Civil society is popularly defined as the arena independent from the state (political influence) and market (economic influence) where individuals forge associational ties in pursuit of their interests.
The essence of civil society is to advance the interest of a group of people with a common socio-economic, political or cultural interest, not with the aim to capture political power or make profits but to provide and advance the course of good governance and the common good of its members. Nigerian civil society has been active since the colonial times and been at the forefront of fighting for civic, political, and socio-economic rights at different times in the history of the country.
Colonial Era
During the colonial era, various forms of voluntary associations existed and gave voice to protests against colonial rule, and later, to the call for independence.
The harsh conditions brought on by colonial rule triggered organised political agitation in Nigeria leading to the growth of labour, professional, media, women, and student organizations such as the Nigerian Youth Movement, the Nigerian Union of Students (NUS), the West African Students’ Union (WASU), and the Railway Workers Union (RWU). The RWU – in particular- founded in 1931 and subsequently led by Michael Imoudu had a reputation for its radical and militant defence of workers’ rights and conditions.
Oppressive colonial policies like increased taxation on men and women, nurtured resistance and activism. The Aba women riot of 1929 was triggered by the exploitative imposition of tax by the colonial government on women, which was vehemently resisted by women in the Eastern region of Nigeria. Similar exploitative taxation on women also triggered the Abeokuta women’s revolt /Egba women tax riot, which were a series of non-violent mass protests that happened between 1947 and 1949 and caused the king – the Alake of Egbaland to abdicate his throne.
Overall, the activities of trade unions, professional societies and community associations contributed to Nigeria’s nationalist movement and laid the foundation for the fight against military rule and pro-democracy struggle.
Independence Era
The immediate post-independence period saw the growth of political activity.
Political parties existing before independence like the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) consisting of several cultural and trade associations, as well as originally cultural associations like the Egbe Omo Oduduwa and the Jam’iyyar Mutanen Arewa metamorphosed into political parties to contest elections. During the first civilian administration between 1960 and 1966, labour unions, student associations, and the media maintained a strong presence and organised protests against unpopular policies. Unfortunately, the euphoria of independence was short-lived with the advent of the civil war in 1967, the suspension of the constitution and political party activities.
The Civil War Era
During the civil war, which took place between 1967 and 1970, religious groups and international humanitarian NGOs such as the World Council of Churches (WCC) and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were active in providing reliefs to victims displaced during the war. The Joint Church Aid (JCA) mission made up of the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Caritas International (CI) – the Vatican City humanitarian assistance organization, and Church World Service (CWS) – was established in 1968 to provide humanitarian assistance to victims, many of whom were women and children.
Post-Civil War and Military Rule
The country was governed by the military between 1966 and 1979 and between 1983 and 1999. The military regimes were dictatorial and anti-civil society, but this did not stop the emergence of organizations who, with the support of international civil society organizations, stood bravely against military rule and for the restoration of democracy.
Interestingly, successive military regimes often introduced political transition programmes while manipulating and restricting the activities of civil society and political parties. While these programmes were often dubious and cloaked with a hidden agenda of perpetuating their regime, civil society’s tenacity under the military era led to its final ouster in the late 90s.
Picture Credit: The New York Times
Second Republic (1979-1983)
The second republic of 1979 to 1983 was a civilian regime marked by massive economic decline, fall in oil prices, mounting external debt, corruption and the infamous 1983 general elections crises and ensuing violence. It also saw the resurgence of civic and political activism, exposure of corrupt politicians and some considerable wins. For example, tensions between organised labour union and politicians culminated in a two-day strike involving more than one million workers mobilized by the NLC in 1981 and resulting to a structured minimum wage for workers via enactment of the first ever National Minimum Wage Law.
The second republic also witnessed the growth and increased visibility of women NGOs, especially the emergence in 1983, of the Women in Nigeria (WIN), a strong feminist movement at the forefront of canvassing for gender equality. The eventual collapse of the Second Republic set the stage for the emergence of human rights NGOs in Nigeria.
Post Second Republic (1980s and 90s)
This period included the military regimes of General Muhammadu Buhari, General Ibrahim Babangida and General Sani Abacha. Draconian decrees, arbitrary arrests, detentions, press intimidation, and proscription of organizations were tactics in the toolkit of the regimes. These were pretty much the order of the day and thus, created a climate of fear and apprehension in the country.
However, it was in the 1980s that human rights and pro-democracy groups like the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), Constitutional Rights Project (CRP), Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Campaign for Democracy (CD), Constitutional Rights Project (CRP), and National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) entered the scene. These groups complemented the struggles of students, workers, market women, and professionals including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS). They worked collectively and fearlessly to demand democracy, accountability, human rights, and social justice.
The 1990s under the General Abacha regime was a particularly brutal period. For example, in 1995 – a horrible year for human rights – environmental activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 others were executed by the regime. Also, the former head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo was sentenced to death along with many others on unverified allegation of a coup plot. It took a worldwide campaign for imposed death sentences to be commuted to jail terms. The massive abuse of human rights led many organizations (trade unions, professional bodies, community groups, ethnic minority movements, churches and faith based organizations) which had previously existed for different reasons to gravitate towards a human rights agenda.
Human Rights Organisations in the Military Era
Nigeria’s first indigenous human rights organization, the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) was formed in 1987 by two lawyers and activists, Clement Nwankwo and Olisa Agbakoba. It was active in the areas of civil rights advocacy, legal aid, penal reform, human rights education, human rights monitoring and documentation, police reforms, and political activism.
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) was formed in 1989 to defend and promote human rights and to document abuses. It was headed by Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti and comprised of students, ex-student leaders, radical middle-class lawyers, academics and professionals.
The Constitutional Rights Project (CRP) was founded in 1990 by Clement Nwankwo and was also focused on promoting human rights and documenting abuses.
In 1990, several civil society and professional organizations such as National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) came together to form the coalition known as the National Consultative Forum (NCF) headed by late renowned lawyer and activist Alao Aka-Bashorun. The goal of NCF was to provide a united forum for mass organizations, professionals, and individuals to promote the idea of a National Conference that would offer solutions to socio-economic and political difficulties confronting the country.
In 1991, the forum, together with some other pro-democracy, human rights, women, and students’ groups transitioned into the Campaign for Democracy (CD) led by Alao Aka-Bashorun and Dr. Beko Ransome-Kuti, a former President of the NMA.
Minority and environmental rights groups such as the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and Movement for National Reformation (MNR), Environmental Rights Action (ERA), founded in the early 90s highlighted issues affecting ethnic minorities especially those in the Niger-delta region.
The National Democratic Coalition of Nigeria (NADECO) was formed in 1994. It comprised of a wide array of established politicians, eminent Nigerians, political organisations and some pro-democracy organizations. The group was particularly active in campaigning for the reinstatement of the annulled June 12, 1993 election outcome.
Between 1993 and 1999, these groups, in collaboration with trade unions like the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers Union (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) fought the Nigerian military to a standstill. They mobilised students and workers for civil disobedience, strikes and protest marches across the country against unfavorable economic policies that caused hardship on citizens. They also fought for the release of prominent activists like Dr. Beko Ransome Kuti, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Femi Falana, who were arrested and detained following the June 12 protests. Human Rights Watch reports show that by August 1993, over 200 activists had been arrested across the country following the protests.
The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) was founded in 1998 with Clement Nwankwo as founding Chairman and played a crucial watchdog role in safeguarding the integrity of the transition election in 1999. TMG deployed more than 10,000 election observers throughout the country for the various stages of the election process and produced what is described as the most useful analysis of the 1999 elections.
The primary goal that brought these organizations together was their commitment to restoring political and civil freedoms and ending military rule. The insecurity, lack of safety and killings caused by the military led many pro-democracy activists to flee the country. Several however remained. The sudden death of General Sani Abacha eventually paved the way for the end of decades of military rule and the return to democratic civilian rule in 1999.
Post 1999
Since independence, the role of civic groups has been mostly influenced by the nature and politics of Nigeria. Civic groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), mostly known as civil society organisations, flourished from 1999 and expanded their focus beyond civil and political rights to socio-economic rights and issue-based advocacy. With an alleged number of over 30,000 NGOs catering to Nigeria’s population of over 180 million, civil society groups have also become diverse ranging from welfare groups, humanitarian assistance organisations, peace building groups, youth empowerment organisations, to groups working on health, education, climate justice, research, and policy advocacy. Civil society organisations have played an active and significant role in Nigeria’s democratization process and continue to work towards consolidation of democracy in Nigeria.
Snapshot of Historical Context
| ERA | TIME | NATURE OF CSO/ENGAGEMENT |
|---|---|---|
| Colonial | Pre-1960 | Active labour, Nationalist/Pro-independence groups, Women groups against taxes |
| Democratic Rule | 1960-1966 | Independence Euphoria |
| Military | 1966 | Cautious optimism |
| Civil War Period | 1967 – 1970 | Religious groups, especially the catholic church played a significant role, religious connotations of the war, suspicion of humanitarian groups kicks in depending on whose side |
| Gowon | 1971 – 1975 | Re-emergence of Unions, ASUU, Journalists, Human Rights lawyers antagonistic to Military Govt. |
| Murtala | 1975 | Arbitrariness, Purge of civil service |
| Obasanjo | 1976 – 1979 | Continued Suspicion |
| Shagari | 1979 – 1983 | Women in Nigeria (WIN), other gender NGOs grew |
| Buhari | 1984 – 1985 | Antagonism – retrospective laws |
| Babangida | 1985 – 1993 | Antagonism and suspicion |
| Abacha | 1994 – 1998 | Antagonism and persecution |
| Abdulsalami | 1998 – 1999 | Cautious optimism |
| Obasanjo | 1999 – 2007 | Collaboration until the 3rd term agenda reared its head, suspicion, antagonism |
| Yar’adua | 2007 – 2009 | Bridge building, Electoral reform, Niger Delta amnesty |
| Jonathan | 2009 – 2015 | Initial collaborative working, Oil subsidy protests, antagonism |
| Buhari | 2015 | Initial collaborative working, growing intolerance and suppression of rights |