Kevwe Precious Oghide

On a sunny day in 2015, global leaders gathered at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, to review and adopt a more comprehensive and transformational development agenda that outlines a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aimed at eradicating poverty in all its forms and ensuring that no one is left behind in the quest to improve the overall well being of humans.

In simple terms, the Sustainable Development Goals were set out to achieve a world where people have access to basic human rights, good jobs, access to nutritious foods, standard healthcare facilities, affordable education, access to clean water, freedom of speech, where economies grow exponentially, and develop the ability to design innovative technologies while safeguarding the environment.

The SDGs seek to build on and complete the unfinished business of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were; to realize the human rights of all; achieve gender equality in all sectors and spheres of life; and importantly, strike a balance between economic, social and environmental dimensions of development. A review of the MDGs revealed that Nigeria was unable to achieve a considerable level of success in its implementation of the goals, more so, the progress made were rather slow and largely unquantifiable.

Since the unveiling of the SDGs 4 years ago, Nigeria has made conscious efforts towards achieving these goals — the pace of progress, however, is slow. Some of these success stories include; reviewing the Universal Basic Education Act to address the issue of out-of-school children, signing into law the Not Too Young to Run Bill, combating corruption in the deployment of public service delivery — in primary health care , improved infrastructure and working to build stronger institutions.

The Nigerian Youths are largely at the forefront of these achievements — especially in the implementation of public service delivery tied to the SDGs. Young people in Nigeria, through the Follow The Money (FTM) movement, are amplifying the voices of the marginalised, driving socio-economic development in far-to-reach grassroots communities, demanding open and transparent government, holding their elected representatives accountable for better delivery of public services and working to ensure no Nigerian is left behind in the attainment of the SDGs by 2030.

Follow The Money, a social accountability network of over 5000 anti-corruption activists — data wranglers, academics, youths, researchers — represented at different States and Communities in Nigeria, is telling the stories of citizens, promoting good governance, and empowering citizens with the knowledge and capacity to demand for the provision of quality public services in the country. Using mobile and web technologies to drive this change, FTM is committed to not only making public funds work for the people but also shrinking the widening inequality gap and ultimately lifting millions of people out of poverty.

For instance, it has aided the provision of primary healthcare centres in rural areas — significantly reducing child and maternal deaths; advocated for access to clean water in communities that otherwise would have had to travel miles and miles to access water — reducing the number of children (girls especially) who miss out on school or could be exposed to safety hazards. Follow The Money has also championed the cause of school building projects in these communities, resulting in the enrolment of more children in primary school, particularly girls; and also advocated for the increase in representation and participation of women in grassroots and national parliaments.

Consequently, essential public projects, previously abandoned or which otherwise would not have been implemented, are being restarted and completed, directly impacting over 2 million lives.

Building on this success , several countries are taking steps to replicate the Follow The Money model into their governance system — some African countries like Malawi, The Gambia, Kenya, Liberia have begun Following the Money to promote social accountability and ensure that public funds work for public good.

It was no wonder it won the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Global Mobilizer award for 2019. According to the SDGs Action Awards Global Project Leader, Laura Hildebrandt, “the 2019 winners are the most impactful, transformative and creative SDG Action drivers.” At the presentation of the UN SDG awards in Bonn, Germany, representatives from Bangladesh, Canada, South Africa and Turkey expressed interest in replicating the model in their countries and sought consultation from the Follow The Money Nigeria team.

Winning this award is important to Nigeria because it projects a powerful advocacy message that recognises Nigeria’s progress in implementing the SDGs. Although, progress is slow, it is interesting to note that Policy influencers, and government service delivery agencies are integrating the SDGs into their implementation plans and budgets. For example, the Ministry of Water Resources began a nationwide campaign to end open defecation, provide clean toilets and access to clean water in rural communities. The Federal Ministry of Education is tackling the increasing number of out-of-school children through partnerships and policy reviews. We are optimistic that the Ministry of Health will accelerate its efforts to repair damaged Primary healthcare centres and improve the standard of healthcare delivery across the country. The ease of doing business has always been a sore spot for many Nigerians, the Government must intensify efforts to boost the Nigerian economy and provide ease for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Nigeria can see the SDGs as strategic plans that aim to improve the overall wellbeing of the country — simply put; the goals are ways to think about how we can create a more inclusive, equitable, prosperous society, and shifting the world onto a sustainable and resilient development pathway. That a home-grown Nigerian initiative won the UN SDGs award, is a commendable feat that puts Nigeria on an anti-corruption fight pedestal and serves as a face-lift of its failing reputation in the International Community.

With this award, Nigeria must begin to rethink its strategies, plans, projects, and focus on building its reputation as a country where quality of life is valued, corruption is greatly tackled, inequality is challenged and the economy is boosting with higher productivity.

By Saater Ikpaahindi

As I looked through Connected Development’s array of remarkable pictures that document the organisation’s work, many pictures grabbed my attention. Perhaps it’s because of my child protection background but this picture instantly brought me a thousand worries. The picture of children drawing water from a poorly constructed, widely gaping water well.  The thoughts that ran through my mind were; what if the children fell into the well? What if there was no adult in sight to help them out? What if they drowned? 

My mind kept racing with these thoughts as I also pondered if the water was clean enough to make these children risk their lives. Pictures like these, draw you into the reality of the limited access to clean water supply many Nigerians face especially those living in rural communities.

Although Nigeria has made great progress in the provision of clean water for its citizens, however, 59 million people in Nigeria do not have access to clean drinking water (according to WaterAid), that is approximately 1 in 3 people. This has contributed to high morbidity rates, especially among children under five. Using dirty and contaminated water increases the likelihood of contracting water borne diseases which leads to thousands of deaths yearly, disproportionately affecting women and children. According to UNICEF, 70% of diarrhoeal and enteric disease burden can be traced to poor access to adequate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and this affects the poorest children the most.

Like the appalling provision of many basic amenities, the inadequate provision of clean water facilities in Nigeria can be traced to poor governance, corruption and poor accountability and transparency. Funds dedicated for the provision of basic social amenities like clean drinking water are often siphoned by public officials for their own personal enrichment, pushing millions of Nigerian’s especially women and children into extreme poverty. 

To address these issues, for the past seven years, Connected Development (CODE) has been working with marginalised communities to build their capacity to hold government accountable for the provision of social services meant for their communities. CODE’s innovative initiative Follow The Money, provides a platform for communities to track government and international aid funds for building of schools, restoration of healthcare facilities and installation of WASH facilities.

Water is an essential necessity of life; as a matter of fact, water is a matter of  life and death. Every Nigerian child deserves safe water and adequate sanitation in School, every healthcare centre deserves WASH facilities especially in relation to maternal and new-born health (MNH), every Nigerian household deserves clean drinking water and a basic toilet and, every community deserves to be open defecation free. 

It is time to take greater action. I therefore call on the Nigerian government and relevant stakeholders to accelerate efforts to improve access to WASH facilities across communities in Nigeria by adopting innovative and sustainable global best practices and institutionalising inclusive WASH policies. 

Zaliha Abdullawal

Prior to joining Follow The Money, my notion of Non-Governmental Organisation was a bit different. Although, I had always been interested in humanitarian work, I could not access the right platform to build my skills. In 2017, when I got the chance to work for Connected Development (CODE), I hit the ground running. My first task was to track Universal Basic Education Intervention Funds in Kaduna State across four Local Government Areas (LGA)— Kudan, Kajuru, Zangon Kataf and Jema’a. It was a huge task at the time and I was completely overwhelmed. We vigorously campaigned for change in the Education system in Kaduna state where 1 billion naira Universal Basic Education (UBEC) funds was earmarked for the construction and reconstruction of facilities in 23 basic schools across the four LGAs. We inaugurated a committee called School Monitoring Team (SMT) which comprises of School Based Monitoring Committee, National Union of Teachers, Parents Teachers Association and over 200 community members to foster ownership of Monitory and Evaluation of government projects in their communities.

This task challenged but strengthened my ability and with tremendous technical assistance from my superiors, we were able to achieve remarkable results. Tracking UBEC Funds in Kano has now become a model adopted for tracking education funds all across Nigeria.

Through media sensitization, we were able to reach 1.4 million people with our advocacy message and 20 communities directly benefited from our campaign. Using advocacy tools like our Follow The Money radio programme, we sensitized more people and enhanced citizen’s participation in governance. Some of the visible results is the recruitment of over 30 volunteers in Kaduna, who showed interest in learning the FTM model and are presently tracking government spending in their communities.

Because Follow The Money is driven by its mission to empower marginalized communities, we are always intentional in our approach to track government spending and ensure project implementations at the grassroots level. For instance, In Likoro, a community in Kudan LGA, after community dwellers noticed funds had been allocated to construct a new fence, contractors had not begun work. FTM Team, working with the community, wrote petitions to anti-corruption agencies independently. This move sparked a reaction from the contractors who were awarded the project and they began implementation.

Similarly, In Kajuru Local Government Area (LGA), we started a campaign, #RebuildKufana, about the school with dilapidated structures in Kufana community. Children could not go to school because of the deplorable state of the school building. FTM trained Kafuna community members on how to monitor, evaluate and hold their elected representatives accountable. They also learnt how to check for quality control, as such when they noticed irregularities in the specification of materials, they stopped the contractors from continuing substandard work. The school community organized town hall meetings, inviting relevant stakeholders, and demanding for the Bill of Quantities for the project. The local government provided them with detailed information about the project and ensured contractors followed due process.

The impact of our activities made Kaduna State Basic Education Board to involve representatives of all School communities in contracting process for the 2017 action plan, in line with Open Government Partnership that Kaduna State signed up.

Nigeria is one of the top three countries with the largest absolute number of children who are stunted and wasted, according to the Global Nutrition Report of 2018. Preventable deficiencies of critical vitamins and minerals such as iron, Vitamin A, D, iodine, folic acid and zinc contribute globally to over 3 million child deaths annually. These micronutrient deficiencies are prevalent in Nigeria, particularly among young children under 5 years of age as well as women of reproductive age.

Concerned by this issue, two Non-Governmental Organisations, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and Connected Development (CODE) have partnered to advocate for increased compliance by food manufacturers on Food Fortification policies in Nigeria.

The partnership signed recently in Abuja under GAIN’s Large Scale Food Fortification Project, seeks to raise consumer awareness on the benefits of fortified foods and the dangers of micronutrient deficiencies in their food intake. Nigeria loses over US1.5 billion in GDP to Vitamins and mineral deficiencies, however, scaling up micronutrient interventions would cost the country less than USD 188 million per year, according to the World Bank.

Speaking about the project, GAIN’s Large Scale Food Fortification Project Manager, Dr Phoebe Olapeju, stated that through enhanced business operations and an improved regulatory environment, high quality and adequate fortification of staple foods has the potential to improve nutrition for 180 million Nigerians.

According to CODE’s Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal, “Malnutrition is one of the most serious global development issues holding back millions of individuals, families and countries from achieving their full potential. Failing to address malnutrition will continue to negatively impact not only the health and wellbeing of Nigerians, but the country’s economic growth and prosperity.”

The project hopes to improve policies and compliance practices of manufacturers in the food industry. The team plans to work with the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Ministry of Health and other regulators to strengthen regulation of fortified foods.

Actionaid, through the Youth Organizing and Leadership, in partnership with Connected Development to amplify voices of young people in Nigeria to ensure that fund allocations in State Budgets, for young people to thrive, are properly utilized for the purpose.

Governance sets the structure by which governments and public officials exercise power and make decisions to guarantee effective service delivery and foster relationships between citizens, civil society and the state. Effective governance is where state-citizen relationships are transparent, accountable, inclusive and responsive to the needs of all citizens, particularly the youths who constitute the majority – as is  the case in Nigeria. In 2019, estimates by the National Population Commission puts Nigeria’s population at about 201 million people. Of this figure, the share of the youth demography stands at about 60% of the total population. To harness demographic advantages of young people, policies must reflect youth friendliness and sensitivity in a strategic and comprehensive manner.

On the other hand, the budget of any government is a public proclamation by the government of its projected and actual expenditures, it provides vital evidence of where a government places its priorities – whether it  addresses issues that concern young people or not. The statistics on young people’s access to public services in Nigeria is very poor and this can be linked to the disconnect in the budgetary process and the non-inclusiveness of young people in the formulation, implementation and oversight stages of the budget. 

Past budgetary trends in Nigeria reveal a wide disparity between actual budgetary allocations and the amount of resources released for implementation of projects. This resource gap becomes even wider, taking  into cognizance the fact that most items on the budget are lump sums, without any kind of disaggregation of what exactly these funds are meant to achieve in terms of actual service delivery.

The CODE/ActionAid YOL Project  is a multi-country intervention under a Strategic Partnership Agreement with ActionAid Denmark and Funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). The Intervention has three (3) key strategic Objectives Quality Gender Responsive Public Services through progressive taxation, Participatory Democracy and Youth Representation, Economic opportunities and decent work for youth.

For the first phase of the project which spans from June – November 2019, Nigeria will be responding to Strategic Objective 1. 

To this end, The Youth Organizing and Leadership (Light Touch), a three-year project funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) seeks to mobilize young people and their organizations for progressive social change. It aims at enhancing young people’s power to influence public expenditure towards gender responsive public service delivery through progressive taxation. The project intends to;

• Strengthen capacity and knowledge of young people on issues of public finance, tax and GRPS 
• Generate information and education materials (research and analysis) to engage young people on issues of PF, Tax and GPRS
• Facilitate Initiatives and platforms for young people to participate in public finance engagement 
• Facilitate reflection on development trends, organizing initiatives and policy reform agenda for youth development 
• Facilitate youth engagement with progressive taxation, EPA and other related International Trade Issues

The main activities for this assignment will include:

1. Budget Analysis and Factsheet Production
   • To Mobilize  30 young people selected across different youth groups; artisans, drivers, traders and ‘street people’ as well as university students and young professionals.
   • Facilitate a participatory budget analysis workshop aimed at  producing a budget factsheet as an evidential tool for advocacy in areas   that affects young people, especially in education and health sector.

1. Budget Town hall Meetings 
   • Study and identify topical areas from the budget factsheet for a stakeholders mapping towards hosting a needs specific town hall meeting.
   • Engage relevant youth groups to understand how these issues resonates in their spaces
   • Plan a monitoring and evaluation framework to include responses to the following questions; 
     1. What is defined as success or achieving the set objectives? (example: getting tangible commitments from critical stakeholders towards mainstreaming the issues affecting young people with respect to service delivery)
     2. What specific areas or sectors will government engage in? (example: visible political will to focus on demand-driven, tax for service delivery based on identified needs from the above step)
2. Advocacy and Interactions with Sectoral MDAs on Budget and Service Delivery

• Based on the outcomes from the Town hall meetings, relevant government stakeholders  would be engaged through a courtesy and advocacy visit to key MDAs across the DANIDA States.

We call on all relevant stakeholders, government agencies, Civil societies and the general public to join in on this project to ensure better gender sensitive public service delivery.

Today is the international day of the girl when the world recognizes that there are peculiar barriers to girls attaining a life of dignity and agency.

Despite the fact that adolescent girls face challenges in exercising their right to education, healthcare and economic freedom worldwide, movements globally have made concerted efforts in campaigning for the rights of the girl. Data shows that more girls are accessing education, getting married at age 18 years and above and are accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare. For instance, school life expectancy for girls in Sub-Saharan Africa has increased from 3.3 years in 1970 to 8.8 years in 2015.

However, the systemic supply-side deficiencies such as safety in schools, limited gender-sensitive infrastructure, pedagogy and school practices have harmful implications on the overall development of the girl child. For example; teachers with a stereotypical perception of girls being quiet may not pay attention to their learning or encourage them to participate in classes. Furthermore, a school with no toilet or no separate toilets for girls and boys may cost girls attendance as they are likely to be absent from school during their menstrual periods.

The demand-side factors are strongly based on damaging cultural practices with a wider spectrum on social norms, posing as strong barriers to girls’ education and healthcare. These factors play out in different scenarios such as an increase in child marriage leading to an increase in the drop-out rate for girls.

The big question remains- what can we do as citizens to improve the lives of marginalized girls?

The well-acclaimed movement- Follow The Money empowers marginalized communities to hold governments accountable to provide need-based healthcare and education infrastructure and services in order to boost socio-economic development in Africa in the long-run. Recently, we have been asking ourselves questions on how gender-responsive our work has been within the past eight years of our existence. We’ve gone back to the drawing board and with your input, we have decided to address the needs of girls in understandable steps that we can all follow.

For instance, from the supply side (government angle), tracking government spending in schools will require us confirming if there are separate toilets for boys and girls that are (dis)ability-friendly or if there are an adequate number of female teachers from the the female teacher-training scholarship (FTTSS) award scheme in the schools. We could go as far as having separate focus group discussions with boys and girls to see how often they are able to contribute to class discussions or even measure gender parity across the different grades (classes) in schools to analyze the completion rate for girls and boys.

An interesting point to add is that non-state stakeholders are not excluded from this maze of social accountability. A general consultation with key actors such as girls’ clubs, women’s groups, as well as traditional and faith-based leaders on the problems and solutions to factors promoting and impeding girls’ empowerment in their communities. The information gotten with a full gender lens will provide more apt and representative information on challenges that need to be addressed in these communities during engagements between the government and the citizens, eg, through townhall meetings and radio shows.

The benefits of an empowered girl are actually selfish to us all. This is because when girls thrive, economies thrive- educated girls tend to have fewer and well-spaced children, take their children to hospitals, and literally contribute efficiently and effectively to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in ways we cannot imagine. If I may continue with my Economics equation which I’m trying not to bore you with, lesser children and higher productivity from educated women and girls in the next 15 years already implies a higher Per Capita Income which although may not trickle down magically to the poorest of the poor, social protection mechanisms and development programmes can eventually aid in evenly redistributing wealth and boosting economic development.

We believe in a world of possibilities but our mantra is based on the statement- “we can’t do it all.” We need partners and citizens like YOU all over the world campaigning for the right of every girl to attain a life of agency. Join us on this exhilarating journey on ifollowthemoney.org today so we can Follow The Money together to empower all marginalized girls and boys!

Ojonwa Miachi is an Education and Gender Expert. Follow her on Twitter- @ojonwa

Ahead of the G7 Summit holding tomorrow in Biarritz France, where world leaders will meet to discuss global challenges, over 50 of the World’s leading NGOs have petitioned the G7 leaders to accelerate action on gender equality.

The petition, which was coordinated by the ONE Campaign and co-signed by Connected Development [CODE] and other NGOs, warned that despite promises to do more for women and girls, the world is dangerously off-track on gender equality.

At a moment when the future of multilateralism is in doubt, this year’s G7 summit presents an unprecedented opportunity for leaders to show they can make a difference. Reducing inequality is the central theme of this year’s summit and yet gender inequality remains one of the most pervasive barriers to growth and prosperity.

According to CODE’s Chief Executive, Hamzat Lawal, the G7 leaders have an unprecedented opportunity to begin to turn the tide against gender inequality by fast-tracking the delivery of long-lasting change for girls and women across the world, including Sub-Saharan Africa.

Lawal added that inequality hinders the possibility to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in Nigeria, and urges the World Leaders to support new laws, policies and funding that will help to advance women’s rights and economic empowerment.

It is beyond belief that we will have to wait another 108 years to achieve gender equality across the world. Until this changes, leaders are ignoring the power and potential of half the world’s population, Gayle Smith, President of ONE said.

The letter calls on the leaders attending the summit to take real action and agree to independent reporting of their commitments when they meet in Biarritz.

The format of the G7 Summit will involve the leaders of the African Union, the IMF, the OECD, the UN and the World Bank.

Ijeoma Oforka

When harbingers of societal development such as poor accountability, arbitrariness, corruption, and negligence are fed fat, socio-economic progress involuntarily suffers.

It is perhaps cliche but imperative to say that the leadership of any given society either makes or mars it. In essence, the progress and advancement of a community, to a large extent, rests on the shoulders of a selected few who are either elected or appointed to lead them. Therefore, it takes the semblance of fraud, falsehood and outright deception, when votes and political appointments exchange hands with corruption and total insensitivity to the plight of the people; trading places with Commitment, Transparency, Character and Accountability.

This is the situation suffered by the people of Ikot Idem Udo of Onna Local Government Area and Idong Iniang of Eket Local Government Area, both in Akwa Ibom State. These communities are currently denied access to clean water, fencing and staff quarters projects which should have been implemented by the Saving One Million Lives Programme for Result (SOMLP4R) of Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health. The non-existence of these public services is a reminder that government seats and coffers are being infiltrated by Nigerians who do not mean well for Nigerians and Nigeria. 

Ikot Idem Udo has a population of about 8,000 people while Idong Iniang has a population of 18,977 people. Both communities have been subjected to untold hardship in accessing basic healthcare. Sadly, their health needs are hinged on one Primary Healthcare Centre each; marred by huge inadequacies regarding, medical equipment and Instruments, drugs and WASH facilities. 

For a truth, many Nigerians, especially grassroots rural dwellers, have been marginalised and their rights trampled on by a few who continue to swindle funds appropriated for development projects in these communities. The world is watching, more importantly, the International Communities are providing aid as a gesture to put out the enraging inferno that the Nigerian populace have had to endure for so long. However, meaningful impact cannot be quantified when officials, aided by greed, mental backwardness and myopic thinking, hijack the funds and get away without any penalty.

Good health is good for all, and to be candid, not much of it can be achieved when health workers are denied access to medical supplies and equipment, compelling them to work under harsh conditions in negation to professionalism. 

It was Pericles, a prominent and influential Greek Statesman and famous Orator, who once remarked that: “What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the hearts of others.” Translated thus, your good works are your legacy. Hence, when you are in a position to impact the lives of people, do so.

By and large, for a community to grow in good health, develop and advance, its leadership, at all levels, must embrace Commitment, Accountability and Transparency. Only then, will progress find root in the society.

One can only hope that after a long and tortuous wait, the people of Ikot Idem Udo who only received a bore hole facility due to  a tremendous follow up by CODE’s Follow The Money team and Idong Iniang in Akwa Ibom State, finally find relief and comfort.