NGO set to establish first ever democracy art gallery

Centre For Youth participation Advocacy (CYPA africa), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) on Thursday said it would establish a democracy gallery to document Nigeria’s elections’ journey.

The Executive Director CYPA Africa Mr Chris Iyama while briefing newsmen in Abuja said the project was under its “Draw for Democracy Campaign’’ with support from Future African Leaders Foundation (FALF) .

According to Iyama, the objective of the project is to tell the story of Nigeria’s democracy since 1999 till date using the Arts.

“Through the Draw for Democracy Art Campaign, the organisation will unveil the first ever Democracy Art Gallery in Africa with more than 10,000 Arts stories.

“This stories will comprise of where we are coming from, where we are at the moment and where we hope to be if our political institutions live up to their promises made during election campaigns.

“The Democracy Arts Gallery seeks to interrogate the processes that have led to institutional failures in Nigeria and to further inspire hope in our young people in Nigeria.

“The Democracy Art Gallery will be unveiled at the Nation’s capital on May 29 which will mark 20 years of uninterrupted democratic rule in Nigeria.’’

Iyama said that the Draw for Democracy Campaign would feature young talented Youths from all over the nation using them as the catalyst to strengthen democracy by telling the stories themselves.

This, he said would also promote youth inclusion in the democratic space, adding that the programme would mobilise youths from different communities and schools to tell the story of democracy through the arts.

He said that pictures and sculptures that depict Nigeria’s democracy from 1999 to 2019 would be collated and the best would be picked and awarded.

Iyama said that the first prize from tertiary institutions would get 10,000 dollars, while the best from secondary schools would get 5,000 dollars and the best from the communities would also get 5,000 dollars.

Iyama said that the Draw Campaign Training session would be organised for youths with arts talent by CYPA Africa in the six geo political zones.

He said that the training centres would be in Lagos, Enugu, Port Harcout, Kaduna, Bauchi and Jos.

According to him, after the training, there will be an opportunity to tell the story of democracy by the youths.

This he said would cover all the democratic experiences like the first democratic election of MKO Abiola, and the progressive use of card readers among others.

Iyama said that the essence was for youths to have the consciousness of protecting Nigeria’s democracy by getting to know its history and being involved in protecting it.

He called on politicians to discontinue the use of youths as thugs, while urging the youth not to allow themselves to be used to perpetrate any act of violence during the elections.

He also called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to provide adequate security to ensure the elections were free and fair.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in December 2018, CYPA Africa was conferred with an award by the Future Africa Leaders Foundation.

The award was to propel CYPA Africa as a youth NGO committed to changing and reshaping the future of Africa using young people as the catalyst.

NAN also reports that the aim is to strengthen youth engagement in the democratic process through public policy advocacy, research arts, capacity building and ensuring transparency, justice and accountability in the governance process.