Follow Us on Google
From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASOW) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Nigerian council for social work (establishment) bill 2020 to check quackery.
Speaking at the 38th national conference/annual general meeting held in Calabar on Wednesday, with the theme, “Ubuntu- I am because we are: Strengthening social solidarity and global connectedness,” the national President of the association, Alhaji Mashood Mustapha, said the bill which was passed in June 2022 by the Senate, should be assented to the President, will promote quality service.
“Signing of our bill that is now in the Presidency. If assented to, it will remove quackery in social work practice in Nigeria. It would give legal backing and promote quality social service delivery to the populace.
“The profession is not yet regulated hence offering windows for quackery. But the will help in getting the square pegs in square holes. So, we are passionately appealing to the President to please assent to the bill in to give legal backing through an act of parliament.”
Making a case for the socially disadvantaged in society, Mustapha advised that government need to continuously produce a social, political and economic atmosphere that is conducive for the development and growth of the youth.
According to him, “a situation where economic interest of individual is going up and human forces going down does not properly weigh in a scale,” maintaining that, “these are issues government need to address for a better tomorrow.”
Chairman, Cross River State chapter of the association, Prof Takim Asu Ojua, advocated a thorough evaluation and monitoring of civil society organizations to ascertain their basic qualifications and level of professional practice.
“Certification is not only the yardstick to earn productivity. There is also a challenge of how are the people evaluated and monitored for them to get promotion, which is being confined by the civil service rule which does not bring in the recognised principle, value or professionalism,” Ojua emphasised.
“We need a political scenario because every social work system is a function of the political ideology of the state. Besides, for a social work ministry to succeed, the political determinants must be social work driven and when that ideological placement is not there, no matter the viable project you intend to do, you can’t run them.”
Ojua, who argued that one can be a philanthropist but not a social worker, reasoned that “a social worker is not all about a relationship with the socially disadvantaged in society rather it cuts across those that are socially neglected and those that have made it in society.”
In her remarks, Cross River State Commissioner for Humanities and Social Welfare, Hon Blessing Egbara, said: “The worst form of society operation is the society where economic and social work builders are either not empowered or poorly empowered.
“A world without professional social workers united towards a common goal will suffer developmental challenges. I urge members of the association to stay focused, dedicated to the ethics of the profession, its philosophy and principles.”
