Shrinking Nigeria’s Civic Space : USAID steps in
…Open and safe civic spaces serve as unique havens for citizens from diverse backgrounds to build required competences to participate in conversations around nation building. 3 min read
With rising allegations of incessant harassments, arrests and sometimes ‘abductions’ of holders of opposing views to state-backed positions, Nigeria’s human rights record in the recent time isn’t attractive to many social commentators.
The violent attack of protesting workers by those described as hoodlums in Kaduna State recently is one of the many instances to back their claims that the civic space is closing in on Nigerians.
A USAID funded project, Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project, has held a dialogue session with the military, police, civil society organizations (CSOs), government, media, and other stakeholders as part of its dialogue series aimed at strengthening collaboration for safeguarding civic space in Nigeria.
The dialogue with the theme, “Safeguarding Civic Space”, which held on Wednesday in Lagos, stressed the need for key stakeholders to identify and develop action plans to address the nation’s shrinking civic space.
According to Lydia Odeh, the USAID-SCALE project Chief of Party, the dialogue will help participants to develop capacity for implementing efficient and effective policies that support transformational change and contribute to improving quality of life for Nigerians, and an open civic space enables them to pursue many roles.