Nigeria is formulating a national ideal and values document that will guide how the citizens interact with one another, the government, and the international community.
The National Values Charter will be unveiled in April according to the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu.
Issa-Onilu told Nigeria Info 99.3 FM Lagos on ‘Hard Facts with Maryann Okon’ that the charter will define what it means to be Nigerian.
It will be to the Nigerian what the ‘American Dream’ is to an American or what other countries’ ethos are to the citizens of the country.
Onilu said it would be different from other projects of the NOA which merely featured media campaigns encouraging Nigerians to be good citizens.
The National Values Charter will be a two-way document of shared values that will benefit the citizens as much as it benefits the government.
It contains seven government obligations to the citizens and seven duties of the Nigerian to the government.
“We have not created the conditions for the Nigerian man to call himself a Nigeria, proudly. We must create the conditions,” he said on Hard Facts on Monday.
“That’s the difference between what we are doing now and the past. It takes two to tango.
“You cannot ask the citizens to do all of this without the country (itself) showing commitment. That’s why it is a charter.
“What we are putting in place is a contract between the country and the citizens. The charter has two components and the president will be unveiling it in April at a public event.”
Issa-Onilu did not list the seven government obligations or those of the citizens but said the Charter would guide the Nigerian authorities’ relationship with Nigerians regardless of political party affiliation.
He is confident that the Charter will push Nigerians to have a shared value system and see themselves first as citizens of the country rather than segregating people based on ethnic birth.
