THE National Orientation Agency (NOA) is planning to create local cartoons to counter the influx of foreign values among young Nigerians.
The NOA director general, Lanre Issa-Onilu, revealed this while featuring on the Kwara Television News Beat programme recently.
According to him, the project aims to instil local values in children and help them to cultivate homegrown heroes to emulate.
Speaking on the newly introduced Citizen Value Brigade (CVB) by the NOA, Issa-Onilu advised parents to find local heroes for their children rather than looking elsewhere.
He said the CVB would kick off with 1,000 children per state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
Meanwhile, Issa-Onilu said Nigerians seeking to use the national anthem must seek permission from the government.
He argued that the decision was taken to avoid misrepresenting the anthem.
The ICIR reported that President Bola Tinubu signed the bill to revert to the old national anthem into law on Wednesday, May 29.
The assent was part of activities marking the President’s one year in office.
The ICIR reported that the Nigerian Senate passed the National Anthem Bill 2024 seeking to revert the new anthem, with the lawmakers arguing that the old anthem evoked more emotional connections with Nigerians.
Speaking further on the television programme, Issa-Onilu reiterated the need to maintain the national flag’s colour – green, white, and green, with the correct shade of green being Emerald 2.0.
He urged Nigerians to participate equally in nation-building and also highlighted the agency’s significant progress since his appointment as DG.
He noted the transformation from the “neglected state” in which he said he met the agency, citing key achievements such as the establishment of audio-visual studios, the launch of an optimised NOA website featuring the CLHEEAN-NOA Artificial Intelligence voice and chat assistant, and the recent approval of institutionalisation policies by the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The DG stated that previous governments prioritised building infrastructure while neglecting the importance of instilling values, leading to a decline in social support systems like the Boys’ Scouts, Girls’ Brigade, WAI Brigade, and even the NOA itself.
According to Isaa-Onilu, President Tinubu’s administration has addressed the previous oversight, supporting value orientation and national identity through recent FEC approvals.
He promised that NOA would hold press conferences in all states to launch a sensitisation campaign on the agency’s new policies.
He emphasised that the NOA was the custodian of Nigeria’s national symbols, with the agency tasked with preventing all forms of their misuse.
A reporter with the ICIR
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