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.