Natural Resource Governance: RJN Nigeria Strengthens Community Accountability, Trains Monitors
By Stephanie Odiase
As part of efforts to strengthen advocacy on natural resource governance, Resource Justice Network (RJN) Nigeria has concluded a two-day capacity-building workshop for its newly elected State Coordinators across the 19 northern states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory.
The workshop which was organised with support from the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (ROLAC II) programme of International IDEA, aimed at strengthening community monitoring, accountability, advocacy, and citizens’ participation in the extractive sector. The event also marked the inauguration of recently elected RJN Nigeria state coordinators from the 19 Northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The training, which brought together RJN State Coordinators and other community activists from across Northern Nigeria, was designed to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and practical tools required to effectively monitor the impacts of resource extraction at the grassroots level.
Addressing participants during the event, Chairman, RJN Nigeria Board of Trustees, Dr. Muhammad Mustapha Yahaya applauded the use of technology tools by RJN Nigeria to simplify the tracking of social, environmental, and human rights impacts of natural resource extraction, urging members to adopt a conflict-sensitive approaches in their monitoring activities.
Also speaking, RJN Nigeria National Coordinator, Erisa Danladi Sarki, urged the participants to see themselves not merely as data collectors, but as frontline champions of transparency, accountability, and justice in Nigeria’s natural resource governance.
“The tool you are learning to use has been designed to generate credible, evidence-based information that amplifies community voices and informs constructive engagement with government, industry, and other stakeholders. The quality of your observation and reporting will determine how effectively we can expose governance gaps and ensure that the benefits of natural resources reach the communities that bear the greatest social and environmental costs,” she said.
Speaking further, she encouraged the newly elected state coordinators to maximize the opportunity by gaining more knowledge, building stronger networks, and applying the lessons learned to promote transparency, accountability, and community participation in their respective states.
During the session, participants were also taken through the transition of the global network from Publish What You Pay (PWYP) to Resource Justice Network (RJN), highlighting the vision, mission, and expanded mandate of RJN, which go beyond its original focus on extractive industry transparency to incorporate wider natural resources as well as issues of climate and just energy transition, civic space, gender, and social inclusion.
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