ISTR Fifth International Conference Cape Town, South Africa / July 7-10, 2002 Transforming Civil Society, Citizenship and Governance: The Third Sector in an Era of Global (Dis)Order

Bukola Akintola email

Civil society in Nigeria is made up of a wide array and a rich variety of voluntary associations, charity organizations, professional associations, trade unions, hometown associations, cooperative societies, ethnic associations, academic associations and alumni, age grades, youth associations and clubs, religious associations, the press as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Members of the society formed many of these associations, primarily, to serve and protect the interests and values of th eir members, and to address many developmental needs that may not be met by the state. Secondarily, they promote political awareness and educate their members on their rights and responsibilities as citizens of the country. Over the years, due to prolon g military rule in Nigeria, many of these associations, and many more that were formed, became actively involved in political matters, and they mobilized the society to oppose strongly military rule. They organized rallies, demonstrations, strikes, and o ther forms of activities to pressurize the military to relinquish power in favor of civilian governance. Civil society organizations were able to form coalitions and alliances in order to realize their objectives in seeing the military out of governance. The researcher believes that if the same amount of effort put into fostering the democratic project could be translated into forming alliances and coalitions along the lines of pursuing joint developmental goals, the relevance of civil society would be felt more by the Nigerian people.

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