SUMMARY OF THE ‘SUSTAINABLE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION (SCP) IN NIGERIA’S NIGER DELTA’ PROJECT IMPLEMENTED BY AFRIHEALTH OPTONET ASSOCIATION DURING 2017-2018

AFRIHEALTH OPTONET ASSOCIATION Civil Society Organizations [CSOs] network and think-tank for Health, Community and Development Systems Strengthening	Suite 216, Blk G, FHA Cornershop, Lugbe,  Airport Rd, Abuja, Nigeria
	afrihealthnigeria@gmail.com Ph: +2348034725905 www.afrihealthcsos.org

SUMMARY OF THE ‘SUSTAINABLE CITIZEN PARTICIPATION (SCP) IN NIGERIA’S NIGER DELTA’ PROJECT IMPLEMENTED BY AFRIHEALTH OPTONET ASSOCIATION DURING 2017-2018

by: Dr. Uzodinma Adirieje, SCP Project Director & CEO, Afrihealth Optonet Association 

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND:

In 2016, the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) approved to fund a proposal by Afrihealth Optonet Association [a CSOs network] to implement its ‘Sustainable Citizen Participation (SCP) in Nigeria’s Niger Delta’ programme. SCP means that citizens would be able to democratically engage with their governments on a regular and sustained basis. Prior to this, ordinary citizens in Niger Delta were only able to interact with leaders and politicians at the leaders’ leisure. Formal involvement and participation of civil society organizations [CSOs] and women groups [WGs] in local governance in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria was virtually non-existent, at best very poor. For example, during elections, the candidates campaigned for the peoples support by visiting and meeting with the citizens/people, speaking with them and being open and available to them. But once in office, these leaders who once had so much time for the people became unaccountable and cold. They wanted the people to vote for them but once the elections were over, the people’s voice meant nothing. This project sought to change that in the communities/local governments where the project was implemented, and significantly achieved so. By pushing for SCP this project hoped to make leaders accountable every day they are in office. Not just during elections; so that elected offices were held accountable in order to result to better politics and more promises being kept beyond the elections and political campaign periods. This compelled these groups to resort to violence and unconstitutional means in their uncoordinated efforts to benefit from governance and corporate development in Nigeria. This project promoted the institutionalization of citizen participation in local governance decision-making, development and democracy/democratic processes in 81 communities/LGAs in nine states in Niger Delta namely Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers States.

AFRIHEALTH was the Implementing Agency (IA) with support from nine of its member-CSOs/women’s groups (WGs) as the Implementing Partners (IPs) for their respective States. 81 selected Afrihealth member-CSOs/WGS served as sub-IPs for each target community/LGA respectively.  

MAIN GOALS/OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:

The aim of the SCPP was to institutionalize sustainable citizen participation in communities in the 9 Niger Delta States; so as to make governments more accountable to the citizens. This project will train 198 citizens such as civil society/women groups leaders as change agents; organize 81 Town Hall Meetings and hold quarterly community consultative committee meetings. It will also mobilize 1,620 citizens to formulate community plans of action, democratically select key development activities, and engage with government stakeholders in the target areas to implement and fund activities.

ACHIEVEMENTS: After 24 months of implementation, the Sustainable Citizen Participation (SCP) in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Project had:

1. Raised awareness on sustainable citizen participation (SCP) concept and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and secured support from stakeholders (citizens’, NGOs, CSOs, Women Groups, Communities, Local government and State government officials) in 81 LGAs and 9 states;

2. Empowered 162 CSO and women’s group leaders from 81 CSOs/WGs as change agents (CAs) for democracy and good governance through training, sub-granting and technical assistance to promote the institutionalization of SCP;

3. Organized 81 Town Hall Meetings (by 81 CSOs) and mobilized 4050 community members (50 per community, 25 men and 25 women including youth, girls and adolescents) to undertake community needs assessment and contribute their voice to the development of their communities,

4. Established 81 Community Consultative Committees (CCCs) comprising 1620 community members (20 per community) that formulated 81 SCP Plans of Action (POAs);

5. Reached more than 100, 000 citizens and residents of the Niger Delta Regions with news, information, education and activities that promote SCP through the various media; and

6. Implemented the Plans of Action (POAs) and the community development initiatives in 81 communities/LGAs in 9 Niger Delta States to realize the SCP and disseminate the successful experiences in the Niger Delta Region.

7. One of the CCCs (Okitipupa) has been formally registered as an entity by the Government

8. Empowered communities and women groups with voice and they are able to speak to power, as well as plan/contribute to and take ownership for their own development

9. Successfully promoted and or monitored 84 SDGs ventures/activities/projects across the region

10. Achieved 78% completion rate in the Project’s activities from a target of 60% completion (above expectation)

MEDIA REPORTS: By the time the SCP project closed on 31 December 2018, it had received extensive media coverage (seventy-five online and several radion/TV coverages) because it was pro-people and contributed to the efforts of the government and citizens towards achieving the SDGs. They all saw in the SCPP something they always wanted but hardly had including the opportunity to take charge of their development aspirations and speak-to-power about them. State governments called in the media during our advocacy visits to listen to us deliver our UNDEF-funded SCPP ‘gospel’. Their curiousity arose because the SCPP’s approach was something they were not used to and probably never believed could be achieved. So from State to State, the media kept virtual ‘virgil’ on the implementation of the SCPP interventions. And we because they found it as an uncommon approach to development activities in our clime, it was always newsworthy and worthy of emulation. The community-level SCPP interventions were stakeholder-and-community-initiated, implemented, managed, monitored and reported. There was an unsual sense and demonstrationm of community-ownership.

RELEVANCE: The relevance of the SCPP is its connection to the life and wellbeing of the communities and all inhabitants of their ecosystems. All the activities undertaken under this project are within the confines of the sustainabledevelopment goals (SDGs) and contribute towards the achievement of the SDGs in Nigeria. The SCP Project clearly demonstrated its relevance to the achievement of the wellbeing of the communities and its implications for human and ecosystem development efforts in the Niger Delta and Nigeria at large. As a result, its relevance persists long after its life span.

EFFECTIVENESS: The effectiveness of the SCPP intervention is underscored in its achievement of the very objects for which it was implemented in the communities. In addition to having raised awareness on the concept of SCP, this project secured the support of stakeholders including citizens, NGOs, and local government officials in the 9 States; empower 162 CSO and women’s group leaders from 81 CSOs/WGs as change agents (CAs) through training, sub-granting and technical assistance to promote the institutionalization of SCP; organised Town Hall Meetings, mobilized community members, establish Community Consultative Committees (CCCs) that formulated perculiar and community-sensitive Plans of Action (POAs); and implement the POAs and community development initiatives as well as shared experiences/reports of the interventions in the Niger Delta Region.

EFFICIENCY: In most of the communities, SCPP achieved more than the equivalent of the funds allocated and disbursed for it. Sub-IPs and CCCs were empowered and supported use the allocated and fully disbussed subgrants to mobilise the goodwill of community members to directly provide seats in schools, repair bridges to aid movement of people, repair roads, clear the environment, support healthcare facilities, etc far beyond the values of the funds allocated and fully disbussed to them by the project. The intervention became community-owned, community-conceptualised, community-planned, community-implemented, community-monitored and community-reported. Division of labour among the CCC members ensured that the implementation of the POAs did not weigh anyone down. A good example was the provision of seats by the CCC’s effort at Afaha Offot Primary School Uyo, Akwa Ibom State which was done without any money from the government, and ofcourse the cost of the seats is far beyond the fund subgranted to the sub-IP from the UNDEF grant.

IMPACT: This project had a very strong and positive effect on the ability and perception of the community to initiate and participate in development processes, and to speak to power. The involvement of 50:50 ratio of women and men in the CCCs was very new and unsual in all the communities where the SCPP was implemented. Ditto for the deliberate involvement of young people. Through the contributions of the women and young persons in the CCCs, the testimonies/perceptions of their male coounterparts and adults members change significantly in favour of greater involvement ofwomen and young persons (including physically challenged persons) in development processes.

SUSTAINABILITY: The sustainability of the SCP interventions is underscored by the facts that in all the communities where these activities were implemented, they (the activities) not only met the needs of the present populations, but also assuredand laid solidfoundations for the well-being of their future generations. The capacities developmed in CCC members, roads constructed, bridges built, farms cultivated, foods produced, education facilitiesprovided, etc willcontinue to be used by generations beyond now, while at the same time having the capacities to be expanded in scope and utility. These largely have the ability to be sustained, supported, upheld, or confirmed, and shall meet the needs of the present populations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, economically, socially and environmental sustainability factors in equal harmony. The CCCs were also established as ‘Standing Committees’ in the communities to live beyond the project. Indeed, in Okitipupa in Ondo State, the CCC for the SCPP has already transformed into a living organization and received formation registration from the government.