Building bridges to tackle corruption through a community of integrity champions, towards improved service delivery in Nigeria…
Happy New Year Stepper!
Cheers to completing the first month of the year! We know the new year comes with resolutions, goals and hope, may all your aspirations come true! Here are our top highlights from the month of January. We wish you a splendid 2023!
NEW PARTNERS FOR THE NEW YEAR
We are excited to announce that we are partnering with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) & Palladium to raise first-time voter integrity champions. The first-time voter integrity initiative (FTVII) is being implemented under the Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project to educate first-time voters in marginalised communities to act with integrity during elections, and to build their capacity to hold their elected officials accountable. You can read more about our new initiative FTVII and our partners.
INCEPTION MEETINGS AT MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES
This month, we visited eight marginalised communities in Lagos and Nasarawa state to hold meetings with community representatives and stakeholders as part of our inception activities for the year. We met with community leaders, CDA chairpersons, youth leaders, women leaders, and leaders of PWDs to introduce the First-Time Voters Integrity Initiative. All 8 communities showed strong interest in campaigning against vote selling in their communities, and a willingness to hold leaders accountable.
EDUCATING FIRST-TIME VOTERS TO ACT WITH INTEGRITY DURING ELECTIONS
We have educated over 480 first-time voters (FTVs) in 7 marginalised communities in Lagos and Nasarawa states, including young women and persons with disabilities. Using Halima’s Vote film, we sensitised the FTVs on the negative impact of vote selling on service delivery in their communities, and are empowering them to lead the campaign against vote-buying and selling in their communities. After the sessions, they understood that services were more important than gifts or money for votes, and have committed to taking ownership of their collective future by acting with integrity during elections.
BUILDING FUTURE LEADERS WITH INTEGRITY ONE SCHOOL AT A TIME
The Step Up Nigeria team visited 25 schools in Lagos, Abuja and Nasarawa, where we educated the students about the negative impact of vote-buying in Nigeria using our anticorruption tools, Halima’s Vote film and storybook. This sparked some interesting discussions amongst the students at Krelis Legacy school, Lagos who debated the role of women in elections/politics. Click HERE to watch the video.
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF EDUCATION
On the 24th of January, we celebrated the International Day of Education by lending a voice against the ban on women’s education in Afghanistan. Education is a fundamental human right and should not be denied to anyone. We also created a video about the benefits of education on the children we’ve interacted with in our journey to institutionalise anticorruption education in Nigeria.
OUR LATEST PODCAST EPISODE!
In the final quarter of 2022, we started the Films for Social Change series and we discussed with film directors, Bright Wonder and Ishayo Bako on how they have used films to sensitise people against electoral malpractice. On our final episode with the Managing Director and General Manager of Moving Image Limited, an indigenous media outfit popularly known for their radio drama, Shugabanci, we discuss how films can change the attitudes and behaviours of people and they share feedback from their audience. Click HERE to listen.
AKELEKU SIDI COMMUNITY REJECTS VOTE-BUYING/EMPTY PROMISES, & DEMAND FOR GOOD SERVICES
Last week, we visited Akeleku Sidi community in Nasarawa state. We had just sensitised the youth there on the power of their vote in demanding better service delivery for their community, when a candidate running for the House of Representatives for their constituency came with his entourage to campaign for votes. The youth questioned him on the services that he had promised to provide them four years ago when he campaigned. When he couldn’t respond, the youth chased him and his entourage out of their community with a remix of the song we taught them. They chanted;
“We no want your rice
We no want your money
Wetin we want na clinic and road
No Services! No Vote!”
The candidate realised that they were a wiser community now, and he and his entourage left the community in shame. Read more about it HERE.
TIKTOK VIDEO: WHAT IS THE MEANING OF PVC?
Are you following us on TikTok yet? If not, you are missing out on some great content coming to you from the streets of Lagos. We asked a member of Agbovipe community the meaning of PVC, here’s what he had to say. Kindly follow, like and share!
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