Building a Spare Parts Business-Catherine Akwir
7 hours ago
Friday, November 27, 2009
TEDxEUSTON
TED is coming to London with a special Nigeria-focused line up:
Nuhu Ribadu - Former Chief Executive, EFCC Nigeria
Yvonne Ike - Former head JP Morgan Chase West Africa
Segun Aganga - Managaing Director - Goldman Sachs
Chika Unigwe - writer
Audrey Brown - Journalist with BBC World Service
Yvonne Ike - Former head JP Morgan Chase West Africa
Segun Aganga - Managaing Director - Goldman Sachs
Chika Unigwe - writer
Audrey Brown - Journalist with BBC World Service
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Chatham House report on the NEITI
Nick Shaxson's paper on the NEITI was presented last Friday at Chatham House. Its a fascinating read and beyond NEITI, more broadly attempts to summarise the difference between the reformist period at its height under Obasanjo and what has happened subsequently. You can download the report here.
Read more...Tuesday, November 24, 2009
'AFROBEAT GOES ON' - A NEW EXHIBTITION BY LEMI GHARIOKWU.
Saturday, November 28, 4pm
Artistic Licence, Sandland Arcade,
230, Muri Okunola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.
All welcome!
Read more...
Review of In Dependence by Toyin Akinosho (first appeared in his Artsville column for The Guardian
Manyika Sets The Tone For 50th Anniversary Debate
BY releasing a novel based on the heady idealism of the late 50s and early sixties, exactly a year before the country's 50th anniversary, Sarah Ladipo Manyika has set the tone for the conversations around the 2010 celebrations. In Dependence, the story of a confident, self assured Tayo - the Nigerian student in search of the golden fleece –and Vanessa, the British lady who falls madly in love with him in Oxford - is the kind that prompts the reader to continually ask "So how did it go so horribly wrong?" 50 years ago, West African students in Britain were already questioning what credentials British filmmakers had to narrate a Nigerian documentary "without the Africans having the benefit of telling their own story".
A young British girl was afraid to become a reporter in Africa because of the talk of indigenisation sweeping through the continent. But the emerging middleclass was eager to invite expertise from anywhere. "There's so much to be done on our continent", Tayo's statement on the book's page 63, recalls Mobolaji Bank Anthony's invitation to J. Brandler in London, as reflected in Brandler's insightful biography of Nigeria: Out Of Nigeria: A Giant's Toils. Just as Chimamanda Adichie's Half Of A Yellow Sun can be said to summarise most of the civil war literature that came before it, so you do find narratives in Manyika's novel that remind you of passages in Soyinka's Ibadan, Brandler's Out of Nigeria, and the "sweeter", earlier parts of Oluremi Obasanjo's Bittersweet: My Life With Olusegun Obasanjo. There is hardly a forty-nine year old Lagosian, today, who is not nostalgic about the day he first went to the Apapa docks, as part of a family welcoming party, to receive an old cousin, just returning from England, on the famous Aureol. Reading Manyika, it all seems like the stars were lining up for the continent in the sixties. But now, with everything having turned out awry, it is people like Vanessa's conservative father, quoted as saying "And frankly, if you look at the mess in the rest of Africa, South Africa is doing well by comparison", who are having a laugh at the moment.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Haughton in the 1970s
It was always summer. The large brown tv with curved screen had the cricket on – Dennis Lillee and Colin Cowdrey sweltering at the Oval. The blue budgie chirped in its cage on a stand above us all. Granddad Bob sat in his armchair facing the TV in trousers, white shirt and braces, his string vest showing through. He always had this slightly stale smell about him – fags and a little sweat. Nana Murg sat facing him on the other side of the room, smoking. The room was a fug of blue cig drift. A lava lamp glowed orange lumps on the side table. Granddad had a hearing aid which didn’t seem to work that well. Nana would have to shout “BOB” to get his attention. This was a Liverpudlian space. She would say things like “Go to Bootle!” when she was telling someone off, and “that’ll come with the truck with square wheels” when she didn’t believe something. All this time, Mom was studying for a degree at Stafford Polytechnic. She used to cycle to Haughton with me on a little seat on the back (where Vic was, I don’t know). Granddad had an electric organ in their bedroom. He used to be the pub pianist - appreciative pints lining up on top of the piano as he sang and played away. In the backyard they had an aviary. Past an ancient motorbike, there was a fauvist spatter of birds behind a simple wood and chickenwire frame. I went inside a few times, finding myself amid many brightly coloured birds singing songs of home.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Zanabazar
The Mongolian flag is now my favourite flag. The colours are not the issue; its rather the insignia on the left hand red column that sparkles the attention. It was apparently designed in the seventeenth century by Zanabazar, the Mongolian version of Michelangelo. My translator explains it thus: the fire on top is the symbol of eternity, then there is the sun below, cradled by the moon. Both of these are elemental figures grounded in the shamanism that has been around these parts for centuries. The yin/yang figure is partly influenced by Buddhism, but also relates to the watchfulness of fish. The two vertical columns indicate the strength and protection of walls - but could nowadays refer to the landlocked situation of Mongolia, squeezed between Russia and China (with friends like this, who needs enemies?) You see this insignia everywhere: on car number plates, on official stationery and random stickers. I like the idea that a country's identity can be grounded in visually powerful symbols (elemental at that) rather than words...
Read more...
UB bling
Hummers, Armani, Louis Vuitton.... could the resource curse be coming to Mongolia at the speed of a tsunami, or will the vast mineral wealth of the country benefit all 2.7 million citizens?
Read more...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Chinggis Khan in the office
Rather than have heads of state (and ministers) as the bureaucratic iconography as in African States, Mongolian offices opt for images of Chinggis Khan, the founding father/warrior. Here we are in an office in the Ministry of Finance (taken with my blackberry).
Read more...Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
View from my hotel room
Just arrived in Ulaanbaatar. Its -25 degrees here and 300 people have swine flu. More later..
Friday, November 13, 2009
Funding on security transformation
Small Grants Initiative
We are looking for individuals who aim to stimulate creative thinking on the
subject of security as well as open spaces for new actors to engage with and
challenge existing approaches. The funds are open to young researchers and
policy activists under 35 years of age from developing countries who want to
make written contributions, undertake research, or launch policy initiatives
on subjects related to the Global Consortium on Security Transformation
(GCST) (click here for more information on the GCST’s main research topics
<http://www.securitytransformation.org/wg_index.php> ).
The GCST requires that research proposals include some of the following
criteria:
1. The need to observe the impact of public policies and/or
international cooperation on poor and excluded sectors of society.
2. The study of the perceptions and demands of poor sectors of society
on security.
3. The need to observe the impact of citizens’ participation in the
security realm.
Applications can be submitted in English or Spanish. You can apply via email
or postal mail. To apply, please send the following:
* The Application Form (download it here
<http://www.securitytransformation.org/bli.php?id=99> )
* Curriculum Vitae (maximum length of four pages)
* Research plan in 1,500 words maximum that describes your broader
research project(s) as well as what you plan to do with this award
* Budget proposal
* Two reference letters*
*At least one reference letter must be submitted by a sponsoring institution
or university. Both letters must be sent by electronic or postal mail to the
GCST by the recommenders themselves, not by the applicants.
Preference will be given to comparative proposals that are regional in
nature and that are related to the themes of the GCST’s Working Groups. We
also prefer proposals from citizens who are from and currently researching
in the regions mentioned in their proposals.
Grant-winners will be awarded US$5,000 in order to carry out their research
projects. US$1,000 will be provided for field research and US$4,000 will be
provided after submission of the final report and working paper.
The research must be completed in no more than 10 months. Grant recipients
are expected to submit 1 brief report upon completion of their research as
well as 1 working paper on their research findings. Best papers will be
disseminated through the GCST webpage.
For more information on the Small Grants rules, click here
<http://www.securitytransformation.org/small_grants.php>
Applications are due on December 15th, 2009 and must be sent through postal
or electronic mail to:
Global Consortium on Security Transformation (GCST)
Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO)
Av. Dag Hammarskjold 3269, Vitacura, Santiago de Chile
Email: securitytransformation@flacso.cl
Phone.: (+562) 290-0200
Read more...Sunday, November 08, 2009
African audiences - from Hollywood to Nollywood..
Historian Chuck Ambler (UTEP and African Studies Association president) on the work of the ASA and his ongoing research on African audiences ‘from Hollywood to Nollywood.’ He also discusses a manuscript-in-progress on mass media and popular culture in colonial and post-colonial Africa. With guest co-host Laura Fair.
Download this mp3 podcast here.
Read more...
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Job opportunity: compliance officer
A Compliance Officer (CO) is required to assist a Port Harcourt based British and Middle Eastern maritime company in adhering to Nigerian Maritime Law . In this capacity, the CO is expected to perform the following duties :
- inspections of the company to ensure that they are adhering to Nigerian Maritime Law standards
- analysis of the current organisational structure for compliance
- advise the company on what is needed for compliance - working with a maritime lawyer
- advise the company on a compliance structure (if required) - working with a maritime lawyer
- a plan for implementation (including a timeline) - working with a maritime lawyer
- overview of the Nigerian maritime industry and benefits to be gained from being compliant (identifying new opportunities etc) - working with a maritime lawyer
The above will be compiled into a report which will be submitted to the client.
Person Aptitude and Skills
have
a) Demonstrated high level of investigative, interview and compliance skills including the ability to critically analyse issues, interpret complex legislation, provide sound advice and write reports in a clear, concise, logical and legally acceptable manner.
b) Proven high level of experience with the enforcement of legislation and application of inspection, education and enforcement procedures and practices.
c) Proven experience in providing leadership and coordination to small teams engaged in field operations and compliance activities including planning and coordinating work activities to ensure satisfaction of organisational goals and efficiently and effectively managing operational and administrative documentation.
d) High level interpersonal and written and verbal communication skills to consult and negotiate with a range of stakeholders, deal tactfully and impartially with conflict, develop and present educative information to groups and maintain a high level of personal integrity and credibility.
e) Demonstrated high level knowledge of the “Guidelines onimplementationof coastal and inland shipping (Cabotage) Act, 2003.Revised 2007” in particular the 6 categories of Cabotage trade vessels. These are referred to as the ‘Special Registers’.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Education: A Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s desired.
- Experience: At least four years of proven professional experience.
The successful is expected to travel to Port Harcourt but will primarily work from home (and attend periodic meetings in Victoria Island with the maritime lawyer). Work to be completed within one month. There will be a signed contract between the successful applicant and Riplington & Associates.
Salary: $1,500
Application: Please email CV and Covering Letter (addressing how you meet the person aptitude and skills) to Abiola Sanusi via email only to : abiolasanusi@randaedu.com
Deadline: 20th November
--
Abiola Sanusi
Principal Consultant
Riplington & Associates
Tel: + 234 1760 5167
Mob: +234 807 850 3887
E: asanusi@randaedu.com
W: www.randaedu.com <http://www.randaedu.com>
Read more...
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
NEITI report/discussion coming up at Chatham House
Friday 20 November 2009
11.30 to 12.30pm
Nigeria's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: Just a Glorious Audit?
Nicholas Shaxson, Associate Fellow, Chatham House
Discussant: Uche Igwe, Civil Society Liaison Officer, NEITI
The ambitious Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) came to prominence in 2003 and was widely held up as a success, touted as the flagship programme of global EITI.
This event will launch the Chatham House study by nick Shaxson analysing the extent to which NEITI has achieved it goals and potential, and whether it deserves the reputation it garnered in its early years. The paper also questions the assumptions upon which the EITI process is built: that better transparency will lead to better governance and accountability, and these in turn will foster growth and reduce poverty.
In presenting his report, Mr. Shaxson will be joined by discussant Uche Igwe of NEITI. The report will be available to download from the Chatham House website on 19th November 2009.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN
How old is under 17?
According to Sahara Reporters, the captain of Nigeria's Under 17 team, Fortune Chukwudi, is actually 25 years old.. http://www.saharareporters.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4138:adokiye-amiesimaka-the-man-who-told-the-truth&catid=58:football&Itemid=182
Excuse the flowery prose.
Read more...A Swamp Full of Dollars
The FT's former man in Nigeria, Michael Peel, has a book out on Nigeria, called A Swamp Full of Dollars. Its already getting rave reviews. For more info on the book, go to his site, www.michaelpeel.co.uk
Read more...Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
Congrats to Sefi Atta!
THE NOMA AWARD FOR PUBLISHING IN AFRICA
31 October 2009
The Jury’s citation reads:
Sefi Atta was educated in Nigeria, the UK and US, and is a former chartered accountant and a graduate of the Creative Writing Programme at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Her short stories have been published in literary journals, her radio plays have been broadcast by the British Broadcasting Corporation, and she has received many awards for her writing. She was the winner of the PEN International 2004/5 David T.K. Wong Prize, and won the first Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2006 for her debut novel Everything Good Will Come.
The covering letter
Finding staff who can write is a migraine for employers in Nigeria. Here is a sample of covering letters (all from "graduates") that just fell into my inbox. The spelling/grammatical mistakes are all exactly as they were sent. Spot the yoruba candidate who drops and adds h's in writing, replicating the yoruba tendency to do the same in speech:
1. Dear sir/ma
EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION
It is my priviledge to demostrate the zeal and enthusiast to be part of your event organisation,i am please to say to your honour that,i am qualify to be your event manager, first and foremost,i have undoubted skill couple with my industrious ability to work with team,compliance to my superior in authority,and bear to the maximum end any challenges confronting my giving tasks until success emerge.
similarly,i have gotting excellent ideas and event managerial skill when i was the zonal correspondent to DYNAMIX AWARD and MAGAZINE inLAGOS,besides that,i am passiponate about event planning and party arrangement,because it as been part of my interested area right from my secondary school days to my university days.
finally, i have no doubt about my ability to handle events,as long as due process is follow and compensation is base on performance.
it will be my sincere appreciation if i am consider to be interview base on my past experience and ideas.
Thanks for your consideration.
2.
Because of the productivity need. That is why this software was even produce at the firt place. The benefits includes recruiting for self and clients talented staffs. To promote their productivity level.
Now I do it at TEN THOUSAND NAIRA per head selecetd. That is to say. If you are to give us a try. All you need to do is to give us the job descriptions. The number of people you needed. And ready our payment. By multiplying the number of staffs required. With our fee of TEN THOUSAND NAIRA only. Though yuor have to verify the infomations you sent us yourself. As every software programm is garbage in garbage out. And otherwise
Thanks for your co-operation.
yours faithfully
3
Has regards the call for Event Manager Opportunities, i hereby declare my readiness to serve at this capacity. You cannot get what i imply lest you invite me over for a creative presentation. I head a creative hot-shot presently sub-managing T_____'s account in creative matters. In depicting your messages, controlling the marketing process, strategising and bringing the vision of this envisaged Award event is our expertise. We needn't to present CV online because it is rather too compressed also the visuals that are too heavy for attach process, just invite us and you'll see what you envision. Your success is our concern, try us today.
4. APPLICATION AS AN EVENT MANAGER
As it was clearly posted online that you might have need someone with a background and experience as an event manager, my experience has ingrained in me the confidence and ability in order to prospect my skills for the position in your organisation .
Should you require any additional information ,kindly find the copy of my curriculum vitae for your perusal .I will always be available and look forward to hear from you soon for test /interview .
Thank you
5.
5 DearSir/Ma
COVERINGLETTER
I wish to bring to your knowledge information concerning my personality profile of which in my view would be of immense importance to you and the prospects that lie ahead of us all.
My name is ------------ I had my tertiary education acquired from Lagos State University in Lagos State. I did my youth service at Ogun State.
I am a B.Sc holder with 2.2. I have acquired skills in my discipline, Banking and finance and from the angle of job experience drawn from varied backgrounds and from many years of dedicated and committed service. These skills include but not limited to banking and financial knowledge, marketing (both FCMG and Others), research and studies to mention but few.
I wish to boldly ascertain that I have always been competent and not lacking in any tasks, assignments and responsibilities given me. I also draw more due to my ability (though in this wise, curious) in making findings and establishing facts.
My unique selling point is very simple. I am a relational – relational kind of person. In my dealings with people, I have this high attraction to identifying peoples’ needs and challenges hence meeting same. Once this is established, permit me to say that there is nothing that I cannot sell business-wise.
My values. I believe in diligence. Also in my custody is the believe in mutual respect. I am a very disciplined person.
Toni Kan wins the NDDC/Ken Saro-Wiwa prize for prose
Toni Kan has won the NDDC Ken Saro-Wiwa prize for his collection Nights of the Creaking Bed. The prize was awarded at the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) awards gala night on Saturday 31st October. The book was published in 2008 by Cassava Republic Press.
On winning the award, Toni had this to say, "The ANA awards is the most credible and widely respected literary awards in Nigeria today. I am happy to have received this honour which is, above all else, a recognition of my work and the resurgence of a publishing industry with companies like Cassava Republic at the forefront."
'My mother said there was something they drank that made their voices sour, something that made their voices hoarse and hollow like a ghost's spectral cough.'
These first words of a story about a bus conductor – initially light hearted but quickly turning dark – demonstrate Toni Kan's unique way with words.
Read more...
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Sarah Ladipo Manyika tours Lagos and Abuja
Cassava Republic Press is pleased to announce a new voice in Nigerian literature: Sarah Ladipo Manyika and her debut novel In Dependence. Sarah, a resident of California, is visiting Nigeria this November to promote her book, which will be available nationwide from December. Sarah spent much of her childhood in Jos, Plateau State, but has lived in Kenya, France, and England. She currently teaches literature at San Francisco State University.
The event is sponsored by Bogobiri House Hotel - the coolest place to stay when you are in Lagos. The Facebook event page is here.
About In Dependence
In early 1960s, Tayo Ajayi sails to England from Nigeria to take up a scholarship at Oxford University. As he leaves his mother warns him not to fall in love with English women. In this city of dreaming spires, he finds a generation high on visions of a new and better world. And it really does seem as if the whole world is ablaze with freedom movements. The post-independence fires are burning brightly back home in Nigeria, fuelled by the politics of Pan Africanism and financed by a fortuitous economic boom. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US Congress is about to pass the Civil Rights Act and Che Guevara is busy trying to export the Cuban Revolution. Meanwhile, across the West, the first tremors of the countercultural and sexual revolutions are about to be felt.
It is in this heady atmosphere that Tayo meets Vanessa Richardson, the beautiful daughter of an ex-colonial officer. In 1960s Britain, they face racism from passersby, Vanessa’s father and the police. Tayo also worries about his own family’s acceptance of Vanessa and whether she will be able to cope with life in Nigeria. Vanessa, on the other hand fantasises about returning to West Africa, where she spent her early childhood, with Tayo. Just as Tayo is about to propose, he receives a telegram which prompts his return to Nigeria. Once back in Nigeria, a military coup prevents him from returning to Vanessa. A few years later, when he decides to visit Vanessa again, he is arrested at the airport.
Readings:
Lagos
Venue: Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Centre, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi
Time: 4.00pm
Date: Sat 7th November 2009
Abuja
Venue: Pen & Pages
Time: 5.30pm
Date: Tues 10th November 2009
Address:
Plot 79, Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, White House, Wuse 11
About In Dependence
In early 1960s, Tayo Ajayi sails to England from Nigeria to take up a scholarship at Oxford University. As he leaves his mother warns him not to fall in love with English women. In this city of dreaming spires, he finds a generation high on visions of a new and better world. And it really does seem as if the whole world is ablaze with freedom movements. The post-independence fires are burning brightly back home in Nigeria, fuelled by the politics of Pan Africanism and financed by a fortuitous economic boom. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US Congress is about to pass the Civil Rights Act and Che Guevara is busy trying to export the Cuban Revolution. Meanwhile, across the West, the first tremors of the countercultural and sexual revolutions are about to be felt.
It is in this heady atmosphere that Tayo meets Vanessa Richardson, the beautiful daughter of an ex-colonial officer. In 1960s Britain, they face racism from passersby, Vanessa’s father and the police. Tayo also worries about his own family’s acceptance of Vanessa and whether she will be able to cope with life in Nigeria. Vanessa, on the other hand fantasises about returning to West Africa, where she spent her early childhood, with Tayo. Just as Tayo is about to propose, he receives a telegram which prompts his return to Nigeria. Once back in Nigeria, a military coup prevents him from returning to Vanessa. A few years later, when he decides to visit Vanessa again, he is arrested at the airport.
Readings:
Lagos
Venue: Quintessence, Falomo Shopping Centre, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi
Time: 4.00pm
Date: Sat 7th November 2009
Abuja
Venue: Pen & Pages
Time: 5.30pm
Date: Tues 10th November 2009
Address:
Plot 79, Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, White House, Wuse 11
Listen to Sarah read from her novel here:
Read more...
Friday, October 30, 2009
Tim Berners-Lee in Ghana
BBC Film Crew in Ghana, guest post by James Gibbs
At about mid-day on the 20th September, I was walking along the main street of Abiriw, in the Eastern Region of Ghana when I saw a film-crew at work in the Communications Centre on the other side to the road.
On enquiry, I was told that a BBC team was filming for a series entitled ‘Digital Revolution’ (working title) that will be shown in the UK next year.
It will examine the spread and the use of the Internet in Africa and will be partly built around Tim Berners Lee, a k a, it seems, as ‘Timble’. Timble, who is rightly held in very high esteem for his work on the web, was inside the Communications Centre in Abiriw on the 20th September. He was talking to local users who were shown how to edit the Wikipedia entry for their town and how to set up blogs.
After leaving Abiriw, the crew went down to Adowoso to film a farmer who talked about how he used the web to find out about new agricultural methods – notably drip irrigation schemes. (Of course, that information will only be useful if he has access to capital.) I imagine that the series will raise questions about how new technology can help such farmers.
Mobile phones have certainly made an impact in rural Ghana, but the Internet is currently of limited value. The connection at the Abiriw Centre, to stick with that example, is always slow and sometimes ‘down’ altogether. Luckily, it was working quite well on the 20th.
It will be interesting to see how the Abiriw sequence comes across – if it survives the cutting room. The film crew seemed to be magnets for misinformation, and slow to work out the setting and the set up.
The ‘fixer’ who had brought them to Abiriw said: ‘They almost didn’t come because they were told Abiriw was 4 hours from Accra.’ (It is about an hour from the ‘Adenta Barrier’.)
Even after they had been to the place the team didn’t have much sense of where they had been or how long it had taken them. One wrote of ‘the town of Akropong/ Abiriw’ (sorry, that’s two towns!) being ‘three hours from Accra’. (Traffic in Accra is often very bad so times are helpfully given from the edge of the built up area.)
Another error that crept into postings by the production team was that internet access at the Communications Centre was free. It is not, though it is lower than the local commercial rate. It is also slower and more unreliable than the competition: Opre Ventures on the Akropong By-pass.
The internet link at Abiriw depends on the signal from the Apirede Resource Centre and that is lost if the equipment on the top of the tower of Calvary Presbyterian Church is out of position.
When it shifts then the chap in charge of the Abiriw Centre has to climb to the top of the tower to adjust it. This is a scary climb as the staircase has no banisters. I wonder if Berners Lee - or any member of the team made the ascent? I suspect not: Timble’s time was short.
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