By Doyin Ojosipe
The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) have agreed to work together to strengthen whistleblowing advocacy and whistleblower protection in Nigeria and across the West African sub-region.
Coordinator of AFRICMIL, Dr. Chido Onumah, stated this when a delegation of the Dakar-based PPLAAF paid a courtesy visit to the AFRICMIL office in Abuja.
Dr Onumah said the collaboration was important in view of AFRICMIL’s leadership role in the advocacy objectives of the Whistleblowing Advocacy Coalition Of West Africa (WACOWA).
He said that WACOWA, which comprises Anti-Corruption Civil Society Organisations across ECOWAS member countries was formed in 2022 for the purpose of extending advocacy for the enactment of whistleblower protection legislation to ECOWAS states.
He said the issue of whistleblower protection and legal framework has occupied the front burner of anti-graft war in Nigeria for some time now, adding that report of AFRICMIL’s survey on whistleblowing in Nigeria emphasized the need for protection to encourage the support and participation of citizens in the anti-corruption campaign.
“More importantly, we are happy to note that we have made good progress in the advocacy for a whistleblower protection law in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, West Africa and Francophone Director of PPLAAF, Jimmy Kande, said positioning his organisation, AFRICMIL and CSOs working in the same area in such a way as to win the trust of whistleblowers will be helpful to encourage them to submit tips.
He said working with whistleblowers was sometimes challenging as most of them usually ignore self-protection mechanisms by blowing the whistle and exposing their identity only to come around for support when they face reprisals.
Although we are working to protect whistleblowers, it is good for them to know that our duty is not to be seen as providing financial support but to adopt other avenues to protect and support whistleblowers,” Kande noted.
He pointed out the need to sign an MoU with whistleblowers before encouraging them to go public with their information. He said that will help in putting certain protective measures in place.
He said, “For us, it is really important that the first conversation you want to have with a whistleblower is if he wants to be discreet or not and to also educate them on the consequences of some of their decisions and actions.”
Kande, who was accompanied on the visit by Marie-Paule Conare, PPLAAF West Africa Coordinator, agreed with AFRICMIL that it was imperative to hold workshops and meetings that will sensitize Nigerians and whistleblowers on the usefulness of being anonymous and steps to take before blowing the whistle.
AFRICMIL Snr Program Officer, Godwin Onyeacholem, commended PPLAAF for suggesting a new pathway to whistleblowing advocacy but noted that whistleblowers who have worked with AFRICMIL had always presented their case with evidence which is shared with partners and other CSOs that are supporting the protection of victimized whistleblowers.
He mentioned that though AFRICMIL had succeeded in getting justice for some whistleblowers, it was important to educate whistleblowers on good practices.
