WEEK SEVEN

PUBLIC SERVICE(2)
 Lesson Objectives: At
Date: Tuesday, 4th the end of the
Topic: Civil Society
July, 2022 lesson, I should be
able to:

explain the
meaning & forms
of the Civil
Society.

Identify the
functions of the
Civil Society.

State the
problems of the
Civic Society.
 Homework
Developed countries proud themselves by
having a strong civil society network.
However, the reverse is the case for Africa. As
an African, with five points, suggest how this
can be remedied ? (15 Marks)
Submission date: 11th June, 2021.
 Reference

Bounty Civic Education

for Senior Secondary
Schools, pages 258-261.
 REVIEW OF LAST LESSON
The public service is
structured into classes.
Using Nigeria as an
example, it is headed
by Ministers at the
federal level and
Commissioners at the
state level.
…any previous knowledge?

…the Civil
Society?
 Starter (5
minutes)

Watch the following video and

explain your observations.
STARTER
 THE CIVIL SOCIETY

MEANING: The Civil

Society is a non-
governmental
organisation or
voluntary body
formed to pursue
specific issues or
needs in the society.
 It is an organisation that give
voice to various sections of
the society and also champion
the cause of the powerless,
the poor and the needy.
The Civil Society
consist of
registered
community
groups, charities,
women
organisations,
trade unions,
religious
organisations,
coalitions and
advocacy groups.
FORMS OF CIVIL SOCIETY (15 minutes)

1. GENDER-BASED
GROUPS: These are
non-governmental
organisation formed
to enhance the
standard of life and
welfare of a
particular gender.
 Examples are;
National Council of
Women Societies,
Women in Business,
Women Rights
Advancement and
Protection Action etc.
2. PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS: This
is made up of
mainly bodies of
professional groups
coming together to
fight for the welfare
of its members and
betterment of the
society.
Examples includes;
Nigeria Medical
Association(NMA),
Nigeria Bar
Association(NBA),
Nigeria Union
Journalists(NUJ),Acade
mic Staff Union of
Universities(ASUU) etc.
3. PRO-DEMOCRACY
GROUPS: These are civil
society groups formed
for the promotion of
democratic principles.
The objective is to
ensure that democracy
strives in a country the
people enjoy the
dividends of democracy.
Examples are;
Campaign for
Democracy (CD),
National
Democratic
Coalition(NADECO)
etc.
4. LABOUR
GROUPS: This is a
form of civil society
set up to cater for
the workers in the
civil and public
service including
other workers
union in corporate
establishment.
They work with other
groups to fight against
unpopular government
policies that affect
workers and the masses.
Nigeria Labour
Congress(NLC) and Trade
Union Congress(TUC) are
example of labour
groups.
5. HUMAN RIGHTS
GROUP: This is a civil
society group that
promote the
entrenchment and
full implementation
of fundamental
human rights in
countries
constitutions.
They demonstrate
and protest against all
forms of human rights
abuses.
Example are;
Committee for the
Defence of Human
Rights(UDHR).
6. STUDENTS GROUPS:
These are students groups
in universities,
polytechnic and colleges
campuses. They fight for
their welfare and for good
governance.
The National Association
of Nigeria Students
(NANS) is a good example.
7. RELIGIOUS
GROUPS: As the name
implies, these are
religious organisations
that comes together
to glamour for the
cause of adherents of
its faith, the masses
and good governance.
Examples includes;
Jama’atu Nasril
Islam(JNI),
Pentecostal
Fellowship of
Nigeria(PFN),
Christian Association
of Nigeria(CAN).
8. ADVOCACY
GROUPS: These
are groups that
publicly champion
the aim of a
particular group
or body.
It includes; Arewa
Consultative
Forum, Odua
Peoples Congress,
Ohaneze Ndi Igbo,
Rotary Clubs, Lions
clubs etc.
 Group work (10 minutes)

Explore three functions of

Civil society Organisation .
FUNCTIONS AND NEED FOR CIVIL SOCIETY
1. Service provision to
the less privilege.

2. Promotion of good
governance.
3. Development of
values.
4. Encouragement of
political participation.

5. Prevention of
dictatorship
 6. Promotion
of democracy.

8. Protection 7.
of the Enlightenment
constitution. of the public.
 Plenary (5 minutes)
In two sentences, write what you have
learnt from our lesson.
 Group work (10 minutes)

Watch the following

video and explain at
least five challenges
facing civil
organisation.
 PROBLEMS OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY
1. Financial problems:
CSO’s are not funded by
the government. It is
the members that
contribute to support
the organisation,
including donations
from foreign partners.
These funds are limited.
2. Sustainability
challenge: Sometimes,
there is always the
challenge to sustain the
projects and programmes
of the organisation. As a
result, most CSO’s change
their focus and dance to
the whims and caprices
of the government.
3. Human resources
problems: Civil
society is mostly
form by activists
who share the same
vision. Individuals
with this special
qualities are not
many.
4. Unfriendliness with
government: Most CSO’s
are fond of organising
unreasonable and
unnecessary protest
against the government.
Such protest sometimes
result to riots and
destruction of public
properties.
5. Easy to manipulate:
Most CSO’s are
vulnerable to
manipulation by either
the government or
opposition politicians
to disrupt or distract
the government in
power.
5. Tendency to be
corrupt: The general
notion is that members of
the civil society are people
of integrity, however, its
been proved that some
leaders of the organisation
misappropriate donations
meant for the
administration of the
group.
7. Misleading the public:
CSO’s sometimes mislead
the public through wrong
information about
government policies and
programmes. These
wrong information makes
it difficult for the public
to support government
policies.
 ASSESSMENT

Examine five
functions of the
Civil Society.
Lesson objectives review
End of the lesson, were you able to:

•explain the structure of the Public Service.

•discuss the importance and functions of the
Public Service.
•Outline some shortcomings in the Public Service
•Explore some ways of improving the Public
Service in Nigeria
…the last line.
 …in our next class, we’ll examine…

…Human
Trafficking.