Connecting Villages Initiative - CVI

14/10/2026

💬 DEMOCRACY SHOULD BE… | ABUBAKAR IDRIS SADIQ

Democracy is not a spectator sport. It works best when citizens participate actively, ask questions, and demand accountability from those entrusted with public leadership.

In this edition of our series, Abubakar Idris As-salafi reminds us that democracy is not only about what leaders do - it is also about what citizens do to shape the country they want.

At Connecting Villages Initiative, we believe that informed citizens, meaningful participation and accountable leadership are essential to stronger communities and a thriving democracy.

🗣️ Your voice matters beyond election day. Ask questions. Stay informed. Participate in community decisions. Hold institutions accountable.

What does democracy mean to you? Share your thoughts in the comments.

14/10/2026

It's been 3 days since October 11th, when the world commemorated the International Day of the Girl Child under the 2026 theme: “End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights.”

3 days after, data has not changed much, and the message is more urgent.

Recent data show that 1 in 3 young women in Nigeria was married before age 18. In rural communities, the figure rises to nearly 1 in 2. Behind these numbers are girls whose education, health, choices and future opportunities are at risk.

For girls in villages, poverty, distance to school, limited opportunities and harmful social norms can make these barriers even harder to overcome.

When a girl is pushed into marriage before she is ready, her chance to complete school and build an independent future may be cut short.

We cannot build thriving communities while girls are denied the chance to thrive.

At Connecting Villages Initiative - CVI, we call on:

🔹 Policymakers and government institutions to strengthen child protection, enforce laws, and invest in safe, accessible education and support for vulnerable families.
🔹 Donors and development partners should urgently fund locally led, evidence-based programmes that keep girls in school and protect their rights - especially in underserved rural communities.
🔹 Fathers and parents, please be champions of your daughters’ futures. Keep them in school, listen to their aspirations, and protect their right to grow before they are expected to take on adult responsibilities.
🔹 Young men and boys, you should challenge the pressure to marry children. Speak up against harmful practices and stand for girls’ dignity, education and equal opportunities.

Ending child marriage is not the responsibility of girls alone. It requires families, communities, leaders, institutions and development partners to act together.

Let girls be children. Let girls learn. Let girls lead. Let every girl choose a future she can look forward to.

01/10/2026

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, NIGERIA!

Today, Nigeria marks 66 years of independence.

We celebrate the resilience, creativity and determination of Nigerians who continue to build, innovate and contribute to their communities.

But 66 years is also a moment to ask: How quickly are we turning Nigeria’s enormous potential into better lives for citizens?

Look at Malaysia. At roughly 66 years after independence, it had transformed from an economy largely dependent on agriculture and commodities into one driven increasingly by manufacturing and services—through decades of investment and structural change.

Nigeria, too, has the people, resources and ideas to move faster.

At Connecting Villages Initiative, we believe progress requires strong institutions, informed citizens, inclusive participation, accountable leadership and communities with a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

Yes, at 66, let us celebrate how far we have come, but let us equally hasten the building of a Nigeria that guarantees equal opportunities for all, access to quality, inclusive education, a democratic system that is indeed people-centric, etc.

Happy 66th Independence Day, Nigeria!

28/09/2026

💬 DEMOCRACY SHOULD BE… | Rebecca Abugbe

Democracy is more than having a voice at the ballot box. It is having a voice in the decisions that shape our everyday lives.

In this edition of our series, Rebecca Abugbe reminds us that meaningful democracy requires citizens to understand - and exercise - their power to participate beyond elections.

Because when citizens know their voices matter every day, not just on election day, democracy becomes stronger.

What does democracy mean to you?

27/09/2026

DEMOCRACY SHOULD BE... SERIES!

What does democracy mean to you?

At Connecting Villages Initiative, we believe democracy is not only about elections. It is about participation, accountability, inclusion, dignity and the ability of citizens to have a voice in decisions that affect their lives.

So, we asked members of the CVI team to complete one simple sentence:

“Democracy should be…”

Every week, we’ll share their thoughts.

💬 Today’s voice: Imran Ujih

Read the quote. Reflect on it. Share your own.

What should democracy be to you?

22/09/2026

“I WON’T VOTE. IT WON’T CHANGE ANYTHING.”; "NO MONEY, NO VOTE"

Those were the sentiments we heard from some community members after the Nasarawa North Senatorial District by-election in June 2026 and the Nasarawa State Local Government elections in November 2024.

Our observers reported concerns around voter apathy and vote buying—signs of a deeper challenge: citizens losing confidence in democratic participation.

So, on the 29th of August 2026, we took the conversation to Tudun Gwandara.
CVI brought together young people, women leaders and community members for a candid dialogue on vote buying, voter apathy and the power of citizens to shape governance.

Then something shifted.

Participants who had considered staying away from future elections said they were willing to participate, reject vote buying, and share the message with others.

For us, this is the power of grassroots civic engagement: turning frustration into conversation, conversation into awareness, and awareness into citizen action.

Democracy is strengthened when citizens believe their voice matters—and have the knowledge, platforms and confidence to use it.

Rockerfeller Center, New York City CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation National Endowment for Democracy Ford Foundation Wits - University of the Witwatersrand ActionAid Nigeria

15/09/2026

On this International Day of Democracy, Connecting Villages Initiative - CVI joins citizens and organisations around the world to reaffirm a simple but powerful principle:

Democracy works best when people are informed, included, heard and able to participate.

For communities across Nigeria - especially young people, women and those in rural and underserved communities - democracy cannot be limited to the ballot box.

It must mean having access to information.
It must mean being able to speak without fear.
It must mean participating in decisions that affect our communities.
It must mean institutions listening and responding to citizens.
It must mean peaceful civic engagement, accountability and inclusion.

At CVI, we are committed to helping build a democracy where no community is too rural, no voice is too small, and no citizen is too far from the decision-making process.

Through our work in civic engagement, digital democracy, community advocacy and inclusive governance, we continue to connect communities to information, platforms and opportunities to participate.

Because democracy is not sustained by institutions alone.

It is sustained by citizens who participate, institutions that listen, and communities that refuse to be left behind.

Happy International Day of Democracy from Connecting Villages Initiative (CVI). 🇳🇬🌍

15/09/2026

On 2 September 2026, as part of the Digital Democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa Fund and Support Network (DDISA) Project, the Connecting Villages Initiative - CVI advocacy team engaged INEC Nasarawa State to advance conversations on youth participation, voter education, electoral transparency, and peaceful elections.

The team engaged Hajiya Safiya Garba, HOD Voter Education, Publicity and Inclusivity, and subsequently met with the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mallam Abubakar Sadiq, alongside the Administrative Secretary, Mallam Muhammad Dalhatu.

The discussions focused on the need to ensure that young people are not only encouraged to vote, but are informed, engaged and meaningfully included throughout the electoral process.

INEC leadership welcomed the engagement, commended CVI as a youth-led organisation, and reaffirmed the importance of meaningful youth participation in strengthening democracy.

The engagement was fruitful, with a renewed commitment to continued collaboration between INEC Nasarawa and CVI.

At CVI, we believe that stronger democracy begins with informed citizens, responsive institutions and meaningful participation.

13/09/2026

We are pleased to announce the publication of the final research report on Nigeria’s SB.1034, the Foreign Aid (Regulation, Coordination, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill, 2026.

The research was led by El Hak Foundation for Freedom of Expression and Human Rights (EFHR) مؤسسة الحق لحرية الرأي والتعبير وحقوق الانسان, based in Cairo, Egypt, with Connecting Villages Initiative (CVI) contributing an important on-the-ground perspective from Nigeria, particularly on how proposed regulatory changes could affect grassroots civil society organisations and the communities they serve.

We are proud of CVI’s contribution to this important body of research and grateful for the opportunity to bring the realities and experiences of communities and grassroots organisations into a conversation that has significant implications for Nigeria’s civic space.

As SB.1034 moves through the legislative process following its passage at second reading, we believe it is important to state our position clearly.

Connecting Villages Initiative supports transparency, accountability and responsible use of resources received as foreign aids/grants/support etc. Civil society organisations must be accountable to the people and communities they serve, their partners and donors, and to the laws of Nigeria.

However, accountability must not come at the expense of meaningful participation, civic freedoms and an enabling environment for civil society.

We are therefore concerned about the speed with which legislation of such far-reaching implications is progressing, particularly where there appears to be limited meaningful engagement with the citizens and civil society organisations that will be directly affected by its provisions.

The proposed legislation also seeks to establish a Foreign Aid Regulatory Commission with significant powers over organisations and other entities receiving foreign assistance, including powers relating to registration, inspection, auditing and sanctions. These provisions deserve careful scrutiny and broad consultation.

For us at CVI, the question is not whether foreign aid should be transparent or accountable. It should. The question is whether a new regulatory framework is being developed through a process that is itself sufficiently transparent, participatory and accountable.

Legislation that could significantly affect the ability of civil society organisations to serve communities, particularly vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, should benefit from robust public consultation and the voices of those who will be most affected.

As an organisation working closely with rural communities, young people and women, we will continue to contribute constructively to this conversation. We believe Nigeria can pursue transparency and accountability while also protecting civic space, freedom of association and the ability of citizens and civil society to participate meaningfully in democratic governance.

We commend EFHR for leading this research and are proud that CVI was able to contribute the grassroots perspective to the process.

We encourage citizens, civil society organisations, policymakers and other stakeholders to engage with the findings and participate actively in the ongoing conversation around SB.1034.

Transparency matters. Accountability matters. But so does participation.

To read the report, click here:

EFHR publishes a legal and human rights analysis of Nigeria’s 2026 Bill No. SB.1034, examining its potential impact on civic space, civil society and foreign funding.