NOA to establish 37,000 Citizens Brigades in secondary, primary schools

The Director General of National Orientation Agency, (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu said they are in the process of establishing Citizens Brigades in Secondary and Primary schools to ade inculcate national values.

He said the plan in the short term, is to establish 1000 per state in the 36 states and the FCT, making 37,000 citizens brigades to promote the contents of the National Values Chatter in the first instance.Speaking at the multi-stakeholders workshop on parenting programmes in Nigeria supported by Parenting for Life Long Health & Global Parenting Initiative, University Of Oxford in Abuja on Tuesday, Issa-Onilu said the core purpose is to familiarise the children from their formative stage with the promises that Nigeria is making to them and the commitments that they in turn owe to the country and their fellow citizens.

”In this way, we intend to develop children who are values-conscious. 0ur advocacy on the National Values Chatter emphasises the centrality of responsible parenting. It is intended that the contents of the National Values Chatter will form part of our schools curriculum throughout the period of schooling from primary to tertiary level,’ he said.He said the Agency decided to re-evaluate its strategies for carrying out its programmes and campaigns with seven thematic areas of interventions of Crime, Lawlessness, Health, Education, Environment, Abuse and Narcotics (CLHEEAN).

“We have already commenced the process of curating the type of local contents that our children should be watching which should be reflective of our national value,” he said.

The DG also disclosed that to en-place responsible parenting, they are currently engaging cartoon creators with a view to ensuring that the cartoons that the children watch going forward, are reflective of “our Heroes, our culture, our folklore, our diversity, our challenges and our victories.”

Dr. Isang Awah, representing Parenting for Lifelong Health and the Global Parenting Initiative at the University of Oxford, led the project team in delivering a presentation on the urgent need for parenting interventions in Nigeria.

Dr. Awah highlighted the impact of economic decline, conflict, and natural disasters on families, leading to negative coping mechanisms such as child labor, reduced nutrition, and child marriage.

She emphasised the critical role of parenting in child development and advocated for support for families affected by humanitarian crises.