The Open Project Partnership, OPP, moved its enlightenment campaign to Baba-Ode community at Oko Erin, Ilorin West Local Government, in Kwara State on Tuesday, with the major objective to enlighten the people on active participation in governance and project tracking.
OPP is a collaborative platform to enhance transparency, accountability and community engagement in project management.
The platform enables diverse stakeholders to track, monitor and contribute to project impacting their communities.
Speaking during the community engagement, the Project manager, Mr Damilola Adebayo, stressed the need to engage their representatives in government to know and monitor their programs, state their complaints and offer meaningful inputs.
Adebayo noted that communities must not be docile as this allows representatives to take decisions at will without regard for the need and aspirations of the citizenry.
“We all must therefore be aware of what is in stock for us and let our representatives know we are monitoring in order to keep them on their toes and secure the dividends of democracy,” he said.
Also speaking, OPP coordinator, Mr Olaide Olawuwo, harped on the need for citizens to follow the budget at all tiers of government and be aware of the government plans for their constituency.
According to him, the basis of the whole setback is that, most of the time, we are not even aware of the government plan for us and do not know if there is any project approved for execution.
This, he said leaves the people in the dark and robs them of the opportunity to ask questions when projects are not implemented at all, when abandoned or when poorly implemented.
Olawuwo also charged the people to interact with public office holders at all levels of government, but emphasized the need to do so collectively as a community.
While noting that the abandoned projects in the community has been identified, he disclosed plans to pay a courtesy visit to the relevant MDAs and also organize a town hall meeting where the people will be able to ask questions and table their concerns.
Representative of the Mogaji, Malam Muahammed Garba, who spoke on behalf of women, youths, and artisans in attendance, described the program as an eye opener.
Garba thanked the organizers for choosing Baba-Ode community for the sensitization program and pledged their readiness to act in line with the enlightenment program.
He also sorts the support of the organization in tracking and monitoring some ongoing projects in the area.