Outside his professional and work life, Omagbitse has always been involved in supporting his community and contributing to the society. He has been a regular commentator in leading Nigerian newspapers since his days as a student at the University of Lagos. Beyond offering his thoughts and ideas for improving society, Omagbitse was inspired by a desire to transform our society in Nigeria to become a candidate in the 2019 House of Representatives election in Nigeria.
He aligned with a new political party of progressive pragmatists like himself who were tired of the failures of the existing political class and were tired of sitting by the sidelines and complaining. In what many describe as one of the boldest and most innovative political campaigns of recent times, Omagbitse was the candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) and came fourth position behind Nigeria’s three largest political parties.
His experience from the elections suggested that the problem with Nigeria’s democracy and governance was not the fault of the rogue political class that have dominated the political scene, but the fault of Nigeria’s educated elite and youth who do not participate actively in politics either on the demand side or supply side, but somehow expect that things will improve despite their aloofness and lack of participation. Unfortunately, the current voter turnout in Nigeria is currently at less than 15% of the eligible voters – which is atrociously low!
Mr Barrow has committed himself since then to improving the quality and quantity of democratic participation through his education and advocacy program called #LetsGetInvolved. He has also provided support to organizations such as #FixPolitics, #ElectoralCollegeNigeria and The Lux Terra Leadership Foundation in their various programs and activities to improve governance in Nigeria.
He authored and published the critically acclaimed book – Politeracy 110 after coining the word #Politeracy – the knowledge and skills for meaningful political participation. You can find out more about the #LetsGetInvolved program and get copies of the book Politeracy 110 by visiting www.getinvolvednigeria.org