THE National Orientation Agency (NOA) was established in 1993 by Decree 100, now an act of Parliament No.24 of 2004. The Agency has the primary role of communicating government policies, promoting patriotism and developing the society.
Given this, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope, which to the programme is a journey that combines attitudinal change in a concrete developmental index. To achieve part of his goals, the President appoints, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu as the new Director General of National Orientation Agency, on the 19th of October, 2023 in order to achieve the underlined goals.
In the realization of the task ahead and in working towards the achievements of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the government, the D.G and his Management set out to produce the first Nigerian Values Charter for guidance and redirection of all Nigerians.
The Values Charter becomes highly important, irrespective of class, ethnicity, and religion to the ideals and values for which we were traditionally known and that were used to build our various societies for their institutions.
In his advocacy and enlightenment of the stakeholders and indeed all Nigerians, the D.G stated that the National Values Charter is geared towards evolving a united people with a commonality of characteristics, aspirations, sense of nationalism and pride for their country.
He also stated that the charter prescribes for both the leadership and followership in a symbolic relationship that ultimately defines our nation. Therefore, the contents should be the values that will guide all Nigerians- leaders and followers in their daily lives whether in private or public lives.
The National Values Charter is divided into two broad sections namely;
1. The Nigerian Promise and
2. The Citizen’s Commitment to the Nigerian State
THE NIGERIAN PROMISE:
This is a seven (7) Core Promises made by the country as represented by all government officials. The seven core promises are:
1. Equality
2. Democracy
3. Entrepreneurship and Employment
4. Peace and Security
5. Inclusivity
6. Freedom and Justice
7. Meritocracy
While THE CITIZEN’S COMMITMENT TO THE NIGERIAN STATE are equally summarized to seven-point obligations expected from all citizens. These are:
1. Discipline
2. Duty of Care
3. Tolerance
4. Leadership
5. Accountability
6. Environmental Awareness
7. Resilience
We shall endeavour in the next edition to discuss further on the Promise and Commitments as listed above.
Comments and Contributions to improve on the presentations to the understanding of all Nigerians are welcomed.
Bimbola Sulaiman, a trained journalist and broadcaster, is a staff of National Orientation Agency (NOA), office of the Director General, Lanre Issa-Onilu.
Her column ‘NOA ON THE MOVE’, a sponsored partnership with News Point Nigeria, appears on this platform on Thursdays. She can be reached on bimbolasulaiman@gmail.com. Twitter: @bimssulaiman, Instagram: bimbolasulaiman