By Lucky Isibor
The European Union Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (EU-ACT), has enumerated the successes of it’s five year programme in Edo State, noting that it was successful as it has increased the capacities of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Edo State and increased the livelihood of people.
The national programme manager of the EU-ACT, Mr. Damilare Damilola disclosed this in his opening remarks at the close out ceremony of the EU-ACT programme at Protea Hotel in Benin City on Thursday, 14 March.
Damilola who was represented by the EU-ACT national programme officer, Dr. Ifyeoma Chukwuma noted that the goal of the programme is to contribute to the attainment of sustainable development in the country through empowering the CSOs to play their roles as independent development actors and drivers of change.
According to him, “ACT’s main purpose (Specific Objective) is to enhance the credibility and role of CSOs as drivers-of-change for sustainable development in Nigeria. To achieve this objective, the Programme has maintained a focus on scaling up results in two areas: (i) providing organisational capacity development support to selected CSOs in 10 states across the 6 geo-political zones, and (ii) facilitating effective coordination of CSO and constructive engagement between CSOs and other actors to enhance and enable regulatory frameworks for CSO operations in Nigeria.
“While the result areas have focused primarily in 10 states, and working alongside 233 CSO partners, engagement under the result area two has had its footprint in all the 36 states of the federation, and connecting closely with key MDAs, the National Assembly, international organisations, the donor community at the national level, as well as with State Houses of Assembly. More than 40 CSO networks/coalitions have been engaged in this line of our work. Edo state is one of the focal states selected for ACT’s implementation. Specifically in this state where CSOs comprising of 19 NGOs working within the metropolis, 8 CBOs, FBOs and Associations working in the rural and semi-urban locations”.
Enumerating the successes the programme recorded further, Damilola expressed gratitude to the Conference of Non Governmental Organisations CONGOs for coaching and mentoring some CSOs that did not benefit from the EU-ACT programme.
“In no small measure, we have seen an improvement in the capacities and capabilities of CSOs to pursue effective policy advocacy, strategic and constructive dialogue and engagement with government, as well as effective and efficient project implementation at the community level. More importantly, we have seen evidence of rapid and sustainable improvements in our CSO partners’ organisational and financial management, demonstrated by putting in place and implementing policies and procedures that are compatible with best standards for organisational management. This includes in the areas of: financial management procedures, long-term strategic planning, fundraising approaches and strategy, G&SI mainstreaming and policy development, monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks, child protection, safeguarding policies, risk management, to name a few.
“We have seen an increase in the number of emerging and developing CSOs (including some CBOs) whose capacity have been substantially developed especially in the area of fund raising. In this state, 3 CBOs were able to implement donor-funded project for the first time, and many more have been able to apply and win grants from other donors aside ACT. This, according to most of them, is a result of capacity development training received from the ACT Programme. In this state we saw a CSO Network (CONGOs) actually coaching and mentoring non-ACT CSOs in important elements of Organisational Development – demonstrating the capacity of CSOs to strengthen and support other CSOs. Also, building on the Peer Learning Platforms in this state, CSOs have formed their own Virtual Peer Learning Hub to strengthen collaboration, shared learning and provide support to each other to overcome shared problems. While we are very proud of these landmark results, today’s meeting should confirm to you all that more is possible after ACT’s exit, if the wheel of collaboration and constructive engagement facilitated through the ACT Programme continues to roll”.
In a key note address titled Strengthening Co-Creation Approach for Social Change, the Executive Director, Environmental Rights Action, Friends of the Earth ERA/FRoE, Dr. Uyi Ojo noted that there is mutual distrust and suspicion between government and CSOs as a result of wrong perception which he said is hampering co-creation between the two parties.
“There is apparent mutual suspicion and distrust based on wrong perceptions. In seeking to serve citizens, what many government officials and CSOs practitioners often do not take into account is the fact that the mandate of the government in power is the delivery of welfare to citizens are similar to the motivations and mandate for CSOs. Knowledge about this aspect of co-creation is lacking or hardly accommodated in the scheme of things.
And to close this gap, Dr, Ojo urged the CSOs and government officials to realise that they’re co-producers of knowledge that would feed legislation and policy reforms to enhance governance and improve the lives of the citizens.
“Government officials often appropriate Government/Governance as exclusive to the civil service or public servants and the elected politicians and to the exclusion of citizens and CSOs. In the past, training conducted on citizens participatory budgeting which requires citizens to demand and question state/LGA budget hit a brick wall due to the non-cooperation from the officials.
“Another reason for the low Government-CSOs collaboration may be related to the attitude of some CSOs who are sometimes deliberately confrontational in their approach. Also, the use of the “name and shame strategy” may elicit public odium of condemnation and produce quicker interventions but it also tended to build distrust and brush off collaboration from government officials.
“In the development process, it must be noted that Government and CSOs are Co-producers of knowledge that would feed into legislation and policy reforms, plans and programmes”.
While enumerating other key results and impact of the EU-ACT programme in Edo State, the state focal person of the EU-ACT programme, Newton Otsemaye said the programme partnered with 23 CSOs, gave grants to 19 of them to work in 9 thematic areas.
“We developed the capacity of 23 CSOs in 16 Organisational Development Areas through training workshops, Coaching and Mentoring as well as Peer Learning Groups, Project Cycle Management, Knowledge Management, Resource Mobilisation and Fund Raising, Financial Procedures and Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Communication and Media Engagement, Advocacy and Human Rights Based Approach, Human Resource Management, Gender and Social Inclusion, Social Research Analysis, Governance and Leadership, Political Economy Analysis, Network Communication, Network Leadership, Collective Bargaining and Negotiation, Network Governance and Accountability
“We gave grants to 18 CSOs to work in 9 thematic Areas, Climate Change, Health, Gender Based Violence, Human Trafficking, Governance-Accountability, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Organisational Development, Youth Engagement in Governance, Migration.
“There is improved resilience, adaption and mitigation of rural women in communities in Ovia South-West, Ovia North-East, and Etsako Local Government Councils, Increased reportage of Gender Based Violence in the State, Improved livelihoods of 250 GBV survivors in Edo-State, Established 30 cooperatives and improved livelihoods for 450 returnees and potential migrants, Increased Youth knowledge and participation in governance in 5 LGAs in Edo Central Senatorial District. Increased demand for accountability leading to the construction of abandoned road in Esan North-East Local Government Council, Uromi
“Improved Mother and Child Healthcare in Abudu community in Orhionmwon Local Government Council, Improved internal and operational capacity of 15 CSOs in Edo State, Established WASH Comm in 34 communities in Owan West Local Government Area. We are currently working with our partners in collaboration with the state government to establish a one stop shop registration of CSOs in Edo-State against the current multiple registration in the State”.
In his remark, governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September governorship election, Asuerimen Ighodalo (Esq) gave a commitment to work with CSOs if elected Governor of the state and appealed to CSOs to continue to educate the people on how to hold government accountable.
According to him, “CSOs must educate the rest of us in the country, we must know that we have rights, you must help us understand those rights, you must also help us understand that as we stand, we can push back against the government in accordance with the constitution. The CSOs must give courage, the courage that you have, you must give the rest of us this courage in our country.
“I want to implore the brave men and women in the civil society space, intelligent strong men and women in the civil society space, please there’s still so much to be done. I am there, I have been there, I’ll remain there; I support, I occasionally still participate and I can assure you that if by the grace of God almighty I am elected as Governor of this state through the will of the people of the state, I will continously engage with civil society. We’ll run a transparent and accountable government, we will dialogue, we’ll be accessible”, he said.
The Labour Party governorship candidate, Olumide Akpata (Esq) who was represented by Dr. Jeffrey Emuakpoor also assured of his readiness to engage with CSOs if elected Governor of Edo State.
The Director of Gender Issues in the Edo State Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issues, Mrs. Joy Ihensekhien thanked the EU-ACT and the British Council for the programme, stating that the ministry is one of the beneficiaries of their programme and urged the CSOs to put what they learned in the programme to action.
The EU-ACT programme is sponsored by the European Union and implemented by the British Council and it’s resource partners.