Transition Initiatives Home » About Transition Initiatives » Country Programs » Summary of Program Activities » Lessons Learned » Publications » Staff » Employment » Links » Frequently Asked Questions » Site Map »
	OTI / Nigeria Home Program Description Summary Page (Nov. 2000) Summary Page (May 1999) Photo Gallery Country Reports Select a report... Aug/Sept 2001 July 2001 June 2001 March 2001 February 2001 January 2001 December 2000 November 2000 October 2000 September 2000 Aug 2000 Jun/Jul, 2000 Jun, 2000 May/Jun, 2000 May, 2000 Apr/May, 2000 April, 2000 Mar-Apr, 2000 March, 2000 Feb/Mar, 2000 February, 2000 Feb, 2000 Jan, 2000   Impact Assessment of OTI/Nigeria Program (1999) [PDF, 125k] Get Acrobat Reader...
	Advanced search... Search USAID Personnel... Search USAID Documents...

USAID/OTI Nigeria Field Report

April 10 - 24, 2000

Country Situation

Conflict fatigue is setting in; major institutions and political actors are issuing dire warnings about the danger of continued inter-communal and religious conflict and political strife. The Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) and the Middle Belt Forum warned against continuing the recent spate of political infighting between the Presidency and the National Assembly. In a related development, key governors in the opposition Alliance for Democracy party have publicly disassociated themselves from the effort to impeach the Senate President.

A political crack emerged in northern Nigeria, when the new "Middle-Belt Progressive Movement" announced that the region, made up mostly of minority communities, will establish a political identity separate from the Hausa-Fulani North.

Nigeria's last military Head of State, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, visited the South/East and South/West to talk with regional leaders on how to restore normalcy to the country.

Disputes between the Presidency and the National Assembly on differing legislative priorities and fiscal policy remain unresolved. In this atmosphere, the Presidency finally released 13 percent of federal revenue to the oil producing states, as required by the new constitution. However, these states argue that payment from January-April 2000 is insufficient. They are demanding payment for the period from June-December, 1999. The President also has yet to sign into law any of the legislation presented to him by the National Assembly.

One consequence of the budget impasse is that the Office of the Secretary General of the Federation lacks the funding to support commissions conducting inquiries into allegations of abuses of power by past military governments. One commission that examines human rights abuses has been forced to terminate its inquiries with 10,000 petitions pending due to lack of funding. Another key commission that looks into the disposition of government's assets has been unable to meet regularly.

OTI Highlights

A. Narrative Summary

A key goal of OTI's efforts continues to be the development of strategies that effectively address critical issues in ways that strengthen the democratic transition.

National Programming Activity

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: The National Training of Trainers Workshop moved to the Northeast Zone, after successful programs in the South/East and North/West. From April 26 to May 6, the workshop will train 200 participants from Borno, Yobe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, and Gombe states. These participants are community leaders and key members of community based organizations and NGO's in the region. At the completion of this project, OTI will have established a cadre of conflict management trainees capable of making sustained efforts to recognize and reduce tensions before they become unmanageable.

Regional Programming Activities

CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: OTI funded a two-day workshop organized by Academic Associates Peace Works (AAPW) to bring three warring local governments in Rivers State together in sessions designed to reduce tensions and create an enabling atmosphere for cooperation and joint planning. The activity was participatory and well attended.

CORRUPTION: With full backing from OTI, the Code of Conduct Bureau launched its campaign against corruption in Jos, Plateau State. The campaign is designed to familiarize public officials and those who do business with government with the laws, rules and regulations now in place that protect the government and the public against corrupt practices. The Bureau also convened a public forum to explain its functions and role in the effort to eliminate corruption. The campaign is scheduled to be launched in selected cities around the country.

MEDIA: OTI's Kano office collaborated with the Borno Coalition for Democracy and Progress (BOCODEP) and organized a two-day workshop on political reporting April 12-13 in Maiduguri. The project directly addresses several weaknesses among journalists in this region when reporting political issues. All too frequently among the press there has been a tendency to accept "official" statements, shade reporting to support official positions, or inject an inappropriate political viewpoint in news reporting. This workshop will enable participants to understand how a democracy works, the need to protect it, and learn to write reports that accurately reflect events.

GOOD GOVERNANCE: OTI joined with Community Partners for Health to organize a two-day participatory workshop on April 12-13 that focused on establishing a dialogue between elected councilors and their constituencies. This workshop familiarized councilors with the problems encountered by ordinary citizens, and acquainted their constituents with the complexities of policy execution and day-to-day governance on the local level.

B. Grants Activity Summary

OTI Nigeria grant numbers break down as follows, FY00:

Total number of grants FY00: 105 $2,364,428.44

Total number of contracts FY00: 1 $ 192,686
Total committed: $2,557,114.44

Grant numbers by sector:

FY99 & FY00 Total grants and contracts: $9,602,245.92

OTHER

The Country Director has been invited to discuss OTI programming on a popular national talk show that is carried on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the country's only national television network. The Media Coordinator will be attending a program at the International Press Center on relations between the military and the media and a two-day conference on sharia law.

The Media Coordinator attended a workshop on Investigative Journalism at the International Press Center on April 25. OTI was repeatedly praised for its support of the Institute of World Affairs' (IWA) Internet project. Five participants in the IWA project added their voices to that of the main speaker, Femi Ajudu, (Editor of The News), who noted that programs like this which introduce journalists to the Internet are needed to enable them conduct the kind of research required for investigative journalism.