The Bangladesh high commissioner to Nigeria, Miah Kabir, says the country’s current job quota reforms, youth political participation, and institutional changes are dividends of the country’s July 2024 uprising.

Mr Kabir said this in an interview on Wednesday in Abuja. He said one immediate outcome of the movement was the revision of Bangladesh’s government job quota system, which had become a major source of discontent among young people.

The envoy explained that the quota system initially reserved 56 per cent of government jobs under various categories, leaving the remaining positions to merit-based competition.

Mr Kabir said students initially mobilised against what they considered an unfair distribution of opportunities. The envoy said the movement, which initially centred on students, eventually attracted parents, teachers, women and citizens from different sections of Bangladeshi society.

He said the participation demonstrated that the grievances surrounding the quota system had expanded beyond students, with the wider population becoming involved in demanding change.

Mr Kabir said the reforms that followed the uprising had gradually moved beyond the job quota system, reaching Bangladesh’s political, economic and public institutions, with youth inclusion becoming more visible.

He said young people were now active in different sectors of national life, including political representation. The envoy further said reforms were being pursued in the electoral system, education, judiciary, civil service and foreign affairs.

Mr Kabir said the uprising also reinforced Bangladeshis’ longstanding aspiration for democratic governance, tracing the country’s democratic struggles to the events preceding its independence in 1971. He said the experience showed the importance of citizens uniting around a cause, describing unity as a key factor in political and social change.

On political representation, Mr Kabir said youth participation had increased, with six youth now representing each constituency within Bangladesh’s parliamentary system. He said the development was significant because young people were no longer seen only as protesters or beneficiaries of government programmes.

Mr Kabir said students are now increasingly seen as contributors to the country’s governance process. He disclosed that young representatives participated in drafting what he referred to as the July Declaration, adopted following consultations involving political parties and the interim administration.

Mr Kabir said the present government agreed to the declaration, while young people helped draft it. He said the reform process had also affected the Bangladesh Election Commission, helping produce what he described as a successful general election after years of challenges since 2008.

He said Nigerian election commissioners participated as observers during the election and witnessed the electoral process, which he described as organised and participatory.

“These are concrete examples of the success of this movement. It also shows that the people really believe in democracy, and the government also believes in that,” Mr Kabir said.

(NAN)