Lawan, Suleiman seek early involvement of children in democratic, civil education

The Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, and Director General of National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof Olanrewaju Suleiman, on Wednesday, underscored the need for early involvement of Nigerian children in democratic and civil education.

The duo gave the charge at the finals of the 2020 National Institute of Legislative and Democratic Students (NILDS) Quiz Competition on Legislature and Democracy for Secondary Schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), held at the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

Senator Lawan who was represented by Chairman, Senate Committee on National Identify Management & Population, Senator Seidu Alkali, tasked the Institute with the need to bridge the knowledge gap.

“The importance of the quiz competition becomes clearer in view of the fact that the Nigerian Legislature is no doubt one of the most misunderstood arms of government. Its activities and impact on good governance at large are misconstrued and there are no formal avenues for teaching students about the legislature both in our primary and secondary schools.

“Using the instrumentality of the quiz competition, the Institute is gradually changing this narrative by promoting awareness, knowledge and understanding of the history, role and function of the Nigerian legislature. This is part of the Institute’s wider mandate to develop training curricula for schools and tertiary institutions on democracy, legislative practice and procedure, political culture and development.

“As you are well aware, the participation of all citizens in formal political processes is fundamental for democracy. If a segment of the population is deprived of a voice, the representativeness and legitimacy of democratic institutions and processes are undermined.

The main objective of the Quiz Competition, therefore, is to introduce young Nigerians particularly secondary school students, who are the leaders of tomorrow, to the fundamentals of legislative processes and procedures for democratic governance.

“Additionally, through this competition, younger people are given access to the legislature and provided the opportunity to understand legislative processes and the several entry points for their involvement in governance and decision-making. I fervently believe that initiatives such as this are a key part of engaging young people, enabling them to engage and be involved in both the political and leadership processes, there is no better time than now.”

On his part, Hon Gbajabiamila who was represented by Chairman, House Committee on Youth, Sport & Social Development, Hon Yemi Adaramodu, urged all the “participants to participate in the quiz with courage and intelligence with the confidence and the certainty that no matter what the outcome maybe you are participating in an event and learning lessons that will stand you in good stead wherever you go in future.”

In his address, Prof Suleiman explained that the NASS-NILDS Quiz FCT Quiz Competition was introduced in 2016 as part of the Institute’s mandate to develop a training curriculum for schools and tertiary institutions on democracy, legislative practice and procedure, political culture & development – as spelt out as contained in Paragraph h, Section 3 of the Institute’s enabling Act.

“Democratic participation is a fundamental pillar of our governance system and it should be inclusive of children and young people. One way of engaging children very early in their development is through civic education which can be an important and effective tool that facilitates the participation of citizens in democratic and development processes.

“The main objective of the Quiz Competition is to introduce secondary school students, who are the leaders of tomorrow, to the fundamentals of legislative processes and procedures for democratic governance. The Institute believes that initiatives such as this are a key part in engaging young people, encouraging their development and enabling them to engage and be involved in both the political and leadership processes, if not now, later in their lives.

“It is gratifying to say that over the past six years this competition has provided motivation for secondary school students in the FCT to study and learn new information on the legislature and democratic governance.

“Through the instrumentality of the quiz competition, the Institute has significantly promoted awareness, knowledge and understanding of the history, role and function of the Nigerian legislature. We have also developed positive and informed attitudes towards democracy and democratic governance.”

Prof Suleiman who unveiled plans to extend the competition to the entire country with the recent approval of the NILDS Governing Council expressed optimism that: “the next edition of the competition shall witness participants from students across the country.

“Indeed this competition has the potential to become a key instrument in grounding school children, young people and Nigerians in the fundamentals of democratic and legislative processes and practice.”

Prof Suleiman also expressed optimism in the ongoing efforts by the National Assembly and the Institute toward “improving knowledge of the legislature and democratic governance in Nigeria at a more systematic level.

“To this effect, the consultations that started with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to develop curriculum on legislative and democratic studies for inclusion in the Civic Education, Social Studies, Government and other curricular for basic as well as Senior Secondary Education to enrich their contents and bridge the gaps will be vigorously pursued to a logical conclusion.”

After the quiz competition, Government Secondary School, Jikwoyi emerged winner with 62 points; while School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada and Government Day Secondary School, Abaji emerged as second and Third.

The NILDS Director who was elated by the outstanding performance of the participants announced a scholarship award for the winner of the quiz competition for the first year in any university of their choice.

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