Attitudinal Change As Catalyst For Transformation

Many Nigerians have not imbibed the culture of queuing up in
public places. This is observed daily in banks, bus stops and filling stations.

It is also not
unusual to see people urinating or defecating in the open and in unauthorised
places or civil servants misusing governments’ property put in their care.

These negative
attitudes have been of great concern to the government over the years. Various
programmes, including the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) were introduced to
sensitise Nigerians on the need to develop the right attitudes.

Aware that no policy can succeed without attitudinal change,
the National Orientation Agency (NOA) recently launched a campaign designed to
re-orientate Nigerians. The campaign is tagged: “Do the Right Thing: Transform
Nigeria.’’

At the official launch of the campaign, President Goodluck
Jonathan stressed the need for attitudinal change among Nigerians.

“This is a moral re- awakening programme that will galvanise
the people to greatness which lies in the right attitude,’’ the President said.

According to him,  the
change would offer the nation a new lease of life, as no nation could grow
without a remarkable change in the citizens’ attitude.

He observed that although the assignment could be arduous,
it would get support from the administration.

The Director-General
of NOA, Mr Mike Omeri, said it was a programme intended to make all Nigerians,
irrespective of class and status, to always do the right thing.

“It is a value orientation campaign that seeks to create a
deliberate consciousness in Nigerians to do what is right,” he said.

The NOA boss  said the
logo of the campaign was to strike the conscience of the people on the need to
join hands in the development of the country.

According to him, it is the beginning of a new thing that
will daily remind Nigerians of the need to be part of the building of a
fatherland where justice and progress are assured.

Urging Nigerians to
always examine their conscience while undertaking a task in the name of the
country, the Director-General appealed to Nigerians to cooperate with the
Federal Government to transform Nigeria, adding, “there is hope for Nigerians
if we work together to transform the country. ’’

He said the campaign would seek the partnership of
stakeholders as it would involve house-to-house engagement.

The  Market Women
Association of Nigeria (MWAN) is not left out in the campaign to change the
attitude of Nigerians towards doing the right thing.

The President of
MWAN,Mrs Felicia Sanni, called on Nigerians to desist from doing anything that
would portray the country in bad image.

She urged women to be in the vanguard of the campaign to
make Nigerians behave responsibly, since they are saddled with the
responsibility of taking care of the children and the family at large.

“As women, I believe we can do a lot to help this society
redirect its step, we have influence on our husbands, we are the custodians of
our children and we should be able to instil discipline in them,” she stated.

For the Deputy Director, Public Relations, State Security
Service (SSS), Mrs Marilyn Ogar,
Nigerian women could end the current security challenges in the country.

“In the security circle, we believe that it is women that
can bring an end to the security challenges, because women sleep and wake up
with their husbands, they are closer to their children and should know what
they do,” she said.

Meanwhile, the
Executive Secretary, National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in
Persons and other related matters (NAPTIP), Mrs Beatrice Jadi-Agba noted that
collaboration was necessary in tackling bad practices.

She said for NAPTIP to effectively address the menace of
trafficking, it was necessary to involve NOA in the campaign to educate the
people on the dangers of trafficking.

Jadi-Agba said that trafficking should be given prominence
in Do-the-Right-Thing campaign.

She stated that NAPTIP was designing a communication
strategy which would help it fight the menace, adding that the role of NOA was
strategic.

The National Chairma, Independent National Electoral
Commission, (INEC) Prof. Atahiru Jega, said NOA played a vital role that
ensured the success of the 2011 general elections.

Jega said the campaign was coming at the time the commission
was planning to create a permanent voters’ register, noting that NOA would play
a very important role in that respect.

The Special Adviser
to the President on Ethics, Mrs Sarah
Jibril, decried the decadence in the country’s values. She said that
Nigeria’s values were eroded by slavery, military administration and civil war.

“Nigeria suffered from slavery, it eroded its values; it
suffered military coups, which truncated trust and eroded values in our national
psyche; it fought a civil war , which brought about political and economic
mistrust,” she said.

Experts argue  that no
nation could sustain its integrity without enduring values and ethics, nor can
Nigeria develop or sustain development efforts without sound moral values and
doing the right thing. They therefore urged governments at all levels to put in
place all measures necessary to sustain the present campaign.

Ogunshola writes for
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Femi Ogunshola