By Ekpenriebe Lucky
Seven winners have emerged in different categories in an online competition targeting women and youth preparedness for the forthcoming general election. The competition was organised by the WE-YOU-HAP Project led by ActionAid Nigeria and other consortium members like the Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI).
According to Oluyemi Abodunrin, Programme manager at CCSI, the competition required young people, especially women to upload a 60-second video on social media platforms detailing how they are participating in the 2023 general election at the local government level and how they are preparing for the upcoming general elections using the hashtag #HopeActionProgress.
“Many entries were received from young people featuring short videos on their social media platforms. In the videos, participants expressed that they had collected their Permanent Voter’s Card (PVCs) and called on young people and women to collect theirs as well as to eschew violence during the campaign and elections. Some of the videos also spoke against vote buying, while others showcased what they have done in preparation for the election,” Abodunrin said.
He said cash prices were given to the winners as two persons clinched of N100,000 each as winners in the Hausa and English categories, while two others received N50,000 and N30,000 respectively and three others received consolation cash prize of N10,000 each.
According to the organisers, winners were selected based on the relevance of their video to the objectives of the project on inclusion of women and young people in politics and governance; relevance to the political process preceding 2023 elections; on collection of Permanent Voters Card (PVC), discouraging electoral violence, addressing voters apathy, promoting good governance, and the technical quality of the videos and coherence in message delivery.
Abodunrin said: “The We-You-HAP with its theme, “Hope, Action and Progress for women and youth in politics” seeks to strengthen the relationship between citizens, government and politicians in Nigeria with an overarching goal to engender an inclusive and responsive democratic process and also outcomes.
“Specifically, this project intends to mobilise the critical mass of young people and women engaging campaigns towards translated citizen’s actions or demands into the policy actions in Kaduna to Kano. This is a gender and inclusive decision-making political process that reflects the priorities of the women and young people in the States.”
