By Angela Atabo
Stakeholders at a high-level meeting have called for a coordinated national volunteer framework, stressing that Nigeria’s democracy and nation building efforts depend heavily on structured civic participation.
The High-Level Stakeholders’ National Dialogue with the theme “The Role and Development of Volunteerism in Deepening Democracy and Democratic Governance”, was organised by Proactive Gender Initiative (PGI) in collaboration with Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room.
The Programme Officer at PGI, Benedicta Nguemo-Adyo, said Nigeria must prioritise building systems that aligned individual and organisational volunteer efforts with national need with a clear and unified policy guiding it to avoid fragmented efforts that fail to support long-term development goals.
Nguemo-Adyo said, “What we are trying to create right now in Nigeria is to have a coordinated front where volunteerism is at the lips of everyone but then it is within a structure.
“We know that we have the Nigerian National Volunteer Service, which is the government-led agency for volunteering in Nigeria and they have a policy.
“They are the ones leading on this. So, what PGI is trying to create now is to have a coordinated movement where persons are aware that we have an agency like this and then we have volunteers who are registered under this agency.”
This, Nguemo-Adyo said, would aid in creating awareness on volunteerism and ensuring that whatever service volunteers render to the nation is coordinated and is recognised.
“We are trying to bring back the days of our forefathers where we had things like the Girls’ Brigade, the Boys’ Brigade coordinated activities that projected young persons to the future,” she added.
According to Mrs Agianpe Onyema, Secretariat Coordinator, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, volunteerism is service without reward.
She added that apart from helping individuals to build personal skills, it also contributes to national development and in addressing humanitarian crisis.
Onyema, therefore, called for a single framework to capture and coordinate all volunteerism work and have yearly programmes for rewarding people who do acts of volunteerism like returning lost money and helping in other ways.
Also speaking, Mr Orji Stephen, a Development Lawyer Leading the Team at PGI, said there was no better time than now to organise the national dialogue and rally Nigerians to serve their motherland.
“At PGI, we understand that volunteerism which encourages citizens to participate is one of the pillars of every functional and working democracy,” he said.
Mr Austin Aigbe, Election and Development expert, said that volunteerism happens at different levels, adding, “Nigerians do it all the time like helping someone to fix their tyre or put off fire in a neighbour’s house without knowing it is volunteerism.
“Nigerians are arguably the best kind of people providing empathy-driven volunteerism; carrying out good deeds.
“But we don’t call it volunteerism because a lot of people don’t know the policy, so there is need to make it a national law and that requires political will.”
The Programme Manager of KDI, Mercy Abiem, commended PGI for the initiative, highlighting the critical role of volunteerism in strengthening Nigeria’s democracy.
Abiem stressed that for democracy to thrive, some responsibilities should be carried out by individuals willing to serve without financial reward noting that it has personal benefits of helping individuals to build skills, confidence, and professional networks.
Also speaking, Mr Chike Onaku, Principal Youths Development Officer at the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, explained that many NGOs operate as indirect volunteers, stepping in to fill gaps left by government efforts and called for coordinated structures.
Onaku advised Nigerian youths to build modern, relevant skills aligned with 21st-century needs before engaging in volunteer work, stressing that outdated skills no longer provide meaningful opportunities.
Mrs Mariam Okan from the National Orientation Agency (NOA) encouraged youths to embrace volunteerism and leverage it to build their skills while waiting for jobs as well as imbibe the culture of patriotism and service to the nation.
She said NOA has an ongoing sensitisation programme on the National Value Charter and a component of it has what is called duty of care which encourages citizens to be their brother’s keeper which encourages volunteerism.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the event was the launch of the “Youths Manual on Civic Action and Election Observation” aimed at equipping young people with the knowledge and tools to actively engage in the civil democratic process for a more participatory democracy. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani
