COMMUNIQUÉ

ISSUED AT THE END OF A ONE-DAY SYMPOSIUM ON NIGERIA @ 50 ORGANISED BY INITIATIVE FOR CIVIC EDUCATION IN COLLABORATION WITH NATIONAL ORIENTATION AGENCY HELD IN ABUJA ON OCTOBER 07, 2010.

Preamble

A one-day Symposium organised by Initiative for Civic Education (ICE) in collaboration with National Orientation Agency (NOA) on the theme: Nigeria: Our Heritage, Our Future was held at Dennis Hotel, Abuja on October 07, 2010.  The Symposium which was organised as part of civil society organisations (CSOs) contributions to the on-going activities marking the 50th Anniversary celebration drew participants from different civil society organisations (CSOs), government representatives, development agencies and international development partners, IDPs and the media. It was organised not only to celebrate Nigeria’s Golden age, but also to reflect on our past with a view to identifying challenges and proffering solutions to them.

Introductory remarks which highlighted the issues around the theme as a reflection on the 50th Year Anniversary of Nigeria was made by the Executive Secretary of ICE, Dr. Lanre Adebayo while the Director General of NOA and the Special Guest of Honour, Alh. Idi Farouk, OFR delivered the special address.  Goodwill messages were offered by Mr. Victor Aluko, representative of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) David Adama, Governance Project Advisor, ActionAid International, Nigeria and Mr. Seyi Adekeye, Assistant National Secretary, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) who represented the National President.

Sessions

The Symposium was chaired by Dr. Barr. Ngozi Chianakwalam, Executive Director, Change and Re-orientation Mission (CHARM) and featured several sessions including paper presentations that enhanced the participation of civil society on the theme of the symposium and the governance process in Nigeria. The keynote presentation was made by Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, a Political Economist and former Special Adviser to the President on Project Monitoring while discussants include Prof. Sam Egwu, President of the Nigeria Political Science Association of Nigeria and Governance Team Leader at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as well as  

Observations

1.         That the non-inclusion of members of the civil society organisations (CSOs) as well as the non-participation of the National Assembly formal in the main activities organised by government to mark the 50th year anniversary is a major omission and therefore unfortunate.

2.         Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) constitute an important and critical sector in the drive for democratic Nigeria and to ensure good governance through effective delivery of services by government and its agencies towards free, fair and credible election in Nigeria.

3.                  The absence of CSOs coherent monitoring and evaluation framework for the implementation of government policies and development plans had contributed to the failure of ensuring proper and effective delivery of services that would contribute to the development of the country.

4.                  There are no defined guidelines for the engagement of CSOs by government in its various developmental programmes; and where such engagement exists, they lack coherent and harmonised framework.

5.                  There is overtime lack of good governance which leads to poor management of our national resources with limited impact on the grassroots, especially at the states and local government levels.

6.                  There is poor management of our national resources and public infrastructures such as transportation, education, health care, power, security and agriculture among others that has marred the development of the country in the last 50 years of our independent.

Resolutions

The participants after making the observations above reached the following resolutions:

a.                   That government should as a matter of urgent nation interest organise an interface between government and lead civil society actors and major or popular organisations,

b.                  The leadership of the National Assembly should orgnise a Special Session of both Houses to mark Nigeria at 50.

b.         Government and CSOs should both cultivate the spirit of mutual trust and collaboration towards addressing the developmental challenges facing the country.

c.         That CSOs, should demonstrate ethical standard and culture of responsibility to effectively impact on the society through the effective engagement of the public sector and service delivery at all levels.

d.                  CSOs should endeavour to mount mass mobilisation campaigns towards popular understanding of benefits associated with good governance and sound service delivery and contribute to the process of engendering community ownership of policies, programmes and projects.

e.                   That government should work with CSOs at the national, states and local government levels to campaign for the return of stolen monies or failed contract as canvassed by some CSOs to support the government’s anti-corruption drive and enhance the development plan, especially Vision 20: 2020

Signed by:

1. Mohammed Bougei Attah  - World Association of NGOs, Kaduna                    -           Chairman

2. Mrs. Nneka Akwunwa        - Foundation for Efficient Human Dev                      -           Member

3. Isiaka Kehinde                    - Office of the Special Adviser to the

                                                President on Relations with Civil Society                  -           Member