By Nusaiba Ibrahim
Organisation for Community Civic Engagement (OCCEN) has trained Kano based Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the strategic importance of their participation in public policies.
The three-day capacity building session held in Kano involved the participation of ten CSOs operating within the state on several aspects of public policies.
The Executive Director of OCCEN Mallam Abdulrazak Alkali while making his opening remarks said that training was part of the implementation of the EU-ACT project by OCCEN with support by the European Union, Agents for citizen-driven transformation, and British Council.
He noted that it is necessary for CSOs to be well equipped with right knowledge and adequate information on how to participate in public policies so that they can be able to make a difference in communities.
Abdulrazak highlighted that “OCCEN has already made notable achievements in strengthening students participation in governance and democracy, tracking and monitoring the effectiveness of several government policies in the state, ensuring compliance of CSOs with legal provisions in the state such as tax remittance and ensuring organizational policies are updated with global best practices”.
On his part, the resource person and facilitator of the sessions Dr. Maikano Madaki a lecturer with the Department of Sociology in Bayero University Kano (BUK), reiterated that “the importance of CSOs in the development of our societies cannot be underscored as they play an indisputable role in fast tracking the activities of government for the betterment of societies through a critical and thorough analysis of government policies and actions”.
He, however, stated that “this powerful role can only be played when CSOs are armed with the right information by experts and professionals in line with global standards. Also, mentorship and more recruitments are really encouraged for CSOs to ensure smooth transition of leadership as change is inescapable”.
Ambassador Suleiman Salisu Muhammad, a participant from Stand for Peace Initiative (SFPI) said that “I really appreciate the organisers effort towards making the training very effective and impressive. So also the facilitator in the person of Dr. Maikano Madaki for making the training worthwhile”.
From KANAWA Civil Society Organisation, Hussaina Umar expressed her satisfaction stating that “the training deserves many accolades in respect to the inclusion of people living with disabilities who are not given much importance in such activities”.
Abdulrazak Alakali assurance the participants on OCCEN’s continuous support for CSOs in their various activities like organising Policy dialogues and research among others.
