There are many interesting things to eat in Nigeria. Often they're so spicy that the change from white face to red causes much amusement and I know my tolerance of hot foods has increased since I've been living here.

Cafe BRiCC tends to serve a different selection from the local norm but yesterday we went traditional with moimoi cooked in leaves. Nowadays in the city the flavoured bean paste is often steamed in cans but the old way of wrapping it in leaves improves the taste immensely.

Hassan, a member of staff and always an enthusiastic customer, tucking in to moimoi and Chinese fried rice.

Cafe BRiCC

Sunshades needed at Cafe BRiCC

Cafe BRiCC opened yesterday not quite to a fanfare but at least to satisfied munchings.  We started small with a menu of meat pies, vegetable spring rolls and plain cake, ably made by assistant co-ordinator Mary and women's skills graduates Blessing and Aisha.

Sandra making meatpies supervised by Veronica

  Many people in the neighbourhood had never tried spring rolls and were pleasantly surprised to find them affordable and tasty.  Of course, BRiCC staff are already well aware of the high standard of the women's skills department and lost no time in buying lunch for themselves.  As we have no facilities for refrigeration we can't afford to have products remaining after lunchtime so quantities of each item will be small until we guage demand.  Business yesterday was a success - nothing was left over and we made enough money to buy ingredients for the next day.  Hopefully all who bought yesterday will tell their friends and gradually more and more people will come to try something a little bit different.
Friday's menu is samosas and fish rolls.

Developments

Learning a new skill is great and the women's skills department at BRiCC (www.briccjos.com) is excellent at teaching women how to make all kinds of food and cosmetics.  Using that skill to start a business can be a little harder and that's where our new venture comes in.  Next Wednesday we plan to open Cafe BRiCC just outside the gates of the BRiCC offices.  It'll be nothing fancy - we'd rather start small and do it well before expanding, but the ladies who were given the opportunity to be involved are already excited.  As one of them said, she's tried starting a business but had a few problems.  At Cafe BRiCC she'll be able to learn more and get support from Madam Veronica and her friends.  The idea is to have two different women on duty each day, one Christian, one Muslim; one a recent student, one who graduated longer ago. They'll learn from each other and show the community how people of different religions can work together and have fun as well as providing a quality product.  The women will have the opportunity to show off what they can do and take private orders to build up their own businesses.  We won't be setting up in competition to the exisiting food places nearby as the menu at Cafe BRiCC will be very different.  Hopefully there'll be winners all round.

Planning

If anyone wants to help with the startup costs of the cafe please let me know.

Matter of the Heart

How do we move head knowledge about peace down to the heart? How do we make a real difference in people's lives and attitudes and not merely constantly talk about what should be done?
We tried something new at BRiCC (Building Relationships in City Centre; www.briccjos.com) on Wednesday. Many people have no idea about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and how similar the divisions in Belfast are to the results of the Crisis in Jos.  There are no go areas for members of each community; children are taught in segregated schools and learn hatred and fear; both communities exercise their cultural/religious "rights" in a way guaranteed to antagonise the other side; underemployed and angry young men are frequently on the verge of boiling over; the "religious" conflict is more about territory, economics and opportunity than differences of faith. 
Northern Ireland has had "peace" since 1998 but the divisions seem as deep as ever.  Real peace won't be achieved in either place until heart attitudes change and children are taught there is more that unites us as humans than divides.

BRiCC invited members of the police, Neighbourhood Watch Vigilante groups, peace NGOs and other community leaders to attend a morning workshop.  About twenty-seven people turned up.  We talked about how peace can only be made complete by a change of heart, watched documentaries on the state of Belfast filmed 15 years after the peace agreement, then broke into small groups to discuss how to apply the lessons learned from Northern Ireland to the situation in Jos.  There were good discussions, important points were raised, but the test will be in the practical implementation. Next week we look at Rwanda.

 

There are many interesting things to see by the roadside as you drive in Nigeria - that's during the few seconds you're not avoiding kekes, motorists on the wrong side of the road, potcraters and roadworks.  One that I like on my way into the BRiCC office is the sign on a tailor's shop.  God is invoked in many business titles, from dentists to photographers but for this tailor he's the senior partner. The sign over the shop includes a quote from Genesis: '"Let us clothe man" - God is the partner in our mission.'

God is very present in daily life here, possibly because people live much closer to mortality than we do in the West.  This was brought home yet again earlier in the week when the BRiCC family went on a condolence visit to the brother of Sadiq, our education co-ordinator. His three year old daughter had died the day before after eating the rat poison he kept under the dvds. "It'd been there for three months and there'd been no problems," he told us.  My heart went out to the little girl's mother who had been divorced by her Muslim husband when her Christian faith was reignited. By custom, the children belong to the father. There was no sign or mention of her when we visited.

BRiCC Graduation

Yesterday was a big day in the life of BRiCC (www.briccjos.com). The first group of women to complete their skills course in our new premises celebrated their graduation.  There was laughter, special guests, including our zonal commander of the security forces (it's becoming commonplace when I go to events here to see a man with a gun keeping watch - we don't get that in England but in Nigeria it's a fact of life), proud husbands and a great variety of delicious food as the women showed off their new talents.  Above all there was hope, hope that the local communities of Christians and Muslims will build a way of peace; living and learning together, showing their children that there is more that unites us as humans than divides.

New kitten

I was asked for a photo of our new kitten, Clytemnaestra (Temmie for everyday).  Lots of fun, except if you're trying to type or sew.

Getting ready

Wednesday is an exciting day for BRiCC as we celebrate the first women's skills class to graduate from our new premises.  Yesterday the students started the tidying up process.

Inside

And out

Long Time

I can hardly believe that the last time I posted anything was in May. Now it's August. We had a great break over the summer holidays (which seemed far too short) and are now back in the swing of things.  I freely admit that Nigeria is not an easy country to live in. Many of the Nigerians I meet are planning (if they have the resources) or dreaming (if they haven't) about leaving their country to start a new life abroad.  What does that say about the state of things here?  Who is to blame? What can be done to change the situation?

As a follower of Jesus I openly think that the only way to change things in a country is by God's intervention: men have made a total mess of nearly everything.  Corruption is a way of life at all levels of society. Essential services are not paid for - civil servants, teachers, lecturers, doctors - the future of society - work for months without any wages before finally going on strike.  Major road projects are started then abandoned as the money has "disappeared", causing chaos and disruption for anyone who has to get anywhere.  Petrol stations have no fuel or day-long queues in a country that relies on oil production.  The fuel shortage, combined with the dysfunctional electricity supply leads to hospital generators with no fuel: people die.  Avoidably.  Nigerian politicians are among the highest paid in the world and want an extra clothing allowance whilst most Nigerians are struggling to survive.  So many things make me so angry.  So many things make me think "What's the point when the nationals themselves don't care or are a fundamental part of the problem?"

Then I think of what God has done.

Mankind rebels.  Mankind rejects him. Mankind is set on pursuing its own agenda.  We want what we want and few of us care.

God wants each one of us.

He sends his Son in love, knowing that we would kill him, but so desiring a relationship with us that he's willing to make the sacrifice.

Jesus comes into the world, knowing what will happen, knowing the state of humanity, what's it's capable of, but willing, loving so much, that he'll put up with us, try to teach, try to overwhelm us with love though we so often push him away or tie up his love with conditions, rules, requirements and rejection. 

I go to BRiCC (www.briccjos.com) and meet my Nigerian friends, Christian and Muslim, who live in the community and have no illusions about the state of the country but have hearts for peace.  A woman in the women's skills programme gives me an ornate ring, just because I'm there and have cared enough to bring her our empty plastic bottles for her homemade drinks.  Coach Musa, a BRiCC stalwart, shows me the local banana market, a new tailor and a place to buy eggs before taking me to his house where his wife hands me their three week old daughter.  I meet with an interdenominational goup of students from TCNN (Theological College of Northern Nigeria) during an InReach discussion group who sincerely want to learn how to live Jesus' love where they are. There is love and hope here but sometimes I find it difficult to see.

Pray for Nigeria. For people at all levels of society. For true revival and knowledge of God.

BRiCC Keke

A couple of years ago BRiCC (www.briccjos.com) was able to buy two kekes after donations from England. The idea was that one would be driven by a Muslim, one by a Christian, thus providing a job for the drivers and rental income for BRiCC.  Some readers may remember the trouble we had in the beginning as the man we were buying from took the money then didn't supply the vehicle for months, despite having plenty of stock.  It's been a struggle to find reliable drivers too, even though both of them had to be recommended and guaranteed by their respective religious leaders.  Recently the driver who paid his rent more reliably has left the keke unused whilst he returns to his village to plant crops.  The other driver, who seemed to regard paying rent as an optional extra, was told that the BRiCC keke would be taken away from him and allocated to someone more trustworthy (an "elderly" person, as BRiCC's director said, not another young man).


Yesterday, in very coincidental timing, we discovered that that keke has been stolen. 

The theft has been reported to the police but hopes are not high of its return.

So often in Nigeria ideas intended to benefit people, to bring peace and better livelihoods to those who are struggling, are thwarted by dishonesty at all levels of society, whether that's people given jobs who do no work, rents not paid or corrupt officials creaming off so many millions of naira that projects never get off the ground.  The poor and destitute suffer most but the whole of society is stunted by greed and self-interest. Nigeria has the potential to be great: sometimes it's all too obvious why there are problems.

Snake

Every fortnight one of our colleagues at TCNN holds a breakfast for men.  On his way home on Saturday and thankfully not near our house, Fraser saw something interesting. I could be wrong but it looks very like pictures of a green mamba but at least it won't be looking for a meal anytime soon. 

Continuing the theme of eating (albeit tenuously) the BRiCC skills department was recently given a donation from a lady in England to buy some equipment.  With £100 they bought a meat grinder, severl sets of kitchen scales and got two samosa plans made locally.
This is Veronica teaching the current group how to use scales instead of the local measuring dish (mudu).

Veronica & Mary, her assistant

Moving

BRiCC (www.briccjos.com) has been praying for a home of its own for almost as long as we were praying for CAC registration in Nigeria. A couple of weeks ago we got the registration. Yesterday we moved the final desks into the premises God has provided. It's hard to live life together as Christians and Muslims learning, having fun and building relationships in Jos if you're spread over several different rented properties. Now we have a place of our own, a place we've graciously been allowed to occupy before any money has changed hands, where the women's skills programmes, the adult and child education courses and the simply enjoying each other's company can all happen together.  There are enough rooms for everyone though they'll need some adaptation. Thank God for all those who have already contributed to the purchase of this building (it's not too late to join them as we haven't reached the asking price yet). We are jubilating!

Moving out

Moving in

 

Trip to B&Q needed

The big room

Row of potential classrooms

Coach Musa & Mary

BRiCC Building (including huts)

InReach

Some of the best times of my week are leading InReach groups. I might be struggling to stay awake, frustrated and annoyed by the trials of life and wondering how on earth I'll find the strength but getting together with Nigerian Christians earnestly seeking new insights from God is always uplifting and encouraging.  From the remarks made at the end of the sessions, most of the participants benefit too.

Some comments from groups at TCNN included (my paraphrasing): Christianity is not just all about the church (a particular denomination); it's good to be with Christians from different backgrounds, now I don't feel I have to straightaway attack people who think differently from me; everyone wants love, after going through Inreach I know I should show love to everyone; I've learned how to lead discussion groups (an unexpected benefit).
Every group which goes through Inreach experiences the awesomeness of God's love, each individual is challenged and changed; it's beautiful to see. www.inreachministry.wix.com/inreach

Another beautiful thing, though in a completely different league from the InReach experience, is Ruth's cat Simba. It's a good job I looked before turning on the taps!

Beasties

There are many fascinating creatures living in Nigeria and though I'm always interested in seeing them, most of the time I prefer it if they stay outside.  Here's one that Ruth found in her bedroom last night.

It was a family effort that dealt with it. Ruth spotted, I trapped it in her upturned bin, Fraser disarmed it with Baygon spray and James administered the coup de grace with his size 11s.
At least the lizards peering down from the water tank know their place - outside.

 

Amazing Hair

On Friday (election shenanigans permitting) Becky's travelling to the far south of Nigeria for a wedding.  We're all going to a wedding in Jos on Easter Monday but there's no way I'd spend four hours at the hairdresser's like she did although the result was amazing.

This is the scene from the bottom of our garden on Saturday as people waited to cast their votes. From 7am there was a constant hubbub and crowd of would-be voters - very different from the half empty, near silence of British polling stations I've experienced.

All seemed to go well here, although Becky told me many people in her area hadn't received their voting cards, thus being disenfranchised. Today it's like the calm before the storm. The roads are empty, many shops are closed as we all wait for the results to be announced late this afternoon or tomorrow. There are many IDPs (Internally Displaced People) around Jos, Christian and Muslim, all of them going through grief and trauma, many of them young men in the angry and feeling powerless stage. The real verdict on how these elections have gone will be reached according to the reactions when the results are known.

Electioneering

Elections in Nigeria are different from those in the UK in so many ways.
Yesterday an enterprising politician gathered lots of kekes, stuck his poster over their rear windows (which are never used anyway) and got them to drive in procession making enthusiastic and piercing noises. Quite an entertaining sight unless you're wanting to go the same way. However, there often seem to be just aas many kekes going the way I want to go without being organised.

Living in Nigeria is often not easy. Things we take for granted in Britain like constant electricity, reliable water, supermarkets, cars always on the expected side of the road, potholes no deeper than a couple of centimetres, noise pollution laws, online document renewal which doesn't involve trips to the bank and fruitless hours spent waiting, people from different backgrounds not attacking and killing each other; these things are hard to find in Nigeria and that sometimes takes a large toll and you wonder how on earth anything can change here,
I was feeling this way when I came into Jos this morning. If I hadn't arranged to meet someone I'd probably have gone back home after the school drop at 7:45. First along came Ponsah brimming with enthusiasm over how Inreach is making Christians think and change the way they behave and how he wants study philosophy to help his countrymen ask the right questions to find the right answers.
I went to the BRICC office (www.briccjos.com) where Sadiq was preparing to host a reconciliation workshop for Jos Vigilantes who were fighting amongst themselves. He'd suggested they bring their differences to BRICC, the peacebuilder, to find a solution which would allow them to concentrate on keeping peace in their neighbourhoods. The Zonal Commander was there and the whole workshop seemed to be successful. Most of them went away with BRICC's "Note before you vote" posters too.
Finally Coach Musa and Baba Otu arrived, helped me with my Hausa and talked about Baba's forthcoming trip to Wembley for a football seminar (he used to be one of the best players in Africa). They always cheer me up.
This is how things will change in Nigeria, when individuals take the initiative and work for the common good.

Driving licence renewal

It's been two and a half years so must be time to renew my Nigerian driving licence. How I do look forward to all my encounters with the efficient machine that is Nigerian bureaucracy.
Things began fairly promisingly. I was able to start the renewal application online, print out my form then go off to the bank to pay the fee and get the all important bank slip proving I'd done it. Next I called in at the licensing office. For some reason, even for a renewal, applicants' fingerprints and biometric data have to be rerecorded as of course these things could have changed in the intervening years. This is where the bottleneck occurs. There is one unreliable data capture machine, unreliable internet access and extremely unreliable electricity, not to mention a decidedly limited supply of official cards - all making a recipe for disaster.
I was encouraged to find no queue at the office when I arrived on Wednesday afternoon. This looked as if it was going to be surprisingly easy. I showed the officer my documents; he said they only used their machine in the mornings and told me to return on Tuesday at 7:30am. Was this my personal appointment? I asked. No, everyone was given the same time and would be taken in turn. Could he guarantee the machine would be working? Of course.
This morning, after a night of little sleep, avoiding my usual breakfast coffee in anticipation of a long wait, I left the house at 7am, hoping that African time would mean that few people would actually be there at 7:30.
I walked through to the licensing office, passing lots of people sitting outside, apparently waiting for their tax id numbers, and was glad to see only three others before me in the queue for driving licences. Together we waited quietly.
At 7:30 a tsunami of people crashed into the narrow corridor. "We have numbers," they cried as they surged up to the office door. Twenty or so angry people in an enclosed space, together with a line of others already waiting there does not make for a comfortable situation. "We will not let anyone in before us. We have numbers. We will not move."
These were the people from outside. Their given time had been 6:30am. They'd been told to wait and been allocated numbers; no one had said anything to the 7:30ers and it wasn't surprising that after an hour's wait they were angry at the thought of losing their place.
The officials only turned up at 7:30. Why had these people been given a time that no one intended to honour? Why were so many people told to come at once when we were told only the first twenty would get their details captured - there were more than that in the first batch alone and others kept arriving?
I gave up and left. By 8:15 no one had been seen, the machine not even started up. I wasn't the only one. Several Nigerians left too, lamenting the state of affairs. One lady had paid her fee in January and tried several times to complete the process to no avail. So many live hand to mouth, many have jobs and cannot keep taking days off to wait in vain for the driving licence office to get its act together. There is no organisation, little communication, no redress for most people, and it isn't hard to see how the reactions swing from disheartened endurance or giving up to the ready potential for violence.

Note Before You Vote

We're very aware of the rapidly approaching Nigerian elections. There are posters on every stationary surface and a few mobile ones too. Presidential elections are scheduled for February 14th with another round for senate etc and state a fortnight later. Yesterday my whole schedule was thrown into disarray as President Goodluck Jonathan decided to come electioneering in Jos. Roads were closed, security was obvious and the city of Jos was chaotic from about 6am. Our journey to school which can take 30 minutes took an hour with detours; some students couldn't make it at all as their roads were closed.  I had intended to spend most of the day at the BRiCC office but found my way blocked by soldiers as Jonathan was due to speak at the nearby stadium.  I could've used the back streets but would probably have been trapped there all day so decided to avoid the area. The whole day was disrupted but he didn't actually turn up until we had left Jos at 4pm.

Nigerian elections do not have the reputation of being particularly free and fair.  Often there's violence with tribal, regional and religious factors playing a much more important role than which candidate is more suited to the job.  Jos in particular is vulnerable to sparks igniting a huge conflagration. 
In an attempt to mitigate this BRiCC (Building Relationships in City Centre:www.briccjos.com ) has produced Note Before You Vote. 

We've also been offering workshops to vigilante groups around Jos and other local hotspots.  The vigilantes are official unofficial security groups, mainly made up of young men who are very appreciative of the peace education training they've received from BRiCC.  We train them and give them lots of the posters to distribute around their area.  It's a small thing but we hope it will have some effect.  Sometimes it's easy to think that nothing will change but that doesn't give us the right not to try.
 
One of the first vigilante groups to go through the BRiCC training.

“The training was very good and I am very happy about it.  My boys are doing a fine job in the Vigilante group.  God bless BRICC and this training we’ve had.”

Alhaji Yakubu – Chairman of Neighbourhood Watch