When Lanre Issa-Onilu was appointed as the Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in October 2023, it marked a strategic shift in the Nigerian government’s approach to public communication.
A media and strategic communications expert with over 30 years of experience, Issa-Onilu came into the role with a clear mandate: restore the relevance of the agency, and institutionalise value-based governance through structured national orientation.
Under Issa-Onilu’s leadership, the agency began a thorough restructuring. The first step was internal realignment, while a new operational direction was established.
“We have a benchmark for ourselves and we are assessing at every turn of events, tick where necessary, so we know what we have done and done right, what we need to improve on, and what we need to reintroduce,” Lanre Issa-Onilu said in a recent interview.
“In the process, we also generate feedback about what we are doing. We are able to know what people think of what we are doing. That is one way we are doing that.”
This set the tone for broader reforms aimed at repositioning the agency as a central vehicle for government-citizen engagement.
Leveraging Digital Media to Amplify Government Messages
Under Lanre Issa-Onilu, the NOA has embraced digital media as a central tool for public enlightenment, social listening, and policy education. The agency is reshaping how the government connects with Nigerians, with digital transformation including:
- The Explainer by NOA: A digital storytelling platform simplifying complex government policies and national developments for easy public understanding.
- CLHEEAN – AI Voice Assistant: Available 24/7 to guide citizens through government policies, initiatives, and services—helping build trust through transparency.
- NOA Virtual Hackathons: Social media-powered competitions engaging the youth and diaspora communities with civic tech innovations and national dialogue.
- The Curator Platform: AI-powered data visualisation and management platform informing the agency’s communication campaigns for precision and effectiveness.
- The Mobilizer App: A digital platform promoting youth civic participation through gamified engagement, policy quizzes, and volunteer coordination.
- Insight-Driven Digital Campaigns: Leveraging data segmentation tools to craft hyper-targeted civic messages, improving engagement and reducing message fatigue.
- Online Civic Literacy Tools: Digital learning modules for schools and communities aimed at early-life indoctrination of values in line with the National Values Charter.
Key Achievements Under One Year
In less than 2 years, Lanre Issa-Onilu has repositioned the National Orientation Agency (NOA) as a key driver of civic education, national values, and public mobilisation. His reforms include:
- Establishment of NOA Content Factory: A new media ecosystem producing public-interest content via NOA TV, NOA Radio, and The Explainer, focused on informing and mobilising Nigerians with accessible, timely content.
- National Hackathons Initiative: Virtual hackathons aimed at youth within and outside Nigeria, encouraging tech innovation and national unity.
- Deployment of Insight Data Segmentation Model: A research-based audience targeting system that ensures messages are segmented to resonate with Nigeria’s diverse demographics.
- Onboarding of Over 300 MDAs: Successfully integrated ministries, departments, and agencies into NOA’s communication pipeline for coordinated public messaging.
- Community Presence Across Nigeria: With over 5,000 staff and 812 on-site offices spread across all 774 LGAs, NOA is ensuring hyper-local visibility and interaction.
- Over 300 Million Naira in Prizes for Hackathon Participants: Youth engagement through innovation has been incentivised with tangible rewards and exposure.
- 12,000+ Public Engagement Rate (Verified): Reflecting growing reach and relevance in a country where trust in institutions remains a challenge.
A Leader with Vision, Backed by Experience
Issa-Onilu’s leadership is emerging as a case study in how reform-minded individuals can revive public agencies.
He studied Mass Communication at the University of Lagos and holds a Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University, USA.
He is also an alumnus of New York University and WARC London, with affiliations to PRSA, APCON, and the International Communications Conference in New York. He has also served as National Publicity Secretary of the APC.
According to industry experts, his dual background in journalism and political communications appears to be helping him navigate both the bureaucracy and the media terrain effectively.
“You can’t engage over 200 million people with analog tools. The NOA under Lanre Issa-Onilu is showing other agencies what modern public communication should look like. This is what digital governance in Africa ought to feel like,” Ngozi James, a digital expert said.
“Before now, many of us didn’t even know what NOA stood for. But now we’re seeing a big shift. There’s a clearer direction and more coordination at the agency. And it’s great people are finally paying attention to what the NOA is doing,” Jubril Ibrahim, a tech policy analyst also said.
Challenges and Outlook
Despite the progress, challenges remain. Nigeria’s digital divide continues to hamper full penetration of digital campaigns. Experts say there are also lingering trust deficits between citizens and government, which require more than just messaging to fix.
However, many industry leaders see the NOA becoming a permanent interface between the Nigerian state and its people, one that is technologically empowered, and consistently relevant.
If the agency continues to push for better initiatives and inter-agency cooperation, a change is bound to resonate across the country, positioning the National Orientation Agency as a cornerstone of democratic engagement in Nigeria, experts say.
Talking Points
It is commendable that under Lanre Issa-Onilu’s leadership, the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has redefined its role by embracing digital tools to reconnect with citizens, especially in a fragmented media landscape.
The establishment of the NOA Content Factory marks a strategic shift toward multimedia storytelling, making government policies more accessible, relatable, and transparent.
At Techparley, we see how these platforms, paired with AI tools like CLHEEAN and The Curator, are reshaping civic communication by delivering policy updates, national values, and programme insights in real time.
Through innovative approaches like the Mobilizer App and nationwide Virtual Hackathons, the agency has successfully tapped into Nigeria’s tech-savvy youth, fostering greater participation and national pride.
If these digital transformation efforts are maintained and scaled properly, NOA could emerge not just as a messaging agency, but as a vital civic interface, shaping how Nigerians understand, own, and participate in their country’s development journey.
