Tag Archives: nigeria

The End-User Experience ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-18technology, Travel, Workibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogue, workRodney

Today we had the opportunity to drive out Isan-Ekiti, which is considered one of the rural areas of Ekiti state. The drive took us about 45 minutes from our office and even the ride itself was a mixture of paved roads and roadworks under construction. The purpose of the visit was connected to our Citizen Information Management System (CIMS) project. The felt that it was be a good idea to talk to the people who would be impacted by the project that we want to implement – elderly citizens. We were specifically interested in understanding their experiences with the process today and what they thought about some of our proposals to introduce some technology-related solutions into the payment process. We also wanted to get a sense of the different types of towns where our solutions would be implemented in terms of infrastructure and communities.

We were scheduled to meet with 5 of Isan-Ekiti elderly residents, but we ended up meeting with about a dozen. Thanks to our local host team (Yemi and Ayo) we were able to speak to them (the residents spoke Yoruban so we needed translation support), I think we were able to have a great conversation and learn a lot about the process from the End-User perspective including what issues were important to them (trust, convenience, security, ease of use, amongst other criteria) as we work on the alternatives. What I can say here now is that the use of biometrics was a clearly preferred option! That was fantastic to know because it shows that technology can be adapted to the environment, instead of the other way around.

I think the team and I left with new energy. We have faces now to the work we are doing. I am committed to make this important part of their lives more convenient, more secure, and the more efficient. One of the residents we had the privilege of speaking with prayed for our success. I have no intention of letting her down.

And of course the pictures 🙂

Church and Golf

2013-02-17general update, technology, Workgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogueRodney

This morning I woke up and went to church, which I have to say is the first time in a very long time. However, I really wanted to participate in a church service in Nigeria as I had heard that they were very intense experiences with lots of prayer and singing. About half of the group went to the services and I have to say that I am very glad that we did go! The church was welcoming of us all, and even took a few moments out of the service to mention that we were there, what IBM was working on in the community, and then the minister asked the congregation to pray for our success. It’s really hard to describe what we experienced. In some places, it was about solemn reflection. And in other parts of the sermon, it was only what I could describe as “violent prayer.” Not violent in the sense where people were hurt, but in the sense that there was a lot of shaking, shouting our prayers and asking for redemption, and holding hands. If the roles of ministers are to whip the congregation into a frenzy of devotion and unity of message and purpose, then the mission was accomplished. The congregation seemed to hang on their every word. At the end of the service, the congregation gave us some small gifts and told us we were warmly welcome back. It was hard not to smile leaving the church. Next week we hope to visit a traditional Yoruba church as well as a mosque as Ekiti seems to be a multi-religious society.

After a morning of prayer (the service was 3 hours!), we had a an afternoon of golf thanks to the kind auspices of the Chief Security Officer (CSO). There were 3 of us who met up with the the CSO who took us to the golf course in Ekiti. I have to say that it was a great experience and it was great to spend the afternoon being a bit active and working on improving my horrible golf handicap! Towards the end of the game we were joined by a couple of other colleagues and just then it started to rain. So back at the lodge area, we had some beers and started talking with people around it. It was a great way to end the Sunday! I also realised that I am a long long way away from being anywhere close to Tiger Woods.

I don’t have golf pics at the moment, but promise to add them later!

Ikogosi Springs Resort and Arita Waterfall ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-16technology, Travel, Workibmcsc, nigeria, travel, workRodney

Today we had the pleasure of visiting the Ikogosi Springs Resort and Arita Waterfall as a team. The resort at Ikogosi is in the final stages of Phase 1 development and not ready for the public, so we were grateful to be able to see the resort as it is in its final stages of Phase 1 development. We were also honoured to get a tour of the facilities by the Managing Director of the property. From what we saw so far, when the resort opens in a few months time it should be very impressive! Besides have great lodging options, pools, etc, the resort is surrounded by beautiful nature and hot and cold springs which make for an interesting and beautiful experience. Of course, the Managing Director was friendly, welcoming, and was eager for our feedback. I really do hope that the resort is a success. It has everything going for it!

After our tour of the resort, we made a short drive over to Arita Waterfall. The waterfall itself is relatively small, but it definitely is in a scenic and location and as part of a trip to Ikogosi is well worth a visit. The team took a lot of pictures in the water and a few of us even climbed up towards the top of the waterfall.

So by the late afternoon, I think most of us were ready to head back to the hotel. It was a nice day out. And I am looking forward to attending church service tomorrow. I heard that they do it differently here in Nigeria.

A night out, Ado-Ekiti Style

2013-02-15general update, Travelgeneral update, nigeria, party, travelRodney

So after an interesting first week, our awesome hosts Yemi and Ayo realised that we needed a night out on the town. In Ado-Ekiti, there isn’t a restaurant and bar culture like you’d find in many other places. In fact, it just might be that the most popular bar in Ado Ekiti is attached to our hotel. But since we live there, we needed to get out of the building. So we were taken to a local bar, got a private performance from a local band, and had beers and danced and relaxed. It was a cool night out!

As normal (well, kinda normal anyway), some pictures 🙂 The internet connectivity continues to be a significant challenge, so I can’t upload so many just now 🙁

Market Experience ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-14general update, Travelgeneral update, ibmcsc, nigeria, travel, travelogue, workRodney

So last night the team went out to the market to see the different style of cloth that get used in making the traditional Yoruba style of dress. It was great to finally have some contact with the population. Although we are here for a work assignment, another element of an experience like the CSC is the ability to have cultural immersion experiences and changes like the one we had at the market night.

We look forward to going to the market again! In the meantime, here are some pictures from the market.

Happy Valentines Day / Singles Awareness Day! \o/

2013-02-14general update, Travelgeneral update, nigeria, travel, travelogueRodney

I am one of the people on my team who was blogging even before the IBM CSC assignment to Nigeria, so I have to say that not every single blog entry will always be work-related to the project. Sometimes I just wanna have some fun on my blog post too!

So in that spirit, I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day to those in relationships! To us single people, I wish you a Happy Singles Awareness Day! It is that one day of the year when the world wants to remind the single people that if only we tried a little harder, we too could spend money having to buy chocolates, stuffed animals, teddy bears, clothing, or other items to demonstrate our affection.

This Valentines Day I have 2 special beings in my life: David and Gordon. They are the geckos that live in my hotel room. In normal circumstances I would hate having them around, but actually they are awesome roommates so far. They like to eat mosquitoes so they are instantly my friends. David is clearly the more awesome of the two (don’t tell Gordon) as he sees fit to explore the entire hotel and return back to my room and generally takes the watch above my bed as ultimate protector. Gordon on the other hand, generally lives behind the painting in my room. He darts out every now and then, says something that sounds like “nurp nurp” (I respond in kind), and then he goes back behind the painting. What I don’t like is that Gordon “sings” at 05.30 in the morning. Well even with non-human roommates, compromises must be made…

An early night, but visit my friends’ blogs ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-13Travel, Workibmcsc, nigeria, travel, workRodney

Today you all get a blogging day off from me! 🙂 Outside of work and dinner, it was quite an early night for me. The anti-malarial pills I started taking before I came to Ado Ekiti have a side effective of giving me a sore throat and making me generally tired. So I am going to see what a night of forced rest can do to fix this. Quite a shame to because the hotel is having a giant huge party (I can hear it from my room) and the party seems really awesome!

But fear not! This team I am on is like super social-media aware (finally, kindred spirits), so sometimes instead of me always posting, I will refer you to the blogs and photos of my team instead.

Christina’s Blog: http://www.christinahu.com/

Kelsen’s Blog: http://kelsenr.blogspot.com

Good night Ado Ekiti and friends. Despite the loud pumping music, I can feel my eyes getting heavy and I will soon sle..zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Time to get to work! ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-12technology, Travel, Workibmcsc, nigeria, travel, workRodney

Press conferences, official meetings, and other formalities over, today is the day when we roll up our sleeves to get to work. Everyone across all of the sub-teams are eager to start. Our day of course begins with one more meeting, but this is the kickoff meeting where we discuss the overall vision and goals of the projects we are working on, as well as the statement of work. The kickoff meeting is good and we meet with our contacts in order to try and understand the nature and scope of our project in more detail.

In the sub-project I work on together with Leslie and Kelsen, I have to say that we are very fortunate to work with a person from the local team who has done a lot of thinking surrounding our project and has a clear vision of the future. That clear vision has translated into a very good Scope of Work (SoW) document which we will be using as the base of how to move forward with our project over the next 4 weeks. Because the SoW is so clear on the long-term goals, we think we will be able to deliver on a roadmap which will help get them on the path of implementing the long-term vision. In the team we decided on the approach to update the SoW and get agreement from our client. So far so good as a team.

So what is it exactly that we are doing? The project in a nutshell comes down to a question of identification. The challenge in identifying people is how does a country/region go about identifying its citizens so that they can ensure that they are providing the services that the citizen’s need? It’s a simple set of questions, but the way to go about those solutions can be complex. Our job is to design and develop a framework which makes this possible. It’s a really cool project and we’re committed to doing a really great job.

So in addition to our tweets and blogs, the team decided to put together a few more ways interested people can follow along:

IBM CSC Nigeria 6 Team Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/IbmCscNigeria6

Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/groups/nigeria6

Lights, Camera, Action! ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-11technology, Travel, Workibmcsc, nigeria, workRodney

So today was a pretty action-packed day!

Our day began with a press conference in the morning where we presented ourselves, the mission of IBM’s Corporate Service Corps, and remarks from various government officials and our partners during the next 4 weeks. There was also some time for questions from the press. I was really proud of the way our Corporate Affairs representative handled the questions and spoke about us the work that we are doing.

Following the press conference, we then were taken to the Palace of the Ewi Ado Ekiti (Ewi = King). After presenting ourselves and our objectives, the Ewi spoke to us about the history of Ado Ekiti, gave us his blessings and prayers, and was gracious enough to take a photograph with us!

After our meeting with the Ewi, we then had a formal opening meeting with the His Excellency Governor Fayemi. Who explained how we came to end up in Ekiti State (even if it is the smallest state in Nigeria, it is larger than 15 other African nations in terms of population), his expectations from us, and his blessings for successful engagements across all of our projects.

After our meeting with the Governor, we went to have lunch at Chicken Republic before heading back to the hotel. Note here that one of the pictures here shows our securty convey who are nice enough to escort us around the town. In this case,

So…today was a day filled with pomp and circumstance and it was a cool experience. And tomorrow will be all about work and meeting our clients and getting our project started. I am really looking forward to it!

By the way, more pictures will come soon I promise. Consistent reliable internet has been a challenge, but I hope that we solve this in the next couple of days. Ciao for now.

Orientation and Ado Ekiti Tour ( #ibmcsc )

2013-02-10Travel, Workibmcsc, nigeria, travel, workRodney

Today’s fun adventure included a security orientation, an orientation on health services, and the last free day before the kickoff activities and work begin tomorrow. We also did some ice-breakers to get to learn some more about each other. The team continues to get along really well and that is nice. And working with my sub-team is also great. We have similar thoughts on most issues and have good discussion for a great exchange of ideas. So what can I say? So far so good 🙂

The hotel also has internet and a fairly nice restaurant. I don’t really have a lot of reason to complain. The hotel staff is just fantastic and they are so warm and friendly. That is going to be a recurring theme over the next weeks. I can’t really overstate how welcoming and friendly each and every person I have met has been.

In addition to briefings and orientations, we also had an opportunity to visit a local private university, the Afe Babalola University. The university was not in session unfortunately so we made a promise to make a return visit, but the University is notable because it is funded by private investment. In addition to several colleges within the University, they also have their own bakery, electricity station, access to water, and a mango farm. It will be exciting to make a return visit to see the University when it is in session and hopefully get a chance to talk to the students.

Chancellor of the University speaking to us about Afe Babalola University

As normal, we end our night back at the hotel and make sure we are ready for our big day tomorrow – our press conference, meeting with the Ewi (King) of Ado Ekiti, and our formal reception with the Governor.

The weekend to acclimatise has been a great idea. I suppose we could have been dropped into the middle of it all and just left to run with it, but the structure and set up so far have served us well. The only wish we have: more opportunity to interact with the local population at some point in the trip. I feel perfectly safe in Ekiti and statistics and other measurements really do bear out that the State enjoys a relative peace and calm, but I also understand that we have to take reasonable measures. Our security team could not be nicer and friendlier, and our local hosts assigned really do go out of their way to accommodate us. But just the same, we’re already ready for some visits to market, etc, etc. However, one of the things you can easily see in Nigeria is the enormous opportunity to develop tourism (particularly on the sustainability and eco-tourism sides). So maybe our eagerness to buy local crafts will help kickstart that as well 🙂

Rodney's Blog

Taking it one day at a time, with all of the fun it brings