Building Equitable North-South Collaborations:
print this article
The Social Work in Nigeria Project
Uzo Anucha

The Social Work in Nigeria Project (SWIN) is an international collaboration between the University of Benin in Nigeria and three Canadian universities - York University, the University of Windsor and the University of British Columbia. The project is focused on strengthening the capacity of the University of Benin, Nigeria to train social workers, a project that can contribute to women empowerment and gender equality in Nigeria. It is funded through a $1M contribution agreement with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through the Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada (AUCC), and cash and in-kind contributions from all four partner universities, the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development in Edo State, Nigeria, the Nigerian Association of Social Workers and a coalition of local NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) from Benin City in Nigeria.

Background and Rationale

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and the 10th largest country by population in the world. Its national boundaries are set from colonial history and cut across numerous cultural and physical boundaries. Nigeria has more than 250 different ethnic groups, of mainly Christian and Islamic faith. Unfortunately, ethno-religious rivalry also has its roots in this context from the early days of independence from Britain in 1960. Despite being the world’s sixth largest producer of crude oil, with huge mineral reserves, agricultural riches, and humanpower, indicators point to some of the lowest living standards in Africa for a large majority of Nigeria's 120 million people. According to the United Nations, Nigeria is one of many developing countries that is impeded by a vicious circle linking poverty, insecurity and vulnerability in a context of growing inequalities within and among countries (ref: Development & of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, 2003). Social development is lagging with particularly negative consequences for women (Pereira, 2002). Gender-based power differences in Nigeria create disparities in resources, social capital, and options for action.

Despite these challenges, opportunities for gender equality are timely because of the present democratic climate in Nigeria and the willingness of the federal government to support the equality of men and women in accordance with constitutional provisions. This commitment is exemplified by the signing of the National Policy on Women in July 2000 after the failures of previous administrations. The policy provides an opportunity and anchor for present and future initiatives to address the barriers that limit the full participation of Nigerian women in various aspects of social life. The efforts of the government to promote gender equality and women empowerment is complemented by the work of vibrant NGOs, women’s groups and coalitions that have sprung up to address the needs of women and the girl-child. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals Report for Nigeria for 2004 noted this current conducive environment by rating as “strong” the state of supportive environment in Nigeria for achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goal number three which focuses on Promoting Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

The empowerment of Nigerian women is the key goal for interventions that seek to mitigate these negative consequences for women and girls. Experience in Nigeria and other developing countries has demonstrated that increasing the empowerment and resources available to women is an effective strategy for improving social outcomes not only for women but also for their families and their communities (Uduigwomen, 2004). The social work profession - with its long tradition of empowering and working with marginalized people through multi-level interventions and collaborations with community-based organizations - is well positioned to contribute significantly to women empowerment and gender equality in Nigeria. Ideally, social work programs in Nigeria should produce social work practitioners who have the skills and knowledge to develop and implement community-based interventions that address the social problems faced by Nigerian women, their families and communities.

Unfortunately, social work programs in Nigerian universities are significantly disadvantaged by an inadequate supply of professionally trained social work faculty and curricula that largely focus on ‘individual problems’ rather than systemic issues, thus limiting their ability to prepare students to provide community-responsive, gender-competent social work interventions. There is also a lack of focus on such critical areas as the integration of theory and practice, HIV/AIDS, gender and social development, working with rural adults, intervention approaches with women, community-based social work, working with families, and social welfare policy analysis. As well, current social work programs and institutions lack necessary resources to support teaching and applied social welfare research. Undoubtedly, a strengthened social work education sector can train a new generation of professional social workers with the necessary skills and knowledge to address the priorities of Nigerian women through prevention and intervention projects that are founded on the principles of empowerment and long-term social change. Also, strengthened social work training can provide professional development to personnel currently working in social work-type positions with NGOs and government agencies in Edo State and throughout Nigeria.

Key objectives of the Social Work in Nigeria Project include:

1. Enhanced capacity of the University of Benin to provide professional social work education at the diploma and undergraduate level.
2. Development of a fully functioning and sustainable MSW program at the University of Benin.
3. Enhanced capacity of the University of Benin in collaboration with local NGOs and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development to train in-service social workers through the establishment of a Community Social Work Training Centre.
4. Improved capacity of University of Benin faculty to conduct applied social welfare research that is policy and practice- relevant in collaboration with community partners.
5. Increased profile and reputation of social work in Nigeria through heightened awareness of social work roles and functions among policy makers and the public.

The Process of Building Equitable Collaborations

Some of the key principles and values that are central to the Social Work in Nigeria Project include a commitment to avoiding past imperialistic practices and an awareness of continuing problems with contemporary international collaboration. International research has become increasingly relevant due to increasing interdependence and contact between nations and cultures. Yet, increasing cultural contact has not always been in the best interests of nations that are under-resourced, and often vulnerable to exploitation by researchers with more economic and political power. The more optimistic proponents of international research suggest that international collaborations will result in jointly developed universal approaches that will bring economic and social benefits to all nations involved. However, too frequently, contemporary inter-nation relations still mirror exploitative practices of colonialism that have dominated international history. We are very mindful of potential undercurrents in research collaborations with developing countries and recognize the risk that contemporary inter-nation relations might mirror past imperialistic practices.

To avoid the potential of such well- intentioned but problematic collaborations, the methodology of the Social Work in Nigeria Project incorporates principles such as ‘indigenization’ and ‘reciprocity’. Unlike “authentization that argues that social work in Africa and other developing countries needs to completely repudiate all Western influences, indigenization cautions against throwing the baby out with the bath water, arguing that Western models can be modified to suit local conditions” (Anucha 2007). Walton and Abo El Nasr (1988) describe indigenization as a process that involves taking Western social work models and modifying them to suit a different cultural environment. This adaptation invariably requires a consideration of both the political and socio-cultural context of the importing country. Midgely (1981) emphasizes that the key idea in indigenization is ensuring appropriateness – both of professional social work roles and social work education, to the expectations of social work practice in a particular environment.

SWIN also embraces the principle of reciprocity rather than a donor-recipient relationship or what Midgley (1990) critiques as “the one-way international flow of ideas and practices” where social work educators and scholars from developing countries are cast as potential recipients and social work educators and scholars from the West as potential donors of knowledge. The Canadian partners view collaborating with their Nigeria counterpoints as an opportunity to develop new, shared frameworks for examining the status of women in Nigeria as well as Canada. The struggles that we see Nigerian women facing are not far removed from the struggles of marginalized women in North America (Lucas, 2001). Canadian feminist/empowerment perspectives can evolve in response to infusion of frameworks that have emerged in the context of colonization and marginalization. Despite the vast differences in their demographic, economic and cultural characteristics, Canadian social workers could learn from social workers in Nigeria. For example, their experiences of coping and managing with scarce resources,; long experience with working across cultures as well as extensive experience dealing with the social consequences of widespread and persistent poverty can greatly inform and enrich social work practice in Canada.

For more information on the Social Work in Nigeria Project, please visit our website: Social Work in Nigeria Project" title="SWINP">www.yorku.ca/swinp


Authors’ Information

Canadian Project Director

Uzo Anucha, MSW, PhD
Associate Professor
School of Social Work
Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies
York University
4700 Keele Street, Toronto
Ontario, Canada M3J 1P3

Email: anucha (at) yorku.ca

Nigerian Project Director

Chike Okolocha, PhD, MNES
Professor & Head
Department of Sociology & Anthropology
University of Benin
Benin City, Nigeria

Email: cokolocha (at) yahoo.com

References

Anucha, U. (2008). “Exploring a New Direction for Social Work Education and Training in Nigeria”, Social Work Education – The International Journal, 27 (3), 229 – 242

Development, D. f. S. P. a., & of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat. (2003). Report on the World Social Situation, 2003: United Nations General Assembly.

Lucas, E. (2001). Social development strategies of a non-governmental grassroots women's organisation in Nigeria. International Journal of Social Welfare, 10(3), 185-193.

Midgley, J. (1981). Professional Imperialism: Social Work in the Third World. London: Heinemann.

Midgley, J. (1990). ‘International social work: Learning from the third world’. Social Work, 35 (4), 295 – 301.

Pereira, C. (2002). Configuring "global, "national" and "local" in governance agendas and women's struggles in Nigeria. Social Research, 69(3), 781-804.

Uduigwomen, A. F. (2004). A philosophy of education for Nigerian women: Problems and Prospects. The African Symposium: An Online African Educational Research Journal, 4(1), http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/aern/udomen.html.

Walton, R. G., & Nasr, M. M. A. (1988). ‘Indigenization and authentization in terms of social work in Egypt’. International Social Work, 31, 135 - 144.

Submit your comment below.

Write a comment

* = required field

:

:

:


4 + 4 =