The Role of NGOs in Major Development Initiatives
For more information, contact Nasserie Carew
Anti Corruption in Nigeria
The recent election held in Nigeria in April 2007 heralded the arrival of the country at an historic crossroads, anchored between two trajectories – transformation based on principles of good governance versus the status quo of rampant corruption. President Obasanjo’s strenuous bid for an unconstitutional third term and the election itself, called by many the most dubious in African history, are worrisome indicators that the choice between the two options has already been made. Yet a pronounced slide backwards on the governance continuum in Africa’s most populous nation would be disastrous for the country and the region as a whole.
In addition to the new President, a significant majority of new legislators were swept into office through a highly questionable electoral process thereby diminishing any incentive to amend electoral laws to minimize the likelihood of irregularities in future political contests. Similarly the independence of the corruption watch-dog agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Commission on Political Corruption has been called into question. The former was specifically used by the ruling party as a tool for excluding powerful opponents from the electoral process. Moreover, the raging conflict in the Niger Delta has seemingly failed to reach a level compelling enough for positive concerted action on the part of the Nigerian government and its private sector partners.
Against this background, the role of civil society in Nigeria has become pivotal and may in fact be the key to preventing a reversal of the democratization process in the country. Broad-based, well-organized coalition-building has emerged in Nigeria as the most effective means of taking anti-corruption advocacy campaigns forward. Membership-based coalitions which extend to the far reaches of the country have convincingly proven their effectiveness in mounting mass-mobilization strategies that have proven instrumental in building constituencies around a single issue.
The Nigeria office of Pact provides technical and grant support to coalition-based anti-corruption advocacy under the USAID-funded Advocacy, Awareness and Civic Empowerment Program (“ADVANCE”). This has contributed substantially to the emergence of coalitions as the preferred vehicle for advocacy and awareness-raising.
The best coalitions feature a diverse membership among which tasks are distributed according to competency. Ideally, the most effective coalitions have brought together research, advocacy, media and grassroots organizations which engage in coordinated efforts involving research, advocacy, awareness-raising and popular education accordingly.
MRA/FOIC
One of the most ground-breaking of those is the Freedom of Information Coalition (FOIC) led by Pact-sponsored Media Rights Agenda (MRA) which single-handedly transformed “freedom of information” from a narrow preoccupation of “information access” technocrats to a cause célèbre around which some of the most innovative issue-based campaigning ever witnessed in Nigeria was launched. In the end, President Obasanjo’s refusal to sign the bill into law was more whimsical than logical, claiming that he disapproved of the name of the proposed law. That notwithstanding, FOIC doggedly pressed on with a new round of advocacy for a presidential veto override. The campaign employed a well-coordinated combination of advocacy strategies including intense cell-phone text messaging, international and local personalized letters and face-to-face advocacy visits with legislators, media houses, executive branch members and even the president himself. FOIC even spearheaded and facilitated the Senate/House bill harmonization meeting. According to the Senate President, “ for us to fight things like corruption . . . and sustain our reforms, such a bill is very important.” Thus despite the failure of the bill to become law, the campaign succeeded in significantly impacting public understanding and sentiment regarding FOI, including among legislators.
ZCC
Through its widely dispersed membership, the Pact-supported Zero Corruption Coalition appeared almost effortlessly to take to the zonal level, a national campaign, “Stick to the Issues in Elections” to focus legislative and executive political aspirants on substantive issues with a particular focus on anti-corruption. The Stick to the Issues Campaign zonal launches were held in each of Nigeria’s 6 zones. Each ZCC zonal coordinator was given the freedom and flexibility to tailor the program to be responsive to local tastes. ZCC further tapped into its intellectual capital to develop, publish and distribute a “scorecard” on political party positions on anti-corruption.
ACE
Finally, Pact partner Alliance for Credible Elections took advantage of the breadth and depth of its membership to immediately but constructively challenge the highly flawed electoral process. Their actions demonstrated that the speed with which a broad-based coalition can immediately respond to fluid political developments is one of the many features that gives coalitions the edge and will hopefully remain as a growing trend in Nigeria.
