A personal journey to advocacy and activism for social justice in Nigeria. #BringBackOurGirls. How to become politically active. How to fundraise. How to advocate

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The Citizen Advocate
Promoting Inclusive Governance
Habiba Balogun for Meet-a-WISCAR 28th July ‘18

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The Citizen Advocate
For me, it started with a series of
questions in May 2014, several weeks
after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls at
night from Government Secondary
School, Chibok.

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The Citizen Advocate
Do you mean that if my children are
abducted from school that no official
would care and nothing would be
done?

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The Citizen Advocate
Do you mean that I would be left, as a
parent, to seek to recover my child
from armed terrorists or criminals by
myself?

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The Citizen Advocate
Doesn’t the government know that its
principal job is to secure the lives and
property of its citizens?

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The Citizen Advocate
Am I willing to live in such a country?

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The Citizen Advocate
What am I ready to do to make sure
that the lack of government
response to the Chibok abduction
will never be repeated?

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Who is the Citizen Advocate?

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Who is the Citizen Advocate?
✓ Be active on your street – make it better
✓ Be active in your ward/community – make it better
✓ Be active in your state – pressure the governor
✓ Be active as a citizen, DEMAND YOUR RIGHTS from the
ministries & agencies
✓ Make FORMAL WRITTEN COMPLAINTS when you
receive bad service
✓ Show vulnerable people that you care. EMPATHY

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Effective Advocacy
Successfully influencing public policy, laws,
budgets, and practices
by using
facts, relationships, the media, and messaging
to educate & encourage
government officials and the general public
on the changes required for children, families, the
powerless, and citizens in general

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…to here ( n 2003)!

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Clarifying Objectives (an example)
Q: What do you want to achieve?
Save Lives!
1. Increase Knowledge: Raise awareness about an issue
Smoking causes lung cancer and death!
2. Change Attitude: Get support for a point of view
Smoking is bad!
3. Influence policy & practice: Impel someone to act
Ban advertising and smoking in public places!

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Lessons from #BBOG
•Sustained involvement of citizenry can have influence public
opinion and impact governments
•Attract and retain committed leaders with conviction who are
able to act independently
•An formal organization is not necessary to drive a message and a
movement
•Establish consistent messages, routines and a culture for
members
•Cluster around the message not the members – they can come
and go
•Engage the media. Keep hope alive
•Take regular, on the ground ACTION

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Mark your
LANDSCAPE

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Advocacy & Social Media
✓ Social media can convert a local movement to a
national and global movement
✓ Capture every moment in pictures
✓ Make the pain real, use videos
✓ Communicate the concern & benefit to each & every
stakeholder
✓ The Police, the army, communities, the parents,
school children,
✓ Educate, educate, educate
✓ Engage, engage, engage

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Fundraising for Advocacy
•IN-KIND donations are just as good as CASH
•Ask for what you need, NOT the money for
what you need
•Circulate a financial report after every event
•Money is a source of intense interest and
conflict, keep the focus on advocacy, actions &
results

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Big message…
People, organization, and corporations…
• Don’t give money because you have needs
• Give money because you meet needs
Communicate accordingly

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What is the incentive?
Why do they contribute/donate?
• because you/a friend asked them to: #1 reason!
• believe in change
• because you meet important needs
• because you produce advocacy results
• because it makes them feel good
• because they want to
• because they will get credit

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Political Participation
✓ Join a political party
✓ Become a delegate
✓ Select credible candidates
✓ Vote for good leaders
✓ Don’t blindly elect according to political party
✓ Make your vote count
✓ Don’t tell anyone who you voted for
✓ Women, vote for WOMEN
✓ Women, stand for office

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Proverb
“Hell is full of good intentions,
heaven is full of good works”

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Saturday, 28th July, 2018 marked
• DAY 1,567 #ChibokGirls' abduction, 112 still in captivity.
• DAY 1,157 under President Muhammadu Buhari's watch.
• DAY 1,552 of consistent advocacy.
• DAY 159 in captivity of Leah Sharibu and 5
other #DapchiGirls unaccounted for.
#4Years2Long #BringBackOurGirls

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References
• https://act4accountability.wordpress.com/tool-kit/
• http://www.bringbackourgirls.ng/
• http://enable-nigeria.com/
• http://wiscar.ng/media-gallery/
• https://www.unicef.org/wca/reports/beyond-chibok
• https://www.facebook.com/bringbackourgirls/
• http://eie.ng/eie-at-5-building-the-office-of-the-citizen/
• http://mmfnigeria.org/
• http://www.hbalogunconsult.com/

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