With the proliferation of active citizenship, especially among young adults, open governance and access to public information are becoming more profound to measure government performance and ensure transparency across all decision-making processes. Olumide Areo is one of our resilient Ambassadors who have been at the forefront of amplifying awareness about the Freedom of Information Act to ensure increased access to public information.
Olumide is our Kano state FOI Ambassador and has taken the FOI awareness campaign to the nooks and crannies of Kano state. He recently had a presentation with Rotaract Club members, Bayero University and Rotary Club of Dala-Sunrise Kano, district 9125.
During the engagement, Olumide discussed the need to hold the government accountable through the FOI act. He also put the participants through a session on making a successful FOI request, where he distributed the step-by-step guides to them.
Saddled with the responsibility to sensitise the citizens on the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, Olumide has also engaged hundreds of students across different high institutions in Kano state, this includes the Federal College of Education, Kano, Bayero University, Kano and also members of the National Youth Service Corps during their Community Development Service meeting.
According to Olumide, the youths engaged were delighted as they asked series of questions regarding the FOI Act and how they can effectively initiate an FOI request in their immediate community to become part of the social accountability advocacy in Kano state.
The Ambassador also visited the Aminu Kano Library to donate copies of our step-by-step FOI guides, where he sensitised staffs on achieving transparency and accountability through the Freedom of Information Act.