31.8.09

Visitors

This month has been a time for visitors. Some were welcome and some were not. I’ll start with the unwelcome variety as I’m sure that’s the more intriguing story. Anyway, last Wednesday morning I went to take some money from the little stash I keep in a drawer and discovered it to be missing. I knew this because I’d taken out a couple of thousand naira the day before and knew I had some left. The silly thief had also locked the document wallet that had contained the cash: something I never do. Upon further investigation I discovered that my mp3 music player was missing, a much more upsetting robbery, as I love listening to music while I travel. These grievances also seem to explain why my padlocks have been getting spoiled. Well, upon discussion with the head of the block, Mrs Okereke upstairs, I found out that she had lost some money, so we decided that there is a petit thief about. She advised me to tell my Director, Mr Kuzhe, which I did and he has informed the management. Everyone in my block was called into a meeting with the Head of Housing, where fingers were pointed at a local boy who is known to have had light fingers in the past. I was reluctant to initiate a witch hunt, but became increasingly annoyed and frustrated that someone had been into my place and could easily do it again. I awoke on Saturday morning disturbed by these feelings, but resolved that there was no point holding on to them. We’ve since had a meeting as a whole block with all the children too to discuss this further and to warn us all to be vigilant. Fingers were pointed again, but no confessions were forthcoming. One of the main concerns of my neighbours was that this whole business would make me go away with a bad impression of Nigeria, especially as I’m a volunteer on a small allowance. So I’m writing about it here to express the point that I made to them: since being here I’ve received so much generosity and kindness, and this incident doesn’t diminish my regard for all the people here who make me feel so welcome. Crimes happen everywhere and although you shouldn’t be naïve enough to take unnecessary risks, I feel safe and looked after by my neighbours and colleagues. The front door of the block also gets locked in the early evening, so security is very good when I’m in.

3 weekends ago I went to Abuja for the weekend. It turned out to be a volunteer get together. We went for grilled fish at the Barracks before going to a bar with live music till late. Great fun. The following weekend I went to Lafia and stayed with Trine. Then the following weekend Clare, Martyn and Monique from Kaduna came to stay and were joined by Trine and John from Lafia. It was great to have so many of us together. We went for walks around the campus, visiting the various Fulani villages nearby and on Saturday evening we went out in Akwanga for chicken and drinks.

During the following week I had a new volunteer, Angela, come to stay. She had arrived from Canada a few days earlier and is based in Abuja, so I hosted her to show her the ropes, so to speak. We met at Keffe, which is between Abuja and Akwanga, as I was doing a talk there about volunteering to graduates who are about to start their national service year. All graduates under 30 have to complete a year of service and they are currently at a camp to learn skills and train. They are then placed anywhere in the country to experience a different environment to the one they’re used to.

After Angela left, Mary, who is based in Kwara State, came to stay. She was the only volunteer here in Nigeria that I had met prior to coming. She is also a teacher, and we’d met on the teacher development course. Unfortunately I was feeling a bit under the weather, but well enough. On the Saturday, my new colleague, Alhaji, took us to some beautiful waterfalls at a place called ‘Farinruwa’, which means ‘white water’. He also brought along his brother, Babs, who was to be our guide. The journey was very interesting. Some of the way was on a main road, then we went off road and it was extremely bumpy. Many slippery slopes, rivers and scrapes to the chassis of Alhaji’s car later, we arrived. There was a small trek and when we finally got to the falls, they were breath taking. When I get round to adding photos to my blog, they will add to what I’m saying. We stayed there for some time, getting wet from the spray before heading off and visiting Babs and Alhaji’s village, which was nearby. By that stage they were quite happy to take some refreshments, as Ramadan had just started and they had been fasting (no food or drink) since dawn.

This weekend I’ve been saying goodbye to David. He’s travelling to Abuja before flying back to Canada. The future is a little bit uncertain for him and Eriye, as she still doesn’t have her visa to travel with him. She’s going to go back home to Port Harcourt, but will return in October to visit me, which will be something to look forward to. They’re been such great support to me and really good friends. It’s going to be very strange around here without them.

As for now, it’s a cool and quiet day in the office. Tashi and I have implemented our new plan, so team members are getting on with a few things on their own. I’m probably going to be winding down over the next week, as I’m travelling next week to the UK. So to those of you who are reading this – see you soon!

4.8.09

Riots

There was severe civil unrest in the north of the country last week and several volunteers were put on alert. Although Nasarawa State, where I am, is officially in the political north of the country, the problems were much further away in places called Kano and Maiduguri. I’ve caught snippets of the situation via BBC online and through VSO’s weekly country update. The unrest left several hundred dead, most of whom were young Muslim men killed by police as they tried to terrorise their communities. They had apparently been part of a group called ‘Boko Haram’, which roughly translates as ‘stop western education’. The events came to an end with the killing of their leader. Reports say that he had been captured by the military and handed over to the police. Sometime later, his bullet ridden was shown to journalists, throwing up questions about the circumstances surrounding his death.

My colleagues were fascinated by this story and we’ve been discussing it this week in the office and around the campus. It’s interesting to get a flavour of what people think about the issue and how faith seems to have drawn a line between the popular opinions. Many of those I’ve spoken to are glad that he’s dead and don’t care whether it was a just death in the eyes of the law. I’m finding religion a murky and difficult river to swim at the moment. That’s a whole other issue, one that I won’t go into now, but the line that has been drawn seems to divide Christians and Muslims. It’s a divide that shouldn’t really be there, but it seems to be an easy one to fall back on when people are threatened or powerless.

Funnily enough, the Christians that I work with were all for the sect leader’s death, regardless of the circumstances surrounding it. One man that I was speaking to said that he and the rest of his followers should be wiped from the face of the earth: ‘made extinct’. Of course, the death of the people that his followers murdered and the subsequent death of any ‘trouble-makers’, is an awful thing to happen, but I tried to interject by saying that whilst the violence needed to be stopped, the (alleged) unlawful killing of this man by the police only serves to make him a martyr and doesn’t look at the root of the problem. I also had an issue with the fact that we had, just 5 minutes earlier, been talking about how Nigeria had something to teach the rest of the world about dedication to religion (they were all strong Christians that I was talking to at the time).

An interesting point came with the arrival of a Muslim colleague. He said that the leader and followers of ‘Boko Haram’ were western educated themselves, which many point to as hypocrisy in the face of the violence that they incited in the rejection of it, and that the main catalyst for their action was the fact that they had no job opportunities despite obtaining degrees and masters. For me, he seemed to point at a plausible reason why people would resent government to the extent that they do. This opinion, which I know is shared by another Muslim colleague of mine, is in no way a defence of their action, as they do not condone any of the murders or violence that occurred and are themselves peace loving Muslims: it is an opinion that needs to be acknowledged and explored, however. After all, cutting the head off a weed doesn’t stop it growing again and doesn’t solve the problem of why the garden is full of weeds in the first place.

31.7.09

Rain

It’s raining pretty much everyday now. I could hear the storm last night, and this morning was still hung with clouds. It reminds me of autumn, but without the cold. People who greeted me on the way into the office laughed when I said that it wasn’t cold (they had coats and hats on). I got into the office about 10 to 9, opened up the windows and set up my computer. No-one else was there yet so I took the opportunity to mull over what we’ve done this week. Towards the end of last week I came down with malaria. Something had been lingering and was bringing my spirits down, so at least I know that I was properly poorly and not just depressed. My gloomy feelings had come to a head when a second padlock to my flat’s front door got stuck. It upset me an unreasonable amount. David suggested that I was having that slump that all volunteers experience at some time or another. Missing home, anxieties, and agitations at the slow progress of things at work seemed to manifest themselves more than normal and then my head started to hurt. A small prick to my finger on Thursday was enough to let the college doctor know that I had malaria. I then had to endure the start of a course of medication. Things were looking up the following day but then I came over all sweaty and chilly and achy on Friday night so had to miss my colleague Aminu’s wedding on Saturday, which was very disappointing. David and Eriye ensured that I was ok and when I look back on it, it wasn’t as bad as all that; I just felt very peculiar, achy and tired. As there had been no gas in the town for me to refill my canister that week, I was relying on them for cooking too. A visit from my colleagues on Friday, as I lay in state on my sofa reading an ‘easy sick-bed read’ Star Trek novel, to let me know that they’d had the staff meeting and had planned activities for the following week, really lifted my spirits (I had been mentioning to them that if I’m not there, the office still has to function!). Some calls from mum and dad were also nice. Mum said that when she lived in Brazil, they sprayed the houses to get rid of the mosquitoes. Apparently they don’t do that here because the chemicals affect the egg shells of birds of prey. David told me this and wonders why egg shells are more important than the millions of Africans affected by malaria each year. But then again, mosquitoes adapt to what’s thrown at them, and exposing people long-term to chemicals can’t be good. Anyway, things passed and I woke up on Sunday morning nice and fresh.

Monday and Tuesday: Report Writing

On Monday I returned to work but grew tired during the course of the day so went home at lunchtime. That evening, Tashi went and got my gas, which really perked me up as it meant that I could sit with a cup of tea, read my book and listen to the rain. At work, I’ve been doing some training with the team on report writing and keeping English language plain and simple. It’s interesting how language has its own way of evolving. English English is very different to Nigerian English. Lots of people use broken English, which is basically another language that’s derived from English. Formal writing uses Standard English though, without the idiosyncrasies that we take for granted in contemporary oral and written English. Nigerian newspapers are a good example of how very pompous and unnecessary words get in the way of what needs to be said. Anyway, we’d done some lesson observations at the demonstration primary school here, so I worked with Becky on writing a report to document our findings. Clement was in charge of writing the report on the findings of the questionnaire on HIV/AIDS that some students had completed to establish their level of awareness. It was quite successful, but there is still a lot to be done to improve their confidence to write. It’s a shame that everything is so dependent on good English, as it’s a big hurdle to jump, but it’s something that can’t be undone now and something that non-governmental organisations (NGOs) need to be competent at to apply for funding, deal with international organisations, such as VSO, and advocate on issues.

Wednesday: Schools Visits

On Wednesday we visited 2 primary schools in Akwanga. Both had several hundred pupils and 50-60 teachers. We wanted to talk to them about how they teach reading, with a view to running some training in the next academic year on the teaching of phonics (referring to the letter sound rather than the letter name). It’s a hard thing to discuss, because I know what a tough time teachers have, and we don’t want to give the impression that we know best and want to steam-roll over the good work that they’ve been doing. They were receptive though and it was good to establish this communication. Both schools are quite run down. Rusty tin roofs leak, rubble is strewn on the floor in the classrooms and pupils squeeze onto rows of benches, all aimed towards the blackboard that many of them can’t read. There’s no quick fix for the problems of the education system, but little by little with community action and good governance, things may change. In fact, at the moment, I’m helping Tashi with his final paper for his degree. It’s about how low teacher motivation leads to low pupil attainment. This low motivation can come about from all sorts of things, from low pay to large class sizes to poor discipline and a small number of resources. As is the case at home too, teachers know best, as they are the ones on ground. It will take a big commitment from above to make the changes that are necessary and give the teachers the resources and respect that they deserve. In fact, Nigerian university lecturers are currently on strike because of low pay and it is not known what kind of agreement can be made. It’s certainly livened the staff quarters up here though, with students all returning home for the meantime. In general though, teachers are quite powerless, but we can do a small amount to improve their self-esteem and develop their skills; something they are still keen to do despite their tough conditions.

Thursday: Visit to Warro Basso

Yesterday, we visited the Fulani school in Warro Basso. As I mentioned in a previous blog, the Fulani people are nomadic, so the challenge has been to encourage and retain pupils. They are also severely under resourced and lack teachers. The school’s supervisor, Adam, is keen for CRD to help improve the school and help with these issues. We need to put our heads together to discuss what they need and what we can offer. It may be that we advocate on their behalf to the local education authority or to the nomadic commission, as they are the ones that should be providing these services in the long term.

Friday: Staff Meeting

Today, we had our Friday staff meeting and discussed what we’ve done this week and what we will do next week. Unfortunately, Becky has come down with malaria so wasn’t there. I went to see her yesterday to commiserate. Tashi and Clement were present, along with Aboki, a work placement student from Nasarawa University, and Alhaji, a new member of the team. Usually, a Muslim is called Alhaji when he has travelled to Mecca. I asked him about this, but he hadn’t.

Cold Food (It was either a Shakespearean character or a Klingon who first said that revenge is a dish best served cold. However much I like salads, they were quite right.)

After the staff meeting, I went with Tashi on a mission. On Wednesday, I had had someone round to fix my cooker and investigate the suspect gassy smell. Well, he took it away to be serviced and, as it turns out, the burner is completely broken so needs replacing. Oh, and I should add at this point that, after heaving the cooker down the steps from my flat with the help of a neighbour, he then had to get it to town. When I questioned how this was possible without a car, he laughed and proceeded to lift it onto his head to carry it down the half a kilometre stretch to get a motorbike into town. It was amazing and I’m extremely disappointed that I didn’t have my camera on me. I wanted to get it, but he said to snap him upon his return with the fixed unit. Anyway, I saw him yesterday, when he informed me about the broken part, so I’m now cookerless. The point of Tashi and mine’s mission was to see someone about getting a new cooker. We ended up seeing Mrs Monde, the acting Provost (Head) of the College, but we’re going to have to wait until Monday to sort it out. While we were waiting in her office, she was being greeted by local elders, who apparently pay her regular visits to keep relations between the college and the community cordial.

Anyway, long and short of it is, I have a very large pasta, tuna, boiled egg, cabbage, tomato and cucumber salad in the fridge and will either go over to David’s or ask a neighbour to borrow their stove to boil water. It’s a very warm afternoon with a murky rumbling sky that threatens/promises (depending on whether you are inside or outside) rain.