By Dickson Omobola

Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), in this interview, explains how the agency is rebuilding public trust in government. Excerpts:

We know it’s been just two years, but how does the agency measure the success of its orientation programmes?

We measure it using two instruments. First, part of our mandate is to generate feedback for the government about Nigerians. So, all our 774 local government officers continuously generate feedback and we make this available to the relevant institutions of government. In the process, we also generate feedback about what we are doing. We are able to know what people think of what we are doing. That is one way we are doing that.

Secondly, we have a benchmark for ourselves and we are assessing at every turn of events, tick where necessary, so we know what we have done and done right, what we need to improve on, and what we need to reintroduce. And we have begun to see a shift in opinion from “where is NOA?” to “You guys are doing well”. This is voluntary feedback all across the country. When you put all these together, they don’t turn our heads. Rather, they challenge us that Nigerians expect a lot from us and then we must do more.

Have there been any standout moments for you since you became the DG of NOA?

You’re talking about a wow moment. We’ve had many, but the most significant is when we saw the new year statement of the President and he said one of his priorities this year is to promote the National Value Charter. You cannot have a better endorsement. That is the biggest wow moment.

What about your work directly impacting the public? Do you have an example?

We have many examples, almost every now and then. From across the local councils, from the states, we receive feedback that shows people are keying into what we are doing. We know the impact we made last year to avert a lot of havoc in flood-prone areas because of our quick intervention before the time of the flood. This year, because we have information from NIMET about rainfall patterns across the country, we have been able to disseminate this information across the country so that farmers know when to plant and when not to plant.

So in our own little way, when you see harvest at the end of the year, our intervention may have contributed to it. Unlike last year, when some farmers farmed at the wrong time and there was a cessation of rain. If they knew when the rain would cease in their environment, they would know when to plant a particular crop and when not to plant it for it to survive and produce a good yield. So we saw this clearly.

We have calendarized some of our things. For instance, we know the period of the year when cholera breaks out annually, and we know the local government, the communities in this country where that happens. We don’t wait. Two months ahead, we begin our campaign, localise it in those areas. Take this step, take that step to ensure that we minimise whatever is going to happen. The issue of NELFUND was also an important one. From our feedback, we realised that some universities were playing games and we were able to provide that feedback to NELFUND.

NELFUND took fantastic actions and that’s how that was resolved. So there are many actions we take that yield positive results, many of which you cannot track because most of our actions produce intangible results, but those intangible results are very important to the growth and peaceful coexistence of Nigerians.

Many young Nigerians don’t seem to believe whatever the government says. What are you doing to change those perceptions?

You’d be wasting a lot of time asking people to believe in something without creating the conditions for them to naturally believe in it. That’s why I said the first thing we are doing is to create that attraction. There is a reason why they began to have that lack of trust, so that is the reason we need to address. How is the government responding to people’s psychological needs? Nigeria as an association must provide psychological needs, so that people can be psychologically connected to the country, and that’s when they can believe in what the country is saying.

And so, when, as a student, you’re struggling, your parents are struggling to send you to school, but now the government has provided an opportunity to go to school that you don’t have to bother your parents, still gives you a monthly stipend and you have a very smooth education. That does something to your psychology. There is no way you will not feel positively towards your country. You have a country that is suddenly embarking on major infrastructural efforts that ultimately will yield positive economic development in your country, you begin to create hope. You cannot trust if there is no hope, and that is why we say the government has moved from renewed hope to hope renewed.

And again, when you’re surrounded by a lot of negativity, whether stage-managed or real, your mind will begin to be negative. Nigerians have, over the years, grown into the habit of promoting negativity, so you have to begin to present the positives and that’s why there must be a counter-narrative. And the issue of the Gen Z phrase, “Nigeria happened to me”, which means something negative has happened, is something where are countering with the narratives of people, who have gotten many positive things in this country. So, it is now the choice of the individual to approach the country positively to get positive outcomes or negatively to get negative outcomes.

People stay on social media, condemning everything, but others you are attacking for being positive have accessed student loan, converted their vehicles to CNG, have approached the Bank of Industry and taken loans for their businesses to grow and their lives are being transformed. But you’re there in negativity. But we must continue to showcase the reward for positivity. When people begin to see the reward for a positive mindset, then a lot more people will begin to go positive and that’s how trust in the government will return.

What message would you like to leave for Nigerians about their roles in building a better nation?

The first message is for them to know that the country belongs to all of us, not to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or any official of the government. The government will come, the government will go; the President will come, the President will go. Nigeria will remain. You cannot hate your country because you don’t like an individual. You’ll be cutting your own nose just to spite your face. We should be wiser. No country in the world has provided everything the citizens want. But they’ve done enough to create a condition for people to have hope. And that’s why it was the most appropriate mantra or slogan for the President’s manifesto 2022-2023 election, when he said it’s a renewed hope. That’s giving people a reason to give him a chance.

Two years down the line, we have moved from Renewed Hope to Hope Renewed. Because there are concrete facts on ground to show that we are on course; that the economy that we have today is our reality, not make-believe and that we are not living a lie anymore. The Naira that you have, if you go to FX market today, what you’ll find there is the true strength of Naira. Not padded, not aided. It’s the true strength of Naira. And a true economy should also reflect true strength of its economy. So, all we need to do is to enhance our productivity to continue to back up the Naira, for you to be able to fight and gain more strength in the market.