professionals and celebrities – to demand compliance with the rule of law.
At the time, President Umaru Yar’Adua was sick and had been out of the country for months and a group of people were bent on preventing then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan from becoming acting president.
After the Abuja protest, a Lagos protest followed on April 10 and the organisers decided to start an organisation that would focus on empowering young Nigerians to participate in the governance process starting with elections. That was the birth of Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE Nigeria).
On Monday, April 27 EiE will mark its fifth anniversary with an Intergenerational Dialogue on Citizens & Governance in Nigeria. The theme – Building the Office of the Citizen – is taken from the teachings of Oby Ezekwesili that the ‘Office of the Citizen’ is the highest office in the land. The decision to focus on this is to reemphasise the power of citizens and EiE’s commitment to placing Nigerians at the centre of governance.
Joining Mrs Ezekwesili will be Dr Christopher Kolade giving the keynote address and interventions by six influential individuals sharing how citizens can engage governance from their sector – Chude Jideonwo (media), Tunde Bakare (faith-based institutions), Idayat Hassan (civil
society organisations), Jeffery Hawkins (diplomatic community), Audu Maikori (government) and Bolaji Owasanoye (academia).
Kadaria Ahmed, just off her stint as an Elections 2015 consultant for Channels Television will moderate the conversation. One of Nigeria’s leading comedians, Gbenga Adeyinka, will be the MC.
The dialogue will take place at the Metropolitan Club in Victoria Island, Lagos from 4:30-7:30 pm and it is open to the public.