DRAC champions DRF’s Strategic Advocacy Training for Disabled People’s Organization

by Agbo Chris

On 14^th to 17^th of October, 2019 in Abuja, Disability Rights Advocacy Centre (DRAC) organized a 4-day training programme on Strategic Advocacy and Development of an Advocacy Strategy for Disabled People’s Organization in Nigeria. The programme which was supported by Disability Rights Fund (DRF) through DRF’s commonwealth funding stream aimed at supporting Nigerian OPDs to identify and strategize about the Nigerian Government’s Commitments made during the 2018 Commonwealth Disability Summit.  It is to support DRF / DRAF grantees and partners in United Kingdom Commonwealth countries, that are working to ensure that governments are held accountable for their global commitments made at the 2018 Global Disability Summit, “to ensure persons with disabilities are consistently and systematically included in international development and humanitarian assistance.”

The training was designed to achieve the following objectives: (1) Strengthen the strategic advocacy of Nigeria’s DRF grantees through training (2) Develop an advocacy strategy for the monitoring and implementation of the UNCRPD and Nigeria GDS 18 commitments. (3) Establish an advocacy working group and develop the terms of reference to guide their work.

The workshop was declared open by the DRAC program Officer Noel Balogun who introduced the workshop to the participants and prepare their minds to what to expect at the end of the whole training.

DRF Senior Consultant Commonwealth project, Rebecca Rittgers in her opening remark said that the workshop is a special funded project by DRF to strengthen the advocacy strategy of OPDs on GDS commitments for commonwealth countries. She stated that the workshop was set up to achieve three goals;(1) to increase advocacy capacity of the participants(OPDs), (2) to develop strategy collectively towards achieving GDS commitments and UNCRPD (3) to develop a framework to bring the leaders(OPDs) together to work together going forward in developing strategy to advance the rights of persons with disabilities. She urged participants to work together to develop smart and achievable goals by the end of the workshop.

DRF Program Officer, Nigeria, Theophilus Odaudu while giving a background of the workshop, said that commonwealth project of leave no one behind of DRF and the idea of the project is to form advocacy projects around Global Disability Summit (GDS) commitments. There was a summit in UK last year 2018 where many countries made commitments to improve the rights of persons with disabilities and our country Nigeria is one of those countries, some of those commitments are timeline and some have deadlines and it is still a mirage on how many of these commitments has been met by our dear country Nigeria. It is good that OPDs are aware of these commitments so that OPDs can advocate, remind, monitor and push the government to meet these commitments because they are for the good of the persons with disabilities in general. What the commonwealth project is set out achieve is to enlighten the DPOs in Nigeria about these commitments, to strengthen DPOs advocacy capacity and to find ways to work with the DPOs to formulate projects/activities that can be funded to the realization of GDS commitments.

He further spoke on disability rights movement in Nigeria which he stated that it has been faced with a lot of challenges ranging from tribe issues, geographical issues, religious issues, all the differences that supposed to a strength or advantage to us is responsible for our crisis. In spite of this, the movement has grown, there has been improvement in advocacy style even though there are still few DPOs who are very active in advocating for disability rights, many other DPOs are left behind due to poor capacity, poor funding etc. Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) which was formed in early 90s and was registered in 2008 has been in leadership crisis whereby their case is in court and efforts to resolve out of court have not yield any fruit. For DRF point of view, JONAPWD has no leadership and that’s why DRF have not involved them in DRF programmes and projects. He hopes that JONAPWD sort out their problem soon to assume the responsibility of spearheading disability rights movement in Nigeria. The crisis has diversely affected the disability rights movement in Nigeria because as umbrella body which supposed to champion so many programmes and activities on National level which is not happening now. This has been slowing down disability rights movement in Nigeria, even though some cluster organizations are doing well to fill in the gap but it is still better for JONAPWD to come back on board to ensure the smooth running of disability rights movement in Nigeria.

He spoke on DRF commitment towards advocacy in Nigeria, DRF has funded 12 projects between 2018 to 2019 in Nigeria. The first round of grants from DRF ended in August, final reports of the projects are being received and it is exciting that the objectives of the projects has been met. This is an indication that the DPOs are raising to the occasion and they are properly executing their projects. He used the opportunity to call on DPOs who have not submitted their final report to do so because the deadline is around the corner. He concluded by urging the participants to be attentive to the facilitator because it is useful to those who are advocating already, those who are new in advocacy, it will provide a knowledge base in which they can work with. It will be useful for those who are not yet grantees to help them come up with proposals that can receive grants.

He introduced the facilitator whose name is Wamundila Waliuya from Lusaka, Zambia, working with Disability Rights Watch, he has traveled to all part of southern Africa tutoring and mentoring DPOs in advancement of disability rights. Nigeria is the first country in West Africa that he has visited for the purpose of tutoring and facilitating DPOs on disability rights movement. He is a veteran in disability rights movement in Zambia and Africa, being a part and in the forefront of the disability rights advocacy in his home country Zambia.

Wamundila who is a blind person was hilarious, articulate and impactful while facilitating the participants through what is advocacy, why do we do advocacy and Who does advocacy, strategic advocacy planning process( here, he stated the 10 steps of planning advocacy(advocacy cycle) which he took time to facilitate upon during the four days and they are: 1. Identification of the issue, 2. Problem analysis, 3. Drafting Objectives, 4. Situation Analysis, 5. Capacity Assessment, 6. Finalizing Objectives/aims, 7. Device action plans, 8. Implement Action Plans, 9. Monitoring and Evaluation, 10. Revise Advocacy strategy, Introduction of the CRPD and the GDS commitments, lobbying (what is lobbying, influencing styles, qualities of a good lobbyist), working with the mass media.

The workshop was interactive, comprehensive and fulfilling, it also witnessed a lot of group and individuals exercises where the facilitator ascertains the knowledge based of the participants before, during and after a topic.

Most participants we spoke with us (The Qualitative Magazine) were satisfied with the training and the training styles of the facilitator. A participant from The Albino foundation (TAF) Damian Ivom describes the workshop as one of the best he has ever attended because of the quality and wealth of knowledge of the facilitator on the subject. Another participant Comrade Musa Muazu Musa from Centre for Citizen Disabilities (CCD) told us that the way the facilitator broke down the advocacy planning process made him realized that there is still a lot we need to adjust to ensure more effective advocacy in Nigeria. Speaking further, he said that the knowledge of the GDS commitments provided a clearer direction for the advancement of disability rights in Nigeria.

The Participants at the workshop were Freky Andrew Essien (FAECARE Foundation), Esther Andrew Awu (Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB) Nassarawa State Branch), Eberendu Onyinyechi (Office of the head of civil service of the federation), Olanike Akinola (Alliance for Disability & HIV/AIDS), Barr. Ikem Uchegbulam(National Civil Service Association of Persons with disabilities), Hauwa Ojeifo(She writes Woman-Health Initiative), Musa Muazu Musa( Centre for Citizens with disabilities), Tochukwu Okereke( Centre for Rights to Health(CRH), Obinna Dede Ekujereonye( NAB FCT), David O, Anyaele(CCD), Mube Awala Beatrice(National Association Person With Physical Disabilities(NAPWPD), Kyennan J. Mizin( Centre for Independent Living), Miyausa Wayuta Mshelia( Savwin-Sound Abilities For Vulnerable Women Initiatives Nigeria), Haruna Mohammed(Nigerian National Association of the Deaf(NNAD)), Paul Inyanda Onogwu(NNAD FCT), Celine E. Osukwu( Divine Foundation for Disable Persons), Ajayi Ibrahim Olakunle(Nigeria Association with persons with deaf blind), Bilkisu Ibrahim Mahmood(NAB-Kano), Ishaku Adamu (NAB) and Agbo Christian( The Qualitative Magazine).

Executive Director DRAC, Dr. Irene Ojiugo Patrick-Ogbodu in her goodwill message appreciated DRF for the training, the facilitator for enriching the knowledge of the participants in the area of strategic advocacy and urge the participants to apply all that they have learnt in their advocacy for the good of persons with disabilities in Nigeria.

The workshop ended with a curtail party in the night of the last day 17^th October, 2019, the participants, alongside DRAC team, DRF team and the facilitator partied, danced, ate, drank, exchanged contacts and took pictures to ease off a week-long of intensive training characterized with painstaking attentiveness to the facilitator and brainstorming during the exercises.

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF THE WORKSHOP