NIDPRODEV Goes North
The Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in conjunction with Project Consultant Dr. Lanre Adebayo, is currently implementing the Kaduna Community Dialogue Programme with funding from the UK Department of International Development (DFiD). This programme was developed in response to the post-election violence which erupted in Kaduna, in April 2011. The project uses dialogue as a non-confrontational means to mitigate conflict. Through the programme, Community Development Networks were established in each of the 4 project LGA’s Kaduna, Jema’a, Zango Kataf, and Zaria.
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NIDPRODEV Facilitates Stakeholder’s Policy Dialogue
To enhance communication between elected officials and community members, NIDPRODEV facilitated two Stakeholder Policy Dialogues in Yenagoa LGA of Bayelsa State and Isoko LGA of Delta State on 27 and 28 July 2011, respectively. The Dialogue allowed community members to gain a greater understanding of the objectives and functions of their Local Government. At the same time, government officials were able to hear, first hand, the needs and concerns of their communities in terms of human and economic development.
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Citizen Report Card Prompts Development Efforts in the Niger Delta
In 2010, NIDPRODEV implemented the first ever Citizen Report Card on public Services, Good Governance and Infrastructure Development from 120 Niger Delta Communities (CRC) with funding from EU INSIDE. The project assessed public service delivery, governance and infrastructure development in 120 communities of the Niger Delta. This report was circulated to communities, CSO’s, CBO’s, State Government representatives, relevant Ministries and donor agencies; additionally, three regional conferences were held to share findings and to encourage dialogue. The project serves as an accountability tool, giving public agencies feedback from citizens regarding their developmental efforts. Moreover, it provides communities with a basis for advocacy, giving them qualitative evidence on government performance. It also serves as a tool for donor agencies and development partners in project design.
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287 Abandoned, Incomplete or Substandard Projects Identified in 13 Local Government Areas in the Niger Delta
The Infrastructure/Development section of the Citizen Report Card on Public Services, Good Governance and Development from 120 Niger Delta Communities provides details of 287 abandoned, incomplete or substandard infrastructure projects, including the sponsor or funder of the project, the type of project, the date the project started, and the status of the project to date. In many cases, the names of the contractors also are provided.
[To read the Infrastructure/Development section of the Citizen Report Card, click here.]
9,018 Community Members Talk About Health
The Citizen Report Card from 120 Niger Delta Communities provides insight into the current availability and community use of health resources (from facilities, drugs, equipment, and medical personnel to mosquito nets), mothers’ responses to children’s malaria and diarrhea, and beliefs about the causes of HIV/AIDS (disaggregated by gender and age).
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A LETTER TO INTERNATIONAL DONORS From 80 Women, 3 Ethnic Groups, 20 Rural and Riverine Communities
The conference began with dancing, singing and drums. One-by-one, women from each of the 20 communities stood in the center of the ballroom and performed their favorite song. Ijaw, Itsekiri and Isoko voices flooded the room. When all had their turn, the 80 women sang together in one voice, “Today is a day of joy.” Over the next 4 days, ethnic barriers became invisible as shared values and shared challenges were brought to light. By week’s end, the dancing began again in celebration of the new multi-ethnic advocacy network they had formed called WIND for Positive Change (Women in the Niger Delta for Positive Change).
As one of their first acts, each of the community’s Woman Leader and their newly elected WIND representative signed a letter they had drafted for the International Donors to read and learn from.
The letter in its entirety is provided here:
Rural Women's Development Strategies When Excluded from Community Decision Making
Riverine and rural women are often excluded from participating in community decision making about development. In only 8% of communities surveyed by NIDPRODEV have the women stated they are included in community decision making. This decision to include the women in these traditional societies belongs solely to the male leadership—the gatekeepers of community change.
In the absence of greater inclusion of women in community decision making, community women have found ways to pursue their own development agendas. For those engaged in research or program design for rural or riverine community women, the following responses by community women to questions about “self-help” projects and how community life would be different if they were more included in decision making, should be illuminating.
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A Personal Account of Challenges Faced in Community Mapping and Selection in the Niger Delta
“I cannot give information about communities in our Local Government Area without chairman approval” ……”What if I give you names of our communities and you use it against us? How can I explain that to the Chairman?” These were the words from the person saddled with community development issues in Ahoada East LGA. Before this time, I did not know that communities were the properties of the Local Government Chairman. I thought they are entities that exist in a particular geographical space that anyone who has an interest can decide to just visit without seeking permission from any government officials. But that seems not to be the case in Ahoada East LGA.
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