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