Jesus wept

Last week as I sat in car on a journey to the Sunshine State, I was driven at speeds of up to 140kmph by a Nigerian, who maybe thought he was invincible along roads with the usual obstacles of potholes, goats, children, motorbikes and oncoming traffic.  As I admired the beautiful greenery, of bananas, palms, and mountainous countryside I pondered this rich poor country and I remembered that Jesus wept.

He wept over Jerusalem, and I am sure he is weeping over Nigeria, this country that is full of joy, laughter, noise, vibrancy, enthusiasm, and poverty, this country of potential and poverty, this country where the happiest people in the world live, you don’t have to have Jesus’ compassion to weep over Nigeria.

Nigeria is rumoured to have the highest paid politicians in the world, at least some of whom have private jets, it is the sixth largest exporter of oil, the most populous country of black people, has the 37^th largest economy, and hopes to be in the top 20 economies by 2020. 

Who would wish the burden of oil on a country, one of Nigeria’s poorest areas is known to be the Delta,  which has for years experienced pollution as a result of the oil trade, a recent UN report ordered a clean up by Shell.  Meanwhile this oil rich country has almost no electricity, with only around 40% of people having access to electricity, even those who do have electricity rarely see it, today I have had none for example – in fact official reports describe Nigeria’s electricity supply as “epileptic.”

A quick look at Nigeria’s Millennium Development Goal report 2010, reveals some harsh facts

·         In 2004, 54.4% of people lived on under $1 a day

·         In 2008, 23.1% of children were underweight

·         In 2008, 88.8% of children were enrolled in primary education, but only between 2 and 98% completed depending on the State.

Nigeria also recently earned a new “claim to fame” as the second worse place in the world to be pregnant.  The MDG report states an under-five mortality rate of 157 per 1000 live births and a maternal mortality rate of 750 per 100,000 births.

As if all this wasn’t bad enough, since the election Boko Haram, allegedly responsible for Friday’s bombing in Abuja, have carried out a number of fatal bombings of police stations, markets and churches in their campaign for adoption of Islamic Law in the Northern States.

Sometimes I wish Nigeria’s people would stop being happy, and hold both their political and religious leaders to account, surely if the people in Nigeria are the 25^th poorest in the world, but the economy is the 37^th largest, something is wrong? 

Jesus is weeping and so am I

Some facts above from this interesting article

Nigeria: Rich country, poor people

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/nigeria-rich-country-poor-people/96703/

OD - Happy Day!

Having promised to tell you more about my work, today I found a message in my inbox from the Chair of the Board congratulating me on leading the Organisational Development plan, saying it is comprehensive, readable, practical and the organisation will do all it can to implement it!  

It has not been easy, actually the doing it wasn't very difficult, the hardest thing was getting the right people together for long enough to discuss it, come up with ideas and make decisions.  The right people being people who were committed and stayed in the meeting room for the duration of the meeting.  They all came with their mobile phones which they also attended to throughout the meetings, but this is Nigeria, I'm getting used to it slowly, at least they didn't bring their laptops and browse or their newspapers and read, which is also common practice in meetings in Nigeria.  Apparently you don't listen with your eyes so you can read the paper and listen at the same time, however I doubt they would do it with their father, or their pastor!

Lagos - Perceptions and Reality

Before I came to Nigeria, I was scared of it, and even more scared of Lagos.  If you are wondering why I am surprised, Nigeria has a reputation for it seems all things bad: crime, corruption, armed robbery, juju, 419 and email scams.  My grandmother told me some friends of hers spent 20 years in Nigeria and hated every minute of it, now I was a little dubious, they could have just flown home!  Another friend who did some consultancy work here told me that she was met at the airport in Lagos by a driver, and an armed guard, somebody else told me not to come at all.  So now I have been to Lagos three times and I rather like it!

So after all these dire warnings I was glad that I was flying into Abuja, a long way from Lagos, and that apart from the intense heat, February is not a good time of year to move from Bournemouth to Abuja, I found Nigeria was surprisingly normal, I could for example walk along the street and use public transport, without the need of an armed guard!  However even in Abuja the tales of Lagos continued to be off-putting, you could waste the whole day in a traffic jam, or go-slow as Nigerians call them, another friend told me she took a UK visitor to a big market in Lagos and she was totally overwhelmed.

So after moving to Ibadan, a mere 128km from Lagos, I finally ventured to Lagos to visit Mike, a British volunteer who is based there.  My journey was a classic example of Nigerian hospitality; first I caught a shared taxi to Iwo Road, a major transport hub in Ibadan.  I asked a fellow passenger to help me find transport to Lagos.  She did, found the vehicle, negotiated the fare, and arranged for someone on the same bus to make sure I got off at the right stop and found connecting local transport. 

Note the bus stop with canopy and name!

One thing that struck me immediately in Lagos were bus lanes, and formal bus stops, almost like a tram or railway station, bus tickets, and buses with destinations on the front.  Na wa o!  This is the BRT or Bus Rapid Transit System brought in by Fashola, the Lagos State Governor who has just been re-elected for his second term.  His campaign slogan was “Lagos is working, Fashola is working”.  Sceptics say it is in the second term you find out if politicians are genuine; currently they can only serve two terms so in the second term they can steal the money!

Lagos is working, Fashola is working

I should add a word of warning here, although I have been from Lagos Mainland onto Lagos Island on a BRT bus and not wasted a whole day in a go-slow, I have only done this journey at the weekend, I cannot vouch for weekdays, when apparently traffic and go-slows are still a big problem!

On my second trip to Lagos, I went to the airport to see off to VSO volunteers and to a wedding, which I have written about here.

On the BRT bus

My third trip to Lagos was just last week, I travelled on Thursday to attend a meal with Lagos volunteers and VSO staff, in particular the new Country Director. The meal was great but we met at 5, and poor Abdul sat politely with us, until sundown around 7, before he could eat (its Ramadam)!  But another reality check, by around 7:30 some of my fellow volunteers started worrying about getting home safely!  Murugan said there were often armed robberies in go-slows at night, Clementina and Rebecca didn’t feel safe it the area they lived in, Mike and I were living the closest but he still said we should really be back by 8pm!

We arrived safely in Mike’s neighbourhood, Mike playing the great host had stocked his fridge with beer and we sat up talking till late.

So on Saturday, I saw another side of Lagos, the one for the rich and privileged, Victoria Island and Bar Beach.  Like a true Brit I paddled in the sea and ate fish and chips, before going off to see Thessa at 1004 estate, see below!

Of course I had to paddle!

To me Lagos is an example of how good leadership can make a difference, Nigeria is an enormous country with big challenges, but it seems that Fashola has really managed to change Lagos, a recent (2008) guidebook makes Lagos sound terrifying, it has clearly changed and other States should learn from what has worked. 

Fish and chips Nigerian style

However it is an enormous densely populated city, with a population of between 8 and 17 million depending on which report you read, and of course it still has many problems including poverty, crime and climate change.  Recently heavy rain caused widespread flooding and a State of Emergency was announced, around 25 lives were lost, a clear example of the challenges that will get worse as climate continues to change.

More Lagos pics

And then the doors closed...

Last Saturday I got in a lift, and pressed number 6, as the doors closed I panicked a little and questioned my sanity.  I can’t even remember when I was last in a lift.  If you have ever been stuck in a lift or lived in a country where electricity may disappear instantly you will I am sure understand where I am coming from.

But there was no problem, I arrived at the sixth floor and visited my friends Thessa and Bash, who have just moved into the famous 1004 estate in Lagos, and very nice it was too!  I didn’t “snap” the inside but here are some views from the window. 

Apparently when the government was based in Lagos, Senators stayed in this estate and it was notorious for having no water or electricity and generally not functioning.  Thessa pointed to the enormous power plant that is feeding the complex, so it is safe to get in the lift at least for now.

So after spending a couple of hours, I left via the lift! 

Last time I saw a lift was in June, I was staying in a very nice hotel in Abuja, I was only on the first floor so didn’t take such a dangerous risk!  That hotel had very good electricity but it wasn’t constant, there was at least a few seconds gap between NEPA (grid electricity) and gen (generator).

My Work

I realise I haven’t written much about my work, maybe because it feels like it is taking me such a long time to achieve anything.  Anyway here goes:

NEST stands for Nigeria Environment Study Action Team, it is situated on Awolowo Avenue, in a lovely house as you will see. 

My official role is Climate Change Technical Writer, NEST is implementing a 5 year project and in the final writing up stage of lots of reports that will be read at national level and beyond.

The project is called Building Nigeria’s Response to Climate Change (BNRCC).  It aims to enhance Nigeria’s ability to achieve equitable sustainable poverty reduction through more effective governance: by developing policy – a national climate change adaptation strategy and building capacity of government civil society, individuals and networks.  It is doing this by working on socioeconomic research into the impacts of climate change, scenario development, and pilot project adaptation projects which feed into policy and communications work.

So now in English!

I think this project is really exciting, it has done some great things, made two documentaries about climate change in Nigeria, and worked with vulnerable communities to help them to adapt to climate change, and helped to take the learning from these communities to national government level.  The adaptation strategy National Adaptation Strategy and Plan of Action for Climate Change in Nigeria, is in its final stages, and NEST are working with Federal Ministers to get it finalised and approved.

I have been involved in writing some Executive Summaries of the Pilot Projects so will shortly post a few highlights in order to give you a feel for what is really happening in Nigeria as a result of climate change.  You can watch the videos here

http://www.nigeriaclimatechange.org/

So I have five things to do at NEST

1.       Support writing for final reports from BNRCC

2.       Lead NEST Organisational Development process

3.       Conduct an Energy Audit

4.       Support proposal writing

5.       BNRCC programme evaluation

I’m busy, will give you an update on each of the above shortly!

PS I do have some colleagues, but don't want to post their pictures without their permission!

NEST Organisational Development Plan - almost there

About a month ago I wrote about the challenges of getting from an OD assessment to an OD plan, and how I had just had a week of useful meetings with a small team, but was worried about the next stage.


Well the next stage was good, feedback on the plan was generally supportive, and it is now very close to being finalised.


It sets out a plan of action between now and Dec 2012, of building the capacity of NEST.  The main aims are a new strategic plan, which I will lead, fundraising, HR and IT, all of which  require external support.  This may be provided by future VSO placements.


Last week I also completed six months at NEST and had to report to VSO on whether I had build capacity of individuals or the organisation.  I asked my colleagues, those involved in the OD planning meetings all said that I had built their capacity by improving their knowledge of concepts, increased confidence and team-building skills. 

Being a professional

Earlier today I wrote a blog post, about feeling very small against the big hierarchy that is Nigeria, about how an incident had made me feel, and that depite the fact that I could see that the incident was culturally normal, I was struggling not to take it personally, and felt rejected and undermined.
I know that one of my weaknesses is a tendency to take things too personally, even when I can see the rational argument of why something is as it is.  I hope I am improving. 

I wrote the post very carefully considering who may read it, my blog is very easy to find, even by mistake, and at first was happy that it was an objective report of the incident, and it didn't matter who read it.  I liked what I wrote it and considered it honest and personal but objective.  However on reflection, and an email from a friend, thank you, you know who you are, I changed my mind and removed it.

So I won't display it here, but the jist of it is here, sometimes in another culture, things happen that may be normal in that culture, but to me are not.  Sometimes these things are a challenge, and rather than accepting them as normal, I take them as a personal attack on myself, very unprofessional!