Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia has called for the mainstreaming of orientation in national discourse to strengthen unity and development in Nigeria.
Ikpeazu gave the call on Tuesday when Abia Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mrs Ngozi Okechukwu, paid him a visit at the Government House, Umuahia.
The governor said that evolving effective strategies that would enable the citizens to understand the importance of national orientation and encourage national cohesion thereby boosting socio-economic development.
“Government at various levels needs the requisite cohesion and support to drive their policies and developmental strides to the citizens.
“Government has tried to strengthen the naira, improve economy and improve job creation, but all these do not seem to get the required reaction and appreciation from the citizens.
“This is as a result of insufficient sensitisation on the socio-economic impact of government’s programmes and policies,” he said.
Ikpeazu said that the overall effect of poor national orientation was the failure of the citizens to understand and appreciate the efforts of the government to improve their wellbeing.
He said that this raised the need for the government to leverage the extensive reach of the NOA to reach out to the citizens, especially those in the rural areas.
Ikpeazu said that the NOA ought to be the fulcrum driving national orientation and should be given the impetus to thrive across the country.
He said that the NOA had the capacity and structure that could be used to drive the policies and projects of the government in the days ahead.
Ikpeazu described the reconstitution of the War Against Indiscipline (WAI) programme by the agency as a welcome development as it would serve as a vehicle to drive national orientation and nation building.
He said that the state government would give its full support to the agency to ensure that it records huge success in reconstitution of the WAI programme and its operations in the state.
Earlier, Okechukwu said that there was a need for government at various levels to collaborate with the agency in the reconstitution of the WAI programme and brigade.
She said that the brigade would be used in engaging the youth to mount vigilance and build synergy with security agencies to tackle crimes and indiscipline in the state.
Okechukwu called for the support of Abia State Government in the setting up of the brigade, and added that it would encourage attitudinal change among the youth and people of Abia.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that WAI was a mass mobilisation programme that was first organised in March 1984 and was in effect until September 1985 during the military government of Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon.
NAN also reports that the reconstitution of the programme by the present administration is aimed at correcting social maladjustment and promote discipline among Nigerians.(NAN)