Adult Education for Effective Community Engagement in Civic and Democratic Processes: Issues and Challenges

The paper identified adult education as an effective tool for enhancing civic compliance among adult citizens in Nigeria, its issues and challenges. The paper pointed out importance of adult education in promoting civic engagement to include that it provides platform and avenue through which adults are reached and educated on community engagement in civic processes. It identified poverty, religious and social class boundaries, high rate of illiteracy as contributors, marginalization, electoral violence, political fraud, insecurity and so on as contributors of civic apathy. The paper pointed out benefits of effective community engagement in civic processes such as, sustained democracy, peace and unity, sustainable community development progrmmes, accountability on the part of the leaders, political stability etc. Among adult education programmes identified for effective community engagement in civic processes include community education, adult civic education, mass literacy education and political \ leadership education. This paper identified limited access to adult education programmes, low level of illiteracy, lack of civic knowledge, funding constraints, and lack of awareness as issues and challenges limiting actualization of improvement in civic and democratic engagement. It suggests that there should be room for improved funding, collaboration with governmental, NGOs and CBOs for improved resource mobilization and training of facilitators to be abreast with global best practices for effectiveness of the process