20th January, 2022
Prince Ade Ajayi Foundation (PAAF) Centre for Constitutional Literacy and Civic Education has translated the Nigerian 1999 Constitution into Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. These will be presented to the public on Thursday, 3 February, 2022. Also, another book, I Love My Country, will be launched that day.
This will hold at the Nigeria Naval Dockyard Conference Center Victoria Island at 10. 00 am.
Also that day, the Nigerian Stakeholders Unity Forum will organise a talk, “Empowering Citizens and Stakeholders Unity For The Rebirth of a Great Nation”. There will also be the inaugural edition of the Nigerian Patriots Awards, 2022.
The Centre for Constitutional Literacy and Civic Education is an advocacy intervention organization committed to the development of national values and citizenship through education and advocacy. The book“I love Nigeria My Country, understanding her Government Politics and Culture” talks about the past, present and future of Nigeria.
Ajayi, President of PAAF, at a news conference in Lagos in November 2021 said that the six-year-long translations of the Constitution were aimed at promoting national orientation, unity and integration.
He added: “Of 4,000 Nigerians randomly sampled in urban areas, over 80 per cent had never seen or read in whole or part, a soft or hard copy of the 1999 constitution.
“Of those who had, more than half could not recall what they had read. The statistics in rural areas are abysmal, largely due to literacy levels.
“We believe that the first step in national orientation is adequate civic education. This cannot take place where citizens do not have access to the one document that can most wholesomely, inform them,” he said.
“It is to encourage accountability of public office holders, to check abuse or fundamental human rights, to foster national unity and boost national integration as well as to protect and ensure interests of all groups.
“The book, ‘I Love Nigeria, My Country’ and the interpretation of Nigerian constitution in indigenous languages, is one out of many projects to promote a positive social advancement and youths empowerment.
“The task of constitutional literacy and civic education is not a sprint; it is a marathon we will continue until the constitution is available in every Nigerian language and every home has at least a copy in their preferred languages,” Ajayi added.