By Modupeola Sahid-Adebambo, PhD
The recent debates surrounding the implementation and institutional domicile of the Nigerian Council for Social Work (NCSW) have generated considerable concern among professional social workers across Nigeria.
As stakeholders who have invested years of sacrifice, advocacy, and professional commitment toward the actualisation of this historic legislation, many members of the social work community believe it has become necessary to clarify certain misconceptions, preserve the true historical narrative of the Council, and explain why the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation remains the most suitable institutional home for the Council.
The Nigerian Council for Social Work did not emerge overnight, neither was it the product of a single ministry or agency. The journey toward professional regulation in social work has been long, difficult, and sustained primarily by members of the Nigeria Association of Social Workers (NASoW), who, for many years, laboured tirelessly to secure legal recognition for the profession. Across different administrations, NASoW members mobilised resources, attended legislative hearings, organised consultations, engaged ministries, met lawmakers, drafted memoranda, and consistently advocated for a regulatory framework that would protect the integrity of social work practice in Nigeria.
The historical records surrounding the bill clearly show that the process encountered serious setbacks at different stages. At one critical point after the initial passage of the bill at the National Assembly, observations forwarded from the Ministry of Women Affairs contributed significantly to delays in presidential assent.
This development forced stakeholders within NASoW to restart engagement processes and participate in fresh inter-ministerial consultations aimed at resolving concerns raised around the bill. Social workers from across the country contributed personal resources, time, and energy toward salvaging the process because they understood the enormous importance of professional regulation for the future of social work in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, many practitioners became deeply disappointed by experiences encountered during parts of the advocacy process. There were instances where assurances were allegedly given that certain administrative and legislative processes would be facilitated, only for those promises to fail to materialise. This eventually compelled NASoW and committed stakeholders to directly intensify engagement with the National Assembly and other critical government institutions. Through persistence, professional solidarity, and continuous advocacy, the bill eventually progressed and was signed into law.
It is therefore understandable why many social workers feel uncomfortable with recent attempts to rewrite the history of the Council by portraying it primarily as the project of a particular ministry or external organisation. While development partners such as UNICEF may have supported certain engagements within the broader child protection and social welfare ecosystem, the Nigerian social work profession itself, through NASoW and committed practitioners, remained the principal driver of the struggle for professional regulation. The sacrifices, lobbying efforts, consultations, and years of sustained pressure from social workers across Nigeria must not be erased from public memory.
Beyond the issue of historical accuracy lies the more important question of institutional suitability. The current debate is not merely about prestige or administrative ownership. It concerns the future identity, autonomy, and effectiveness of social work regulation in Nigeria. Social work is a broad-based profession that extends far beyond women and gender-related interventions. Professional social workers operate in medical settings, psychiatric hospitals, correctional institutions, schools, rehabilitation centres, disability services, child protection systems, humanitarian emergencies, ageing services, community development programmes, substance abuse treatment facilities, refugee and migration settings, and social protection programmes. The profession addresses virtually every dimension of human vulnerability across the lifespan.
The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs undoubtedly performs important national functions, particularly in relation to women, children, gender policy, and family welfare. However, its institutional mandate represents only a limited segment of the wider social work profession. Domiciling the Council solely within that ministry risks narrowing public understanding of social work and may unintentionally reduce the profession to only gender and child-related services. Such a situation would undermine the multidisciplinary and comprehensive nature of social work practice.
In contrast, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation possesses a broader social protection and welfare orientation that aligns more naturally with the core mandate of professional social work. The ministry supervises major humanitarian and social intervention programmes targeted at vulnerable populations across Nigeria. It interfaces with poverty alleviation initiatives, rehabilitation programmes, social safety nets, displacement response systems, and broader welfare interventions that closely reflect the realities of social work practice. The ministry also already relates with institutions and programmes that employ social workers directly within humanitarian and welfare operations.
Furthermore, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs is institutionally better positioned to provide a wider national platform for social work practice because its operational focus cuts across multiple dimensions of vulnerability rather than concentrating primarily on a specific demographic category.
Professional regulation should ideally sit within a structure that appreciates the full spectrum of social work responsibilities, including mental health, disability, ageing, rehabilitation, corrections, medical social services, disaster response, community development, social policy, and poverty reduction.
Another important concern raised by practitioners is the need to preserve the professional independence of the Council. Regulatory bodies function best when they are allowed to operate with professional neutrality and without excessive political interference. Many social workers fear that locating the Council within a ministry that is often highly political in orientation may expose the profession to unnecessary administrative struggles, competition for institutional control, and reduced professional autonomy.
The repeated controversies, overlapping implementation attempts, and counter-mobilisations witnessed in recent times have only reinforced these fears among practitioners.
What social workers desire is not conflict between ministries, but a stable institutional arrangement that will allow the Council to function effectively, professionally, and independently in the interest of the Nigerian people.
The profession needs a regulatory environment that prioritises competence, ethical standards, quality assurance, training, licensing, research, and protection of vulnerable citizens from quackery. The ultimate objective should not be which institution claims ownership of the Council, but which institutional environment will best allow social work to thrive and contribute meaningfully to national development.
The establishment of the Nigerian Council for Social Work is one of the most significant developments in the history of social welfare administration in Nigeria. It represents decades of sacrifice and advocacy by thousands of social workers who believed that the profession deserved proper recognition, structure, and regulation. As implementation progresses, all stakeholders must resist attempts to politicise the profession or distort its history. The future of social work regulation must be built on fairness, truth, professionalism, and a sincere commitment to strengthening social welfare services for all Nigerians.
At this critical moment, stakeholders must place the long-term survival and credibility of the profession above institutional rivalry. The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation provides the broader operational and policy environment necessary for the Nigerian Council for Social Work to grow into a truly national professional regulatory body capable of serving the diverse needs of the Nigerian population. That, ultimately, is the direction that best serves the profession, the practitioners, and the vulnerable citizens whose lives social workers are called to protect.
Dear readers, we really need your support to keep on serving you with authoritative, truthful, and juicy stories everyday. For your support, please reach out to the editor @gavelinternational66@gmail.com