 500,000 by 2023.
This was our year in 2020, we are grateful for the support of the Board, The Regional coordinators, friends of the College and our most esteemed Associates for making this year a big step in Civic Education and rreorienting the democratic space in Nigeria.
The College has performed remarkably since its inception in 2019 despite its limited resources. The journey to Political literacy and massive political participation is far from over and there is need to capitalize on the college’s operations through extended partnerships to achieve a wider and more impactful reach.
Small steps for the Electoral College Nigeria and A big leap for Politeracy
Thank you
For God and Country
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as the winner of the just concluded Ondo State governorship election, held on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
The Returning Officer for the election Olayemi Akinwumi, who is also the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Lokoja, Kogi State declared Aiyedatiwa winner of the election on Sunday, extending the governor’s stay at the Government House in Alagbaka, Akure.
Governor Aiyedatiwa polled 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival and a former deputy governor of the state Ajayi Agboola who flew the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag. He scored 117,845 votes, more than twice lower than the APC candidate.
“That Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa of the APC having satisfied the requirement of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” the returning officer said at exactly 2:30 pm at the INEC collation centre in Akure.
The declaration came hours after the collation of results for the election began in the early hours of Sunday. Although the collation centre went on breaks, the APC took a commanding lead with over 200,000 votes ahead of the PDP.
The final results showed that the APC won the election in a landslide, clearing all 18 local government areas.
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
There is no gainsaying the fact that everyone desirous of making impact in life must live a life of purpose. This is where knowledge and information come to play. It is these knowledge and information that will set an individual apart from his contemporaries.
I strongly believe, if one is not informed, they are ill-informed, and when they are ill-informed, they can’t perform well in any given endeavour. This is because information leads to reformation and transformation. We can therefore, confidently say that information leads to formation because everyone is a product of what they know.
Knowledge acquisition is one of the best things that can happen to anyone. People with knowledge are revered, and highly respected. Having knowledge is like having money. People from all walks of life will seek you.
There are different kinds of knowledge, and they include Revealed Knowledge, which comes from those who wrote the Bible and Intuitive Knowledge, which comes from the mind. It is the ability to gain knowledge without conscious reason or explanation.
Others are Empirical Knowledge, which is information gained through observation, experimentation, and direct experience, rather than through theoretical reason or intuition; Authoritative Knowledge, which is the knowledge a man has because of his expertise in a particular field; and finally but not the least, Rational Knowledge, which is a form of knowledge that uses reasoning and philosophy to understand the world.
From this illustration, a decisive mind can see that knowledge is priceless. Knowledge is like education. It can provide security and access. Even the Book of life says in Proverbs 4:13, “your education is your life, guard it very well”; and in Hosea 4:6 that “my people perish for lack of knowledge”.
From my personal experience in life, apart from death, one of the greatest levelers of all time is education. This is because the child of a certified pauper can become a man of means tomorrow if properly educated. That explains why children from humble backgrounds ought to take their education very seriously, especially if they don’t have affluence.
On a personal note, I come from a very humble background, my late parents didn’t have the opportunity of acquiring a decent education, but they knew the value of education and endeavored to give me and my siblings a decent education. In retrospect, when I look back and see some of my contemporaries whose parents couldn’t give them a decent education, I bless my late parents because education has exposed me to lots of opportunities in the United States, and the global world in addition to granting me an audience with the high and mighty in society.
Sometimes, when I look at my modest achievement, I’m deeply humbled because I know it is the grace of God. Who am I to author two amazing trailblazers’ books, get featured and profiled by the New York Times, engage in high level conversation with leaders of thought and captains of industries. Apart from the grace of God, intentional seeking of knowledge, and wise counsel from mentors and strategically positioning myself have been some of the cornerstone to my success.
Imagine if my late parents didn’t give me a decent education and opportunity of travelling to the United States, most of these opportunities and exposure wouldn’t have been readily available.
When one is decently enlightened, educated and informed about life, their level of reasoning and understanding differ from an ordinary man. If one desires to go far in life, one must seek knowledge.
It is your knowledge that sets you apart from others.
According to Dr. Yomi Garnett, an accomplished Ghostwriter, “If you are a man of great knowledge, people will have great respect for you. If you are a man of great wisdom, people will have great reverence for you. And if you are a man of both, great knowledge and great wisdom, you will be the most eminent of men. But in real terms, people don’t care how much you know, or how much wisdom you have, unless they know how much you care.”
The moral of this quote is that despite the knowledge and information at one’s disposal, if one lacks empathy, their knowledge, experience and whatever they have mean nothing.
The importance of knowledge cannot be overemphasized. In our contemporary society, a fast way of attracting opportunities is by showcasing the knowledge at one’s disposal. It is so sad that many people don’t take time to read, research and learn new trends applicable in their industry, and in the world generally and as such, they find it difficult to fit in and grow.
It is instructive to note that when you seek knowledge, opportunities will seek for you. A major reason people are poor is simply because they are not solving problems and to solve problems, one ought to have understanding. Do you know that if you don’t have money, the reason is often because you are not solving a problem, or you are not solving enough problems, or you are not solving the right problem or you are not solving problems for the right people. Generally, we make money because we have something unique to offer to the world. Therefore, to solve problems, one must have knowledge and information.
We currently live in an age of technological, where skills, talent and creativity are in high demand. Any progressive being that desires to go far must be intentional in seeking knowledge. Successful acquisition of knowledge, information and understanding can lead to discernment and wisdom.
In conclusion, as you journey towards life, if you want to make an impact, seek opportunities, and earn more money, do yourself a favour by endeavoring to seek knowledge, wisdom, and information. You can’t get these by sitting on your sofa or staying in your comfort zone.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design Your and Unleash Your Destiny. He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Daniel Bwala as Special Adviser, Media and Public Communications (State House).
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, announced this in a statement, on Thursday.
A former aide of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Bwala worked actively for his former principal who lost to Tinubu.
However, after the elections, he worked his way into the camp of Tinubu, sparking controversy.
Onanuga also announced the appointments of three directors-general of various agencies.
They are:
(1) Mr. Olawale Olopade — Director-General, National Sports Commission
(2) Dr. Abisoye Fagade — Director-General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism
(3) Dr. Adebowale Adedokun — Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement
Olopade, the new Director-General of the National Sports Commission, is a sports administrator with many years of experience in the sector.
He served as commissioner of youth and sports in Ogun state and was chairman of the local organising committee of the 2024 National Sports Festival.
The new Director-General of the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism, Dr. Abisoye Fagade is a marketing communication professional. He is the founder and managing director of Sodium Brand Solutions.
Adedokun, the new helmsman of the Bureau of Public Procurement, was the director of Research/Training and Strategic Planning at the bureau before his appointment.
Daily Trust
