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POST-TRAINING REPORT OGUN STATE PRIDE PROJECT Bolaji Sojobi (Oct. 2004)
PREAMBLE His Excellency, Ogun State Governor Otunba Gbenga Daniel promptly and “happily accepted” my August 31, 2004 offer to provide a Microsoft Office Tools training on administrative processes to the workers of the state government on my brief visit home in October. This was in line with the government's vibrant focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Between the acceptance and my departure from California on October 11, there were multiple e-mail exchanges between me on one hand and Chief Segun Sorunke, the governor's Special Assistant on ICT and Mr. Kole Abe, the state’s ICT consultant whose presence and involvement I found extremely reassuringly pleasant, on the other. I was impressed with the consequent high level of preparedness that I found upon my arrival in Abeokuta for the training. Friday, October 15 My old college roommate, Bestman, and former national football team midfielder, now minister of God, Venerable Chris Etietsola joined me to the scheduled meeting with government representatives. In a government vehicle, Kole Abe took us to the Southwest Regional Resource Centre – a donation from the American government to the advancement of computer knowledge in this region of the country. Tunde Kuku, the Centre Director, conducted us around. We confirmed that the training documents that I’d forwarded were loaded on each participating PC.
Monday, October 18 9:30 A.M. – I arrived the Resource Centre, half an hour before start time. From indications, the security guards were expecting me, the Front Desk was expecting me, and to top it all, the training room was packed – all 20 participants were seated! The next 6 ½ hours testified to a hunger for knowledge on the part of the participants of which the state government, nay, the whole world should be aware. These participants of wide-ranging ages could not get enough. Challenging as some parts of the training were to them, each and every participant stepped up and lapped up the new knowledge. They worked through lunch, having their snacks at their workstations, unwittingly multiplying the challenge for the fasting Muslim participants. We started out with introductions and job descriptions. Participants were also asked to say what they hoped to get out of this training. These were ALL checked off at the end of the training. Among the focus areas of the training were:
Participants were encouraged to appreciate the “Use it or lose it” rule and to practice the new skills unceasingly. Mr. Kole Abe, the ICT Chief who consistently spoke to the government’s investment in Information Technology, joined the class in the afternoon and stayed until the end. He was joined after the training by the Centre Director, Tunde Kuku, to make a speech of appreciation on behalf of the state government for “this selfless service”. In his own brief speech, Mr. Kuku applauded the giving spirit of the US agency that made the Southwest Resource Centre possible. He noted however that their grant that facilitated the operations of the Centre ran out in September and funds are needed urgently to maintain the high level of excellence that led to the success story of the day’s event. My personal hope is that this forum would encourage some benefactors to step forward as enablers of this laudable project that the United States government started among the people of Nigeria. Contact me in California and/or contact the Centre Director of the Resource Centre in Nigeria to assist. STATISTICS
Detailed stats (MS Excel) WRAP UP The Nigeria Labor Congress called a national strike that they chose to temporarily suspend from Thursday, October 14 – just in time to allow my meeting with the government officials and allow the training to happen. I see this as divine intervention. The overall success of the project (on the strength of a short 6-week planning period) crowned the purity of intent behind the offering. To God be the glory.
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