By Mahdi Waziri Isa
The African Union Student Club of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (ABU) has organized a summit on African Democracy Consolidation.
Held on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at the Abdullahi Smith Lecture Theatre of the university’s Faculty of Arts, the summit was themed “Mitigating Democratic Regression in Africa: Exploring the Impact of International Development Agencies in West Africa.”
The event featured Ambassador Usman Aliyu Bakori, former Ambassador of Nigeria to China, as the keynote speaker, and Alhaji Abdulkareem Muhammad, Managing Director of Moving Images, as the second speaker.
Delivering his keynote address, Ambassador Bakori analyzed the development and thriving of democracy across the African continent, citing Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Morocco, Algeria, and Ghana as countries where democracy thrives. However, Ambassador Bakori opined that West African democracy was introduced by imperialists to “demean” the region.
He lamented that the principles of democracy, namely transparency, accountability, and rule of law, are eroding in Nigeria, posing a significant challenge to the Nigerian democracy project.
Ambassador Bakori suggested that for Nigeria and other African countries to develop, their people need to determine what they want and redesign a system that suits their peculiarities and uniqueness, as democracy is proving to be inconsistent and inefficient for many African countries.
The speaker also charged the management of Ahmadu Bello University to develop innovative strategies for providing sustainable energy sources for the university and its environs and to maximize the utilization of its vast land resources for farming.
He concluded by urging participants to be solution providers and development leaders, emphasizing that Nigeria’s future lies in their hands.
In his presentation on the topic, “The Role of Media in Mitigating Democratic Regression in West Africa,” an affiliate of McArthur Foundation, Alhaji Abdulkareem Muhammad discussed how democracy is regressing in Nigeria and West Africa. He lamented that the three arms of government in Nigeria are at variance with democratic principles, highlighting the executive arm’s overpowering influence on the other two arms. He deplored the legislative arm’s reduction to a mere rubber-stamp legislature and the compromised judiciary.
Alhaji Muhammad emphasized the media’s vital role in restructuring the people’s mindset, particularly the youth, identifying media personnel as “mind surgeons” who facilitate behavioral changes tailored towards promoting patriotism, transparency, accountability, and rule of law. “Media messages should be a sustainable call to action,” he added.
In his opening remarks, the Vice Chancellor Professor Kabiru Bala, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Aliyu Rafindadi, commended the summit organizers and highlighted the importance of such academic gatherings.
He described the African Union Student Club as a platform for creating African consciousness and Pan-Africanism, urging the club to grow beyond its current level.
Other dignitaries present included Dean of Student Affairs Professor Sahal Junaid, Head of the Political Science and International Studies Department Dr. Muhammad Lawal Tafida, and Head of the Mass Communication Department Dr. Adama Adamu.