Building Vocational

CapacityNigeriain

A publication of the External Relations Division on NLNG’s Corporate Social Responsibility

Nigeria LNG Limited

JANUARY 2010

CSR Digest is a publication on NLNG’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.

Editor-in-Chief: Siene Allwell-BrownManaging Editor: Ifeanyi MbanefoEditor: Yemi AdeyemiDeputy Editor: Elkanah ChawaiWriters: Emma Nwatu, Emeka Agbayi, Dan Daniel and Anne-Marie Palmer-IkukuAll Correspondence to:Yemi Adeyemi, Tel: +234 1 2624190-4, 2624555-60. E-mail: yemi.adeyemi@nlng.com

CSR Digest is produced and published by External Relations Division, Nigeria LNG Limited, C & C Towers, Plot 1684, Sanusi Fafunwa Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.http://www.nlng.com Editorial consultancy, design and production: Taijo Wonukabe Limited, 2 Anifowose Close, Surulere. Tel: 01-6283223, 08023130829 E-mail: info@taijowonukabe.com Web: http://www.taijowonukabe.com Printed in Nigeria by PrintPro Projects Limited, 2 Anifowose Close, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. Tel: 01-6283223

F o r e w o r d

A Preventable Time Bomb“The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.”

– John w. Gardner

In Nigeria, parents and students alike are obsessed with obtaining university degrees and generally look down upon vocational education. The unfortunate result is that we have an army of unemployed graduates and a huge shortage of skilled workers such as plumbers, tailors and electricians. Every year, Nigerian universities churn out millions of graduates who do not have

the skill sets required by the labour market. These children, invariably, end up in the long, over-stretched, unemployment queue. University convocations will become hollow rituals if they do not lead to gainful employment.

Nigeria has turned a blind eye to this obvious fact because many of its politicians and journalists – agenda setters – are university graduates, so there is often a tendency in public debates to forget the importance of vocational training.

We seem to be content with the importation of these ‘skilled workers’ from neighbouring countries where there is an accepted standard/certification for such skills as tailoring, masonry and catering.

Nigeria LNG Limited thinks this trend is wrong, if not deplorable, and is committed to reversing it. With the ever-changing nature of science and technology, not only knowledge-based economies have potentials to succeed but also only people with (specialised) skills can get a good job in it.

It is common knowledge that NLNG has provided roads, water and electricity in its host community. Indeed, Bonny Island is one of the few places in Nigeria with constant, uninterrupted power. But we do not think the success of our CSR efforts should be measured by hardware only, important as that is. Our success should be measured by minds we educate, by jobs we create, and by examples we set. And by the number of people who join the productive workforce, courtesy of our efforts. Investments in vocational education – its financing, and subsidising – are genuine entrepreneurial decisions driven by the character and knowledge of market or economy.

Our school in Bonny – The Bonny Vocational Centre – takes young men and women who lack experience and competence, but who have enthusiasm and turn them into employable persons; often times self-employed or even employers of labour!

BVC aims to develop skilled manpower through diversified courses to meet the requirements of both the formal and the informal sectors and to instil self-employment skills in people through a large number of self-employment-oriented courses. It caters for people seeking employable skills in technical, art, administration and other areas. There are specialised courses also. For example, health can be divided into massage therapy, dieticians, and nutritionist. Any person can select any course of his choice and inclinations.

The best part of the school is that even working persons can join the course, and even select the timings as per their convenience and nature of job. It also allows the students to study online. The faculty of BVC is highly experienced. It imparts practical

knowledge to students, providing real life and practical industry experience.

Since this is the only accredited City & Guilds Centre in Nigeria, we are considering making it a centre of excellence and putting it to the service of, not only our host communities, but of the country as a whole.

Watch out, the next tradesman to set up shop around your neighbourhood might be an alumnus

of BVC. As always, we are the trail-blazers. Turn the pages and see what’s on offer from the

world-class BVC.

Siene allwell-BrownGM, External Relations

2 Foreword

3 ‘Baby of hope’ comes of age

15 Building human capacity for oil and gas business sector

20 oh YeS

‘Baby of hope’

cover illustration - main image: Bibam atonye, a metal machining student at the Bonny Vocation Centre; background: Food & Culinary Arts students at the centre. Photos by EMEKA OKEKE for CSR Digest.

It takes a trained technician, highly skilled and dedicated to a world-class work ethic, to create such critical components. These instruments are vital to the successful operation of the LNG plant in Bonny and the safety of all the operators working at the plant. And as the company prepares for its last expansion phase after which it looks to the next 30-50 or so years of operations and maintenance, it will require an army of well-trained and dedicated technicians and artisans to carry out these tasks. Considering the planned life-span of an average LNG plant, it is safe to expect that at least three or four generations of such men and women would have passed through the plant, their numbers increasing as the plant ages, requiring more and more maintenance. So where does the company go looking for these people? Enter Justine

Standing at about four metres high and two metres wide in the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) maintenance workshop, the Umaro metal resurfacer is an imposing workshop tool by any standard. It is used for the final stages in the fabrication of valves at NLNG’s plant on Bonny Island. These valves are so large

you could fit a full grown man inside one of them. They control the flow of the liquefied gas as it passes through the different stages of production in what is an incredible number of pipes and chambers in the LNG plant. LNG is maintained at -161°C, very cold when you consider that the average temperature at Antarctica is only -50°C. Because metals contract when cooled it is important that the valves are built with precision, the margin of error is about 1/1000th of an inch.

By daniel emeka daniel

age

‘Baby of hope’comes of

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Fombo and Obieboma Pepple, two young male Metal Machining students from the Bonny Vocational Centre (BVC). NLNG is already looking to men and women like them to meet its present and future needs.

As soon as you meet them, you can tell there is something very different about these two young men. Both subdued, both careful in their dealings with people, it is immediately obvious that there is much to be emulated in these young men. They dart around the NLNG workshop with

a quiet sense of objective, carrying a lot of self-dignity about their work as if to say “what next, what next?” Similarities notwithstanding, their individual personalities shine through quite differently when you eventually get to meet them. Pepple, 29, seems to approach the world with quiet content and yet behind all of that you can detect a huge sense of optimism and hope for better things to come. Fombo, also 29, has eyes that seem to regard all with suspicion, questioning everything, revealing little, yet his stance indicates his openness to direction, waiting for the next task to attack with everything he has. These young men, and others like them, could one day take over from some of the expatriates who operate a lot of the delicate tools (like the frightening Umaro resurfacer) in the workshop. They came to NLNG as part of an internship arrangement with the BVC and are currently completing their City and Guilds diploma (Level II) in Metal Machining. A measure of how valuable these men are to the industry is seen in the fact that even though they are still studying with the BVC, they are now employees of Baker OTS, an engineering contractor for Nigeria LNG, at the

workshop.I heard about (BVC) and immediately

said ‘I will join,’” says Pepple. ”The first opportunity came and I missed it because I was working with a construction company. I was still keen and so when I heard about it again at a house meeting I put myself forward. I travelled to Port Harcourt and returned so I missed the exams. I eventually got a chance to write it and had the best results from my house. Among the four that went from my compound I was the only one who made it in… I said to God be the glory.” His is a sweet tale of triumph against all odds and gratitude for every opening and every opportunity he has been given to move closer to his dream of becoming a mechanical engineer. He continues: “Along the line it came up that they needed six machinists, so I indicated my interest. Even when my instructor was calling the names, I was the last person to be called. I had already lost hope by the time the fifth person was called, so I was grateful to God. Eventually they decided to take two only. We all wondered who the two lucky persons would be. As God would have it they called me and Justine.

As the company prepares for its last expansion phase after which it looks to the next 30-50 or so years of operations and maintenance, it will require an army of well-trained and dedicated technicians and artisans to carry out these tasks.

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After about six months (with them) we were hired as staff of Baker OTS. I was very happy because it signified something good if after my six months at Baker OTS I was eventually made a staff, both I and Justine.”

Pepple shows no sign of a flagging morale as he continues to add to the building blocks of this grass to grace story. His journey began when as a construction worker he was taken-on to construct what would eventually become the first building of the Bonny Vocation Centre. “I had no job and had written JAMB without much success, so I had to obtain menial jobs to sustain myself. If there was a job, maybe a construction job, I would seek employment and work. So an opportunity cropped up at the BVC construction site. They were looking for steel fixers. Although I wasn’t one, I managed to gain employment as one. Back then in the BVC they were handling the drainage and the roads and all the cast concrete. During our lunch breaks, a staff at the venue would tell us how well-equipped the school was. It excited me much and I said ‘no I’m going to be a part of this’.” His determination paid off and if you hear him talk about the future you realise he obviously is not done yet. “I hope to look for something higher, which is everyman’s dream. If there’s room for growth here then I’ll stay on, if not I’ll be looking for something more. I know I need to do one or two things to enhance my knowledge and skills e.g.

writing exams or getting into a part-time mechanical engineering course.” And as for how his future is looking so far, “I think it’s bright. I’m hopeful, with God.”

Fombo seems to be doing quite well on the job too. His supervisors at the BVC are optimistic about this meticulous and highly intelligent young man. When asked for his story, he says “I worked with a shipping company, doing logistics services, clearing and forwarding. I was there for about three years and I went from clerk to secretary. I prefer this new line because there’s a career to pursue. Secretarial (work) is something that’s easy to do. I value this one more.” Fombo comes across as a person who is never shy of a challenge, so we tried to find out if he had found any of this responsibility too daunting. “We’ve learnt a lot. We’ve seen various machines that we wouldn’t have seen at BVC, other staff have been very encouraging and they’ve shown us many things… what’s there to be afraid of? Fear is not part of me; I keep fear aside in everything I do. You just have to be cautious and all that matters is interest.” Working for less than he earned as a secretary he believes it is because he is not fully regarded as a complete machinist but expresses equal hope for the future, saying assuredly, “we’ll get there someday.”

The GuidinG handSBVC was set up in 2005 to train young

men and women to fill up that middle

belt of skills which seems to have become non-existent (or at best only crudely practised) in Nigeria today. BVC is now an accredited City and Guilds Centre and is in fact the only vocational training centre open to the public in Nigeria that deals directly with City and Guilds of London. Starting with an initial staff strength of four (three Filipino technical trainers and a British technical coordinator), the centre now has a total of 30 academic and support staff. Student numbers have gone from a modest 47 in 2006 to 230 in 2009 and current projections for 2010 put the student population at 300. A hardened English man, Harvey Smith, BVC’s technical coordinator, is responsible for putting it all together. There from the very beginning Smith tells of how he and his three Filipino colleagues fitted-out the workshops with their own hands; doing everything from mortar-work to wood and metal work and all the wiring and

We’ve learnt a lot. We’ve seen various machines that we wouldn’t have seen at BVC, other staff have been very encouraging and they’ve shown us many things…- JustiNe FomBo

Bonny Vocational Centre is now an accredited City and Guilds Centre and is in fact the only vocational training centre open to the public delivering the C&G standardised courses in Nigeria

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6 C S R D I G E S T

finishing. It is a story of blood and guts, hard work and sheer audacity. It is also a story of hope. These men have since set their energies to the task of passing these same skills on to new staff and students of the centre so that they can one day hand over the operations of the centre, leaving it as a legacy to the men and women of Bonny Island and indeed the nation as a whole.

Hearing Smith speak, it is impossible to avoid the passion and emotion he has for what he considers his life’s work and perhaps his final curtain-call. At 62, it is no wonder why, but you could not tell his age by the sheer amount of energy and work he puts into each day. A typical day for him involves quite a number of trips around the island and he seems to constantly be moving in and out of an incredible number of meetings. He constantly walks at a half-trot, even at 8pm in the evening; his sense of urgency is palpable. He believes that there could not have been a better time in the history of the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large, to set up the BVC. “There’s a general consensus here,” he says “and not just here but other places too, that you have got to attain qualifications of the highest level. But in doing so you then have this void in Nigeria of this middle band skill level: welders, plumbers, electricians, etc. they are not there! You look at any plumbing work and it’s a disaster. When we first had the centre built, we had nothing but problems; we still have problems because the plumbing is so poor.” It’s no surprise why he feels this way. Even the ancients considered it criminal for a workman to deliver services poorly. In the Babylonian empire, King Hammurabi’s code of laws dictated that “if a builder builds a house for someone,

and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death…if a shipbuilder builds a boat for someone, and does not make it tight, if during that same year that boat is sent away and suffers injury, the shipbuilder shall take the boat apart and put it together tight at his own expense” and so on it goes. Yet in present day Nigeria it seems that the idea of being an artisan and delivering services properly are

C & G

City & Guilds is the united Kingdom’s leading body for vocational, managerial and engineering training. More commonly known as C & G, it was

incorporated in 1878 and granted a royal Charter by Queen Victoria in 1900. Since then it has grown in stature becoming possibly the most popular qualification for people seeking to gain professional skills outside the mainstream/university system. organisations such as City & Guilds are patronised by employers of labour seeking to obtain a minimum level of skill competence for or from their employees. C & G enjoyed popularity in nigeria before and after independence in the 1960s but soon waned in popularity over the years. This decline was perhaps not unrelated to an equal yet opposite rise in reports of falsified City & Guilds qualifications across the country.

no more worries, Bonny Vocational Centre is the only place in nigeria that offers training to get an original C & G qualification. British Council also facilitates (but does not train for) the acquisition of the certification

Porfeiro (Junior) milano is one of the original three Filipino instructors who “created” the BVC. He has lived an interesting life (as a technician and a vocational studies instructor) that has taken him from the Philippines to Angola, Brazil and saudi Arabia before coming to Nigeria.

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immiscible realities. Porfeiro (Junior) Milano is one of

the original three Filipino instructors who “created” the BVC. He has lived an interesting life (as a technician and a vocational studies instructor) that has taken him from the Philippines to Angola, Brazil and Saudi Arabia before coming to Nigeria. He is one of hundreds of other Filipinos that are in obviously high demand for their technical skills around the world. When quizzed about the state of vocational education in the Philippines, he explains that vocational training is free of charge in Manila (the capital city of the Philippines) and most students would go to school twice a week to acquire the practical and theoretical know-how that would enable them get jobs in Asia’s booming industrial sector. These skills, coupled with a willingness to travel for better pay prospects, have seen the rise in the Filipino workforce outside the Philippines. In Nigeria, a good number of them work in Oil and Gas installations across the Niger Delta because of the difficulty in finding well-trained Nigerian artisans to fill the industry void.

On the issue of a skilled labour force, “the point is that if you’re going to run a sewage pipe, there’s a skill level to be able to run a sewage pipe properly,” says Harvey Smith “as there is for an instrument panel (at an oil or gas facility) to make sure that all the connections are done right, it’s (all) within this band

of middle skill learning…. and it’s getting recognised. Like I said, you see a civil technician getting (lots of) work locally now, a mechanical technician getting work locally, it’s because (people now) recognise their skills. Too often, you see a welder working with no goggles, nothing! I can remember 2004/2005 I drove to Finima, just outside Finima was a welding shop; the guy there did his welding without eye protection. So a week later I bought welding glasses, goggles, and gave them to him. Two days later he was back to his initial ways. Where were the goggles? He’d sold them. Down the line he’s going to get blind. It’s just ignorance and not having understanding.”

‘we don’T plaY around here’The BVC seems to be successful at

imparting these skills, as evidenced by its increasing appeal in the community. In 2009, it was swamped with applications for positions at almost a 10:1 ratio of applicants to positions available. And it is not just the skills that get passed on; the BVC is working hard to inculcate a professional and dedicated work ethic amongst the students at the centre. “They’ve come here to learn,” Smith says,

“and you set that standard. And once you set that standard, kids will accept it because they’re starting to realise the value. If they’re more than 15 minutes late to class the door is shut. Absenteeism equals poor performance, good attendance equals better performance and it’s the same the world over… I’ve tried to impress upon them about standards. It is so essential. Not just (work) standards, but standards also in life, how you conduct yourself, again it’s the same. And it’s also about having integrity, when you do something, always try to do it to the best of your ability. If you can’t, don’t bother. Don’t do it half-heartedly, do the best you can. And so I push the students and I push the staff. I feel I’ve got to the stage now where you have these new staff come along and the old staff ethos has rubbed off on them (and they pass it on) so there’s this feeling about the centre now that this is about business, this is serious, we’re very serious here, we don’t play around. It’s important to ensure

There’s this feeling about the centre now that this is about business, this is serious, we’re very serious here, we don’t play around. it’s important to ensure they have the right mindset, and out of that mindset will come the skill, from the skill will come the money to support themselves. one follows the other.- HArVey smitH, teCHNiCAl Co-ordiNAtor, BVC

porFeiro (Junior) Milano

8 C S R D I G E S T

they have the right mindset, and out of that mindset will come the skill, from the skill will come the money to support themselves. One follows the other.”

If ever there was a clear example of Smith’s little dictum, then Kenneth Wilcox is it. Impeccably dressed very conscientious, time conscious and punctual to a fault, Wilcox epitomises “the right mindset.” Currently completing his diploma (Level II) in Electrical Installations, this 26-year-old indigene of Bonny Island, from the Peterside community had a good feeling about the centre when he heard about it and was one of the centre’s first intakes. “I was trying to get admission to read electrical or petroleum engineering at UST (Rivers State University of Science and Technology),” he pipes with his ever-present smile, “on the other hand I got this information about BVC. At the same period I had admission to a school but I had to leave that of the school because

my parents believed there was something promising in this… a lot of people warned me about it that I should go to university and that this was just the normal thing that Bonny would put up and it would vanish eventually. But I looked at it differently. Even in the hall during the entrance exams, others threatened to leave the hall etc. If they knew then what they know now, they would have acted differently, now they are asking when the next entrance exam is.” And rightly so.

After completing a six- month internship with Baker OTS, as part of his practical experience at the BVC, Wilcox was offered a job with the company as a handyman attached to an electrical technician. His job then was to assist the technician with maintenance tasks around the NLNG Residential Area. Since then his performance on the job has impressed his employers and he has been promoted to electrical technician. He smiles shyly when asked about his remuneration. He is smiling to the bank for sure as his promotion has meant a 60 per cent pay raise for him. Wilcox exudes a tangible excitement at the possibilities that have been opened up to him because of his training at the BVC. “I’m enjoying working but combining the work and school together is very taxing for me,” he says. “Those days I’m not in school I try to keep up with the company’s policies and meet their standards; I try to solve their problems.” He has nothing but glowing praises for BVC and he is quick to point out that his training is far from over. “I had to learn a lot,” Kenneth continues “I learnt a lot from BVC. Also sometimes here when I have a few problems, I call my instructors and tell them the problem, I draw diagrams and we look at the problems. They tell me what they think and when I come back and implement it people are surprised because these seemed like tough problems to solve before.” And to think that just after secondary school, Wilcox felt like his journey was off to a sputtering start because he did not pass all his WASSCE papers at the first sitting and had to re-sit some exams. The son of an electrical technician, he had always shown a keen interest in his father’s craft from a very early age. His early exposure to the trade has filled him with such confidence that he proudly boasts that he is “not afraid of anything electrical.” The

BVC seems to have helped Wilcox find his voice and set him on a clearer path to a successful future.

SKillS paYNot all BVC students are heading

towards paid employment. Hear Smith talk about the options available at BVC and you would be forgiven for believing one could do just about anything with a City and Guilds advanced diploma from BVC. “Perhaps after the advanced diploma,” he says “any student that’s thinking of completing his studies, we’re in touch with UME and Rivers State

educational bodies to get the accreditation of five credits for an Advanced Diploma from the Bonny Vocational Centre. That way they can move into any University without having to sit for any exams.” Harvey continues: “Then there’s the other aspect of becoming an entrepreneur. Everybody in Bonny likes to be an entrepreneur. So if those trainees, say somebody is being trained as a welder, got the skill, we then give a pad-on about business skills to teach them about business, understanding money, to think about inflation and so on… I’ll give you an example. Now we’ve got our diploma students; some have already started their own businesses in Bonny, doing house re-wiring. They’re doing it now. I know a couple of people that are building their houses and they’re waiting for them to finish one job for them to come and do their job because they know how good they are. There are people who’ve been through Levels 1 and 2 and have been

TYC

Think of any skill in the world, you are most probably going to find it in the big basket of

City & Guilds bouquet. Take your choice from a wide

range of City & Guilds qualifications from technical skills like welding and plumbing to softer skills like business administration, catering or hairdressing.

City and Guilds currently boasts an offering of over 500 qualifications in 28 industry areas, spanning from entry level to the equivalent of a postgraduate degree. over 1.5 million learners work towards a City & Guilds qualification every year. The Bonny Vocational Centre is currently accredited to deliver training in construction industry skills, engineering skills, business administration, business management and catering and hotel management up to the advanced diploma level (which is the equivalent of a national diploma in nigeria).

Not all BVC students are heading towards paid employment. Hear smith talk about the options available at BVC and you would be forgiven for believing one could do just about anything with a City and Guilds advanced diploma from BVC.

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able to work on the shutdowns at the plant and the supervisors on the plant can ring them up and say ‘we need you’ because of their skills.” For non-technical courses, the centre also runs courses in catering and hospitality and business administration in addition to the courses in civil, mechanical and electrical engineering-related vocations. It plans to expand its course offering as soon as the expansion project is completed. Says Smith, “We can also do more courses like hair dressing, tailoring and the like. I’ve tried to ensure that all the courses we put

on, they can do something with hereafter to sustain themselves. When you think of the economic climate that Nigeria is in, you’ve got to give people skills so that thereafter they can sustain themselves. That is crucial. So with a bigger centre, because we’re close to the river I want to do marine engineering and I want to do bikes. So if you think about it, somebody doing marine can always get a job.

It’s a matter of thinking of all the different courses we can put up that makes the entire cottage industry of not just Bonny but Nigeria.”

One student with entrepreneurism firmly on her mind is Loretta Jumbo. At 31, Jumbo is obviously in a class of her own amongst the giggly, ‘bright eyed and pony-tailed’ girls in the Food and Culinary Arts course. A wife and mother, she spent the early years of her marriage in Benue State and has only recently moved down to Bonny in search of greener pastures for her family. She applied to join the BVC after trying unsuccessfully to get a job and recalls with gratitude that she was already considering moving to Port Harcourt to attend a catering college when she found out about the BVC and heard she did not need to pay fees or purchase learning materials. Jumbo’s course group has just concluded their Level I Certificate exams and she is hopeful about continuing with the course. When asked about her plans for the future, she says “during the entrance exam I was asked to write an essay on why I want to be here. I said ‘why? For self-employment! I want to be skilled! If you don’t want to be skilled, there’s no point coming here. I can just decide to look for any job to do.” She goes on to add: “It has improved my life, though I’m not known yet, by the time I finish from here I will be somewhere because I’ve learnt a lot and I’m willing to learn more. My coming here has made

me realise many of my practices that were wrong. Initially I knew nothing about baking, today I can bake. I can cook some continental dishes. It has improved my life.” She also shared some of her entrepreneurial experiences and dreams with us. “Now when we’re not in school,” she added, “I go out with people to look for menial jobs. For example if there’s an occasion I cook with them, like yesterday in my church there was harvest, I prepared things for it. In five years time if I’m not working for any institution I should be on my own. I can have a shop somewhere, print cards and distribute to people. I should get a few customers that way.” As for the BVC she does not seem to have got over her excitement at being here. “The centre has been good enough

We’re sound theoretically and technically. An ex-ternal verifier from City and Guilds comes in to audit us on a regular basis and we’ve had no com-plaints, just ‘good, good, good, good, good.’ Also everywhere they’ve gone for internships the com-panies have always been very happy with them.- merCy uGoCHukWu, BVC’s exAms ANd reCords AdmiNistrAtor

Courses in BVC1. Civil engineering2. Mechanical engineering Skills3. electrical engineering4. Food preparation and Culinary

arts5. Food and Beverage Service6. reception operations and

Services7. Business and administration8. Computing9. Teaching, Training and

assessing learning10. procurement administration11. project administration12. instrumentation13. welding and Fabrication14. Metal Machining15. Site Scaffolding16. rigging17. First aid programme

enTrY reQuireMenTSentrants will need to possess

the basic secondary school leaving certificate, recognised vocational proficiency certificates, (waeC) and ond/hnd. each prospective candidate is required to also pass a preliminary entry examination based on practical and theory – related exercises.

loreTTa JuMBo

10 C S R D I G E S T

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to provide us with free education,” she repeats over and over again, “the teachers are available, it’s now for us to make the best of it. Even at the end of everything they give us transport money. I have to show that I appreciate those paying the fees. My appreciation shows in my performance.” Jumbo’s outlook and determination are inspirational.

From course to course, the centre just seems to be brimming with inspiring students who have equally inspiring stories to tell and another one of such is Felix Ezekiel-Hart. Plain-looking unassuming Felix seems at first to have few distinguishing features. He is a Level 1 Metal Machining student and one of the top performers in his set. One not-immediately-obvious fact that makes him very different from his peers is that he is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the Rivers State University of Science

and Technology (popularly referred to as UST). At 26, he is becoming wary of job-hunting and is starting to get comfortable with the idea of self-employment, which is what brought him to BVC. “I’m actually here for competence, learning to do things the right way and to the best of my knowledge” he cheerfully informs CSR Digest. “If at the end of the day I have the practical experience and can set up something of my own, I would be grateful. At the same time if I’m called on for a technical job, something to keep body and soul intact, I’ll take it up as well instead of waiting for higher jobs that may not come.” Ezekiel-Hart is one of a growing number of graduate applicants to the BVC. When asked what he thinks about having students like him at the centre, Smith explains that in some ways it could be a good thing: “I think it’s a very

good thing., “If you think about it, first of all he or she has got to be motivated to decide that even though they have graduated they are making an educational step backwards to come here… because this is about skill.”

‘JuST Good, Good, Good, Good…’

Smith adds quickly that although the BVC is a good place for students to come in and gain a good footing when it comes to technical, business administration or culinary skills it is always best if they can give students some industry experience to crown it. His team is constantly on the look-out for good quality opportunities for this to happen. “I see them going places,” says Mercy Ugochukwu about the students. She is BVC’s Exams and Records administrator “This place is

it is a story of blood and guts, hard work and sheer audacity. it is also a story of hope....From course to course, the centre just seems to be brimming with inspiring students who have equally inspiring stories to tell.

STudenTS haVinG lunCh aT The SChool CanTeen

STudenTS uSinG CoMpuTerS aT The liBrarY

12 C S R D I G E S T

about the number one for middle skill level people” she continues. “We’re sound theoretically and technically. An external verifier from City and Guilds comes in to audit us on a regular basis and we’ve had no complaints, just ‘good, good, good, good, good.’ Also everywhere they’ve gone for internships the companies have always been very happy with them.”

With such generous accolades, what else is left for the BVC to aspire to? It almost sounds like they have been able to do the impossible, and achieve the unthinkable. The team does not seem to think so though, or at least not yet. “What we plan to do with the expansion,” explains Smith, “what we have now, which I think many other educational systems should have, is a very high turn-down rate at our entrance exams. There’s quite a bit of drop-out in the last year of secondary school so people don’t achieve a good basic educational standard. If you set the entrance requirements too low, nobody will pass the exit requirements (when they get in the programme) they might get midway, just, but can’t get much further. That’s about it. We’ve got some very, very bright students in here. And with our success, we’re no longer seen as low level, what’s being seen is the skill level. So when we first started out we had 97 applicants. This time around we had over 500 applicants (in 2009) and we only had 65 places. We had no fewer than 140 for our business administration course yet all we had were 15 places. We couldn’t take them. When we’re done expanding we should be able to fit

a thousand students per level each year. What we’ve been unable to do is deal with the fact that those with a low level of learning can’t get through the entrance test. We aim to set up classes to improve their standards of Maths, English, the basics. Once they meet the set standard they can then transfer to the mainstream and learn a skill.”

Bringing the City and Guilds accreditation back to Nigeria is definitely one of the BVCs epochal achievements. The teeming youth population on Bonny Island is beginning to reap the fruits of this move. Keeping-up with accreditation requirements, and helping as many capable young men and women get skilled-up and out into the workforce ready to deliver the best standard of services, are going to be their major challenges going forward. The BVC is currently working on a number of ideas to ensure the sustainability of the centre. That too, if or when achieved, is also one of the major challenges the centre will face over the next few years. Setting up and sustaining a training centre that can house about a thousand young people from Rivers States and its environs, in perpetuity, sounds highly ambitious, but going by their set precedent it would not be much of a surprise to see them exceed these targets. As for Smith, surprise surprise, he does see an end in sight to his work. “I’m working to the point where we have this place fully built,” he says “and companies start ringing the BVC asking ‘can we have five welders when they’re

done, can we have this, can we have that, can we send over a team for you to train?’ When I’ve reached that, my job is done, and I’ll go home.” He’ll be sorely missed by a very happy and more fulfilled community when that time comes. For now though, he has their best wishes.

The BVC Man

Sixty-two-years-old, harvey Smith has lived a varied life. a native of the uK, Smith

cannot tell you exactly where he is from because he was brought up in a number of places. Born on Canvey island just off the river Thames (his family moved out just before the floods in 1954) he moved a lot during his childhood because of his father’s job and attended eight schools in all. Both his parents died whilst he was still in his teens and he joined the royal navy at 15 training at hMS St. Vincent (a boys’ training establishment). he served on hMS Centaur (an aircraft carrier), hMS Scarborough (a frigate) and even did a number of years underwater with the submarine service.

Twice married (his second wife is a nigerian), he has three children; his older son is currently fighting in afghanistan for the British army (3rd Battalion parachute regiment).

he has worked in engineering and worked in youth drug abuse centres and the like.

he was a lecturer for 17 years working in a poor part of london before moving to nigeria (in 1999) to setup a technical training centre for TSKJ (an engineering company) after which he joined nlnG to establish the BVC.

he is a lover of boxing and in fact, between the ages of nine and 18, was a boxer.

Smith’s idea of a good evening involves cooking good food and drinking good wine in the company of good friends.

BVC TeChniCal CoordinaTor harVeY SMiTh

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capacityIntroduction

It’s been said that anyone who seeks success or greatness should first forget about both and seek only the truth, and the rest will follow. Well, none of us here today, including the organisers of this summit, can argue with that kind of logic, which I dare say is a variant of the biblical injunction of “seek ye first the kingdom of heaven...”

Religion and science might sometimes conflict, but they are never diametrically opposed to each other. They are both in search of the truth. So what is the truth?

In these times, where the truth is sometimes a moving target, I would like to set the premise for my thesis, the first being that Nigeria is a poor country, despite its huge population and abundant natural resources! Jeffry Sachs in his famous book “The End of Poverty... how to make it happen in our lifetime” said that extreme poor countries lack six major kinds of capital: • Human capital: health, nutrition and

skills needed for each person to become economically productive.

• Business capital: the machinery, facilities, motorised transport used in agriculture, industry and services.

• Infrastructure: roads, power, water and sanitation, airports and seaports and telecommunications systems that are critical inputs onto business productivity.

• Natural capital: arable land, healthy soils, bio-diversity and well-functioning ecosystems that provide the environmental services needed by human society.

• Public institutional capital: the commercial law, judicial systems, government services and policing that underpin the peaceful and prosperous division of labour.

• Knowledge capital: the scientific and technological know-how that raises productivity in business output and the promotion of physical and natural capital. Nigeria has not fared well on all these

benchmarks. If we need further evidence of Nigeria’s poverty, we should look at its membership of the club of Least Developed Countries, (LDCs).

With about $ 1,000 per capita GDP, Nigeria occupies a lowly position of 193 out of 208 in World Bank’s league table of nations. Nigeria’s oil production

Nigeria is ranked sixth among the oil

exporters of the world. It also accounts for 10 % of all traded LNG in the world, exporting about 3 mm bpd and 15 mm tons of LNG per annum. If we looked at oil alone, assuming that 90 % of the value of produced oil accrues to Nigeria (and we know it is less) at $ 50/bbl, Nigeria would earn $ 135 m per day. Assuming that there are 140 million Nigerians, this translates to less than a dollar per person per day.

You can double this either by doubling the price assumption or the volume assumption, but the conclusion is the same -- oil does not make Nigeria rich. What Nigeria does with its oil could indeed make her rich. So far it hasn’t done anything with the oil that would make it rich, so it remains a poor country. Investment in education: Current status

The period between 1960s and 1980s was not only the golden age of university education in Nigeria, but also the golden age of research. In fact, it was unanimously agreed by the World Bank, the National Universities Commission, the Nigerian academic staff union and industries, that in terms of quality and quantity of research output of tertiary institutions, Nigeria was the best in Sub-Saharan Africa (Karani, 1997; Okebukola, 2002).

The Association of Indian Universities comparing the growth of tertiary education between India and Nigeria in 1981 praised the remarkable progress made by Nigeria. It said that “except for Nigeria in the last

These are excerpts of the speech delivered by Chima Ibeneche, MD/CEO Nigeria LNG Limited, at the South-South Economic Summit, Tinapa, Cross River State, April 22, 2009.

Building human

for Nigeria’s oil and gas business sector

15C S R D I G E S T

The period between 1960s and 1980s was not only the golden age of university education in Nigeria, but also the golden age of research.

16 C S R D I G E S T

half a decade, or so, no other country in the world has had a growth rate of 13-14 % per year.”

However, this head start was lost because of lack of foresight, changing directions, poor funding, and poor quality and quantity of research emanating from its ever expanding national university system. Today, no Nigerian university is listed among the top 500 universities in the world as ranked by the 2007 THES-QS World University Rankings. The University of Cape Town, South Africa is the only African university in the top 500.

The place of Nigerian universities in the African rankings is more pathetic because they trail universities from Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, countries endowed with fewer natural resources. Only four Nigerian Universities -- Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife (44th), the University of Ibadan (65th), the University of Benin (79th) and the University of Lagos (90th) -- made the list of top African universities.

This reflects the poor staffing and funding situation in our schools. There are only 16,000 teachers in universities, a shortfall of 30,000 according to Chairman, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Mr Muazu Maiwada (2005).

These are not credentials of a rich country. The most generous description of Nigeria would be a potentially rich country inhabited by poor people who are hardly able to meet their needs of food, power, water, good roads and adequate health care. South-South

The South-South region shares the same fate with the rest of the country. For instance, investment in education is especially lagging behind. There are not enough quality schools and not enough teachers. There is a preponderance of poor performing students.

Of the state universities accredited by National Universities Commission (NUC), the South-South region performed badly. It is obvious from the above that the South-South is as poor as Nigeria, if not poorer. The implication is that oil and gas has not made the region rich either. It is also clear that a different strategy is required to

change the situation. Wealth Is Human Capital

In his book “The Origin of Wealth”, Eric Beinhocker asks the following questions: “But where does wealth come from in the first place? How does the sweat of our brows and the knowledge of our brains lead to its creation?” Implied in these is the truism now accepted by all economists that wealth is the product of people’s efforts and the interaction of people in exchange and trade. It is not the endowments of minerals, land, geography, or even population. Without investment in human capital development, no economy has ever moved from agrarian to industrial stage.

It is therefore necessary for Nigeria, and yes, the South-South region to focus on the development of human capital as the only viable route to wealth. Converting the limited rent derived from mineral resources to human capital is the only strategy that will lead to wealth creation. This is the route followed by all emerging nations.

How this can be achieved will be my task this morning. I would like to propose a plan of action, strands of which include: • Establishment of elite secondary

schools; • Establishment of shared facilities (just

same as schools sharing stadiums for sports development);

• Establishment of specialist institutions for shipping, aviation, etc., such as Maritime Academy, Oron;

• Establishment of regional specialist schools;

• Establishment of vehicles for effective Public Private Partnership (PPP) schools;

• Secondment of professionals to schools; • Sabbatical for teachers in the oil and gas

industry. To benefit from the numerous

opportunities presented by the oil and gas industry, we must have the right skill set and the requisite education. It is evident that investment in science education is critical to getting a significant toehold in the industry. The key skills needed through the life cycle of an oil and gas field are based on science education or on science related crafts and technology.

Of course there are other skills, which play secondary roles: Finance, legal,

medical, media, etc. But the numbers of specialists needed are fewer and they, in general, play supporting roles.

The key to quality human capital lies in provision of good secondary education. Secondary education is critical

to building human capital. Deficiencies in primary education can be remedied at the secondary school level by dedicated teachers.

But it is far more difficult, and almost impossible, to repair the damage of a failed primary and secondary education at the university level. At the tertiary level, it is assumed that the child has learned how to learn. Two-pronged strategy for education

Two strategies are required for the growth of human capital. First is for the development of leaders and professionals. The second is the development of the executors in industry -- technicians and crafts people. Any successful economy will need both.

ELITE SECoNDARY SCHooLSThe development of leaders and

professionals will require the creation of institutions that cater for the talented and the best. For this group, a few elite secondary schools must form the heart of the strategy. The pull of these elite schools will encourage excellence in primary schools as teachers and students work hard to earn admission into the elite schools.

Here I wish to commend the foresight of Governor Chibuike Amaechi in sponsoring students from Rivers State to elite secondary schools in the country, and for his initiative in building model schools in Rivers State.

Good elite schools act as magnets and bring about competition that rubs off well on both students and the general level of

it is necessary for Nigeria, and yes, the south-south region to focus on the development of human capital as the only viable route to wealth.

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education. This has been the role Kings College and other Federal Government colleges played in the 70s and 80s.

To wrap up on this, I must emphasise that an elite school is not made of brick and mortar. Rather it is more of dedicated and motivated teachers equipped and supported to foster learning.

If there is a need to trade off because of the limitations of funding, it must be said that one good school is better than a thousand worthless ones. However, it may be necessary to share facilities to ensure that the region can fund the number of elite science secondary schools it needs.

Science laboratories and equipment can be shared by schools located in the same locality to reduce the cost per capita of each student. Information Technology centres can also be shared by giving schools in the same vicinity access to the Internet and to online libraries. This done, the elite schools should be able to feed the universities with bright students.

What applies to secondary schools applies even more to universities. One good university in the South-South region will do more good than the many we have today that simply do not work. Universities need to focus on a few subjects in which they become centres of excellence. Effective universities are both purveyors of and creators of knowledge. Knowledge is created in the process of problem solving, hence the need for elite universities to get involved in solving

the economic and social problems of the region.

An example of the right focus is the case of IPS of the University of Port Harcourt. The Institute of Petroleum

Studies (IPS) is an international post graduate institution established through collaboration between Ecole du Petrole et des Moteurs (IFP School) France and the University of Port Harcourt Nigeria in 2002. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) / Elf Petroleum Nigeria Limited (EPNL) Joint Venture as part of its sustainable development Programme sponsors the collaboration.

IPS offers post-graduate training programmes for both the upstream and downstream sectors of the petroleum industry. Instructors are drawn from Nigerian universities, IFP School and the petroleum industry (from Nigeria and abroad).

The University of Port Harcourt and IFP School France award the joint degrees in conjunction with IFP Continuing Education, ENSPM France, and other local content services providers. The Institute offers broad-based continuing education programmes to professionals in the petroleum industry. The courses are designed to meet the needs of managerial, engineering and technical staff in oil, gas and refining, petrochemical and chemical companies. IPS is planned to become an International Well Control Forum (IWCF) Certification Centre in Africa.

MIDDLE LEVEL MANPoWER The second strand of the strategy is

aimed at the majority of the population who are as endowed as the group of leaders and professionals. For these, vocational and trade schools are needed. These schools will focus on City and Guilds level of qualification in trades like welding, catering, scaffolding, fitting, bricklaying, tiling, auto mechanics, sea faring etc.

Is it not a shame that when we were fitting out Bonga in Nigerian waters, we had to import fitters, welders and scaffolders from the Philippines and the UK?

The oil and gas companies have taken the lead in the production of middle level manpower by setting up specialised schools to equip the students with the right skills for today’s labour market. The schools include:

Shell Intensive Training Programme (SITP), which was designed to develop

the skills of young Nigerian graduates and technicians to prepare them for employment in the oil industry. Over 100 trainees are selected after a competitive test for each of the sections to run a 44-week session.

SITP has two streams: SITP/1 for Science Graduates and SITP/2 for school leavers with technical background. Both courses are based in Warri. There are three areas of specialisation; Instrumentation Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering Technology with Production Operations common to all of them. The training is provided by the Aberdeen branch of the IPEDEX Group. At the end of the training, beneficiaries receive the City and Guilds Technicians Diploma. The affiliation/accreditation with City and Guilds International, London enables graduates of the programme to obtain its internationally recognised Technicians Diploma.

Bonny Vocational School (BVC) is an NLNG/Bonny Kingdom partnership project designed to promote vocational/entrepreneurial skills acquisition, development of technical competencies and self reliance in youths in Bonny community in particular and Rivers State in general. It is geared towards meeting the needs and aspirations of community through a three- tier curriculum.

On successful completion of training, the trainee is awarded the International Technical Vocation Level 3 Certificate of London City and Guilds and or the Nigerian Skills Technical Certificate. The centre, which started in 2005, has trained over 500 youths in various technical vocations and competencies.

The Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) was established in 1973 by the Federal Government as a prerequisite for the membership of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to train indigenous middle level manpower to meet the labour demands of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria and the West African sub region. It awards National Diploma and Higher National Diploma certificates. Its main task is to improve the knowledge and practical skills required within the oil and gas industry, both downstream and

BVC is designed to pro-mote vocational/entre-preneurial skills acquisi-tion, development of technical competen-cies and self-reliance in youths in Bonny...and rivers state.

18 C S R D I G E S T

upstream. It is my contention that the focus of PTI

on the award of qualifications of HND, which competes with degrees awarded by universities makes this institution irrelevant and unsuccessful.

The Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron, formerly known as the Nautical College of Nigeria, was established in 1979 as an integrated institution for the education and training of shipboard officers and ratings and shore-based management personnel. It provides education, training and upgrading of officer cadets through the development of knowledge and skills necessary to enable them perform duties at sea as Deck and Engineering officers in compliance with the stipulated international conventions for the training of such officers.

The education and training enable cadets to perform creditably, the functions required of junior managerial staff in the operations department of shipping companies, shipping agencies, ports and other organisations in the maritime industry.

NLNG is supporting the Nigerian Maritime Academy, Oron, to train manpower for the industry. The Warsash Maritime College, Southampton, was engaged to review the academy’s STCW 95 courses. Warsash Maritime College also provides accreditation to the Nigerian Maritime Academy, Oron, through the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), United Kingdom. NLNG has contributed to enhancing training and providing equipment for the Nigerian Maritime Academy, to help it achieve the recommended standards. To date, NLNG has employed over 160 graduates of the Maritime Academy, Oron.

In 2008, 28 cadets were recruited from the academy by Nigeria LNG Limited. They commenced their cadetship training at Warsash Maritime Academy and Glasgow Nautical Studies in the UK in January 2009. Yes opportunities in oil and gas business

It is trite to repeat the cliche that oil and gas is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy. It is however pleasing to note that despite the global financial and

economic crisis, oil and gas industry remains robust, taking the ups and downs in its stride.

Notwithstanding the prophesy by doomsayers, and even President Obama’s crusade to break his country’s addiction to oil -- USA’s annual oil consumption per capita is 25 barrels -- the global energy demand in the medium and long term will continue to grow, regardless of the present economic recession.

Indeed, in the latest World Energy Outlook, the International Energy Agency believes the current economic storm has not changed the market’s long-term outlook. It sees world energy use growing more slowly to 2030 than it projected last year, but still expanding by 45 % between 2006 and 2030 with an average growth rate of 1.6 %.

Fossil fuels will account for 80 % of the global energy mix in 2030 with oil being the dominant fuel. China and India will account for more than half of the incremental energy demand by 2030, it said. China’s per-capita consumption of oil, for example, climbed from 1.58 barrels in 2003 to 1.75 barrels in 2004. This trend is expected to continue.

The petroleum landscape in Africa is changing rapidly, and experts say that confidence that the continent can develop into a worldwide petroleum centre remains unchanged. The optimism has been substantiated repeatedly: bringing new acreage offers, substantial onshore/offshore hydrocarbon discoveries, commissioning of numerous fields, and development of much needed infrastructure.

A push to divert the United States’ oil dependence from the Middle East has also led to a new rush to Sub Saharan Africa and to the marginally tapped reserves of Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria, where major discoveries receive fast paced development programmes.

IHS reports that although Africa’s oil reserves are estimated to be only 8% of the world total, great potential remains. Past capital investments are paying off handsomely; further flow of capital is expected and analysis suggests that investments in the Gulf of Guinea will soon exceed expenditures in the Gulf of

Mexico. Saharan Africa is a growing region of

hydrocarbon exploration and the region is a proven giant in terms of gas and oil production and export. Activity in Sub Saharan Africa is principally concentrated

offshore with the highest success rates in the central and southern Gulf of Guinea.

Nigeria still presents a chaotic yet compelling picture. Political maturity is taking sometime to arrive, especially with the legislature trying to stake out its turf and the executive and judiciary struggling to get their acts together. Yet Nigeria still remains one of the big hitters in terms of global oil supply, something that is expected to continue into the future.

Oil-hungry nations without exception pay close attention to the availability of Nigerian low-sulphur crude. In addition, Nigeria is becoming central to the global LNG trade -- Nigeria LNG Limited is today supplying 10 % of world’s LNG.

The energy industry in the 21st century is at the very centre of the challenges the world faces so we must endeavour to rise to these challenges wisely, confidently and rationally. Among the numerous things that could afflict the oil industry in the coming years -- equipment shortages, barriers to access, ill-considered taxes -- the one that seems the most intractable is the perceived shortage of new talent with which to replace today’s ageing work force, many of whom will be retiring in the next decade. source: alexander’s gas and oil connections

The energy industry in the 21st century is at the very centre of the chal-lenges the world faces so we must endeavour to rise to these challenges wisely, confidently and rationally.

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In most cases, especially in the rural areas, when the “bread-winner”dies, the dreams of a good education and life above the poverty line also go to the grave. But, for Jonathan, that was not the case – thanks to the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) rolled out in 2004 by Nigeria LNG Limited.

It started with him getting the YES form. That was like getting a visa to self-reliance.

According to the young man from a small community called Bakana, “My life in the village was very hard and that is why I say my life is a testimony. If it wasn’t for the training, I know that I would have been one of the militants. Some of my class mates are like that.”

“YES,” says Sir Belejit Ikuru, a former coordinator of the scheme, is “to make the participating youths economically and socially responsible through guided vocational and entrepreneurial development training.”

Barnabas Ekanem, a social worker, who used to work with the youth on the YES programme, as a member of staff of the Community Development Foundation, which consulted for NLNG, says the programme was

a lifeline to many of the youths who came from poor backgrounds.

He tells the story of Iyenemi Mac-Eli, who was hawking kerosene in the streets with all the hazards that come with it. “But once she bought into the programme,” he said elatedly, “she got trained and right now she has opened her own place which is flourishing.”

Jonathan, who was trained in photography, today is the proud owner of “Bob J. Video Studio” operating from a N120,000-a-year shop in Port Harcourt, providing services in, among others, digital video editing, video/photo coverage, and transferring video cassette to VCD & DVD. He started operations with a camcorder and still picture camera, given to him as part of his starter packs. Today, he owns four cameras, 2 DVD burners, an editing system, an IQ photo printer, a HP printer, three video inserters, three 14 inches TVs and a computer.

Jonathan continues his story: “When I heard about the training on photography, I thought it was just photography training until I was given a starter pack. The starter pack consisted of a photo and video cameras. I was

also given money. The organisers have been giving me money. It was for transport. I don’t know how I would have survived without it. I was coming from the village without anything. I can’t really remember how much I was given for transport money but it was sufficient. The organisers were also keeping some money separately for us. With that money, I bought my computer and with that system and two cameras, I was doing okay. I was saving money and later had to open a studio. There was nobody to help me with it. I saved some more money from the equipment I had and later bought more equipment. Gradually, I grew. I used to buy my Compact Discs (CDs) from Port Harcourt. But now, I have a link in Lagos where I buy my CDs. And I also sell materials to other people.”

Since his graduation from the YES programme, Jonathan has invested about N840,000 into his business. “Sometimes, I can get N50,000 a day from the studio. Other days, I can get N10,000 a day. I can’t give you an exact amount of money I make in a month. It depends on the work I get. But there is no day I don’t get something out of these equipment. I have trained more than 10 persons in my village free of charge and I tell them to use their equipment to make money. Some people rent cameras to practise. I rent my cameras out. Eighty per cent of cameramen rent cameras. I make N1,500 from the camcorders cameras every day. The bigger

yes!Oh

How has the Youth Empowerment Scheme fared?

By Elkanah Chawai

Christopher Jonathan never knew his father and has no idea of what it means to grow up with one. Life was hard in the hinterlands of Rivers States especially growing up in a society with age-long beliefs that the “bread winner”, the

man of the house, is all in all.

20 C S R D I G E S T

one I rent out for N4,000 every day. “In my village, they still think I am an

ordinary photographer. They don’t know I have reached this stage. My family is calling me for meetings and there is no time to attend because of my work. I work night and day. My studio is my hope. I want to expand my studio to a stage where people will hear of me. What I need is finance to back me and I am making more savings towards that,” he adds. Married, Christopher is now a father of a 10-month old baby boy. He takes care of his mother and two children of his brother who lost his job recently.

Mac-Eli tells her own success story. “In 2007, I went for NLNG empowerment. They posted us to places to go and learn the work. After the work, I decided to get a place for myself so that I can go on with the work. Before now, I was selling kerosene. I was making money from that but I prefer tailoring. I make more money from tailoring than I did when I was selling kerosene. The kerosene business is not certain. Sometimes you get money and sometimes you don’t. When I was selling kerosene, I made N3,000 to N5,000 in a week. But with tailoring, I can make a N10,000 to N30,000. It depends on how many customers I get that week,” she says.

Iyenemi believes that she is so much better off than selling kerosene. Her joy is that she doesn’t depend on anyone. She supports two siblings financially in their university education. “I support my two younger ones. They are in University of Port Harcourt and Rivers State University of Science and Technology (UST). Sometimes they ask me

for money for books and I will tell them to come immediately. My husband is a business man and I am helping him with the family.” She doesn’t have a child yet but she is sure preparing for the future. She vaunts that “by next year, “I will ask NLNG to come and see what I have done to expand my business.”

Not all the trained youths are that successful though. There are cases of some youths selling off their equipment and “returning to their vomit,” as it were; while some just get frustrated by the smothering business environment in the country. Yet, there are still stories of those who strive amidst this condition to earn a living.

One of those in this group is George

Inye whose parents could only educate him to secondary school level. But he now has a welding workshop. Set behind him as he narrates his story of survival is his small welding shop which is located at a corner in a multi-storey building compound. His shop can hardly be seen from the road where his services should be visible to pedestrians and would-be customers. But this is what he could afford after his training. However, he avers that there is hope as a professional welder. He was introduced to YES by his community chief. “My parents are late and they trained me up to secondary school. They could not afford it and education is about what you can afford. I am not giving up. I know with time, when I

my studio is my hope. i want to expand my studio to a stage where people will hear of me. What i need is finance to back me and i am mak-ing more savings towards that.- CHristoPHer JoNAtHAN

21C S R D I G E S T

find myself okay, I can start from there”. He recounts his experiences: “before

welding, I was a driver. My highest qualification is WAEC. I was driving somebody’s car and I got about a minimum of N1,500. I earn more now but it is not frequent. If we rate how much income we get per month, it is far better than driving. We look at ourselves as professionals. We have something that can take us somewhere. On the average, I will say I earn about N30,000 a month outside little jobs I get at the end of the day,” he tells CSR Digest, fully kitted in his personal protective equipment. But he adds: “But the thing is that if your problem is more than your income, it would seem like you are not doing anything. We don’t have constant supply of jobs from companies or contracts to fabricate something. I don’t have such customers that patronize me everyday. Only few of those who know me come around”.

Inye feels that with a big loan to start, take-off would have been smoother. His welding machine that he got as part of his starter’s pack did not help matters as it did not take long before it broke down. “We just picked up and started. The welding machine that was given to us is not strong. So we just managed it. But within a short period, it died off,” he said without any tinge of sadness in his eyes.

When i was selling kerosene, i made N3,000 to N5,000 in a week. But with tai-loring, i can make a N10,000 to N30,000.iyeNemi mAC-eli

We look at ourselves as professionals. We have something that can take us somewhere. - GeorGe iNye

22 C S R D I G E S T

He earns off a locally built welding machine. Inye also takes care of the children of his late brother (who died in an accident) and hopes to educate them.

With the same resilience, Solomon Ohaka is willing to push on until he gets a university education. His skills have given him more options at actualising his dreams. Trained as a photographer/video producer, he now freelances with African Independent Television (AIT) and Rivers State Television (RSTV) as a cameraman.

“When I was informed by youths in my community, I thought that I should get the YES form since I had nothing doing after secondary school. I went for the training and learnt a lot of things not only in photography but important things in life during the training. When I came back, I used the starter pack given to me to start my business. I bought some equipment and I have trained some people who are on their own now. I am so proud of NLNG who introduced the programme. If I go to AIT and RSTV, I am well known there. I am a professional cameraman for them. We always travel out and I come back to operate my shop”, he explained with pride.

Ohaka shares a shop with a barber in Rumudomaya in Port Harcourt. The shops are separated by a sheet of ply wood, with a dark room of a sort at the other side. From the barber’s side of the shop, it would seem like there is nothing in that cottage. Solomon owns a computer and equipment worth over N100,000 in his corner. He pays half of a N120,000 per annum rent.

“I didn’t have any money to start a full shop so I had to share with someone to split the rent at the end of the month. Despite the other jobs for the TV station, I have to manage this shop due to other commitments like my plans to go back to school and family obligations. I couldn’t continue my schooling because of money. Since I lost my father at the age of 23, nobody could sponsor my education anymore. So, I decided to suspend and make money first to take care of my siblings. I am taking care of my mother who is a farmer and helping my elder brother who just got admission to UST. We got the admission together but I couldn’t go. I am now looking forward to taking some part-time courses soon. My job with AIT is a contract job. I get N10,000 per job. . Sometimes, I could get two of those jobs in a month. I make like N30,000 naira in a month. The scheme has added a lot of value to my life. Today, I can say I am a good leader. I have succeeded in being a good follower but today, I have people under my tutelage. I have achieved a lot,” he emphasises.

Over the years, the YES scheme has grown in popularity. In the first batch, 108 trainees out of 118 enrolled graduated. In the second batch, all 120 trainees graduated. 61 trainees graduated in third batch and presently enrolled for the fourth batch are 115 trainees. Despite the growing popularity and successes recorded so far, the selection of would-be trainees still remains a challenge. The organisers of the scheme are faced with growing pressure to enrol candidates already

selected by their community chiefs. The danger of this is that only the chief’s relatives may benefit, defeating the aim of making far-reaching impact on the youths. Making about a hundred youths self-reliant in a year may seem inconsequential when compared to the number of unemployed youths in the region and the growing restiveness, but Ekanem, who says that the scheme has recorded about 60 per cent success in youths setting up business, adds that it has worked for youths, saying that the real success lies in other companies taking up the scheme to achieve one of the fundamental Millennium Development Goals - helping people earn a living.

yES ladder

Currently, trainees complete the flowing programmes from admission to

graduation:1. pre-Training engagements: one

day induction/motivation session and one week attitude re-orientation/team building training at the leadership Centre, aluu.

2. Vocational Training: Six months vocational/technical skills training and one month post-training practical experience attachment for experience sharing and confidence building.

3. Graduation activities: one week capacity building workshop in entrepreneurial skills, finance and management, Trade Tests Certification (stage 3 & 2) organised by the Federal Ministry of labour and exhibition/graduation ceremonies.

4. post-Graduation engagement: Monthly, quarterly and end of programme monitoring and evaluation of the trainees’ performance, training centres and trainers. additionally, graduates receive funding support and are involved in joint partner programme content review and evaluation.

i am so proud of NlNG who introduced the pro-gramme. if i go to Ait and rstV, i am well known there. i am a professional cameraman for them. We always travel out and i come back to operate my shop.- solomoN oHAkA

23C S R D I G E S T