PRESS RELEASE: Training Program On Democracy In Ekiti State By Nigerians Abroad 

Offer To Provide Free Training Program On Democracy (at Ado In Ekiti State) Stroudsburg, PA. United States, June 24, 2001—

In response to the current decision of the Ekiti State government to send the wives of the local government chairmen in Ekiti state overseas, in their role as "supervisory councilors for women affairs and child care at the grassroots" and as part of a training program in democracy, a proposal is presently being sent to the state government, to offer succor in providing free training program, on the ground, at Ado. This free offer is being organized with the aim of preventing wastage of resources and founded on the premise that there are enough resources in Nigeria and that with the support of Nigerians abroad, this type of misplaced priority will end. The proposal for the program , which is being coordinated by Dr Bamidele A Ojo, will be presented before some members of the State Assembly and the Governor of the State before Friday, June 29th.2001. The program is tentatively scheduled to start on October 19th and continue until November 16th. 2001 . According to Dr Ojo, the program will bring experts on democracy, local government politics, grass root mobilization, party politics, women in politics, human rights issues, legislative agenda setting and accountable governance to Ado in Ekiti state, to facilitate the series of seminars on their areas of expertise.

Another dimension of the project is in the words of Dr Ojo is that, "we are not only going to be offering these women the free training but we also hope that the government will take advantage of our offer by allowing us to extend our training to the entire governmental structure". Dr Ojo is also using this opportunity to invite Nigerians who want to contribute to this project to contact him as soon as possible and according to him, " I hope the government of Ekiti State will take advantage of this free offer and save an unnecessary expenditure for a travel abroad, by rededicating it toward other needs of the people of the state. It will also allow our people to begin to appreciate how democracy should work and how they and everybody else can make it work and also make a difference."

A few days ago and after learning of the intention of the Ekiti state government to send the wives of local government chairmen abroad on a training program on democracy, the group of Nigerian scholars led by Dr Ojo came together and put together a program based on a series of seminars in an attempt to prevent the continue waste of Nigerian funds , which has been a characteristic of the current democratic experiment in Nigeria. This is seen as a fundamental shift in Nigerian politics and it is expected to gain wider currency when other groups joins in, as many Nigerians abroad are now coming together , as they seek to make a difference in the country. The question now remains whether the offer of a free training program will be accepted by the Ekiti state government or whether the government will ignore this offer and send these women abroad none the less. This is bound to be an important issue in the next election since the training program has been characterized by many as a way of buying the support of local government chairmen in preparation for the re-election of the current governor., but this offer is free and is scheduled to take place right there in Ekiti State. In a statement released last night, the group is willing to share the program with other groups who are ready to facilitate this type of training in other parts of the country. All anyone need to do is simply contact the coordinator of the program.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: 

Bamidele A Ojo, PhD Email: mosbam@noln.com  

Tel: 570992-1237 (voice/fax)