This document summarizes a presentation on civil society advocacy in Nigeria. It defines civil society types and advocacy, discussing key concepts like lobbying and different advocacy approaches. It outlines functions of legislators in lobbying and strategies for media advocacy campaigns. Civil society is described as complementing government work while holding stakeholders accountable. The media plays a key role in building awareness, generating action, and influencing policy. Effective advocacy requires considering the content, language, source, format, timing and place of any message.

1. Presentation by D. Tola Winjobi (PhD)
Principal Coordinator, CAFSO-WRAG for Development
National Coordinator, Civil Society Coalition on
Sustainable Development

2. Civil Society Typology:
(i) Professional Associations
(ii) Labour/Trade Unions
(iii) Youth Groups
(iv) Women’s Groups
(v) Student Groups
(vi) Human Rights Groups
(vii) Pro-democracy Groups

3. Civil Society Typology (Contd.)
(viii) Diaspora Groups
(ix) Business Groups
(x) Towns’ Unions
(xi) CDAs/CDC/Landlords-Landladies’
Association
(xii) Faith Based Groups (FBGs/FBOs)
(xiii) CBOs
(xiv) NGOs

4. Concept of Advocacy
The word ‘advocacy’ takes its roots from the Latin ‘ad
vocare’ meaning to speak for someone. One can be called
upon to speak for or plead on behalf of someone so as to
bring about a change in status quo. Advocacy is not new to
the legal profession where it is used as speaking on behalf
of a person before another person as in a court of law.
Hence, an advocate is a person who speaks on behalf of
another. However, advocacy goes beyond ‘speaking on
behalf of’; it has wider use in development work
suggesting not only speaking for but also speaking with
the people as we shall see later.

5. Advocacy Concept (contd.)
A further advocacy step that can be taken in speaking for
or with people is in proposing or recommending
something or someone for better options. In other words,
it is not enough to speak about an issue but it is also
necessary to propose suggestions so as to make necessary
change possible. From the foregoing, it is possible to have a
lay man definition of advocacy as speaking for or acting for
or defending someone or something before someone else,
and then proposing, promoting, and suggesting something
to the person who is the target of change.

6. Definition
Tear Fund defines advocacy as ‘speaking with, and on
behalf of, the poor, to address the underlying causes of
poverty by influencing the decisions of governments,
companies, groups, and individuals whose policies or
actions affect the poor’ (Tear Fund 1999).

7. Definition (cncld)
Technically, advocacy implies identifying a cause,
believing in it, mobilizing and influencing others to
support it so as to change the policy or programme that is
negatively affecting that cause.
This is in line with International Plan Parenthood
Federation’s (1995) definition that advocacy is the act of
supporting a cause or an issue while an advocacy
campaign is a set of targeted actions in support of a cause
or an issue.

8. KINDS OF ADVOCACY
The following are common kinds of advocacy; though
the list is not exhaustive:
Feminist advocacy: focuses campaigning solely on
women’s identity and ideology.
Gender advocacy: believes in equity of resources
between male and female, young or old.
Media advocacy deals with strategy of achieving
advocacy goal through the use of media both print and
electronic.

9. Advocacy Kinds contd.
Sectoral advocacy: while focusing on campaigning for a
reform and a change in policies it targets the specific
sector of the economy such as health, water, agriculture,
education, land and housing etc. both in public and
private sectors.
Economic advocacy: focuses attention on economic
issues affecting the nation such debt cancellation, reform,
due process, pro-poor budgeting, extractive industries
etc.
Social Service advocacy: this is related to both economic
advocacy and sectoral advocacy as the main focus here is
campaigning for social welfare of the people

10. Advocacy Kinds contd.
Policy advocacy: may be targeted towards the executive
or the legislative arms of government, works towards
changing the existing programme of actions or set of
principles and policies or enacting a new one for the
benefit of all especially the common man.
Legislative advocacy: is sometimes used
interchangeably with policy advocacy which may
emanate from the executive arm of government, focuses
on working with and using only the parliament to effect a
change in policy or enact a new one.

11. Lobbying
Lobbying is a term wrongly used interchangeably by some
people for advocacy; whereas it a tool for advocacy.
“Lobbying”, derived from the word “lobby”, is a tool used
in advocacy by the pressure group that tries to influence a
politician on a particular issue. Lobbying involves two or
more people. It is building of alliances in order to exert
pressure on decision-makers and accomplish expected
results; it can sway decision-making in a favorable way for
the best interest of the community; and it also plays a
major role for organizations striving to influence
government policies towards their interests.

12. Lobbying Strategy
Different kinds of lobbying strategy that are often be
used by non-state actors and individuals are:
Lobbying a decision-making body: Initiating a bill
for legislation could emanate from the executive arm of
government, and this is called the executive bill. The
legislators that are responsible for making laws could
also initiate a bill. At whatever level the bill is initiated
lobbying might be necessary in order to fast-track the
bill into law or make the executive accede to it.

13. FUNCTIONS OF LEGISLATORS
Lobbying could take place within the legislature among the
lawmakers themselves or within a particular committee or
between one committee and the other while members of
the public could also lobby the legislators in their surgeries
or in the house of parliament. This strategy calls for five
different functions of the members of parliament that can
be used by pressure groups:
Contribute to improving a bill in committee
Question decision-makers
Liaise with the executive on behalf of his constituency
Make suggestions
Assist the executives
Remind authorities

14. Lobbying Approaches
Direct lobbying: This is an approach built on personal
communication between the lobbyists and the lobbied.
Personal communication subsumes: presentation,
contact, meetings, letters, informal conversation,
telephone conversation and so on. It involves getting
one’s position across to the decision-makers without an
intermediary. The techniques used in direct lobbying
are:
Oral presentation;
A letter to a VIP;
Informational meeting;
Approach to support committees and;
Contact with Clubs, Associations or Foundations etc.

15. Lobbying Approaches (cntd.)
Indirect Lobbying: This strategy aims at achieving the
same result as in direct lobbying but with the help of an
intermediary but one is more efficient than the other. A
n issue might be on increasing budgetary allocation to
education to 26 percent, for instance. A group of two or
three “unskilled” lobbyists might decide to approach a
lawyer to draft such a bill on their behalf for the benefit of
the community and submit it to the House of
Representatives through the Speaker’s Office or the Clerk
of the House. The Speaker might assign this bill to the
appropriate committee to handle it and for subsequent
presentations (readings).

16. Lobbying Approaches (Cntd.)
Lobbying community leaders: The community leaders
are like gatekeepers without whose authority it might be
difficult gaining accessing to the communities. The
community leaders hold special privileged positions in the
community whose prestige comes from tradition, religion
and the entire philosophy of the socio-cultural system.
To influence the community leaders on issues dealing
with tradition, one should know how to develop
arguments drawing from their own references since they
are keepers of tradition in their own right. For instance,
one needs tact and wisdom to convince the traditional
leaders the need to support the legislative campaign on
the harmful effect of the female genital mutilation or

17. Lobbying Approaches (cncld)
Lobbying aimed at public opinion: The best methods
of lobbying are often those that are discreet as described
above. Some of the time, those methods do not succeed
because of the “unskillful” manner lobbying is handled
by the personalities involved or because of lack of
understanding or the ulterior motive of the authorities
concerned. However, when it is clear that the latter
factor overbears the former, then public opinions should
be resorted to in order to influence the decision-makers.

18. Campaign Strategies
Strategies: includes media campaign, mass
protest, mass mobilization, propaganda, letter
writing, petition, strike action, stakeholder
lobbying etc. A combination of these methods
were used in Nigeria to garner support for and
pressure the National Assembly to pass the
Freedom of Information Bill.

19. Civil Society’s Role
Complementary role to government’s (projects
implementation and service delivery).
Engagement with other stakeholders (private sector, donor)
Early monitoring and structured evaluation of the policy and
programs (SDGs, anti-corruption crusade, service delivery).
Public policy influencer/lobbyist: constitutional & electoral
reform, health (C&MH, HIV/AIDS), agric, education,
child’s rights, gender equality etc.
Ombudsmanship (advocacy) and whistle blowing role (in
collaboration with anti-corruption agencies like EFCC &
ICPC).
Citizens’ empowerment (voice-giving, information, training,
livelihoods).
Holding stakeholders accountable to SDGs (GPsDDvPCs)

20. THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA
Media work is a very important method of advocacy;
the media work has the chance to influence the image
of the government because most governments care
about their image. Because the media is the maker and
shaper of images, their role is then very important in
making advocacy successful. There are three types of
media:
Print media ( news paper, journals, magazine etc)
Electronic media ( television and radio)
Social media (twitters, facebook, netlog, whatsapp
etc)
?????

21. KEY ROLE OF THE MEDIA
The media can play a key role in:
Building awareness and changing public opinion on
issues
Generating action from its audience/whipping up
sentiments
Putting direct pressure on government by placing it in
the spotlight
Protecting and enhancing reputation (gvt., promoters,
masses
Investigating and exposing issues
Influencing government policy, both directly and
through its power to influence and mobilize opinions.

22. Five Key Elements of a Message
Content is only one part of a message. Other non-
verbal factors such as who delivers the message,
where a meeting takes place or the timing of the
message can be as, or more important than the
content alone. In addition, sometimes what is not said
delivers a louder message than what is said.

23. 1. Content/Ideas
Content/Ideas: What ideas do you want to
convey? What arguments will you use to persuade
your audience? Following are the “Wh” Elements of
Message Content:
 What you want to achieve;
 Why you to want to achieve it (the positive
result of taking action and/or the negative
consequence of inaction);
 How you propose to achieve it;
 What action you want the audience to take.

24. KEY ELEMENTS (CONTD)
2. Language: What words will you choose to get your
message across clearly and effectively? Are there words
you should or should not use?
3. Source/Messenger: Who will the audience respond to
and find credible?
4. Format: Which way(s) will you deliver your message
for maximum impact? e.g., a meeting, letter, brochure, or
radio ad?
5.Time and Place: When is the best time to deliver the
message? Is there a place to deliver your message that will
enhance its credibility or give it more political impact?

25. QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION
“There seems to be a frosty
relationship between the media and
civil society”, Discuss this in relation
to your work mentioning specific
thematic area and success and failure
with the traditional media, and
suggest enhancing the relationship.

26. Thank you
D. Tola Winjobi (PhD)
Principal Coordinator, CAFSO-WRAG for Development
National Coordinator, Civil Society Coalition on
Sustainable Development
+234 803 0618 326 tolawinjobi58@yahoo.com

27. CONTACT
D. Tola Winjobi (Ph.D)
• Principal Coordinator, CAFSO-WRAG for Development;
• National Coordinator, Civil Society Coalition on Sustainable
Development;
• Executive Member, Emerging Scholars and Practitioners in
Migration Issues Network, Canada
• African Coordinator, CPDE Migrants and Diaspora Sector
• Fellow, Center on Democracy Development and the Rule of
Law, Stanford University, California, USA
* Fellow, ELLA Learning Alliance, Fundar Center for Research and
Analysis, Mexico
Maria Ebun Foundation Building, Atanda Estate, Alaaka, Off Ajibola
Adekemi Drive, Off Klm 5 New Ife Road, Adegbayi Area,
Box 15060, Agodi Post Office, Ibadan
tolawinjobi58@yahoo.com; cafsowinco58@yahoo.co.uk