Stakeholders in the civil society space have decried attacks on the media and activists. At the screening of Untold Impact, a documentary film on ‘The Role of Civil Society in Development’ in Lagos, recently, the stakeholders lamented that even the masses, who benefit from activities of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), for pecuniary reasons, follow to discredit those fighting for them.
Segments in the four-episode documentary, produced by Efua Edeh’s Social Impact Consulting, include definition of civil society in the introduction, as well as roles of civil society in education, nutrition, health, enlightenment and engagement of marginalised groups.
Efua said non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country were being hounded and attacked, yet people show indifference.
According to the Country Director, BudgIT, Gabriel Okeowo, no amount of attack would dissuade civil society from carrying out its self-assigned duties to the people, adding that corruption thrives in the absence of CSOs.
His words: “Attacks do come. But we still continue to help inform the masses about government policies because lack of information is a key driver of corruption.
“The main reason CSOs are hounded may not be far from their persistent protests against government’s anti-people policies.” But the Programme Associate of Ford Foundation Office for West Africa, Onyinye Onyemobi, noted that there are other strategies to engage government apart from protests.
She said: “Protests are good, but other strategies exist. Also, governments question the duty of CSOs. That is the essence of this documentary.”
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While observing that oppressed citizens have joined in brawling Amnesty International (AI), which fights for them, Onyemobi urged the media to pass the message in the film to the world.
Programme Officer, Civil Space Security, Spaces for Change (S4C), Lawrence Oboh, submitted that media organisations are CSOs in their own right, since they are not governmental organisations.
“Media is part of CSO, but roles differ. CSOs are making much effort to impact society, they think ahead of the establishment and do much more than people imagine,” he clarified. (Guardian)