By TOM CHIAHEMEN, Abuja –
The maiden Roundtable on National Issues, kicked off in Abuja on Thursday, with participants calling on Nigerian youths to put their population and intellect into use in confronting their problems and those of the nation.
An initiative of the Development Specs Academy (DSA), the monthly Roundtable is a non-partisan platform that rests on the Chatham House rules, demanding objectivity, informed interventions, globally relevant Paradigms and a focus on sustainable development.
At the maiden edition, held at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre in the Asokoro District of Abuja, the youths were also advised to form organized groups and alliances through which they can demand from political parties and elective office seekers, their specific manifestoes for the youths during electioneering campaigns.
While noting that no section in the Nigerian Constitution was against any age limit, the Roundtable however identified money and the high cost of doing contesting elections as the only impediment to popular participation in politics.
On National Productivity and Value of the Naira, participants were of the view that only increased productivity and a change in the consumption patterns of citizens would shore up the value of our national currency and keep it up in lasting manner.
It observed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had made several interventions in this regard, including, among others, the Anchor Borrowers Program, which created and capacitated several farmers’ cooperative and enhanced their access to loans.
This, according to the Roundtable, had created millions of jobs, taken many youths off the crime path and rescued many local economies.
It believed that only economy-reflating activities, such as the foregoing, in addition to consuming what we produce and producing what we consume, offers the nation the prospect of bringing up the value of the National Currency and keeping it up.
Among other takeaways, the one-day Roundtable, which featured informed commentary on national issues, served as a platform to: Encourage non-violent expression of interests by Nigerians, particularly the youth on national issues; Inform that productivity is the major driver of national currency and; Urge that youth should make informed non-violent interventions in the polity with clear goals of development and sustainable social order.
It also advised that Nigerians should take advantage of the fact that information can easily be verified to investigate the source of any news item. This is with particular reference to recorded audio messages, distorted video clips and instigated fake news.
It called for active participation but informed and conflict-sensitive commentary on national issues via social media platforms, and encouraged the government to be proactive in tackling the security challenges especially ensure the release of all those kidnapped on the March 24th train bombings in particular and others in captivity across Nigeria.
The participants further called on the government to be serious in the area of public perception management, crisis and strategic communication and be more proactive in the information dissemination by carrying Nigerians along.
Justifying the need for the Roundtable on National Issues, the organisers of the programme, DSA, noted that Nigeria was at a crossroads and that it was easy to almost lose hope in the face of myriads of governance, security and developmental challenges. But we believe that these challenges are surmountable.
According to the DSA, “even as the nation prepares for the 2023 general elections to select a new set of leaders, amidst security and other challenges, we cannot but continue to dialogue and shop for ways of creating a better nation.
“The times call for men and women who can give a clear-eyed view of the issues and solutions. As people of goodwill and stakeholders in nation building and national development, it has become our task to ensure that the country is steered on the right path of history.”
Thursday’s maiden edition of the Roundtable provided opportunities to discuss the following burning themes: State of the Nation, The Presidential Aspirants, National Productivity as Stimulus for National currency, INEC and the 2023 and, Way forward for Nigeria.
It was organized for Advocacy groups, thought Leaders, Special interest groups, influencers, producers of pungent skits and, print, electronic and social media.
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