Mr Hamzat Lawal, Founder of FollowTheMoney, Africa’s largest social accountability movement, will join other world leaders at the 10th World Forum for Democracy (WFD), to uncover factors contributing to the global democratic decline.
Lawal, in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, said the event, holding in Strasbourg, France, this November, would welcome some of the leading experts, politicians, activists and patriots from across the world.
He said that he was invited as a discussant and would engage panelists such as Leoluca Orlando, Former Mayor of Palermo, and Drew Sullivan, Co-founder of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
He said that other discussants would be Alex Vindman, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, and former Political-Military Affairs Officer on enhancing democracy.
“We will be dissecting corruption and accountability and what it takes to keep faith in democracy.
“For 2022, the WFD event is focused on addressing some of the key issues contributing to the downturn of democracy, with the aim of analyzing what kind of democratic future is desirable, and possible, in the interests of people across the world.
“As the founder of Africa’s most prominent social accountability movement, I will bring a wealth of experience in engaging world leaders on how innovation, advocacy, citizen engagement, and technology can enhance and rebuild democracy.
“I am looking forward to highlighting the role of accountability in sustaining democracy,” Lawal said.
According Lawal, democracy is in distress because leaders, especially in Africa, are refusing to create accountability mechanisms in the public sector, thereby losing citizens’ trust.
“The WFD event is a great opportunity and platform to highlight some of the challenges confronting democracy as we know it and discover ways to improve it by leveraging technology and advocacy,” Lawal said.
Lawal said that in 2019, FollowTheMoney emerged winner of the Council of Europe’s democracy innovation award.
He said that FollowTheMoney is a participatory advocacy-based initiative that advocates for the proper use of government and international aid funds in grassroots communities, to ensure that public services work for the people ultimately.