Civil Society Organisations, CSOs operating in Southeast Nigeria, have been advised to focus on effective advocacy for the people in their engagements with government, instead of wholly assuming the role of the opposition.
The Chairman, Guild of Public Affairs Analysts, GPAAN, Enugu State Chapter, Dr Ambrose Igboke, gave the advice while addressing a group of CSO leaders from the five states of the Southeast during a Civic-tech event organized by Kimpact Development Initiative, KDI, in Enugu.
Across the states of the region, there is a new drive for CSOs to either register or regularize their registration with the relevant Ministries, a development that has drawn mixed reactions from citizens.
While some believe the move will help tame errant CSOs that have become opposition voices and would not spare any opportunity to attack the government, others feel such regulation will further shrink the civic space.
On how they should practise to avoid undue friction, Dr Igboke noted that the job of the CSOs is to observe and analyse issues and assist the government to develop the society, but not become the mouthpiece of the government.
According to him, CSOs should know what the government is doing well and what it is not doing well, but most importantly, what the citizens are saying.
This, he noted, will enable CSOs to give the right feedback to the government on how the citizens feel about its programmes and policies.
“CSOs must look at the feedback mechanisms of the government because the government mechanisms are always filtered through their appointees.
“So, the CSOs must always give the government direct feedback where it is necessary and then criticise the government where it has done wrong.
“Also, CSOs must give recommendations to do the right thing,” he said.
Igboke, who is also a media consultant, believes there is a difference between a CSO that wants the government to hold the government accountable and an opposition political party.
He regretted that, most of the time, CSOs appear to be playing the role of the opposition party.
“They are not!
“The opposition party’s work is to discredit the ruling party and probably wrest power from them for themselves, and not for the people.
“Therefore, we, as CSOs, cannot play that role with the opposition party.
“That does not negate the fact that we have a duty to hold the government accountable. But, in holding the government accountable, lets be factual, and not sensational. Let’s prescribe solutions, and we will see the government come to them for engagement and partnership.
“That is where CSOs many times do not know where to draw the line,” he noted.
The Enugu GPAAN boss observed that, beyond the argument on the regulation of CSOs by the government, the major issue is for the CSOs to be able to delineate between what is lawful and what is ethical, to see where to draw the line between being partisan and pursuing the interest of the people they represent as CSOs.
According to him, “If you leave the line blurred and say that it is your fundamental right to be partisan, when it comes to issues pertaining to the interest of your political affiliation, you will find it difficult to maintain integrity and truthfulness or make informed choices.
“This is the introspection that CSOs need to begin to do to be able to maintain a clean conscience on critical issues. This will make them step back a bit and focus on advocacy for citizens.”
