Events >> The Democracy Award >> 1999 Democracy Award
Clement Nwankwo
Clement Nwankwo, of the Transition Monitoring Group

Remarks of Representative Benjamin Gilman, Chairman of the Committee on International Relations 		Nigeria's Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of more than 60 Nigerian civic organizations, received the 1999 Democracy Award of the National Endowment for Democracy at a Capitol Hill reception on Tuesday, May 25. The TMG was honored for its extraordinary efforts to mobilize civil society to defend Nigerian democracy in that country's recent elections. The TMG trained and deployed nearly 11,000 Nigerians across the country to observe the voting on election day. It also monitored the pre-election period and organized campaigns of civic education to motivate and mobilize citizens to participate in the voting.

The award was presented by U.S. Representative Donald Payne (D-N.J.) and was accepted on behalf of the TMG by Clement Nwankwo, the Chair of TMG's Coordinating Committee. Many distinguished speakers were on hand to offer congratulations to the TMG for its heroic and important work, including Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Pickering, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Chairman of the House International Relations Committee Benjamin Gilman (R-N.Y.), Chairman of the House Africa Subcommittee Edward Royce (R-Calif.), and Representative Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.).

In his tribute to the TMG, Rep. Payne said, "Their struggle is far from over. If Nigeria is to meet the awesome challenge of building a democratic system that is lawful, just, transparent, and genuinely inclusive of all ethnic and religious groups, it will depend in no small measure on the continued work of the TMG and the thousands of devoted Nigerian democrats who have already sacrificed so much for the cause of freedom."

"All of us here share a deep satisfaction in Nigeria's remarkable reemergence as a democratic country; TMG deserves a tremendous amount of the credit," said Under Secretary Pickering. "I am happy and proud...to see Clement Nwankwo and the TMG honored for their accomplishments and to offer my support and congratulations, and that of the entire U.S. Government, for their ongoing work."

Nwankwo in his acceptance speech thanked the NED for its long term commitment to the democratic struggle in Nigeria but added that the struggle for "true democracy" was far from over. He emphasized that the TMG will continue its work to root out corruption, to place greater emphasis on human rights, to ensure the continued growth of civil society and to work toward a Nigerian constitution which safeguards the values of democracy.

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