Making NOA More Effective

Events unfolding across Nigeria in recent times come across as the activities of a people confused, unpatriotic and reckless. Even more disturbing is the manifestation of more grounds that tend to divide Nigerians even when the government hopes to deliver change.
Even as The Tide joins some Nigerians to assume that the promised change is a positive one, recent events, statements and projections in different quarters suggest otherwise. More than ever before, Nigerians are sharply divided on nearly every issue. The seeming support for divisive tendencies if not checked now can be regrettable.
The level of patriotism is at an all time low, uncertainty in the polity too rife and insecurity a common experience. Unless there is divine intervention, Nigeria get to a place where it may sit on a keg of gun-powder. If the leadership fails to see this or lacks the will to cure it, it may soon be too late.
Nigeria is at war with terrorists in the north, pursuing persons that are agitating for the State of Biafra in the East and shooting illegal oil dealers in the Niger Delta. On the other hand, the ethnic groups are struggling for supremacy, the working class is dis-satisfied and now the economy is a common cry.
While it will be easy to trade blames and to identify reasons for the current state of affairs, the challenge is to have a handle on the issues. While the bickerings of the 2015 electioneering may have aggravated the threat level, the government of the day cannot afford to continue to fight perceived political battles.
The Tide thinks that the time has come when the country must be brought together as one. The need for national cohesion, patriotism and understanding has become rather imperative. It is time to explain, eliminate and defeat the too many negatives on Nigeria.
Perhaps, it is time to put the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to the best use. The agency that metamorphosed from the defunct MAMSER and WAI is expected to educate, enlighten and mobilise Nigerians for peace and development. They are to physically interface with the people and also take feedback to government.
How well they do this is difficult to say. Also unclear is how well they are staffed and funded. NOA is a federal agency that operates in all the States and Local Government Areas. In times like this, when the neutrality of the media is suspect, NOA should be the credible agency of State that must protect the nation’s ideals.
Although some persons had said NOA is a mere proliferation of government offices to provide employment, we think otherwise. It was said that the Ministry of Information is well able to cover the duties of NOA, but time has shown otherwise.
That is why government will need to revamp NOA and equip it to go to the field, meet the people and help them interpret the media, as well as the activities of government and the component groups of the country. NOA needs to openly attack groups and persons who do or say things that compromise national peace and unity.
This is about the shortest path to bringing all Nigerians on the same page and to facilitate attitudinal change based on patriotic  ideals. If Nigeria must experience change, the people must see the need for change and the benefit of accepting change.
On a serious note, many Nigerians are under-informed and mis-informed. Sadly, the youth and the elite are captured by the foreign media and the entertainment industry. It is time to draw attention to Nigeria our beloved country.