Distinguished guests, members of the media, Daily Trust Journalists, Ladies and Gentlemen, my fellow Africans: good evening. 

We are here to celebrate and honour the extraordinary endeavours of a group of young Africans this evening, who serve as an inspiration to us all. 

It is auspicious that we do so at the invitation of the Daily Trust. Indeed, this evening serves to remind us of the importance of a free, fair and inquisitive press to a thriving democracy and a healthy society.  

The events of recent weeks have brought to my mind Nelson Mandela’s address to the International Press Institute Congress in Cape Town on 14th February 1994 – and I quote: 

“A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favour. It must enjoy the protection of the constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.”

“It is only such a free press that can temper the appetite of any government to amass power at the expense of the citizen. It is only such a free press that can be the vigilant watchdog of the public interest against the temptation on the part of those who wield it to abuse that power. It is only such a free press that can have the capacity to relentlessly expose excesses and corruption on the part of government, state officials and other institutions that hold power in society.”

At a pivotal time for democracy and freedom in our country I commend the Daily Trust for hosting us this evening as we celebrate African excellence – and for tempering the appetite of any government for power at the expense of the citizen, for exposing excesses and corruption and holding authority to account. It is not an easy task, nor free of danger, as we have seen so recently. I know that you will continue to be the mirror Mandela spoke of that day in Cape Town. 

The winners of this evening’s award – Stacy Owino, Purity Achieng, Ivy Akinyi, Synthia Otieno and Macrine Atieno from Kisumu, Kenya – have also sought to rebalance power structures for the good of citizens. They have bravely put agency in the hands of women and girls, restoring not only hope but establishing a concrete link to medical and legal assistance. 

We know that FGM has no health benefits for girls and women, and in fact can cause severe bleeding, cysts, infections, as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths. This human rights violation has affected more than 200 million girls and women alive today. 

I have long been inspired by the work of young women in Kenya, who promote the alternative rite of passage to bring the whole community on board with the health and choices of girls and women. In 2017 I joined Amref Health Africa as it launched its vision to eradicate FGM by 2030. By then the alternative rite of passage method had already saved more than 10,000 girls and women from FGM. Most recently, at the family planning conference in Kigali in November, I met with young Kenyans who, like our award-winners this evening, had a passion to empower their fellow African women, girls and communities. 

Here in Nigeria, we also have talented and passionate young people who can overcome the obstacles faced by our fellow citizens. But they can only do so if we end gender violence and the intimidation which threatens to throttle democracy.

We must raise awareness on the urgent need to stem the apparently rising rate of politically motivated violence that is occurring as the various parties conduct their campaigns across our beloved nation.

In the last week alone, we have seen reports of campaign violence occurring in Lagos State, Imo State, Kogi State, and Kwara State, with many cases of grievous injuries and deaths.

In all these cases, the violence was reportedly wrought by APC supporters, on civilian citizens, and sometimes even on themselves.  

We have heard directly from women in Kwara State, who cried out to the public and religious leaders, that when they were attacked in their homes at the Agbaji, Ilorin West LGA Ancestral Quarters of the Senate President, these attacks were evidently carried out by “supporters” of an APC factional candidate, while the nearby Federal Government security forces simply watched with folded arms.

We have followed with consternation, a similar eye witness account from Kogi State where a supporter of an SDP Senatorial candidate Natasha Akpoti was killed, again allegedly following APC Supporters campaign violence while security officials did nothing.

This gives us great concern for the safety and security, and indeed the human right to democratic suffrage of civilian citizens as an extremely worrying cascade of wilful impunity, which may affect voter turnout particularly for women and youth.

As Nigeria prepares to choose its next leaders, gender-based violence and election violence should be firmly condemned by all, citizens and observers alike.

I therefore call on all to immediately adopt an End Election Violence Advocacy, as a prerequisite to free and fair elections, and to guarantee citizens rights to live and choose their leaders, in dignity, safety and security without fear of intimidation, suppression or retribution from desperate power-seekers. 

Many of those power-seekers have failed Nigeria. Since 2015, 9.9 million Nigerians have lost their jobs. 2 million have been affected by Boko Haram and Herdsmen crises, making us the most terrorised country in the world. 

We now have the highest number of road fatalities in Africa and are the poverty capital of the world. Our direction of travel should cause consternation to anyone who believes in the dignity of human life. On our current path, by 2021 we will overtake India as the world capital for infant deaths. Meanwhile, our electricity supply is the second worst in the world – only Yemen is worse. And what of the future? 13.5 million Nigerian schoolchildren are currently out of school, as investors flee Nigeria, taking $2 billion with them. Our debt has grown by $11.47 billion over the past three years. What a legacy for our children to inherit. It is a legacy we must all work to change. 

My call for an end to election violence comes from the knowledge that we have been cursed quite recently with this plague. More than 800 people were killed in northern Nigeria in three days of rioting, started by supporters of the main opposition candidate at the time. The protests degenerated into violent riots and sectarian killings in the northern states of Adamawa “Land of Beauty, Sunshine and Hospitality”, Bauchi “Pearl of Tourism”, Borno “Home of Peace”, Gombe “Jewel in the Savannah”, Jigawa “The New World”, Kaduna “Centre of Learning”, Kano “Centre of Commerce”, Katsina “Home of Hospitality”, Niger “The Power State”, Sokoto “The Seat of the Caliphate”, Yobe “The Young Shall Grow”, and Zamfara “Home of Agricultural Products”. 

Relief officials estimated that more than 65,000 people were displaced.

One would have thought that the violence would make us all vow to avoid any chance of a repetition of those disgraceful scenes. I fear that that has not been the case, however. Only a year later of that same candidate stated: “If what happened in 2011 should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.’’ 

Today I say something quite different – if what happened in 2011 should happen again in 2019, Nigeria will need the grace of God to heal the land. 

Regardless of party affiliation, election violence is never acceptable and will never solve the issues we face as a nation. As President Jonathan so rightly said, electoral success is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.

Let us work together for a healthier, safer and freer Nigeria. Congratulations once again to the awardees this evening and thank you for your inspirational work.