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Social workers across the country under the aegis of the Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NaSoW) have appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the “National Council for Social Work Bill” without further delay, sayimg that the law will checkmate the activities of quacks in the profession.
NASoW Chairperson in Lagos state, Mrs. Adetoun Ogedengbe made the appeal on behalf of the association on Tuesday in a statement issued in commemoration of the International Social Work Day, with the theme “Promoting Importance of Human Relationships”.
The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) has marked March 19 of every year as International Social Work Day worldwide. Social workers in Nigeria also observe the day.
Ogedengbe in her statement, maintained that assent to the “Nigeria Council of Social Work bill 2017” which has been passed by the two arms of the National Assembly will put Nigeria on the map of countries that truly care about the welfare of their citizens.
Her words: “To bring about effective social work practice, all tiers of government must see social services as pivot to the quest towards assisting the less privileged people most of who are below the poverty line. This no doubt will enhance social harmony and stability.
“Permit me to appeal to the 8th National Assembly members and the Presidency on the issue of the ‘’National Council for Social Work Bill’’ that they both have a date with history by passing it and assenting to it as a landmark legacy of this administration.
“Assent to the ‘’National Council for Social Work Bill’’ will stem the activities of quacks in the profession and also put Nigeria in the map of countries that are absolutely caring about the welfare of their citizens.”
Speaking at the event organised to mark the day, Mrs Ogedengbe said the gathering will afford professionals the opportunity to interact, share useful ideas and eventually benefit professionally through the various discussions.
According to her, “the theme of the celebration is very apt given the important role of human relationships in achieving set objectives and the need for professionalism in every facet of our lives in order to meet acceptable international standards in our various activities.
Speaking further, she said: “Social work as a profession which help individuals and vulnerable members of the society must therefore continue to reflect the yearnings of the people and accommodate various challenges confronting the nation.
“There is the need to give pride of place to promotion of human relationships. In doing this, effective communication skills are important for Social Work Professional.
“The very basis of Social Work is informal interaction, which help Social Workers to relate better with their clients. The clients need to feel comfortable and should be able to trust the social work provider. By this we are building infinite human relationships for the greatness of our communities and the society at large.
“Let me state at the point that we have at our hands, a discipline and profession that is not only people-oriented but one that focuses at bringing succour to the vulnerable members in our society. By this we are playing a role that makes us the light of our society and we cannot afford to fail in this task, and we will not fail.
“Very quickly, it is important to note that Social Workers could be found in every areas of human endeavour, providing succour to the people to manage their social circumstances. Therefore, it requires someone with impeccable skills of human relationship to successfully undertake and achieve the above noble objective. We must therefore privately and collectively engage in promotion of excellent human relationships.
“Furthermore, as professional we must continue to play our part well like other professionals in contributing to national development. This will be achieved by adhering to professional ethics, due process and continuous capacity building of members through skills development and acquisition and periodic review of our work ethics in conformity with modern trend.
“Since search for perfection is an enduring craving in all human beings, therefore social work practice has a long span which requires following trends and finding better ways of doing things that will be beneficial to the people and enhance social stability. Social work practice globally is changing and everyday there are new challenges which require new methods and every profession should fashion out ways of meeting these global demands and changes in order to remain relevant. Therefore, social work profession cannot be an exception!
“Let me add that, it is vital for Social Workers to stick to the social work norms and values that were universally recognized and adopted. Social Workers therefore, have a great role to play in assisting the society to manage these emerging trends. This can be achieve by ensuring that Social Workers are well-equipped through capacity building, improving our social connections and building strong inter-personal relationships among ourselves and others. Very important to note, that it is through cooperation which is achieved through excellent human relationships that will give us the opportunity of improving our society, attaining expected peace, and managing our diversity.
“Finally, it is unequivocal that the future of social work in Nigeria is great, therefore, all hands must be on deck to move the profession forward. Given the enormous responsibility of Social Work profession, there is need for continuous improvement in the services rendered to the people in other to meet the changing demand of social work services.