The entrepreneurial success of the Igbo lies mainly in their ‘igba boi’ (apprentice) system. A boy goes to learn a trade from a successful businessman for between five and seven years. His master settles him afterwards. If he is dedicated and focused, he may even be more successful than his master. He helps to train others, and the cycle continues that way. Today, that system is under serious threat.
Most youths now want to hit it big and quickly too. Hence, they resort to Yahoo Yahoo, money rituals, betting and some other types of gambling. Many businessmen have sour tales about their experiences with apprentices these days. They now prefer to hire salesgirls and pay them every month.
While reflecting on this issue and our lost value system, it occurred to me that there is an agency of government statutorily mandated to change the bad attitude of Nigerians. That agency is the National Orientation Agency (NOA). Amid the misplaced values of many Nigerians, what is the agency doing to change the narrative?
Established by Decree 100 of 1993 as an agency under the Federal Ministry of Information, the NOA’s mission is to consistently raise awareness and positively change attitudes, values and behaviours. It is also meant to accurately and adequately inform as well as sufficiently mobilise citizens to act in ways that promote peace, harmony, unity and national development.
Besides, it has a duty to mobilise Nigerians to better understand government programmes and policies. It is to mobilise favourable public opinion for such programmes and policies, establish feedback channels to government on all aspects of Nigerian national life, foster respect for constituted authority and instill in the citizens a sense of loyalty to the fatherland.
Additionally, the NOA, among others, is mandated to arouse the consciousness of Nigerians to their rights and privileges, responsibilities and obligations as citizens of Nigeria. It propagates the need to eschew corruption, dishonesty, electoral and census malpractices, ethnic, parochial and religious bigotry and all other vices in public life.
During the military regime of Muhammadu Buhari, there was War Against Indiscipline (WAI). The military regime of Ibrahim Babangida created the Mass Mobilisation for Self-Reliance, Social Justice and Economic Recovery (MAMSER) in 1987. These efforts were to enlighten and mobilise Nigerians against certain ills in the society and to support some government programmes.
In the recent past, the NOA became a moribund institution. Government failed to give it the necessary support to thrive. Many people wondered why it was not scrapped.
In any case, the job of mobilising Nigerians to be patriotic and support efforts of the government to make life better for the citizens is not an easy one. First, Nigerians have lost confidence in their leaders. They are not happy about the profligate and corrupt system we operate. Secondly, they are sharply divided along ethnic and religious lines. There is no uniformity of purpose on most issues of concern. Hence, most people tend to view most government programmes with suspicion and cynicism.
The present administration just marked two years in office. Nigerians used the occasion to assess the performance of the government in different sectors. Though President Bola Tinubu received kudos from some quarters, he also got knocks for the economic hardship and the spate of insecurity in the country. Most of his ministers also received low marks in the assessment of their performances so far.
But, one official has stood out in his work. He is the Director General of NOA, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu. Appointed in October 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, Issa-Onilu knew that there would be difficulties in trying to change certain attitudes of Nigerians considering the current harsh economic realities and disillusionment in the country.
Not deterred, he embarked on nationwide sensitization campaign on critical issues of national importance. In a rally organized to inaugurate the nationwide campaign in Asaba, the Delta State capital, in December 2024, the NOA boss appealed to Nigerians to unite in their commitment to addressing critical issues such as the unity, well-being and development of the country.
As he put it, “We are commencing a nationwide mobilization of Nigerians to unite in our commitment to addressing these pressing issues and fostering a more informed, secure, and ethical society. The challenges before us require collective action and active participation from all Nigerians.”
His focus for the nationwide campaign includes such critical issues as security awareness, shunning the get-rich quick syndrome, World HIV/AIDS Day, World Human Rights Day and Tax Reform Bill before the National Assembly.
He explained the Federal Government’s efforts to provide free and accessible HIV testing, anti-retroviral treatment and counselling services nationwide, and urged citizens to take advantage of the services and also practise responsible health behaviour.
He implored citizens to be security conscious and cooperate with law enforcement agencies in the fight against insecurity in the country.
Highlighting the dangers inherent in get-rich quick syndrome in Nigeria today, Issa-Onilu urged parents, schools, teachers and faith-based organisations to monitor their children and educate them on the consequences of the problem. He reminded the youths to key into the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and skill acquisition initiatives and also endeavour to access the Federal Government’s grants and loans to promote entrepreneurship.
He spoke about many other issues, including what government was doing to protect the fundamental human rights of Nigerians, the Tax Reform Bill, which he said, would help to address the issue of double taxation.
Under the leadership of Issa-Onilu, the NOA has also strengthened fruitful collaborations with other agencies and establishments like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), military, immigration, Customs, Police and the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) to promote quality service delivery, national identity and attitudinal change. It has enhanced public engagement and introduced ‘The Explainer’ newsletter and AI Web App to improve information dissemination.
In less than two years, Issa-Onilu has done a great work in refocusing and re-invigorating the 31-year-old organisation. He has established structures for optimal performance of the agency. The Federal Executive Council has approved the National Values Charter and other national identity projects which happen to be the outcomes of the already established structures. He has also improved staff welfare.
The current NOA has made efforts to change the slogan, “Nigeria has happened to me”, from being negative to being the positive impact the nation has had on its citizens such as Bank of Industry (BOI), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), NELFUND and so on. It has also embarked on media advocacy on various programmes and policies of the government.
The agency has done a great job in the area of grassroots health awareness. It launched many health-focused initiatives in the past two years. They include advisory on negative practices or choices that could impact liver and kidney health, awareness campaign about tuberculosis, cholera, meningitis, yellow fever, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), diphtheria, Lassa fever, Mpox, and Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV).
The NOA also launched a four-month campaign to address drug abuse and its connection to violence in the North-West earlier in the year. It has also conducted campaigns against gender-based violence and many other areas of life.
In recognition of the agency’s achievements in the short span that Onilu has been in the saddle, ThisDay newspaper, earlier this year, gave it an award as one of the most improved government agencies in Nigeria. Listed alongside the NOA in the award category are the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
It is worthy to note that another agency of government that has achieved high-profile performance is the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) under Professor Is-haq Oloyede. This is despite the unfortunate challenges that trailed the last Unified Tertiary Matriculation Exam (UTME). Obviously, Oloyede has outperformed his predecessors in office.
Undoubtedly, it’s a new dawn for the NOA. Changing the negative attitude of Nigerians in many areas of life is a long journey. But the leadership of the agency has taken a bold step. Issa-Onilu has gradually transformed it from arm-chair to field headship. He must not relent. Other agencies should emulate the NOA in providing alternative and workable ideas that will provide solutions to the country’s multifaceted challenges.
Re: Tinubu’s two years of deferred hope
Casmir, renewed hope deferred type 1: Last week, a pharmacist intern, working with NAFDAC Lagos, voiced out his frustrations to me on the state of the nation. The main grouse was that, as an intern in the last four months, he has not been paid. Sequel to this, he is seriously considering leaving the country once the opportunity arises. There are many more like him who want to join the ‘japa’ train. If in two years, Tinubu has doubled our ‘wahala/yoke’, then, may the wahala not become multiplied by 4 in 2027! DG NAFDAC, why? This is against the spirit of the ‘Nigeria 1st policy’. No youth having his or her 1st baptism or contact with a govt agency will be encouraged to love or be faithful to the country with this kind of unpalatable experience.
Renewed hope deferred type 2: Children’s rice no longer served with meat in most homes due to the price of meat in the markets. Kwashiorkor cases may rise due to the absence of protein in the food of children. Fish as an alternative? Don’t even go there! Tinubu’s mid-term scorecard: quantity & quality of food on our table 1%, security 5%, health 5%, corruption 2%, education 30%, unemployment/underemployment 10%, power 50%, good governance 5%, housing 2%: total % =110/900*100 =12.2%. Remarks: there is a need for the emilokan govt to up the game if it’s going to prevent hope from being shattered! Hope deferred is better than hope shattered! Special remarks: 100% efficiency at encouraging and enforcing the defections of integrity-deficient, amoeba-like politicians (shapeless, unprincipled, un-ideological political defectors). But whose report will Tinubu believe? Yours, mine or the ones by sycophants? Let us encourage ‘our president’, because uneasy lies the head that wears the crown! May God help presido. As we say in Lagos, tuaile sir!
– Mike, Mushin, Lagos, 0816 111 4572