Kogi state,no doubt, stands out as a force to beat in terms of strategic location within the geo political equation of Nigeria with abundant human and natural resources to match the enviable status.
Sharing border with at least 10 states of the federation and in comfort zone of the ruling All Progressives Congress,APC at the federal level,the expectation of kogites for participation in governance, therefore, remains a front burner in the estimate of political analysts.
Participants, resource persons in session.
Though it is obvious that no government, however benevolent it could be, can satisfy all the yearnings and aspirations of its people, the consensus among the citizens is that Kogi state will do well by embracing the principles of citizen participatory democracy.
They therefore , identify Open Government Partnership,OGP, as an effective channel to assist government to effectively deliver dividends of democracy to the people.
Citizen participatory democracy is a form of government where citizens actively participate in the decision-making process, typically through mechanisms like town hall meetings, public foria, referendums, and citizen assemblies, Chat PGT 3.5, an Artificial Intelligence model language devise explains.
According to it, such a political gathering aims to involve people directly in governance, fostering greater transparency, accountability, and responsiveness to citizens’ needs and preferences.
With the imperative of this form of governance in mind, the management of Stallion Times, a kano- based media organization headed to Lokoja on April 27,2024 to organize a One Day Capacity Building On Permanent Dialogue Mechanism for members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Kogi state council , Civil Society Organizations, Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN and Ulama council of Nigeria in Lokoja.
The thinking of the organizers of the event is that, Permanent Dialogue Mechanism is better achieved through OGP.
The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the media outfit, Mal.Isiyaku Ahmed, in his opening remarks, said that the interactive exercise was designed to build capacity of stakeholders on strategies for effective engagement with government and private sector.
He added that it was to establish a permanent dialogue mechanism for participatory governance and to key permanent dialogue mechanism strategy into the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Thematic Areas.
The media organization has been involved in organizing series of seminars and workshops for various groups, especially journalists in the state in the past two years, equipping their skills for them to deliver on their mandate.
Ishaku, recalled that Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo, during his Governorship campaign in 2023, promised the citizens of the state that if voted into power,his administration would engage them in periodic town hall meeting to know their yearnings, aspirations and challenges and find lasting solution to them.
He said the need to assist the new administration achieve a successful permanent dialogue and citizen participatory democracy in meeting people’s expectations, informed the exercise.
One of the issues examined at the capacity building was that of Open Government Partnership.
As explicitly explained by ChatGPT 3.5,an Artificial Intelligence, a model language devise,OGP is an international initiative that aims to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance, it adds.
The concept of OGP indicates that Kogi state stands to gain a lot in terms of good governance and citizen participation in governance through institutionalization of OGP if its principle as well as ethos are effectively implemented.
The belief in certain quarters,apart from political arena is that,as exemplified in other climes, OGP could be the magic wand Kogites are waiting for to entrench citizen participatory democratic process towards putting the state on the orbit of a realistic social economic and political development.
Political analysts are optimistic that with OGP fully in place in Kogi, the state can foster citizen participatory democracy by enhancing transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement.
Through OGP initiatives, they also believe that citizens will gain access to government information, participate in decision-making processes, and hold authorities accountable.
What more, OGP will foster trust between the government and the people, ultimately leading to more inclusive and responsive governance.
In addition,OGP will promote collaboration between government and civil society organizations, allow for joint efforts in addressing societal challenges and promoting sustainable development.
However, despite the importance of OGP, experience reveals that the process of actualizing the dream OGP as a potent platform in boosting good governance in Kogi remains an issue begging for quick and lasting solution.
Speaking with the Correspondent of The Reporters an online publication on the sidelines of the building capacity, the Co-Chair of OGP,Non-State Actors in Kogi state, Amb. Idris Ozovehe Muraina, describes OGP as a global concept of co- creation where government and citizens work together for the benefit of everybody.
According to him, OGP is a voluntary concept, where by any government that feels transparent and accountable to its citizens can join fold to ensure transparent government.
He identified the four major principles of OGP as: Accountability, Transparency, Participation and Technological innovation.
Going memory lane,,Muraina recalled that it was the administration of Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello that signed up to OGP in 2022, adding that the concept is a co-creation comprising of equal numbers from the state actors and from non state actors.
“In Kogi state,we have 10 non state actors, 10 state actors,one Co-Chair of State Actors and one Co-Chair of Non State Actors making a total of 22 members.
“We started the draft of the state action plan because the entire concept of OGP centres around commitment .
“You make a commitment as a state as to what you want to do and that commitment is brought in terms of documentation into the state action plan,analysed and broken down into specific activity to achieve that commitment.
“Having done that , we will go to the level of validation.
“But for us in Kogi state,we have done every, analysised the first draft of the state action plan .
“However,we have not been able to go ahead with validation, because we have not done the official inauguration of OGP.
“It was early April in 2024 that the state government, under the leadership of His Excellency, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, officially inaugurated the steering committee of OGP.
“The next level is to ensure that we have a befitting Secretariat where we will review the draft of the state action plan, revalidate it and get it signed by the executive governor as a commitment,then the implementation will start.
“When we start implementation,the goodies of OGP for the people will be that, whatever activity , commitment or area of development that the state government has committed into will be made public to all the citizens of the state.
“This will be via a dedicated website that will be created for OGP Secretariat and the message will be disseminated through the media
“,The citizens will now to pick a copy and look at the state action plan with a view to seeing which of the activitues the state government has made a commitment so that the citizen can monitor the implementation of work.
“If it not done according to the time allocated to the project, citizens,where such project is situated can approach the OGP Secretariat to ask why it was not done and answer will be made available.
“OGP carries the people along,whatever is the interest of the people is the focus of OGP. “It makes sure that everybody’s interest is captured and that whatever is in the commitment is well implemented,monitored and evaluated.
He advised the state government to hasten the take off of OGP in the state to promote the concept of good governance and boost dividends of democracy to the people.
“It is good for the government to tell the world that we are doing well, transparent and accountable to our people.
“It will also be very bad, having signed into up to this particular document voluntarily, and on a global ground to now renege on that commitment.
“Therefore, the state government should as a matter of urgency resolve the issue of OGP Secretariat and put in place.
“While doing that, the state steering committee should quickly engage in finalizing the state action plan, validate it and ensure the document is signed by the Executive Governor of the state and launched for people to access it,
The committee should also speedy up the process of creating an OGP website that is accessible to the people of kogi state.
“Efforts must be sure that copies of the state action are printed and made accessible to stakeholders for them to monitor the process of implementation.
“Every effort must be made to institutionalize OGP platform, because it is the only of its kind among its contemporary globally which makes it for the people to say they are part of the government.
Muraina, who referred to Section 14, subsection 2 of the Nigerian Constitution said the section expressly states that the sovereignty of the state belongs to the people.
” So if you want to get the buying of the people, you must make sure that they participate in everything you do, because you are standing there on their behalf and you must guide them along in the decision you make,” he stressed.
He, however ,commended the administration of Ododo for showing interest in letting OGP get institutionalized, by sourcing and getting an office and making effort to renovate it to serve as OGP Secretariat in the state capital.
Earlier during the building capacity exercise, Amb.Muraina had praised the management of Stallion Times for their unwavering dedication to advancing the principles of open government and for their commitment to driving positive change across their sites in Nigeria.
“He said,”Your tireless efforts and innovative approaches serve as a beacon of hope and inspiration for all of us working towards a more transparent and accountable world.”
Represented by Mrs Bilkisu Yahusa-Abdullahi, a correspondent of Radio Kogi,the Special Adviser on Media, to the governor,Isa Smaila said Governor Ododo is committed to the ideals of openness in governance, adding that this ‘is why he has led a transparent and accountable government in the last 90 days.”
“We are proud of Stallion Times and the partnership to promote dialogue among stakeholders for the development of the society”
In the same vein, the representative of the Christian Association of Nigeria,CAN, Pst.John Oluwole Babatunde and that of Council of Ulama, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed also showered praise on the media organization for its efforts in updating the knowledge and experiences of participants on the concept of accountability and trust in governance among others.
Ahmed, however, urged the citizens to see governance as a leverage to make their individual contributions towards enhancing social, economic and physical development of their environment.
In all, participants at the workshop expressed gratitude to Stallion Times for availing them the valued opportunity of a better and deeper understanding of the needed relationship between the state government and its citizens to foster good governance.
More so, they also praised the media organization for the initiative meant to facilitate constructive engagement between stakeholders and the state government with a view to addressing key development issues which they noted would bring permanent dialogue mechanism and ensure and development.
The capacity-building workshop was supported by the MacArthur Foundation and the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).
Ahmed, a member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, publishes The Reporters.
