Yiaga, CSOs lament decline of democracy in Africa

Υiaga Africa and Civil Society Organisations have expressed concerns over the level of decline in democracy on the continent.

According to them, the decline might not be unconnected to the rise in coup d’etat in Africa.

According to a statement issued by its Director of Programmes, Cynthia Mbamalu, on Friday during the launch of Democratives, an innovative initiative to collaborate with creatives to promote democracy tagged ‘Leveraging the power, influence and resources of creatives to promote and defend democracy’ in Lagos, Yiaga said following the trend and conversations on the continent, there have been conversations about the decline of democracy.

The statement read, “We are really pleased to be part of the democratives. Democratives for us is a movement. If we follow the trend within the continent and globally, there is a conversation about the decline of democracy and conversations around democratic recession.

“Within our subregion in West Africa, we have seen the rise in coup d’etat and the tendencies for individuals who are elected to become authoritarian after they win an election.

What we are trying to achieve with democratives is to truly define what democracy means to us as Africans and also work to enable and entrench what that democracy ought to be.

“We must constantly remember that the civic space includes all of us, so when we support the success of the people’s movement in Senegal, we draw lessons from that and also learn how we can support each other within the subregion.

“We must constantly look for how to support the system that promotes our rights to free expression, because without that right, we cannot achieve democracy. As we expand the frontiers to build better solidarity with civil society partners and our creative while also leveraging the energy within the several spaces that we engage, I want us to remain conscious of one word ‘solidarity’ because if we truly wants to build a democratic system that works for Nigeria and Africa at large, we must constantly learn to work with each other and speak up for each other because when democracy succeeds in one country, it becomes an inspiration and a hope for others in neighbouring countries,” the statement averred.

On his part, the Executive Director of CDD-Ghana and Director of the WADEMOS Network, Kwasi Prempeh, said the event has been long in the making, pointing out that in the early post-pandemic period, CDD-Ghana began to reflect on the general decline in democracy, good governance, and inclusive development in the West African sub-region.

“A region that had led other regions in the early 2000s as champions of democracy and good governance during what was called the ‘Africa Renaissance’ period with Obasanjo, Kufour, Wade, and Mbeki, among others.

“It was this discourse that birthed WADEMOS in 2022. From the start, our vision to mobilise the whole of society to counter democracy’s decline saw the role of creatives as critical.

“Across the sub-region, we could feel, see, and hear the energies and expressions of West Africans in their music, poetry, dance, art, crafts, and in their writing.

“Democreatives was the answer, an initiative to activate the mobilisation of creatives across the sub-region to defend and advance democracy, good governance, and inclusive development.