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; 

• Increased citizens participation in demanding government accountability
• 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.

We were certain that the current COVID-19 health emergency was worsening gender inequalities with longer-term gender impacts. Our team demanded an end to sexual and gender-based violence, and assessed the impact of COVID19 on girls’ education in Nigeria. We were glad women at Obodo-Ugwa, Delta State, can not only sit at the table but also lead, following our call for gender equality. In the same vein, CODE joined millions of Nigerian youths to decry and protest police brutality, and advocated that the anti-social media bill be tossed.  

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

Connected Development (CODE) and the Canadian High Commission in Nigeria are calling for an end to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and domestic abuse by encouraging State governments to adopt the Violence against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Act, specifically in Kano State. This follows the saddening reports made by the Inspector-General of the Nigerian Police, Mohammed Adamu, that 717 rape cases were recorded in 5 months across the country, marking a spike in SGBV.

The VAPP Act, which clearly outlines laws to tackle violence against women and girls in Nigeria, has still not been implemented in twenty States, five years after its enactment. Most citizens remain unaware of its laws and implications.

In Nigeria, 17% of girls and women between the ages of 15 and 49 have been subjected to sexual or physical violence at least once in their lives. Violence against women and girls has long-lasting and negative health, social and economic effects that can span generations, often leading to cycles of violence within families and communities. It is a pandemic that we must condemn and work towards ending.

According to Canada’s Acting High Commissioner, Nicolas Simard, “Beyond the policies, there is also action. Women do politics differently; women do business differently. If you want to create jobs, you need to create small and medium enterprises. Women participation is vital for every sector to develop.”

‘Although, Kano State has long battled the prevalence of child rape, it is commendable that the State House of Assembly has now passed the Child Rights Act awaiting assent by the Governor. Still, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, needs to ensure the signing of the Child Rights Act and speedy passage of the VAPP Act and domesticate its policies- that’s a secure way to protect our women and girls from abuse and violence, Chief Executive of CODE, Mallam Hamzat Lawal stated.

CODE, with support from the Canadian High Commission in Nigeria, is working to support the empowerment of vulnerable and marginalized women in Kano State, including those living with disabilities, suffering from HIV/AIDS, and victims of SGBV, by helping them to be catalysts for change by building their capacity to advocate more effectively. This includes using technology platforms to promote respect for women’s rights, advocate for gender-responsiveness in public service delivery, and secure the adoption and implementation of the VAPP Act.

CODE and the Canadian High Commission urges the Nigerian government to establish a comprehensive policy and regulatory framework that guarantees the safety and security of our most vulnerable citizens across the Federation, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Crises can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities and risk factors, leading to an increase in SGBV.

Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy recognizes that supporting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is the best way to build a more peaceful, inclusive, and prosperous world. Preventing and responding to all forms of SGBV is a priority for Canada.

Caregivers in rural Adamawa are certain that the girls in their care will not be returning to school due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was contained in a study report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Girls’ Education in the North-East, recently launched by  Connected Development, in collaboration with the Malala Fund. 

While many of the girls interviewed had doubts that they would be allowed to continue their education, a percentage of girls were certain they would be getting married in a short while. In some cases, cultural and traditional barriers are preventing girls from returning to school: girls may be less preferred to return to school as opposed to their male counterparts due to the male-child preference system. Girls are also more at risk of being married off or undergo female genital mutilation (FGM). 

According to the Chief Executive of CODE and Malala Fund Education Champion, Hamzat Lawal, “The future of our world is a deliberate investment in the younger generation, particularly girls. To educate girls is to empower a nation.” He added that, “Government must proactively set up a gender-responsive plan for school resumption, in the wake of the pandemic.”

Gender-responsive measures include providing more funds for education and ensuring every community has a female secondary school, provision of handwashing points, other WASH facilities, and personal protective equipment. The government also needs to garner and mobilize the support of stakeholders: religious and traditional, community leaders as well as the media to increase sensitization on the importance of girls’ education, Lawal added.

The research further revealed that the pandemic exposed girls to increased shortcomings and challenges that already exist in the education system including sexual harassment linked to gender-based violence, child marriage, harmful norms, inadequate teachers and WASH facilities. These factors also kept a good number of girls out of school pre-COVID.

In assessing the effectiveness of the Learning from Home Programme (LHP), the study showed that only 60% of the teachers were in contact with their students for continuous learning post-pandemic. To worsen matters, only 48% Of the girls interviewed in Adamawa State were aware of the federal government’s LHP and the level of awareness amongst parents which was a meagre 15%. From respondents across Local Government Areas in Adamawa State, only 28% of the girls interviewed participated in the LHP.

Through these findings, the research hopes to advocate for policy adoptions in favour of continuous learning for girls’ amidst school closures. This begins with ensuring that the LHP is effective and inclusive; boosting recovery readiness by putting gender-responsive measures/standards in place for girls safe return to school when schools reopen; effective mechanisms to promote girl-child education; and approaches that should be considered for effective digital learning for girls. 

Other recommendations include tackling the impact of conflict and the insurgency in the region and enabling adequate inclusive planning for vulnerable groups (girls living with disabilities, and girls in internally displaced camps). Ultimately, the sustainable impact will comprise a free and compulsory 12-year education for the girl-child starting from Adamawa state and a reduction in the incidence of early and forced child marriage in focal communities leading to an increase in girls’ secondary education enrolment, retention and completion.

Connected Development (CODE), in collaboration with Ford Foundation, is supporting local leaders in  grassroots villages in Rivers State to demand greater accountability for resources allocated to them.

The campaign was borne out of a need to combat pervasive corruption, poor accountability and the negligence of community development all of which have amounted to years of under-development, exposure to hazardous health risks due to oil substance leakages into water supplies and sheer impact of these on livelihoods and the quality of life.

According to CODE’s Senior Programs Manager, Lucy Abagi-James, a huge percentage of Nigeria’s wealth is generated through the oil and gas sector, mainly explored in the Niger-Delta region, yet the condition in these communities is disheartening. The Federal government’s exploitation of natural resources combined with energy companies exploiting the extremely fragile infrastructures and laws has worsened the degradation and destruction of Ogoni land in Rivers State. The incompetence of the Niger-Delta Development Company is further exhibited in the deploring state of host communities.

Leveraging its expertise on community empowerment, grassroots community engagement, CODE will support and foster rural development in Ogoni, Ahoada East, Ahoada West, Onelga, Oyigbo and other local communities in Rivers State who have suffered severe environmental damage, health set-backs and terminated livelihoods as a result of negligence caused by oil exploration.

The civil society organisation will also mobilize community governance structures across the aforementioned communities through the Community Monitoring Teams (CMTs) vehicle and empower them to provide effective public oversight on government spending in their communities for effective service delivery in the education, health and WASH sectors. Through this, the project would facilitate increased citizens participation in government spending and enhanced social accountability in the region, thereby improving access to basic and essential social amenities for selected communities.

CODE’s Chief Executive and Follow the Money Founder, Hamzat Lawal, will be joining thought leaders in Europe to discuss policy formulation, international dependency and solidarity, and vulnerabilities through intersectionality at the 2020 Annual Lisbon Forum.

The event organised by the Council of Europe and tagged Learning from Our Global Challenges: Rebuilding Solidarity, is a distinctive platform for policy makers and activists to deliberate on how the global community can enhance international solidarity so that it becomes an effective tool to overcome the challenges the world is facing currently and to set the basis for a more sustainable and unified future.

Lawal will be speaking alongside the High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilisations, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Council of Europe, and the Director-General of Democracy, Council of Europe, Snežana Samardžić-Marković, on Thursday 2nd December 2020.


Recall that Follow The Money, emerged winner of the 2019 Council of Europe’s Democracy Innovation Award and was recognised by the Council of Europe as one of the leading ground-breaking initiatives in the world, that are promoting democratic principles.

The award which was presented by the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, Marija Pejčinović Burić, and received by CODE’s Communications Director, Kevwe Oghide in Strasbourg, France, won against 27 brilliant initiatives from across the world. In her remark, Burić noted that Follow The Money had shown exemplary leadership in advancing democratic governance, despite that Nigeria was not a member State of the Council.

By Blessing Uwisike

Delta state, like neighbouring states in the Niger- Delta riverine region, has had more than its fair share of contention with one of its most contumacious problems: Open Defecation (OD) due to lack of toilets and poor access to clean water. Unfortunately the state government has followed the steps of its predecessors by assuring prompt actions to address the situation, but slow to back up its promises with sustainable solutions.

In 2019, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa inaugurated the Steering Committee for the Water Supply, Sanitation & Hygiene and passed the State WASH bill to law, but the State WASH System has recorded slow progress in implementing the policies entrenched in the law. Despite an acknowledgement of the deplorable condition of WASH facilities in Delta state by the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Ochor Chris Ochor, no significant step has been taken to improve the quality of access to clean water for thelife of residents in Delta State, especially the rural areas.

A 2018 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASHNORM) data provided by the United Nations reveals that 68 percent of the Nigerian population have access to basic water supply, and progress towards achievement of universal and equitable access to this water supply has been slow. Only 19 per cent of the national population use safely managed sanitation services, 24 per cent are still practicing OD in Nigeria and 30 per cent in rural areas. The minimal access to clean water, Open Defecation and consequently poor hygiene causes diarrhoea that kills children yearly and puts women at precarious health risks.

On the 5th of February 2020, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)  signed a $60.4 million Memorandum of Understanding with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State to improve the management and delivery of Effective Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Services” (E-WASH) services to help residents live healthier lives through reliable access to clean water. The project, closely supervised by Connected Development (CODE), a social accountability Non Governmental organisation will ensure access to clean water and reduce water borne diseases by “strengthening their Water Boards’ capacity to make solid investment decisions, improve billing and collection systems, and ensure greater responsiveness to customer concerns.” (Culled from the US Embassy to Nigeria website).

This partnership is critical as the geographical terrain of the Niger- Delta consists of creeks, rivers and large water bodies. The people of the Niger- Delta and Delta State particularly have built their lives around their physical environment; engaging in commercial activities like fishing; accessing water for household use from the river, and defecating in the same water with hopes that the river carries the faeces away. This thought pattern is quite excusable as the education levels are low with 65% having achieved at most primary education, and income levels correspondingly low.  It is estimated that between 50 and 65% live below the poverty level. The complex social environment which has toilet spaces hanging directly above water bodies so that the fecal waste is emptied directly into the river has facilitated an unusually high rate of Open Defecation leading to extreme environmental degradation. Residents who can afford functional water closets are not entirely free from these challenges as the high water level and frequent flooding have the tendency to contaminate their supposedly clean water, making it good enough for only flushing.

Women, Girls, Children and Disabled people are the worst hit when hygiene is not prioritised. Children are exposed to diarrhoea due to unsafe water, while girls and women are not able to fully carry out their daily activities (being in school and going to the workplace especially), as they are forced to stay only in locations where they are most comfortable during their periods, this is usually the home. The disabled are also stuck while trying to use public toilet facilities that were not created with consideration for them.

Addressing the Problem of poor Hygiene through Improved Sanitation Measures and Accountability

Every reform must start from the top, and then cascaded to the people at the grassroot; in the same light, the onus is on the government to put effective measures in place that ensures the availability of functional and clean public toilets, potable water, and hygiene education of its citizens. State WASH apparatus, Rural Water and Sanitation Supply Agency (RUWASSA), LGA WASH departments and units, and community Water Supply, Sanitation And Hygiene Committee (WASHCOMs) must be clearly established and work towards one goal – To sustain better access to Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). 

To show the government’s commitment to partner with the citizens, Community Led Total Sanitation must be prioritised. While this sanitation strategy is broadly used in Nigeria, strengthening it will enable the system to yield maximum dividends. Trained WASH specialists should also be tasked with the coordination of educating communities and capacity-building in the most prone regions, with the purpose of driving behavioural change and  hygiene consciousness. Educating members of the community (especially riverine areas) on the dangers of open defecation; and supporting them with adequate facilities and knowledge sharing that encourages them to take the maintenance of the public toilets as their personal responsibility will not only promote the well being of the people, it fosters unity and cooperation among them.

Directly engaging policy makers and stakeholders like USAID and UNICEF and updating civil society organizations (CSOs) like CODE, which is currently tracking the eradication of Open Defecation in Delta State, on the progress recorded on the use of allocated funds will ensure that funds released to tackle poor hygiene are well disbursed. 

Prioritising young girls women, children and the disabled while restructuring plans are drafted will address gender parity, increase income opportunities for women, contribute to the overall well being of the family, ensure a progressive girls education, and make for an inclusive society.

The current review of the proposed social media bill, sections 5, 12, 13, 24 and 33 reveal a blatant affront by the government to gag citizens and prevent future democratic protests. This development came as a fall-out from the recent #ENDSARS demonstrations that campaigned for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), an end to police brutality, justice for victims of police brutality and accountability of police officers found culpable. 

The proposed law is an attempt to undermine the country’s fledgling democracy, one where citizens freely exercise fundamental rights to freedom of expression, speech and the press; freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right to peaceful assembly and association, right to access to justice, and so on. Its adoption will criminalise these rights and empower the Law Enforcement Departments and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to prosecute dissenting voices at will. 

If passed into law, the bill will grant the executive arm of the government the discretion to determine what can be termed “false news”. It will criminalise “false” declarations and statements of fact; and sections 3 (iv) and (v) prohibit the transmission of statements that may influence the outcome of an election and diminish public confidence in a public office, respectively. This is alarming considering the fact that we live in a country where facts are easily branded false news by the government.

In addition, the bill will clamp down on fundraising activities that may promote false declarations of facts via an online location. Not only is this particular item vague, it could effectively prevent future public protests from mobilising funds as seen in the #ENDSARS protests where funds were raised to provide food, water, legal, medical and other aid to protesters and victims of undue police clampdowns.

More alarming is section 12 which grants the LED access to order an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to block/disable end-user internet access to an online location or platform. This would effectively end C-governance (citizen-led governance) and E-governance seeing that the internet has been a medium for mobilising voices and executing online protests against unfavourable public policies. Besides that, Social media has been a forum for public opinions and poll taking for policy formulation and/or influencing.

The autocratic elements of the proposed law rely on its arbitrary elements for its enforcement which will be largely dependent on what the executive arm of government deems to be right or opines to be false. In order for us to sustain our democracy, we must not allow our country become one where communication and expression of opinions are criminalised.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on girls’ education have posed some concerns-from the potential of an early marriage, to early pregnancy, susceptibility to gender-based violence and sexual harassment- there are numerous and diverse impacts of the pandemic directly or indirectly affecting the girl-child’s education and their overall well being.

CODE, with the support of Malala Fund, has now carried out a research on the implication of these effects on girls in Nigeria’s North-East, specifically Adamawa State, and what must be done to remedy the situation.

Read the full report here

CODE at 8, Lawal Appoints COO, Promotes Key Staff

Connected Development recently marked its 8th year of empowering marginalized communities across Africa; providing citizens, especially grassroots communities with access to credible information and building their knowledge on how to demand improved services from elected representatives.

Over the past eight years, CODE has showcased consistency and doggedness in promoting government’s transparency and accountability. The team deployed innovative strategies and global best practices in empowering citizens to demand for improved services in healthcare, water, education and development infrastructures, from their governments. On the other hand, CODE petitioned the government on gaining citizens’ trust in public institutions and governance. The civil society organisation’s advocacy influenced government policies for the acceleration of socio-economic development.

Since inception, CODE’s social accountability initiative, Follow The Money, has tracked over USD 10 million dollars and ensured timely intervention for improved first-mile health infrastructure, school construction and reconstruction, as well clean water for communities that lack, impacting over 6 million lives.

The Founder and Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal, says the Organisation carries out its mission with independence and integrity with the sole purpose of engineering social and economic progress. “We are committed to enhancing fiscal transparency in government, especially at a time when the COVID19 pandemic revealed the severe gaps in government’s responsiveness prompting us to kick off #FollowCOVID19Money.”

Lawal and his Board recently appointed Ms Dorcas Onuh, a social activist who bags over 10 years’ experience leading various projects in Education, Policy Development, National Defence and Healthcare, will bring her wealth of experience to manage the operations of CODE and its network across Africa. The Board also promoted Mr Busayo Morakinyo to the position of Community Engagement Director overseeing and managing Follow The Money representatives across the 36 States of Nigeria and 7 Countries in Africa. Ms Kevwe Oghide who leads Communications is now the Communications Director, charged with overseeing strategic communications and advocacy activities of CODE and Follow The Money.

According to Lawal, CODE is breeding a generation of young leaders who are passionate to see a better Nigeria in governance and leadership. “With the unswerving commitments of our partners and supports from our donors, we are forging significant partnerships, innovating better ways to hold the government accountable and advocating best policies in favour of marginalised communities,” he added.