Civil society organisations have urged the National Assembly to scrutinise foreign influence, funding and partnerships shaping policies and programmes on child education, family values and reproductive health in Nigeria.

The organisations, led by the Centre for African Policy Research and Advisory (CAFPRA), made the call in Abuja during a media engagement on children, family values, education and public policy.
They urged lawmakers to look beyond individual bills and examine the broader policy frameworks, funding sources, international partnerships and educational materials underpinning programmes targeted at children and young people.

CAFPRA Executive Director, Dr. Segun Adebayo, said African governments must ensure that policies adopted in their countries reflect their own social and cultural realities.
“We are dedicated to policies of the land, to be sure that the policies of government in Africa are consistent with the realities of Africa,” Adebayo said.

He called for wider consultation with parents, educators, civil society groups, child-rights advocates and community leaders before policies and programmes affecting children are adopted.

The organisation argued that Nigeria should not automatically adopt international policy frameworks without first assessing their compatibility with the country’s laws, culture, family structures and institutional realities.

It specifically called for closer scrutiny of concepts contained in some international frameworks relating to children’s education, reproductive health, personal autonomy and gender.
CAFPRA said terms such as “bodily autonomy”, “sexual rights” and “gender identity” should be clearly defined and their implications carefully assessed before being incorporated into legislation, government policies or educational materials for children.

Human rights lawyer and public affairs analyst, Sonnie Ekwowusi, said public opinion was becoming increasingly important in determining whether controversial policies eventually gain legislative acceptance.
“Public opinion change is currently where they are going, because if public opinion does not change, it will never be passed as a law,” Ekwowusi said.

CAFPRA disclosed that it had written to the Presidency and leadership of the National Assembly to draw attention to its concerns and planned further engagements with relevant legislative committees.

Policy researcher and media personality, Gold Boms, said the organisation was examining proposed legislation and government policies to determine whether they aligned with Nigeria’s social environment.
“We are making sure that all the bills being passed, we are looking at them and saying, look, this is not aligned with our social reality,” Boms said.

The organisations also demanded greater transparency in the development, funding and implementation of programmes affecting children, urging government agencies and development partners to disclose their objectives, funding sources and implementation arrangements.

Chris Yama, a representative of CYFPRA, described the issue as one requiring wider public attention because of its potential impact on families and future generations.
“It is a very important conversation. It is on a topic that affects your children and your grandchildren. It is comprehensive sexuality education,” Yama said.

A child-rights advocate with InnerCity Missions for Children, Jane Chukwu, said policies affecting vulnerable children must reflect the realities of poverty, family breakdown, limited access to education and inadequate child protection.

She said her organisation was establishing a free school in Abuja for children from vulnerable backgrounds while also implementing educational and vocational initiatives to help young people rebuild their lives.

Chukwu stressed that child protection required more than policy pronouncements, saying government and stakeholders must also address the social and economic conditions that expose children to vulnerability.

CAFPRA also referenced developments in countries including Liberia and Zimbabwe, alleging that some education, reproductive health and family-related programmes had received external support.

The organisation urged Nigerian lawmakers to examine the origins, funding arrangements, partnerships and implementation structures of similar programmes operating in the country.

As part of its advocacy, CAFPRA disclosed plans to present an African Charter on Family Values and Sovereignty to the National Assembly.
Adebayo said the proposed charter would provide an additional framework for discussions on family values, national sovereignty and policies reflecting African circumstances.

“We are going to bring that charter to our National Assembly,” he said.
The CSOs urged the media to intensify investigative reporting into policies and programmes affecting children, particularly their origins, funding sources, objectives and implementation.

They maintained that Nigerians deserve sufficient information to understand who develops, funds and implements programmes directly affecting children and families.

The organisations ultimately called on the National Assembly to subject policies affecting Nigerian children to broader consultation, greater transparency and rigorous legislative scrutiny, insisting that Nigeria’s social and cultural realities must remain central to decisions concerning its children.