20 Years Of Democracy In Nigeria: Fayemi, Tambuwal To Speak At Oxford University

The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and the Governor of Sokoto State and the Deputy Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Mallam Aminu Tambuwal, have been scheduled to speak at an International Conference on “20 Years of Democracy in Nigeria: 1999-2019” at Oxford University, United KingdomNext week friday.

This is contained in a press statement signed by Brenda McCollum, Conference Administrator.

The one-day conference is hosted by the African Studies Centre, University of Oxford.

Governors Fayemi and Tambuwal, who will be the special guests at the conference, are expected to reflect on Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in their addresses to the international audience.

The convener of the conference, Professor Wale Adebanwi, who is the Director of the Oxford African Studies Centre and Rhodes Professor of Race Relations revealed that the necessity to appraise the performance of the Nigerian government as a democratic entity for the last two decades is the primary purpose for the conference.

He also said that: “As Nigeria celebrates two decades of democracy, the structural errors of the state and the fundamental contradictions of the society that democratic governance was expected to confront or manage have deepened. The hopes invested in the country’s return to democratic rule in 1999 seem to be flagging as Nigeria is confronted with a myriad of political, economic and social crises. Yet, given her historical experiences, there is no better alternative to democratic governance in Nigeria.” In light of this, the participants at the conference “will explore the political, economic and social forces, processes, and challenges which have shaped Nigeria in the Fourth Republic.“