Volunteering in the Achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria

Abstract

The emerging issues of governance as well as unforeseen circumstances such as COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola and violent crimes have exposed the inadequacies of state bureaucracy to initiate and execute programmes and projects that will bring about national development. This suggests the place of volunteering in national or global development agenda such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Volunteering represents a critical and vibrant system of the society that drives development using the bottom-top approach. This study therefore seeks to advance the understanding of volunteering in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria. The paper draws on literature-based analytical historical perspective using secondary data. The findings of the study revealed that volunteering has significantly impacted on SDGs in Nigeria specifically in the aspects of good health, gender equality, economic growth and quality education with the exception of climate action. Challenges of volunteering in Nigeria are also unpacked in the paper together with the establishment and functions of Nigerian National Volunteer Service. The implication of the above is that volunteering is sacrosanct in achieving SDGs in Nigeria. Therefore, the paper recommends that: there is need for volunteering system to be strengthened in Nigeria in order to enable it performs optimally. This requires review of volunteering policy together with the functions of Nigerian National Volunteer Service (NNVS) for better performance; volunteer organization should do better in climate resilience by way of sensitizing the citizens on climate resilience mechanisms rather than proving succor after the occurrence of climate incident; and government in conjunction with volunteer organizations and other relevant stakeholders should decentralize security governance for conducive atmosphere to enable volunteers carry out their duties without fear of being attacked etc.