Dr. Charles began on a lighter note by amusing the audience. He shared the story of the colonial masters, stressing the fact that we do not practice democracy but a system he referred to as “Gerontocracy” – a form of social organization in which a group of old men or a council of elders dominates or exercises control. 

Explaining a research made by two professors, he mentioned that there seven reasons why nations fail.

1. Lack of effective and strong institutions of state.
2. Lack of plurality or a change in political leadership. 
3. Lack of competition or genuine choice. 
4. Absence of rule of law or lack of effective rule of law. 
5. Lack of effective and competitive private sector ownership. 
6. Lack of internal security. 
7. No nation fails by having engaged citizens. Active and engaged citizenry is the cure for an ailing country. 

He however shared 20 tips on how citizens can get engaged in the political system. 

Dr. Charles Omole is a lawyer, leadership consultant, businessman, politician and strategist to governments across Europe and Africa and also a constitutional law scholar. Alongside his many global business interests, Dr. Omole is an elected politician in the Buckinghamshire County of the United Kingdom and he sits as a Judge in the London Circuit of the British Judiciary. Here's a piece of the power of his #PlatformNG presentation. #GetInvolvedNG

A post shared by The Platform Nigeria (@theplatformnigeria) on May 1, 2018 at 7:39am PDT

1. Be an informed citizen. Look for information. 90% of our Media in Nigeria are owned by politicians, so when you see something in the media wear your ‘political sense cap’ to sieve out falsehood and verify facts.

2. Be registered to vote, and vote. The problem is that the process of voting is complicated and that’s why people are not interested.

3. Engage in political discuss and debate. There’s a lot of ignorance you can help change.

4. Became a political evangelist.

5. Become a political activist. It is necessary and healthy for our country. Demonstrations, marches, boycotts; to keep Government accountable.

6. Become a mobile political message information. 

7. Stand as a candidate to be voted for.

8. Become a party.

9. Join a political party.

10. Become a political lobbyist.

11. Engage with institutions.

12. Become a reliable and formidable info staff.

13. Become a volunteer for a political party.

14. Become a campaign staff.

15. Become a community organizer.

16. Be strategic.

17. Vote for candidates. Don’t be a dogmatic follower of a party.

18. Take on formal electoral journals for learnings.

19. Become a constructive critic. Be smart.

20. Understand INEC electoral process. Monitor elections.

Dr. Charles also shared steps on how to hold any government accountable.

1. Have ‘shadow cabinets’ in the opposing party.

2. Develop the habit of contacting your electoral representatives. Force them to be accountable.

3. Use existing constitutional provisions such as recall of the elected representaties. 

Below are some ideas that can help change the structure of our democracy; 

1. Bring in laws that limits how much is spent in campaigning for office.

2. Bring in a law that brings checks and balances on laws passed on personal interests to promote transparency.

3. Create an Independent agency that monitors manifestos and holds politicians accountable.

“We have to do what we can, so that God can do what we can’t.”, said Dr. Charles as he closed.

“The solution to the security of Nigeria is simple. It can be easily fixed in 6 months but the institution of security is designed to fail. We need to get involved in how to build the institutions of state.”

You can listen to the full speech of Dr. Charles by clicking the link The Platform, Get Involved 05 Dr Charles Omole