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‘How Nigeria can gain from Canada’s uninterrupted 150 years of governance’

By Ijeoma Opara
23 February 2016   |   11:36 pm
HIGH commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Perry Calderwood has said that Nigeria can benefit from Canada’s continuous democratic rule, to rejuvenate and improve its economy. In particular, he said Nigeria could build on its structures as it affect rule of law and due process, access to information as well as the role of the civil…
Calderwood

Calderwood

HIGH commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Perry Calderwood has said that Nigeria can benefit from Canada’s continuous democratic rule, to rejuvenate and improve its economy.

In particular, he said Nigeria could build on its structures as it affect rule of law and due process, access to information as well as the role of the civil society.

The High Commissioner spoke during a lecture he delivered at the Lagos State University (LASU), on the fundamentals of democracy in Canada, in collaboration with the faculty of Social Sciences of the institution in Ojo, Lagos.

According to him, “Politically, 2015 was an interesting year in both Canada and Nigeria; the Presidential Elections in Nigeria was a landmark as it saw the transition from an incumbent to a presidential candidate of an opposition party, while in Canada, the federal elections held last year October resulted to a change of government.

“Canada’s political development from 1763 until modern times has been largely an incremental and evolutionary one. We never experienced an armed struggle for independence nor a civil or military coup but Canada’s political institutions evolved gradually. The Canadian economy has a high level of international trade as a percentage of our economic activity, our exports account for over 30 per cent of our GNP, our open markets and outward-looking mindsets have been key to Canada’s economic development given the relatively small size of our populations and domestic market.”

Calderwood also noted that Canada’s federal cabinet vary in size from around 30 to 40 ministers and prime ministers and they strive to ensure that the cabinet’s composition reflected the regional and ethnic diversity of the country; stressing that the current prime minister Justin Trudeau elected last October for the first time in history appointed a gender-balanced cabinet of 15 women and men including himself.

“We have never experienced a military intervention in the electoral process and the overall results of a federal election have never been the subject of significant dispute or of post-electoral violence.”

On the rule of law, he advised that every society should ensure that the concept of meritocracy was practiced such that people who were recruited into government or promoted should be given such positions under merit not because of identities or personal connections. “Every society should work on the rule of law, exercise meritocracy and work to resist cultures that go contrary to this because they harm the society collectively including individuals.”

He however, urged Nigerians to be active participants in the economy to build strong institutions, “people should participate both in elections and at party levels, taking interests in what is going on, join NGOs, speak up when you see things that is not right whether it is corruption or bad governance, it is your country and your government. I think that is something Canadians learnt many years ago, they have very low tolerance on corruption, and politicians who misbehave.”

In terms of elections and controversies surrounding it, Calderwood said, “I don’t know the name of the chairman of elections Canada, but I know the name of Nigeria’s chairman. This is because in Canada it is so taken for granted, we have had elections for 150 years and there has never been a controversy of the results at the national the level, the system works well.

“It is based on electoral laws adopted by parliament, so the chairman elections Canada is not a political figure, they come in and do their job and that is what I hope we will get to see in Nigeria in 10 to 20 years ahead as your country consolidates its democracy.”

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