UDEME holds #GetInvolvedWeek to promote citizens’ participation in governance

UDEME, a social accountability project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), has concluded a week-long grassroots advocacy campaign titled #GetInvolvedWeek.

The exercise aims to empower people at the grassroots level with resources and skills to engage with the government and improve community development.

The 2024 UDEME #GetInvolvedWeek, which ran from 14th to 19th October 2024, comprised numerous activities, including grassroots outreaches, radio appearances, vox pop, and social media campaigns across 20 states and the FCT. These activities are carried out by U-Monitors, UDEME’s team of student journalists across the country.

Mboho Eno, the Deputy Director at the CJID, noted that the #GetInvolvedWeek usually signals the end of project tracking exercises, during which U-monitors break down the knowledge they have gained through project tracking and report to the community.

“They represent these communities and need to share their knowledge with them by showing them how to identify projects from the budget, how budgetary funds are allocated annually to their communities, who to contact if things are not going right, and how to engage with the government.”

Community members at Dala Yajiwa community in Maiduguri, Borno state.

Since the commencement of UDEME in 2018, over 140 U-Monitors in 30 states across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria have been recruited and mentored in accountability journalism, focusing on procurement reporting. U-Monitors are also tasked with sensitising members of the public to identify capital projects within their communities and strategies to hold the government accountable.

“Many people are unaware of the budget cycle and what goes into project formulation, fund allocation and implementation processes. We see them always blaming the government for the failure of multiple projects, but these complaints are lost somewhere in the air. If they know and understand these processes, they can effectively engage the right authorities,” Mr. Eno added.

U-Monitors speak

During his community outreach in Hayin Mallam Bello community in Kaduna state, Sani Modibbo mentioned that the campaign was very participatory due to the involvement of union representatives, traditional leaders, government officials, and community members of different demographics.

A U-monitor and traditional ruler in Gomber state.

“Different people openly shared their experiences with projects around the area and offered to collaborate for future engagements to help foster social accountability.”.

Bulmun Dakwal, who conducted her outreach in Riyom, Plateau State, expressed gratitude to UDEME for empowering her with the right skills to contribute positively to the development of her community. By adopting the local language of the people, she could easily communicate with the people at the rural level.

Members of the community in Riyom LGA after the outreach

“The session was interactive, and I could feel their enthusiasm to hold representatives accountable,” she said.

Similarly, Abigail Mbah, from Anambra state was shocked that members of her community are unaware of a water scheme project despite millions of funds allocated to it.

“The sensitization was indeed an eye-opener to the community,” she said.