Director-General of the National Orientation Agency, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, in this interview with ISAAC TAIWO, explains what the agency is doing to address the prevalent culture of negativity among Nigerians.

There is the perception that many young Nigerians don’t believe what the government says. What are you doing to change that?
You can’t ask people to believe without giving them reasons to. Trust is earned by addressing the root causes of distrust. That’s why we’re focused on creating the right conditions, meeting psychological needs, providing opportunities and restoring hope.

When students see government initiatives like student loans, stipends, and smoother access to education, they begin to feel supported. When citizens witness major infrastructure projects and economic reforms, it signals a hopeful future. Hope is the foundation of trust.

We’re also confronting the culture of negativity, especially online. That’s where our counter-narrative comes in, highlighting stories of Nigerians who have benefited from government programmes. Instead of saying “Nigeria has happened to me” negatively, we’re encouraging people to share how Nigeria has positively impacted their lives.

Ultimately, it’s about mindset. If you engage positively, you’re more likely to benefit. If you dwell on negativity, you may miss out. You get what you seek. That’s why we must keep highlighting the benefits of a positive mindset. When people begin to see real rewards for staying positive, more will follow that path and that’s how trust in the government will be rebuilt. We’re showing that a positive outlook has tangible rewards and as more people see this, trust in government will naturally grow.

What roles do citizens have in creating a better nation?
First, citizens must remember that Nigeria belongs to all of us, not just President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or any government official. Governments and presidents come and go, but the country remains. You can’t afford to hate your own country just because you dislike a particular leader. That’s self-defeating. We need to rise above that and act with wisdom. Building a better nation is a shared responsibility.

How is your work impacting the public directly, and what are some examples of this impact?
We see consistent feedback from local councils and states indicating that people are responding positively to our efforts. A clear example was our intervention last year in flood-prone areas. Our early action helped prevent major damage.

This year, with rainfall pattern information from NIMET, we’ve been able to share timely updates nationwide, guiding farmers on when to plant. At the end of the season, when harvests come in, our efforts will have contributed. Last year, many farmers planted at the wrong time due to lack of information, leading to crop failure when the rains ceased unexpectedly. Our current interventions aim to prevent that.

We’ve also calendarised our campaigns. For instance, we know when cholera outbreaks typically occur and which communities are most affected. So, two months in advance, we launch targeted campaigns in those areas, offering clear preventive steps to reduce the impact.

Another example is our work with NELFUND, which manages the student loan scheme. Through our feedback mechanisms, we discovered that some universities were manipulating the process. We alerted NELFUND, and they took swift corrective action to address it.

Many of our efforts yield results that aren’t always visible or easily measured, but these intangible outcomes like improved public awareness and early preventive action are crucial to national development and peaceful coexistence.

You inherited a NOA that was in intensive care. What did you do to make it regain health and relevance?
Calling it an intensive care unit patient is generous. It hadn’t even made it to the hospital. The agency was completely derelict. The staff were disoriented, disillusioned, and dispirited. It was not because they lacked the will to work, patriotism, or competence, but because successive governments only paid lip service to the agency’s importance.

This was despite acknowledging that our challenges go beyond economic hardship, infrastructure decay, or poor social conditions. At the core was a lack of emotional connection to the country, but the previous governments still neglected the NOA, which is the one agency mandated to foster national orientation and unity.

You can build a country with world-class roads, bridges, and infrastructure, but if the minds and hearts of the people are not aligned with national values, it means little. We’ve seen citizens vandalise infrastructure, not because they’re criminals, but because they lack that psychological connection to the nation. That’s the mindset crisis we’re dealing with. Over the past three decades, we’ve raised generations, especially Gen Z, who have no compelling reason to feel patriotic or connected to Nigeria.

This was the state of the NOA when I arrived. The staff had defaulted to routine; they responded only when prompted. If they didn’t show up to work, no one cared. That was the reality – a system running on autopilot, with no direction or morale. That’s what we had to change.

How did you revamp the agency?
Two key things. First, this is squarely within my area of expertise. I transitioned from journalism into communication, with a strong focus on behavioural communication. I understand how audiences think, what motivates them, and how to shift sentiment from negative to positive. That gave me the confidence that I could make a difference.

Second, I’m fortunate to serve under a government that supports innovation. I had a relationship with the President before he assumed office, so I understand his mindset and how he operates. If you’re willing to work and bring the right ideas to the table, he will support you fully. You can have the best strategies in the world, but without the right leadership backing you, progress is nearly impossible.

These two factors (my professional background and the enabling environment provided by this administration) gave me the assurance that I could come in and effect meaningful change.

How did you win over your team?
What I needed to do was share my conviction. I believed things could work, and I went across the country to spread that message. I met with staff in all 36 states and at our 818 locations. At the time, we had 812 offices — including those in all 774 local governments, the 36 states, FCT, and our headquarters. We’ve since added six more at the geo-political zone level. I visited 812 of those offices personally. I engaged directly with the staff, made them understand that I knew their realities, and assured them that we had the solutions and, most importantly, that the President would back us. I spread a message of hope. Before I came in, the general perception was that “these people don’t know what they’re doing” or “why not just shut down the agency?” But when I got here, I realised it wasn’t about the agency lacking purpose. I was able to transfer my conviction to the team. With my background in behavioural communication, I shifted their mindset from negative to at least neutral. That made it easier when we began to produce results. Today, every NOA staff member will tell you that they see reason to believe in this agency again.

And how have you sustained that motivation?
We’ve moved past needing to motivate staff; they’re already onboard. Now the goal is national – we want Nigerians to believe again. But belief doesn’t come from slogans. We approached this scientifically. We asked: Why are people detached from the country? We found that many Nigerians don’t feel a psychological connection to the country. Every social contract must meet three needs – moral (is the system fair?), material (does it provide for me?), and psychological (do I feel proud to belong?).

We’ve started fixing all three. Morally, the system is getting more transparent. The Naira now reflects real market value. The opacity in the oil industry is gone. Funds from subsidy removal are going to state and local governments. States are not just paying salaries, but also repaying their debts. Foreign investors are returning. Airlines that left are flying back in. That is undeniable progress.

What is the National Value Charter in a nutshell?
Think of it as Nigeria’s moral compass. Every society needs one. America has it. Japan has it. But Nigeria? We’ve lacked a clear sense of what it means to be Nigerian. We’ve now defined it.

The National Value Charter is a set of civic values drawn from Chapter Two of our Constitution, but reimagined as something teachable, repeatable, livable. Christianity and Islam have the Bible or Qur’an as guides. We now have a national value guide. But a guidebook means nothing without systems to instill it. That’s why we created seven institutions of nurturing — practical vehicles to make the Charter a lived experience.

Walk us through those seven institutions…
We’re reintroducing civic education, rebranded as citizenship studies, from primary through university. It’ll cover ethics, leadership, values, national pride. So when graduates are certified “worthy in character,” it actually means something.

Two, foreign cartoons shape our kids’ values more than schools do. We’re changing that. We’re supporting Nigerian animators to create cartoons that reflect our heroes, languages, and culture. Three, we’re reviving the spirit of Scouts and Girls’ Guides. We’ll set up 37,000 school brigades in the first year (1,000 per state). These will raise “New Nigerians” who model discipline, patriotism, and civic responsibility. Four, with NYSC the final touchpoint before youth enter the workforce, we’re embedding value orientation in that year. Same for Industrial Training Fund programmes. We’re not just training people in skills, but in attitude. That’s where the real problem lies.

There is also orientation for every appointed or elected official. There will be no more jumping into office without understanding public expectations. We’re integrating national values into Police, Military, DSS, Customs. We are also promoting respect for national symbols: The flag, anthem, currency, coat of arms, constitution. These are not just emblems. They represent our collective identity. If we disrespect them, we weaken that bond.

The seventh is global reputational management, which will address the gap between our identity and the image the rest of the world have of us.