By Kalilu I. Totangi
Since it pleased His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio to appoint me to the newly minted position of Chairman, National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED), I have entertained several questions from colleagues, supporters and family members about my role as envisioned by the President. One keen supporter approached me the other day with a teary eye, bitter that I have been given a less significant position. I laughed out loud. But after telling him what it is that I am supposed to do, he prayed long for the President for elevating his ‘bra’. Let me join him in thanking the President for the confidence reposed in me.
In his New Direction manifesto in the run-up to the March 2018 elections, President Julius Maada Bio promised to reintroduce civic education in schools, as a means of promoting civic engagement and to support democratic and participatory governance. In keeping with his manifesto promise, President Bio announced a policy on civic education and national development in his statement to the Chamber of the Parliament building on the occasion of the State Opening of the First Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Second Republic. The New Direction policy on civic education is informed by his belief that civic education is central to shaping attitudes and social interaction; which are both critical to addressing issues surrounding sustainable development. The New Direction position is that sustainable development requires civic knowledge, civic skills and civic disposition as an engine for development in which the government, individuals, communities, and businesses partake in providing sustainable development.
In creating this institution, the President has clearly identified a nexus betweensustainable development and civic education, often considered an underpinning factor for the individual and social development of every nation. I have been given the onerous task of cultivating responsible citizenship; a crucial requirement of every progressive society. I am very happy doing this job, because I strongly believe that good citizenship is a crucial requirement for sustainable national development and nationhood. I will be the first to acknowledge that I have been given a herculean task. But I am also confident that the challenge is not insurmountable.
Civic Education and Development:
So what then is the relationship between Civic Education and Development, I am sure some would ask. The relationship clearlyhinges on the understanding thatcombining and connecting local perception with global knowledge, values and skills, will help develop nationals to become good citizens of their countries as well as a citizens of the global village.
The idea behind the NaCCEDprogramme is to promote the demand for good governance (i.e. an informed and engaged public), so as to complement to efforts to improve the practice of good governance. The goal of NaCCED is to address a wide variety of political and governance issues (e.g. corruptions, civic apathy, void votes etc.) as well as important social issues (e.g. domestic violence, drug abuse, ‘gansterism’, health, environment etc.).
Our role is to help citizens understand the importance of citizenship in the society. We also have the responsibility of explaining the structure, functions and responsibilities of government to the people. We also want citizens to understand their rights, duties and obligations to government and the state. Our job is to get citizens to appreciate democratic values and to strive to uphold them. Most important, citizens must also be aware of the emerging issues challenging their society. So we will be engaging on national ethics, rights, discipline and obligations. Our purview will be stuff like values; how important are they to society. We will engage on citizenship and nationalism; what’s up with that, what’s the meaning of citizenship education, what’s the goal of citizenship education, how can we promote national consciousness, integrity and unity in our nation, what are the nationalistic roles of individuals and groups, what are the issues challenging our nation and world, and how do we deal with them.
We will also confront grand issues like human rights and law and order, and mundane things like responsible parenthood etc. We will engage on emerging issues, including human trafficking, drug abuse, ‘gangsterism’ or cultism, needlessly claiming the lives of our youth etc. Also as important, we will laser-focus on the governmental system and processes. We will explore the linkages between democracy, rule of law and national development; the structure and fucntions of government, the role of the public service in governance, civil society and popular participation and other things.
Some of the key objectives of the programmeinclude launching a national programme on civic education, developing a curriculum to teach civic education at the basic education level (Class 1 – JSS3), develop civic education materials, train civic educators and teach civic education at the basic education level.
And considering that civic education remains an important means of teaching the populace about individual rights and what duties and responsibilities the governed and leaders should have, the Council will also focus on other types of civic education, including informal education and information-sharing activities. This is a multi-stakeholder process, therefore NaCCED will partner with Civil Society and NGOs to implement some of the interventions, including voter education, awareness-raising programs for disadvantaged groups, on their social and political rights, and leadership training for local civil society activists.
Civic education will also be used in the public sector to improve the democratic functioning ofgovernment, both local and national. The Council will use civic education in conjunction with other capacity-building and dialogue approaches to strengthen the ability of citizens and civil society groups to organize themselves, interact with others and make their voices heard on governance issues. In plain terms, NaCCED will further deepen the developing democratic culture of the country, and encourage qualitative participation of Sierra Leoneans in the governance process. The idea is to use civic education as a veritable tool for promoting sustainable development and improving the capacity of the people to address environment and development issues.
How we are approaching it:
Like I mentioned somewhere in this write-up, this is a multi-stakeholder process. We aim to engage governmental institutions, civil society, NGOs, development partners, and the general public on the issues I have raised above. I know for a fact that there are individuals in our society who have influence and interest in this process, so we will also engage them to move this process.
What we have done now is propose a Steering Committee to the authorities that will help steer the process forward. It consists of institutions and individuals who have interest and that will influence the process. We will work hard to develop the institutional framework, programmes and implementation plan for the Council to have a soft landing. I am sorry, this will not be event driven like your usual ABCs and OGIs. This is a conscious effort well thought out by this President to move this nation forward.
Again let me reiterate how appreciative I am that I have been given the role to work President Julius Maada Bio and his New Direction government to move our nation out of the stagnation that we have been trapped in for the longest time.
So I am doing a job that is evidently very difficult to do, but I am committed to it because I believe in this President and where he stands on the issues of the state. I can only ask for your continued support and prayers to help me succeed. It’s the people’s business and the People’s Chairman relies on the people to make it happen.
***The author, Kalilu Ibrahim Totangi is the Chairman of the National Council for Civic Education and Development (NaCCED). He is a Journalist and Communications Consultant of long standing.