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Promoting Social Accountability in Grassroots Communities

Communications 23 April 2019 4

By Abubakar Sadiq Mu’azu

More than ever before, grassroots communities in the Northern part of Nigeria have been deprived of basic human needs — healthcare, potable water, quality education; further degrading them of standard living condition.

In recent years, International Non-governmental organizations and the Nigerian Government have focused their interventions on Nigeria’s North with the sole intention of pulling more people out of poverty and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) by the year 2030. The achievement of the 17 set goals by the United Nations, is the responsibility of every organisation, every institution and every person, especially as many of the goals are the fundamental rights of humans. Working to protect those rights and sustainability is no doubt a huge task and responsibility that government and stakeholders should give adequate priority.

My desire and passion for driving change was borne from witnessing insurgency and suppression of the people of Borno, a State in the NorthEast of Nigeria. I joined Follow The Money (FTM), the largest grassroots social accountability movement in Africa, with the aim of tracking government and international funding meant for the benefits of citizens and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities.

 In the past 3 years of my journey within the transparency and accountability space, I have been equipped with the knowledge of using transparency tools in advocating the SDGs, especially in promoting quality education for all (SDG 4), a cause I am quite passionate about.

The provision of quality education to vulnerable regions in Nigeria continues to be a challenge that requires the unswerving commitment of the government. One way the education milestones in rural communities can be achieved is in building more classrooms to millions of learners in these regions, who continue to receive education in overcrowded classrooms.

In February 2018, we began an Education campaign in Mairi Kuwait community of Borno State, to enhance service delivery and ensure funds earmarked to the village was judiciously utilized.

Maimusari Primary School is the only education centre in Mairi Kuwait Maimusari, a remote community in Borno State, about 64 kilometres from Bama and Gwoza, terrorist-affected areas, in Northern Nigeria. The school has over 4000 children, including children from the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps nearby. There are 141 academic and non-academic staff who have offices stationed under trees since there are no erected structures. The Headmaster and Principal are able to manage a small common room space near the trees.

Not only was the building in a deplorable state, children were packed in hundreds of numbers in a classroom. Overcrowding makes it impossible for the environment to be conducive for learning and oftentimes, most children were discouraged from going to school.

Once we got information that fund had been disbursed for the construction of two blocks of three classrooms in Mairi Kuwait school, Follow The Money team, which I am an active member, began an advocacy campaign calling for work to begin. Our campaign, #ErectKuwait, was activated through community engagements; town hall meetings with stakeholders including community residents, school key principals, the chairman of State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), media representatives and the project contractors (Ravicam Investment Limited).

FTM further amplified the campaign to the Federal Government so the implementation of the project can be expedited. Indigenes of Mairi Kuwait joined the process of tracking funds disbursed for the school projects, after we had sensitized them and trained them on how to hold government accountable.

Our intervention at the community has been a dedication of time and strength with a focus on holding Government officials accountable. Today Mairi Kuwait is a beneficiary of four newly built classrooms and also with our effort and advocacy additional classrooms are ongoing in Galtimari primary and junior secondary school. Running through community outreaches, stakeholders and town hall meetings has been a huge task and a challenging one too, but today we are happy to make an impact in the process of achieving the sustainable development goal 4.

My outreach to Mairi Kuwait community and school facility gave me a clear picture of the dilapidated structures and condition our young children have been subjected to, not only in the northeast but all over Nigeria. Tracking this project, on the Follow The Money platform, has exposed me to how citizens can make a collective impact in advocating for change. Our collective intervention will help get millions of children into school. Together we can achieve a sustainable world.

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CODE, FlexiSAF Foundation to Tackle Growing Number of Out of School Children in Nigeria

Communications 21 March 2019 1

Alarmed by the accelerating number of out-of-school children in Nigeria, two civil society organisations; Connected Development(CODE) and FlexiSAF Foundation have  come together to combine their resources in identifying out of school children and providing quality basic education. In direct accordance with the SDG 4 and SDG 17, Connected Development and FlexiSAF Foundation are on a mission to reach these targets ahead of 2030. 

Statistics show that there are about 13.2 million Nigerian children currently not in school and this figure is increasing by the day, particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria. Issues of insurgency, conflicts and unrest militating the North-East combined with deep-rooted poverty, and certain cultural factors especially in the North have pushed the rate of out-of-school children high. Even the few educational facilities in these rural settings are in deplorable conditions—dilapidated structures, no libraries, congested classrooms with poor ventilation, damaged or no furniture, causing pupils to sit on classroom floors—further discouraging children from attending school.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) records that Girls account for 60 per cent of the out-of-school population. For every 100 boys of primary age out of school, 121 girls are denied the right to education, worsening gender-based discrimination and putting girls at a disadvantage. Displacement and child marriage also significantly affect a girl’s chances of going to school. Issues of water, sanitation and hygiene, and in many cases, insecurity affecting the delivery of education in conflict affected areas, are contributing factors driving children – particularly girls – away from the classroom.

Distressed by the growing number of out of school children in Nigeria, Connected Development and FlexiSAF Foundation are partnering to identify and verify the number of out of school children in selected states in Nigeria and increase citizen participation through awareness raising.

According to Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad, Chairman, FlexiSAF Foundation, the partnership comes at a time when sustainable measures must be put in place to strengthen the quality of education in the country and curtail the growing number of out of school children, which has grossly affected the Nation, particularly the Northern region. “It is indeed a remarkable feat to partner with Connected Development (CODE) in our mutual goal to reach out a helping hand to communities in need. We will be able to have access to more communities to provide quality basic education for all children,” he added.

CODE’s Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal, stated that “the future of Nigeria is strongly determined by the quality of education of its children. How can we begin to talk about quality education when a large proportion of Nigeria’s young ones are out-of-school?” Lawal was worried that out-of-school children are constantly being exposed to danger of violence, assault, exploitation and anti-social recruitments such as terrorism, child-trafficking and kidnapping. He noted that addressing out of school children is a challenge that the Nigerian Government must tackle with a sense of urgency.

He also noted that the partnership will be a great leap in pursuing the cause of reducing the number of out-of-school children. CODE is committed to providing its resources in supporting the cause by collating the number of out of school children and providing support in areas of monitoring and evaluation (M&E)”. CODE and FlexiSAF Foundation partnership will bring about the reduction in percentage of out-of-school children and create a sustainable environment for children to study and explore their creativity.

Amina Abubakar, Coordinator FlexiSAF Education stated that there is a lot of work to be done in ensuring the Nigerian child goes to school. She called on the Federal and State Governments, Civil Societies, as well as stakeholders in the Education System, especially the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) to commit to securing the education of the Nigerian child.

“As countries strive to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) that addresses attaining universal primary and secondary education by 2030, this is a wake-up call for the Nigerian government to make educating the nation’s future leaders a priority. We should begin to think up sustainable initiatives to resolve the challenging factors facing out-of-school children,” Amina added.

She also mentioned that to reach the large number of out-of-school kids, we have a long way to go. The effort required is massive, not just for FlexiSAF Foundation and CODE, but for Nigeria as a whole and the world at large. “It’s not enough to just acknowledge the problem, but a swift and effective course of action 1must be embarked upon. That is what we have began, and we are committed to staying on this course for the long haul.”

FlexiSAF Managing Director, Faiz Bashir stated that change can begin at the grassroots whereby learning opportunities start with community-based education and organising classes in community buildings so children do not have to walk miles  and miles to go to school. This is especially critical for girls, as it reduces insecurity such as harassment and conflict related incidents, on the way to school. FlexiSAF Foundation has, in its effort to reach the SDG 4 target, adopted such flexible methods of teaching out-of-school kids. These include Safe Spaces within their communities, full scholarships to qualitative schools, one-on-one mentorship and counselling and so forth.

He added that the partnership between CODE and FlexiSAF Foundation aims to identify and target regions with disproportionately high rates of out of school children, including working with leaders and other groups to advocate for increased education, especially for girls. It will also ensure safe and conducive learning that meets basic security and health standards, including toilets and safe drinking water.

Detailed plans to implement this partnership will be developed by the two organizations in the coming months.

According to the United Nations, out-of-school children are children who are yet to be enrolled in any formal education excluding pre-primary education.

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