The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has unveiled plans to collaborate with cartoon creators and establish school citizen brigades to bridge the parenting gap and promote Nigerian values among children.
During a stakeholders’ workshop on parenting programs in Nigeria, supported by Parenting For Life Long Health (PLH) and the Global Parenting Initiative at the University of Oxford, NOA Director General Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu highlighted the challenges faced by families due to various factors such as insecurity, economic crisis, poverty, and unemployment.
He emphasized the need for responsible parenting and the agency’s role in addressing these challenges.
One of the key initiatives announced by Issa-Onilu is the engagement with cartoon creators to ensure that cartoons watched by Nigerian children reflect the country’s culture, heroes, folklore, diversity, challenges, and victories.
He expressed concern that foreign cartoons currently dominate children’s programming in Nigeria, shaping their character and worldview in ways that do not reflect Nigerian culture and values.
To address this, he said the NOA plans to curate local content that aligns with national values and partner with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to enforce a requirement that television stations allocate 60 per cent of their content to local programming.
Additionally, Issa-Onilu stated that the NOA intends to establish Citizen Brigades in primary and secondary schools across Nigeria to promote national values among students.
”These brigades will familiarize children with the promises and commitments of citizenship and instil values-consciousness from an early age.
”The initiative aims to develop a generation of young Nigerians who are proud of their heritage and committed to the nation’s progress,” he added.
On her part, Dr. Isang Awah, representing PLH from Oxford University, underscored the importance of supporting parents with interventions to raise children effectively.
She noted that the current humanitarian crisis and socio-economic challenges have made parenting more difficult for many families, emphasizing the need for knowledge and skills to support parents in providing nurturing environments for their children.
