The novel Coronavirus – COVID-19, which was first detected in China in late 2019 and has since been declared a pandemic threatens to become one of the most difficult health challenges faced by countries around the world in recent times. The full impact of COVID-19 is not yet known but, what is clear is the urgent need for strategic civic engagement particularly in highly populated countries like Nigeria, where public healthcare systems and reliable sanitary infrastructure capable of curtailing the heightened impact of COVID-19 remains abysmal.
CODE has now developed a Policy Brief that addresses transparency and accountability issues on COVID Funds implementation in Nigeria. Click here to view
Few of the notable deficiencies of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act of 2015 are its inability to criminalise spousal rape and provide adequate protection to persons living with disabilities – even though this was (sparsely) addressed by the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act of 2018. Sadly, both laws are inoperable at the subnational level without first being enacted by the Houses of Assembly of various states.
On the 2nd and 3rd of February, 2021, I was in Kano state to implement a project sponsored by the Canadian High Commission in Nigeria. Our team was to train 30 young women and men gender-activists on advocacy tools towards ending gender-based violence through the enactment and/or adoption of the provisions of a Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law in Kano state.
A story was told of two young girls below the age of 14 who were abused by an affluent man in their neighbourhood. The man is attempting to bribe the father of these 2 underage girls with N500,000 so that the court case can be terminated. Another story was told of a woman who was prematurely forced into labor and childbirth due to spousal battery. A lady told her story of how she had to quit her dream job because of sexual harassment from her boss at the workplace. Another story was told of an underage girl who was gang-raped by known men and who used stigma to pressure her into silence. There are countless stories of forced child labour and prostitution and child marriages.
You see, these are what one may describe as a “tip of the iceberg”; just some troubling stories of the ordeals and violence women and girls go through in Kano state and across Nigeria as a result of inter alia inadequate or lack of effective policy and institutional frameworks that carter for the actualisation of women’s right. In seeking for justice, I discovered that many women or people have preferred to lay their complaints to the Islamic Police: Hisbah Corp which has no legal power to prosecute rape cases and where matters are often settled through mere mediation rather than the Nigeria Police Force which has the broad statutory powers to prosecute virtually all forms of criminal cases, subject to to powers of the Attorney General.
This 2-day workshop I learnt about young female activists; brave and resilient women; some victims with horrific stories of sexual and gender-based violence – and many of whom have been denied justice deliberately and otherwise.
The institutional performance of State agencies that are responsible for ending gender-based violence and protecting women’s rights was rated poor. “The Police have no shelters for victims and would not want to be burdened with such cases. There have also been reports of police officers taking advantage of survivors and women in disadvantaged situations,” a participant at the training noted. Another woman emphasized that police officers often blame the victims or pressure them to go and settle their “domestic affair”. These and many more engenders the distrust and widens the divide between women, victims and the Nigeria Police Force and their ability to access justice. This distrust is being capitalised on by the Hisbah, with its prosecutorial controversies and limited role in criminal justice on the broader scale.
In Kano state, there is only one sexual assault referral centre (SARC) which “ideally” is supposed to function as shelter, forensic evidence extraction point (to be used in trial) and carter for the general rehabilitation needs of victims of sexual violence. This centre is grossly understaffed, under-equipped and underfunded. Kano is the 20th largest state by land mass; perhaps, the second most populous state after Lagos state and has 44 local government areas and hundreds of villages in remote areas – how can women and victims living in marginalised, grassroots communities access the services of the SARC when the facility can barely carter for the victims within its immediate sphere of operation.
Just like the Anti-Domestic Violence Law of Lagos State of 2007, the VAPP Act also provides for the protection of survivors of domestic violence; provides them with opportunity to acquire skills in any vocation and access micro credit facilities. The VAPP Act ultimately seeks to prohibits many forms of violence on persons in private and public life and its domestication in Kano state has been a subject of immense controversy – and have inadvertently faced setbacks in its legislative enactment – as some quarters have linked the law to the realisation of LGBTQ rights in the state or have simply cited cultural or religious reasons as to the hitch – meanwhile, women continue to be susceptible to all forms of abuse and violence within the state with little or no recourse.
The socio-legal debate that have been generated due to the VAPP Law and its adaptation to local context has led relevant government and private stakeholders to reach a middle ground which is allegedly the extraction of notable “contextually-agreeable” provisions of the VAPP Act and infusion into the Penal Code; a harmonisation exercise that has subjected the Penal Code to an amendment process and which would hopefully lead to the manifestation a more inclusive Penal Code Law that broadens the protection and realisation of women’s right in the state. May I state here that I’m sceptical about the outcome of this process – “when” it eventually arrives.
Furthermore, on December 4th, 2018, the Kano state Governor signed the “Law for Persons with Disability”. However, unlike the federal version, the state law didn’t provide for a Commission that would inter alia represent and further the causes of persons living with disabilities (PLWD); did not provide for sanctions in cases where the rights of PLWD are infringed upon; did not provide a transitional period where all public buildings must provide PLWD-friendly entry and access points; did not provide affirmative action in public employment for PLWD, and so forth. All these policy gaps and many more exist for a group often neglected by society, who are more vulnerable to all forms of violence and abuse, and whose access to justice is much more cumbersome. In fact, the law can simply be deemed a theoretical declaration of rights, perhaps, to hastily fulfill promises or quell international or local pressures. The law and its current amendment process is piloted by the Office of the Secretary to the State Government. While this may be okay at the interim, for sustainability and inclusivity sake, this cause and interests should be coordinated by a ministry of government in charge of social development or special duties.
In conclusion, this article has attempted to analyse and portray policy gaps that exist and suggested ideas towards the protection of vulnerable groups and their rights thereof in Kano state, proffering solutions below. While I support the enactment and domestication of laws to suit local contexts in line with our federal system of governance, these legal and legislative adaptations must not be in aberration of fairness, equity and comprehensive multi-stakeholder engagement, foremost of which are Women groups, Community based groups, Civil Society Organisations and PLWD groups.
Here are some policy recommendations which may be considered and adopted towards ending all forms of violence against women, girls and PLWD in Kano state and across Nigeria:
The state government should enact and implement the VAPP Law and/or adopt a utilitarian approach towards the harmonisation of the VAPP Act and Penal Code suitable for the local context, reached through broad, multi-stakeholder and cross-sectoral consultations.
The government should enact and implement the Child Rights Law and/or the Child Protection bill.
There should be a precise Action Plan to End Gender Based Violence within a definite time frame in form of a policy document, highlighting the role of various stakeholders, amongst other things.
There must be gender responsive budgeting in appropriation laws, especially through the budget of the Ministry of Health and/or Women Affairs.
There must be establishment and sustainable funding, equipping and professional staffing of more Sexual Assault Referral Centres across the state through annual budgets of the Ministry of Health
Implementation of a robust database of sexual perpetrators.
Increased sensitization on mainstreaming gender sensitivity and equality in public and private life embarked especially by public institutions as a matter of policy.
There should be enhanced special desks at police stations manned by trained, empathetic professionals; and establishment of special courts for sexual related offences to protect identities and ensure speedy, justiciable trials.
There must be an amendment of the Persons with Disabilities Law of Kano state to provide comprehensive protection of PLWD by addressing the issues and policy gaps raised in this article.
Note: This article is not an attack on the institutions of Kano state and should be read with objectivity and with the analytical and solution-driven lens of the writer towards ending violence on women and girls in Kano state and across the country.
On the 23rd of September 2020, the women of Obodo-Ugwa, Delta State, took their seats comfortably for the first time at the Community Development Committee (CDC) meeting where issues of rural governance and development were deliberated.
Up until that day, men dominated these meetings and made social & economic decisions on behalf of women. The culture and tradition forbade women from joining meetings that men presided over. If women had concerns, they were expected to tell their husbands or male representatives in the household. Discussing these concerns at community development meetings now comes at the discretion of the male representatives, otherwise women’s opinions and challenges never saw the light of day.
Profiling Obodo-Ugwa
Obodo Ugwa Ogume is a small village with a population of about 4000 people in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State that produces oil, making it an attraction to Oil and Gas companies. Since it is an oil exploration site, it goes without saying that it’s also a location where gas is flared—a menace that has heightened environmental degradation, caused ill health, poisoned water, polluted farm crops and worse, adversely impacted the fragile phenomenon of the village.
Not only is the livelihood of villagers thwarted but despite being a huge contributor to the Nigerian Economy and an enricher of the pockets of Oil & Gas executives, Obodo- Ugwa has also been denied structural development.
The people of Obodo-Ugwa can be classified as marginalised, vulnerable people whose voices have been ignored and their human rights violated.
Conflict & Fragility Issues: How OXFAM and CODE are changing the status quo
OXFAM Nigeria and Connected Development, two not-for-profit Organisations, kicked-off a Conflict and Fragility Project in the Oil region of Delta State to advocate for the responsiveness of Oil companies to host communities. The campaign addressed the risks associated with the lack of adherence to business principles of operations by actors in the Oil & Gas value chain while engaging with host communities in the Niger-Delta. This often results in conflict and fragility issues.
The campaign envisioned an improved adherence to business principles as contained in the United Nations Guiding Principles [UNGP]. This adherence seeks to improve human rights practices and corporate social responsibility of operators in the oil and gas sector towards their host communities. It urges commodity traders to operate in an accountable, transparent and human-rights-sensitive manner. This can significantly ensure that a mutually beneficial relationship between oil firms and host communities exists.
One of the outcomes of the campaign was to stimulate gender inclusion in local extractive governance to spur an inclusive and effective community development. CODE & OXFAM, known for their advancement of the causes of women’s rights, accelerated action to advocate for gender inclusion in Obodo-Ugwa.
Women Participation and Community Development
Things are starting to look up for Obodo-Ugwa. OXFAM and CODE, on different occasions, organised town hall meetings and advocacy calls where key stakeholders from the Oil & Gas sector such as regulators and oil explorers and community chiefs and leaders deliberated on a way forward.
Recognising the importance of promoting inclusiveness, CODE and OXFAM further intensified efforts to advocate gender inclusion and gender-responsive public services in the community so that women can have a place in local governance structures. Gender inclusion and women participation in communities should be beyond primitive gender role of caring for just the home and family. Women should be empowered to actively participate in politics, economy, social and cultural aspects of life. For women to be able to fully exercise their human rights, gender perspectives have to be mainstreamed in all inclusive social policies.
2 weeks before the inauguration of a new community development committee, CODE’s Programs Associate, Onyekachi Onuoha received a call from the Chairman of the CDC, inviting CODE to witness the result of its advocacy. Community elders now seek to include women in CDC meetings and have women take up executive roles.
Here we are at Obodo-Ugwa witnessing a first-of-its-kind where there is a female vice president of the CDC and a female Finance head. The recognition of women’s participation will have far-reaching impacts in building the community into an inclusive society.
Although traditional norms and value systems in rural areas especially are still limiting the participation of women in community development, CODE, during its advocacy activities in grassroots communities often mainstreams gender-responsiveness and gender equality in its interactions and engagements to ensure communities are informed of the importance of including women in decision-making processes.
Testimonies
“Women do not sit with men at village meetings except when they are summoned. This is a dream come true! Seeing my fellow women as not just members but executives on the Community Development Committee gives me joy! Ehn ehn, now we can say what our needs are without discussing first with our husbands. The village market that they are building was because women complained of long-distance travel to buy food items. I am glad this happened in my time.,” Obodo Ugwa resident, Veronica Obi, beamed.
“This is the first time in the history of the Obodo Ugwa CDC that women will be allowed to participate- not only that- quantum progress has been recorded because 3 women were also added to the CDC executive board- a vice president, a women leader and the CDC Secretary.” – CDC Chairman, Anslem Oyibo.
“Women have now been given management roles. They will oversee the market building and the school completion. They get to make decisions on behalf of the village. This has never happened. I am glad to witness it.” — Community Chief, Chief Friday Okoro.
“We are happy about this development. Look around, women and men were equally represented in this committee. We now have to prove our responsibility. I have plans to request the provision of loan and grants to support women’s initiative. I hope to see that happen. There is so much we can do and conquer.” CDC Vice chairman, Patricia Oluomo stated.
Nigeria has explored oil resources for over six decades. Petroleum resources provide over 90% of Nigeria’s export revenue and has remained the largest industry of the economy in terms of revenue generation. Apparently, the indicators of the Nigerian budget are predominantly drawn from the anticipated cost of a barrel of crude oil and our production capacity. A number of laws and regulations exist in different dimensions to regulate what happens in the industry, though many of them are now very obsolete. It is interesting to note that there is no robust, comprehensive and omnibus Act in the Petroleum sector to provide the requisite regulation of the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the petroleum industry. This is the gap that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) seeks to achieve. The Bill addresses regulatory loopholes in the industry, allowing for improved governance and regulation spectrum, improved exploration environment also beneficial to host communities, infrastructural development of these communities, and enhanced fiscal returns, among others.
Onyekachi Onuoha during a stakeholders meeting to the Rivers State Ministry of Energy & Natural Resources
The passage of the PIB is expected to drive reforms by strengthening governance institutions, establish a strong regulatory framework, ensure transparency and accountability in oil and gas resource management and promote sustainable development. Amazingly, the PIB has been one of the longest existing bills in the Nigerian legislative history as it has been an ongoing conversation in the last 20 years. In the 8th national Assembly the bill was disaggregated into four bills. Three of the four were not passed by the National Assembly while only one which was the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill was passed but denied assent by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The long delay in the passage of the bill is caused by the vested interest of various stakeholders including the regulators (powers and responsibility), operators and oil marketers (Royalty and fiscal issues), host and impacted communities (environmental issues, developmental funding, etc). It must be noted that these differences cannot be holistically settled, a stakeholder parley is essential for finding a common ground. A further delay of the passage of the PIB is far from being an option as the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) had stated that Nigeria recorded losses to the tune of $200 billion for failing to pass the bill.
In view of the overarching benefits of the bill, a number of civil society organizations including Connected Development (CODE), FOSTER, OXFAM, BudgIT, CISLAC, Centre LSD among others have increased advocacy for the reintroduction of the bill and recently the bill has now been reintroduced into the national Assembly as an executive bill following this advocacy that seeks a participatory and speedy process. In order to make the process more participatory, a public hearing on the bill was scheduled for the 27th and 28th of January, 2021 for cogent inputs by all stakeholder.
In the midst of the expectation of passage and assent to the bill, there are clear observations;
The Expectations of the Petroleum Industry Bill
The Petroleum Industry Bill is expected to repeal upto 17 Acts and provide a new framework for natural resource governance especially in the petroleum industry. The bill proposes the creation of the Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Commission (The Commission) which will act as the regulator of the upstream sector and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (The Authority) functioning as the regulator of the midstream and downstream sectors of the petroleum industry. It is anticipated that the creation of the Commission and the Authority will provide better enforcement of standards to streamline inter agencies’ responsibility.
The recommended replacement of NNPC with NNPC Limited seems to be a good step to make it more efficient strictly as an operator with no form of regulatory role directly or indirectly. The introduction of Environmental Remediation Fund as a condition for the grant of license and prior to the approval of environmental Management plan is very commendable, though the approach is not inclusive of host communities.
The prohibition of flaring or venting of natural gas with fines not subject to tax deduction appear attractive to discourage gas flaring however there are stipulated exceptions for condoling gas flaring. The Host Community Development Trust requires oil operators (settlers) to contribute 2.5% of their actual operating expenditure yet this has been defaulted, worse, host communities have become mere spectators.
It is very interesting to note that the price fixing powers of the Minister of Petroleum Resources no longer exist under the PIB 2020 which suggests a progressive move towards full and honest deregulation of the downstream sector. The powers of the minister to grant and revoke prospecting licences and Mining Leases exercisable solely by the Minister can only be done under the PIB by the recommendation of the Commission. This has the tendency of promoting due process and forestalling corrupt practices similar to the Malabu Scandal.
Effect of the Passage of the PIB on the Petroleum Downstream Sector
The PIB will have a far reaching effect on the downstream sector.
1. The removal of the powers of the Minister of Petroleum Resources in the PIB from fixing prices of petroleum products suggests an end to at least petroleum import subsidy regime.
2. The PIB passage is likely to provide the much needed legislative framework for a compressive deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector.
3. The PIB will increase the appetite of oil marketers to invest in the digitalisation of their vital downstream assets.
4. In line with the proposed establishment of “The Authority” to take charge of the regulation of only the midstream and downstream sector, “The Authority” should be more responsive in discharging its duties and strengthening regulations.
A tour to Ogoni Land to observe adverse impact of oil exploration on the community
Concerns of the Petroleum Industry Bill
There are several concerns of the Petroleum Industry Bill which have been highlighted by various stakeholders. These areas of concerns include;
Host Community Development Trust: In establishing and registering the Trust, there is no reference at all to communities. The job of identifying who a host community is, lies with the oil company (Settlor). Why not the federal and state government? This has a potential for conflict?
The Holder (oil and Gas Company) selects members of the Board of Trustees (There is no provision or requirement for appointing locals or members of the host communities which means the lack of participation). The implication of this is that it places the power and the mandate for the development of oil producing communities in the hands of the oil companies, allowing the government to abdicate their responsibility. This could create additional grounds for conflict.
The Board of Trustees establishes a Management Committee which is required to have only one community representative who shall be a non-executive member of the management committee. This is gross under-representation for the host community
Forfeiture of contribution to the Host Community Trust Fund: Section 257 (2)- forfeiture of contribution to the Host Community Trust Fund as a result of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest. There should be a clause to indicate that such vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest were caused by the host community as established by the commission. It should therefore be re-written thus;
“Where in any year, an act of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest caused by the host community as established by the commission which occurs that causes damage to petroleum and designated facilities or disrupts production activities within the host community, the community shall forfeit its entitlement to the extent of the cost of repairs of the damage that resulted from the activity with respect to the provisions of this Act within that financial year”.
Application of the New Fiscal regime: The new fiscal regime would not apply to the companies already in operation until the renewal of the existing Oil mining Leases (OMLs) and Oil Production Licenses (OPL) or the execution of a new one. The state of affairs in the country requires that the current licenses would be made subject to the PIB when passed rather than remaining under the obsolete PPT Act.
Host Community Needs Assessment: The holder (Oil and gas Company) carries out needs assessment of needs for communities. This is a recipe for conflict especially where there are conflicting needs. While the needs assessment is required to have an ‘environmental perspective’ the details show only interest in benefit transfers and not environmental protection.
Flare Gas Data Log: The PIB as it is, does not necessarily recommend commensurate punishment for flare gas data log offenders. It merely recommends a fine of extra $2.50(US Dollars) per 28.317 standard cubic meters for an offender who is found guilty of supplying false data or fails to supply such data. This recommended fine is by all standards marginally low.
Gas Flaring: The provision for gas flaring in the bill is still very small when compared to the impact of the offence on the environment and lives of people. This implies that the provision prefers the payment of fines to a demand to end flaring. Obviously, the operators will still prefer to flare gas and factor in the penalty as a component of their operating cost as it were.
Licence and Lease: A licence or lease may be granted under this Act only to a company incorporated and validly existing in Nigeria under the Companies and Allied Matters Act. We need to add here that; companies who sub-let such rights or contract to other non-registered companies in any of its value chain will be liable to forfeiture of their licenses.
Gas Utilisation Incentive: Companies operating in this sector should be ineligible for pioneers status incentives (PSI), which confers the benefits of a tax holiday (amongst others), the associated cost and administrative inconvenience of processing the PSI may make the Gas Utilisation Incentive (GUI) more attractive.
A tour to Ogoni Land to observe adverse impact of oil exploration on the community
CSOs must take the responsibility of critically studying the PIB to identify all the areas of concerns of all the stakeholders so that their expectations are aptly captured in the PIB and all stakeholders have commitment to the bill. Although many CSOs have worked tirelessly on the PIB and t have been stretched over the years especially because of the delay of the bill, we must find new strength; we all need to see it passed. We must stay focused and follow the bill through at the National Assembly so that we don’t sacrifice quality at the altar of speed.
The passage of the bill is a great step in the right direction for the requisite reform of the petroleum industry, however when it is passed and assented to, ensuring comprehensive implementation is imperative to take care of the governance spectrum, environmental issues and fiscal matters in the industry.
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is arguably one of the most prevalent human rights violation in the world and is currently a “Shadow Pandemic” – resulting in life threatening consequences on women and girls, negatively impacting their life opportunities. This human rights violation is firmly rooted in gender inequality experienced by women globally. Women and girls are disproportionately affected by GBV.
GBV is manifested through a multitude of actions, including the forced marriage of young girls, trafficking in persons, FGM, rape and attempted rape, purdah, violence directed at individuals with different sexual orientation, sexual violence, verbal abuse and laws and regulations that limit women’s and girls’ rights and access to services in relation to men’s. These practices are not only violations of the human rights of the individuals affected but are also an instrumentalist approach to sustain the status quo and the hierarchy of gender identities. Women living in poverty are particularly vulnerable, as they face high levels of structural violence, including difficulty accessing health and legal services needed to address the effects of interpersonal GBV.
Weak and non-existent policy and legal frameworks, and their implementation thereof;
Existing discriminatory laws and policies that repress the rights of women;
Socio-cultural and religious beliefs;
Effects of sexist social trends and pop culture.
Lack of awareness of the human rights has reduced the insights and urgency needed to combating the persuasive nature of Gender based violence and to achieve that, there has to be:
Increase in information about sexual and Gender based violence.
Greater advocacy in the support of legal reforms to discourage GBV.
More efforts to ensure Enforcement of existing laws on violence.
Policy Asks and Recommendations
Enactment and Implementation of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition [VAPP] Act.
Enactment and Implementation of the Child Rights Act.
Adoption/Development of an Action Plan to End Gender Based Violence.
Inclusion of gender responsive budgeting in appropriation laws.
Establishment and funding of Sexual Assault Referral Centres across the Federation.
Implementation of a robust database of perpetrators.
Increased sensitization on mainstreaming gender sensitivity and equality.
FollowTheMoney will focus on strengthening the capacity of women and girls in the benefitting communities/wards within the spotlight initiative focal state as advocates and instruments in monitoring the adoption of the State and National Action Plan on eliminating Gender-Based Violence in Nigeria.
This project is supported by the United Nations Spotlight Initiative
The cross-sectoral bedrock and foundation for the crippling state of the education, healthcare, and WASH sectors in Nigeria can be attributed to institutional corruption, poor accountability and bad governance. The lack of accountability and transparency of budgeted funds allocated to these sectors through constituency projects, continue to be the reason residents suffer unjustly and are able to achieve their full potentials. Constituency projects were established to address infrastructure gaps of local communities such as the provision of standard primary healthcare, schools & learning facilities, adequate drinking water, etc. Often times, the funds for these projects’ are siphoned by elected representatives and lawmakers.
In addition, on the demand side, citizens are disinterested in providing oversight on government budgeting, spending, policies and activities including expenditure under constituency projects. This reluctance follows years of contractual abuse, corrupt practices and lack of trust in governance. Citizens have little or no information about budget allocations and many times, the constituency projects rarely reflect their needs and priorities. Also, there exists a huge gender gap in the decision-making process at all the levels of governance in Nigeria and in engaging the government on developmental issues affecting their communities. Even when making demands for accountability, and dividends of democracy, such gender disparity often exists.
To address this, Follow The Money (FTM) is leveraging its expertise on community empowerment and engagement, multi-stakeholder dialogues’ platform facilitation to mobilize and empower community governance structures and FTM champions. The model will identify and effectively provide oversight on social projects like the constituency projects’ implementation in their respective communities and enhance the capabilities of anti-corruption agencies.
Through effective collaborations and information sharing, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the media and investigative journalists on contractual abuse, evidence regarding the poor implementation of social projects. Community members would be mobilized and empowered to create demands that ensure that such projects reflect the needs of marginalized groups including seeing the needs through gender lenses. The creation of effective linkages between communities and government MDAs/legislators for gender mainstreamed service delivery on constituency projects’ implementation, has become expedient.
UN Women: Broader Peace-building Initiative Campaign
The current COVID-19 health emergency is worsening gender inequalities. There is no gainsaying that COVID19 will likely have longer-term gender impacts, pointing to the need to urgently prioritise the best possible response for children, women and the most marginalised.
The pandemic has deepened pre-existing inequalities, exposing vulnerabilities in social, political, and economic systems. Government’s response to the crisis has failed to adequately integrate gender responsiveness. This can be attributed to low participation of women in the decision-making structures on COVID-19. Women’s voices and needs are inadequately reflected in formal response structures, despite their varying contributions, and not many interventions are working to increase women’s meaningful participation.
Typically, women in Nigeria are grossly underrepresented in decision-making structures, with 4% representation in national parliament, 4.43% in state legislatures and 16.2% of ministerial appointments. Women’s unequal representation puts their specific needs at risk of being overlooked in the development and monitoring of COVID-19 actions, policies, plans and budgets, including for economic recovery and future health resilience. Women’s leadership and participation in decision making in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial because the impact affects them disproportionately. To amplify women’s leadership and ensure their active participation, there is a need to build cohesion and create visibility around women-led efforts.
Hence, Connected Development (CODE) in collaboration with UN Women are implementing the project on ‘Strengthening State Capacities and Women’s Participation in COVID Response and Broader Peacebuilding Initiatives’. The project seeks to advance women’s meaningful participation in the COVID-19 response and beyond in Kaduna state.
CODE will strengthen women’s capacity and equip them with the necessary tools, skills and expertise to directly participate in COVID19 Response and Broader Peacebuilding Initiatives in Kaduna State.
Through CODE’s result-oriented advocacy strategy, capacity strengthening strategy, communications expertise and technology resources, we will strengthen women’s capacity and equip them with the necessary tools, skills and expertise to directly participate in COVID19 Response and Broader Peacebuilding Initiatives in Kaduna State.
This project is designed to objectively;
Strengthen the capacity of women, girls and existing women led advocacy organizations to participate in the development and monitoring of COVID 19 actions, policies, plans and budget including government strategic plan for economic recovery and future health resilience
To Advocate and amplify women’s leadership and active participation in the decision-making response through effective coalition building and collaboration between women organizations and women in political leadership position
Reflecting on the Resilience and Impact of Our Grassroots Community Champions
Dear CODE and Follow The Money Friends
As we close the curtain on 2020, I have been reflecting on what can only be described as a historic year, tested in many ways, filled with anxiety and certainly unimaginable.
Resilience
Since my communication with you in March about tackling the pandemic, our grassroots champions have continued to step up on behalf of the communities we serve. The Follow The Money team seeks to strengthen accountability measures for N187 million COVID-19 intervention funds, despite the vagueness of the government on emergency procurement processes. Some highlights of our #FollowCOVID19Money campaign are;
Government’s immediate response to update emergency procurement policies
Increased public awareness of confirmed COVID-19 donations amongst citizens
Increased citizen-government interaction through social media
Although rejected and threatened, our grassroots champions remained dogged in tracking COVID palliatives distribution across Local Governments Areas in Nigeria, Liberia, The Gambia, Kenya, Cameroon, South Sudan and Malawi observing how food items and relief materials got to the most poorest and vulnerable while reporting irregularities in the distribution patterns to the authorities and the public. In the midst of our work, some of the staff and I came down with the virus and defeated it. I do not assure that the pandemic will, by some miracle, vanish in a few weeks, months and even years, but resilience is a key ingredient that each one of us will need to thrive in 2021.
Commitment
Our commitment to ensure grassroots communities access basic amenities fuels our passion to deliver on this vision. During the course of the year, we saw all our engagements through the lens of COVID-19, structuring our work to tackle financial leakages, mismanagement of funds and advocating for social justice in fragile communities so these people can access clean water, timely education, proper healthcare and all-round improved public services.
Commitment to the work that we do will continue to be a driving force in achieving a more just and safe world.
Hope
When I look back at how extraordinary 2020 has been, the most important thing for me as Chief Executive, is the validation of the powerful culture here at CODE, an Organization I founded in 2012 driven by the compelling vision and rigour of young people to change the world. On a personal level, I am expanding my focus on building a broader fiscal accountability mechanism across Africa working closely with allies who believe in this important vision, as we must now leave a legacy of an independent fiscal accountability infrastructure, that will outlive us, and also when I am no longer an active player in the civil society space.
This year, we completed the 3-year tracking of $1.3million education spending in Kaduna State, significantly reducing the number of out-of-school children in the State. We were elated to see that the Niger State Government assented to the WASH bill that would ensure residents can assess better water & sanitation services. The Follow The Money team also kicked off Freedom of Information (FOI) Drive, fostering strategic partnerships for sustained development and strengthened capacities of community stakeholders, government officials to better increase trust in public institutions.
These remarkable results continue to give me hope in our collective strength and power to defeat the challenges that the pandemic may have posed. This year has witnessed immeasurable loss and although recovery will be slow, we remain hopeful that with the abundance of creativity and passion that exists within the development space, I trust that we will discover great opportunities to combat the seeming challenge for a lasting positive change. We have equally seen these optimism demonstrated in our daily interactions with communities and our friends at the grassroots.
We march on to 2021 with good cheers, as we take lessons learnt and best practices to strengthen our work, build robust systems and enhance our processes for trustees, management and staff.
I thank our donors: ActionAid Nigeria, Canadian High Commission, ChristianAid, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, OXFAM Nigeria, Malala Fund, USAID EWASH, OXFAM Novib, Heinrich Bolls Foundation, Ford Foundation, Luminate, UN Women (UN Spotlight Initiative), Skoll Foundation, and many other helpful institutions and YOU our community for your unswerving support in empowering grassroots rural communities in Nigeria and Africa. I thank the amazing CODE & Follow The Money team for their resilience, commitment and hope all through the year.
May 2021 bring better possibilities, good health and fortune. Sincerely, Hamzat Lawal Founder, CODE & Follow The Money
It’s been an uncertain year, but we are glad we could ‘virtually’ hold hands with you all through the journey. Thank you for sharing in our challenges and milestones.
We hope this season brings you unending joy, the kind that you cannot help but share.
Connected Development (CODE) announced today that its Chair, Board of Trustees, Oludotun Babayemi, has officially resigned from his 2-year exceptional service effective from 31 December 2020 and has appointed Anthony Agbor in Acting capacity with immediate effect.
In 2017, Babayemi transitioned from a 5-year day-to-day role in the Organisation to spend more time to support the governing board for CODE. In his statement, he noted that there is nothing more fulfilling than seeing a vision come to live in a short time. It’s been a tremendous honour to have worked with and learned from insightful colleagues for the 2-years I served as Board Chair and I am confident in the leadership of Hamzat Lawal who has led this vision since 2012.” he added.
Oludotun believes in the progression of CODE and the quest to be a renowned global movement reputable for holding the government to account, advocating participatory governance and mobilizing young people for social change. The board and the CODE team have benefited from his leadership and vision in driving the core principles of the Organisation. I am specifically grateful for Babayemi’s friendship and wish him all the best in his future endeavours, CODE’s Founder, Hamzat Lawal stated.
Lawal continued; CODE has built a foundation for future growth, beyond its written mission and vision, including strengthening our team across Nigeria and 8 other African countries; evolving the Follow The Money movement and improving our operations. We see a future and a leadership that outlives even our generation and inspires a new breed of activists and campaigners who will use civic tech tools to track government spending on public finance expenditure and empower communities. The Board and I are proud of the progress the Organisation has recorded and will continue to move CODE forward to realise our vision of a world where everyone-even in the remote areas of the world-can hold their government to account, as we have done in the past 8 years.
“On behalf of the board, I express my deep appreciation to Babayemi for his invaluable contribution to CODE. As a member of the Board of Trustees, he steered the team towards a transformative approach and challenged us to think bigger-a principle that will continue to inspire us all,” Vice-Chair, now Acting-Chair, Anthony Agbor.
We were certain that the current COVID-19 health emergency was worsening 
