That's me under a tree, trying to figure out why the school behind me wasn't currently a place of learning. A recent visit I made to a ‘middle belt’ (ethnically mixed area with both Muslim and Christian inhabitants) Local Government …
If in March the weather was ‘unsettled’, in April it was most certainly stormy - both politically and climatically. I’m writing this post at dusk in the Kano airport ‘waiting room’ (lounge would be too grand a word), as this season’s first …
My last post focused on the vagaries of travels in Nigeria. I’m pleased to report that since then I did manage to make it all the way to Enugu and back safely, even if a little ‘shaken’ (‘but not stirred’ …
It’s been a turbulent week in Nigeria, both politically and meteorologically, which has contributed to the challenges of my work in quite different ways. Arriving in Abuja mid-week for meetings, the car radio news unexpectedly announced that the Federal Government Cabinet had …
Just before Xmas, as reported on my 'back to basics' post, Kano State was just starting the data entry of the annual school census that the Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria (ESSPIN) programme had been supporting. My managers are always …
The Universal Basic Education Intervention Fund (UBE-IF) established in 2005 is a key initiative to try to channel more of the Nigerian oil revenues directly to States to spend on schooling: classrooms, books and teacher training. Early implementation was plagued by fund …
Another leader making waves, this time of education reform, is the Hon. Commissioner of Education in Kwara State, Mr Bolaji Abdulahi. DFID education programmes have been working in Kwara since 2007 and we have constantly struggled to keep up with his …
Regular readers might get the impression that there is only doom and gloom to emerge from Nigeria. Certainly the current violence in Jos with 100’s dead is deeply saddening. An earlier post after a visit I made to Jos between late …
An issue I’ve been struggling with in Nigeria for sometime is getting reliable information on how many children there actually are and, of course, how many go to school. Just before Xmas I was delighted to see the work underway …
‘Ooooh! That’s the wicked mother-in-law’. ‘And that’s the smooth talker, but who’s the other one? I’m sure I’ve seen him in one film or the other’. There were a lot of whispers as the actors and their friends walk into …
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