A quick reminder of how rough it is south of the Sahara. From YouTube.com:

Sweet Crude is a documentary film about the Niger Delta of Nigeria — the humanitarian and environmental devastation there in the wake of 50 years of unregulated oil extraction, the history of non-violent protest by Niger Deltans demanding control of their own resources and the emergence of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

In the early hours of 7 March, armed Fulani Muslims arrived from Bauchi during curfew hours and killed up to 500 villagers in Dogo Na Hawa, Rastat, and Zot in Bukuru (Jos South Headquarters). This video was shot soon after the massacre.

Using text messages, emails or an online form, anyone can submit reports on incidents that are happening around the beleagured Niger Delta into a central system. Displacements, Gas flares, Oil spills, Human rights abuses, Community empowerment, Peace building, Development projects, and Violence are not just be reported, but mapped. Users can also vote on how credible reports are. Check out the good, bad, and ugly here.

I totally forgot I had these pictures. Great stuff of some kids in a remote village, a school in the same remote village, verdant hills and valleys, some kids in a small town, a few city (Lagos) shots), and me mugging for the camera with a really big beard (which I’ve since kept off). These were all taken around the same time (the end of 2007, beginning of 2008) on a business and vacation trip that took me around Nigeria.

My sister Elizabeth was interviewed about Leukemia caregiving during the holidays by Everyday Health.

You can read the interview/article here.

Lagos

According to BusinessWeek, Lagos gets the crown.

A colorful stool

Pabmazuka News is a terrific resource for Pan African news with a social justice slant. They recently won an award (scroll down) and can be viewed online here. I lifted their ‘About Us’ as well as info about the award.

The ‘About Us’:

‘Pambazuka’ in Kiswahili means the dawn or to arise as a verb

Pambazuka News is produced by a pan-African community of some 300 citizens and organisations – academics, policy makers, social activists, women’s organisations, civil society organisations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful, sharp and thoughtful analyses and make it one of the largest and most innovative and influential web forums for social justice in Africa.

Pambazuka News also publishes podcasts, videocasts and books.

Pambazuka News has won a number of international awards, and has been voted one of the ‘Top 10 sites that are changing the world of internet and politics’ three years running – 2005, 2006, 2007 – in a competition organised by PoliticsOnline and the World E-Gov Forum.

Award Info:

Pambazuka News has been voted the top website for 2008 in the annual ‘Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics’ award organised by PoliticsOnline and eDemocracy Forum.
This is the fourth year running that Pambazuka News has been voted onto the shortlist, where it is once again the only Africa-related website. Pambazuka News is described by PoliticsOnline as

‘..a pan-African community of over 1000 citizens – academics, social activists, women’s organizations, writers, artists, poets, bloggers, and commentators who together produce insightful and thoughtful analyses that make it the most innovative and influential sites for social justice in Africa… Pambazuka has become the source of authentic voices of Africa’s social analysts and activists.‘

With thanks to all those who voted for us,

Editors
Pambazuka News

I had the tremendous fortune of having lunch and an afternoon with Nasir El-Rufai in Boston. For those unfamiliar, he served as as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja) Nigeria from July 2004 to May 2007. He tenure and leadership were characterized by a straight shooting, equality driven approach without concession for anyone. For those unfamiliar with Nigerian politics, this is practically unheard of. No, it is unheard of. Though he rubbed several (more like many) the wrong way with his approach, I’m certain that anyone who experienced Abuja when he ran it will speak glowingly of his term. He, his wife Hadiza, and I spent some time in his modest apartment, eating Thai food, and at the hotel room of another Nigerian luminary now with the World Bank. He’s now moved on to a fellowship at Harvard’s Kennedy School and I’m sure that those familiar with Abuja will no doubt view his tenure as synonymous with public leadership at it’s highest – no small task. Anywhere. We spoke about performance management, challenges of leaving a positive legacy, inspiring and motivating staff, urban planning, public sector leadership, and much much more. This was one of those afternoons when you realize how great it is to be alive.