Dear Friends,

In 2017, I challenged myself and other sisters to do two things on every International Women’s Day (IWD): celebrate a sister whose strength has borne you through the years, and write an open letter of affirmation to one male champion who has been a firm handhold and foothold in this journey through life. In the year that he will celebrate his 60th birthday, (born on 18 December 1962), I am celebrating Salihu Mohammed Lukman (SML), my husband, and a role-model life partner for a feminist like me. I wish him happiness on this IWD.

Where have the years gone? I know: they went into the making of us. SML and I have known each other forever 30 years, 26 of which we have been married. Over the years, we have encouraged each other to be better versions of ourselves. We have argued, debated, and disagreed, too. How boring would life be without the spats! But weal was resolved, in the end, to solve our issues by ourselves.

SML has taught me that there is no easy way to be a good man. It takes effort and the consciousness of what is the better road to travel. It also takes acknowledgment of one’s mistakes and keeping one’s pledges to do better.

We have matured together from our ‘okada’ riding days. Our many milestones include our first homes, our first child, and our first degrees. Through it, all, our friendship and common values have grown stronger. SML is a stellar feminist spouse.

They ask what do feminists want in a marital relationship? Well, not too much. Feminists treasure husbands and partners who let us be us. We want our spouses to toughen us and help us negotiate better and walk in our own paths. So doing, they enable us to conquer obstacles and discover new horizons and achieve beyond what we had imagined.

Feminists love spouses that do not feel threatened by our success. When sometimes they tell us maybe you should not do that, we do anyway. Sometimes we are right and at some other times, they are right. Regardless of who is right, our mutual respect endures.

We love spouses who seethe gem in us and don’t allow religion, ethnicity, race, or age to be a barrier to the expression of our love. Such spouses listen to our advocacy; they understand that what we want is a better society and a better world–not only for ourselves but also for our children and generations unborn.

Our husbands are our most important partners. While much of society, including some of those elected to protect women, still struggle to grapple with apparent or nuanced gendered relationships, our husbands love and respect us, appreciate our openness, and want us to succeed. They demonstrate their support in the place that matters most: our home–where they don’t see it as odd to cook for us, bath the children, and change a diaper as occasions demand.

In the spirit of this partnership, feminist wives know it is alright to spend our income on the family. It is no business of outsiders how we make ends meet at home. Who buys the bread and who pays the rent are unimportant to the partnership. What are important are equity, fairness, friendship, and solidarity?

If you are male and wondering how to be a happy man, know that masculinity can also oppress you. In moments when you need to let out the emotions and cry, society may prevent you from enjoying the health derivable from doing so because you are a man. Sometimes your humanity may be at stake when you need to pick up your own plate, lay your bed, cook for your own family, but you don’t because you don’t want to be called a woman wrapper. ‘But it is alright for a man to cry, care for his family, and share in the household chores. In any case, when you were born, you were wrapped in a woman’s wrapper as your mother cuddled you and gave you your first experience of life’s nurture

In closing, I would like to speak to when a feminist is married to an activist I am. SML speaks truth to power. Through his many open letters, he gives power to truth. I may sometimes worry about the letters and quibble over their timing, but I always understand the principle and the logic being expressed without trepidation. Through their thoughts, our teachers and mentors had raised us on their shoulders to have a clear view of the world; they prepared us to navigate the labyrinth that is life. Whether working from within or from without, we are change-makers. SML and I will always strive to positively impact our world.

I would like to affirm my husband for embodying these values and to say, with love, Happy 60th Year, in advance. Allah ya ja kwana. (I pray that his life is long) and continues to be a beacon of hope and courage and a powerful symbol of possibility for the many watching, including our children. Happy International Women’s Day 2022 to you all.

Amina Salihu

08 March 2022

Gender Equality Today For A Sustainable Tomorrow
#BreakTheBias

The Gender Policy represents CODE’s commitment towards gender equality. The Gender Policy provides guidance on how Connected Development (CODE) intends to mainstream gender equality, equity, and social justice in organizational practices, policy formation, campaigns, project development and implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The policy is based on the human rights-based approach that seeks to improve the rights of children, women, and men to ensure full participation and equal benefits from democratic processes. The human rights-based approach focuses on those who are marginalized, excluded, or discriminated against. Read More

A puzzling question is how does one commemorate this day of great importance which highlights and advances the work women around the world have done towards achieving gender equality?

The answer is not quite straightforward but this year’s unique theme (Break The Bias) unequivocally sparks great strides in recognizing the utmost importance of equality today for a sustainable tomorrow. This speaks to advancing conversation on gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction. Currently, women are underrepresented in the decision-making process on environmental governance. This leaves women at a disadvantage as they should be equally represented in decision-making structures to allow them to contribute their unique and valuable perspectives and expertise on climate change. The United Nations (UN) have published a fact sheet named Women, Gender Equality and Climate Change discussing the matter, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) published a report called Gender, Climate Change and Health that also addresses the way gender inequality interacts with climate issues.

A large number of rights are impacted by climate change. These include the right to life, right to clean water, right to health, right to food and the right to self-determination. Since women already struggle with human rights issues more than men, climate change exacerbates these problems and creates further gender inequalities.

Understanding that climate change is not only an environmental issue but also one of social justice, industrial and economic reform, women’s rights, poverty and development, trade and commerce, and indigenous rights, it is important to remember, however, that women are not only vulnerable to climate change but they are also effective actors or agents of change in relation to both mitigation and adaptation.

I have been fortunate to be surrounded and observant of powerful women and girls who have channelled their time and resources in promoting equality in their various fields of work. These women not only champion causes that promote women’s rights, but adequately work towards adaptation and  mitigating climate change in Nigeria. 

As the world marks International Women’s day today,  I choose to bring to fore these three women who have magically walked the talk and have a strong body of knowledge and expertise that can be used in climate change mitigation, disaster reduction and adaptation strategies. 

Esther Agbarakwe

Fondly called ‘Estherclimate’ by her peers founded the Nigerian Youth Climate Coalition (NYCC) after returning from Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in 2009, where she led the Nigerian youth delegation. She has worked with remarkable leaders like Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson and Gro Harlem Brundtland, among several others, to advocate for meaningful involvement and participation of youth in development especially in the formulation and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In 2009, Agbarakwe was awarded the Dekeyser & Friends Foundation Leadership Award in Germany. She was selected as a 2010 Women Deliver 100 Young Leaders and became a Commonwealth Youth Climate Fellow in November 2010. In 2012, she participated in the UNICEF supported debate on Climate Change where she advocated for the right of young people to lend their voice to the conversation. In 2015, she joined the Guardian conversation on ways to powerfully communicate climate change solutions. On the sidelines of the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, she alongside other Nigeria Climate Change Activists met with the Nigeria President, Muhammadu Buhari where they made a case for the value young people are bringing to the conversation. Ms. Agbarakwe is also co-founder of Climate Wednesday, a notable youth platform on environment issues that seeks to build a climate generation across Africa. Esther’s body of work can be seen to have spanned over two decades and while it seems like mitigation of climate change progress is minute, she lights hope that sustainability is essential for sustainable development.

Hyeladzira James Mshelia

Zira is a programs Associate at Connected Development with technical and programmatic management skills in designing and implementing gender equality, environmental and climate-related projects, policy influencing, and WASH campaigns in Africa.

Hyeladzira has a Bachelor’s degree (B.SC) in Environmental Biology which she has used to develop targeted programs/ interventions on environmental sustainability and climate action. Passionate about promoting the culture of environmental Sustainability in Nigeria and West Africa to achieve SDGs 13, 14, and 15,  Hyeladzira is responsible for spearheading the activities of  Earth Hour yearly. She is part of the  Climate Reality Leadership Corps,  a global network of activists and influencers who advocate for climate crisis and justice. She is a member of the World Economic Forum; a Global Shaper with the Abuja hub where she is the grants manager and co-chairs the “Abuja Dialogue Series” aimed at policy development from community/stakeholder engagement, mobilization, and dialogue.

She was a delegate at the Nigerian International Secondary Schools Model United Nations (NISSMUN) Conference were as a representative of the United Nations representing Slovakia, she deliberated discussed, and debated the country’s adaptation to a recycling-friendly, zero-waste circular economy and how imperative it is for her to sign the Paris Agreement. 

Jennifer Uchendu

​​Jennifer Uchendu, a sustainability communicator, analyst, the founder of SustyVibes- an organisation passionate about sustainability and women development in Africa. In 2016, Uchendu founded SustyVibes, a social enterprise making sustainability actionable for young people in Nigeria through projects, products and policies. SustyVibes was born out of the need to create a platform where Nigerian youths can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals through pop-cultural tools like music, photography, movies, tourism etc.

SustyVibes has gained popularity via its innovative projects that engage young people like Susty parties, campus cleanups, street conference, hangouts, eco-tours, movie screenings and trendy online publications – Jennifer has been said to be making sustainability cool in Nigeria; making a case for the advancement of the green economy in Africa. Jennifer believes strongly that women have a critical role to play in ensuring sustainable development in Nigeria.

The importance of gender equality for improved climate outcome is equally crucial that mitigation and adaptation efforts integrate gender issues at all levels. Drawing on women’s experiences, and as we mark this women’s day, it is imperative to note that women’s  knowledge and skills and supporting their empowerment will make climate change responses more effective while vying for a sustainable society.

The last quarter of the year 2021 was indeed a rollercoaster. With project managers putting in extra hours to ensure that project deliverables were met in accordance with both internal and external protocol. 

An outstanding loss for the team was the demise of our friend and colleague Alfred Anichi Oji, who until his death was CODE’s Digital Media Officer. Alfred was respected and admired for his enduring commitment and outstanding contributions to the development space and to CODE.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

The third quarter of 2021 was in furtherance of CODEs strategic plan. On the journey towards taking hold of governance processes and seeking more accountable systems, we made advancement in education, health, energy, governance sectors through various projects championed by vibrant youths who believe in an inclusive Nigeria for all by creating feedback loops between the people and the government and strengthening systems and communities along the way.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

In the first half, We recorded significant results from hosting an audacious COVID Transparency and Accountability Conference to kicking off the tracking of N1.1Bn Kaduna Constituency Projects, to advocating better living standards for residents in Oil-producing states, and working with State Governments to demand an end to GBV. We began this second half of the year on the bedrock of enhancing citizens’ engagement, building partnerships and collaborating with institutions who share in our vision to accelerate timely intervention for marginalised groups.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

We kick started the year ready to evolve and expand our work across more African countries, reaching more marginalized communities with the message of Follow The Money. To officially launch the programs and campaigns for the year, we engaged our HQ staff as it is the norm in a 3 days strategic and planning meeting in order to reinforce the organisational goals, build synergy across departments and map out deliverables and engagement strategies for our cohort of volunteers and champions.

READ FULL REPORT HERE

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) and Nigeria’s leading civil society organization, Connected Development (CODE) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen and foster health sector accountability in Nigeria. 

The MOU is a vital step towards enabling CODE to further expands its tracking and evaluation of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the country, to inform its advocacy in canvassing for improved primary healthcare infrastructure and service delivery.

READ FULL DOCUMENT

BudgIT Foundation and Connected Development (CODE), two prominent civic-tech non-governmental organisations spearheading the advocacy for openness, transparency and accountability in governance, have launched the second phase of the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP), an initiative that seeks to promote accountability and transparency through the tracking of COVID-19 intervention funds across 10 African countries. 

For the first phase of the project, both organisations leveraged their Tracka and Follow The Money (FTM) platforms to address the deeply rooted systemic profiteering culture associated with COVID-19 interventions and ineffective feedback mechanisms for tracking COVID-19 fund disbursements and management across focus countries. The first phase also strengthened civic engagement on COVID-19 response related matters to ensure that targeted governments use COVID-19 funds effectively. 

Building on these successes, the second phase of the project will advocate for improved healthcare funding and address the issues related to vaccine deployment and equitable distribution across focus countries. Both organisations will do this firstly, by conducting research on the post COVID environment, the distribution of health sector resources, the government’s commitment to healthcare funding, vaccine procurement plans and the issues affecting the equitable distribution in Africa, with a special focus on vulnerable groups in terms of commercial activity and socioeconomic status.

According to Oluseun Onigbinde, BudgIT’s Global Director, “This research will set a pathway for identifying the peculiar issues with procurement plans and vaccine distribution, after which we can build partnerships with relevant stakeholders and sectoral leaders to co-create inclusive frameworks and solutions for long-term health sector accountability,”. “We will not only collaborate with governments in focus countries to institute proper and sustainable accountability systems, we will also enhance the COVID-19 Accountability Platform (covidfund.africa) with a digital dashboard that tracks health sector resourcing and accountability approaches” he added.

Beyond collaborations with the government and sectoral leaders, we will also strengthen citizens’ engagement and equip civil society organisations in each focus country on how to prioritise vulnerable communities in their advocacy for improved health care investment.

While speaking on this part of the project, Hamzat Lawal, CODE’s Chief Executive noted that both organisations will mobilise at least 1.7million Africans digitally and offline to monitor emergency funds and demand health sector accountability.

“We will also facilitate dialogue sessions between 36 CSOs and the government to create opportunities for engagement between both parties on improved funding and health sector accountability.” he added

The COVID-19 transparency and accountability project has been instrumental in strengthening COVID-19 fund accountability frameworks and devising strategies that enhance citizen-led advocacy for reforms. We believe that this second phase will leverage existing partnerships with relevant stakeholders, the OGP and Global Health Organisations working on fiscal issues related to COVID-19 fund management and health sector accountability. This project is led by CODE and BudgIT in collaboration with Global Integrity, Oxlade Consulting and primarily funded by Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and Skoll Foundation.

Does interpreting data and turning into information for solutions make you tick?

CODE’S CALL FOR A DATA ANALYST

Job Position
Data Analyst

Location: Abuja, Nigeria

Organizational Background

Connected Development [CODE] is a non-government organization [NGO] whose mission is to empower marginalized communities in Africa.

We strengthen local communities by creating platforms for dialogue, enabling informed debate, and building capacities of citizens on how to hold their government accountable through Follow The Money. CODE provides marginalized and vulnerable communities with resources to amplify their voices with independence and integrity while providing the communities with information that ushers social and economic progress.

To enhance effective democratic governance and accountability, CODE creates platforms [mobile and web technologies] that close the feedback loop between citizens and the government. With global expertise and reach, we focus on community outreach, influencing policies, practices, and knowledge mobilization.

CODE is calling for a Data Analyst who will join the team to carry out the following responsibilities:

– Develop and implement databases and data collection systems.
– Work closely with management to identify critical metrics and to prioritize needs.
– Collect and analyze data from primary and / or secondary data sources for CODE, develop reports and visual representations.
– Support the maintainance of CODE’s database and provide technical support to all programme locations.
– Support studies and research like feasibility studies and surveys etc.
– Support data quality assessment and development of reports in accordance with the outcome of data analysis.
– Visualize and present findings to key stakeholders.
– Build and customize reports.
– Produce high quality and varied research outputs for a range of audiences including analysis, report writing and presentations where necessary
– Develop and maintain dashboards.
– Create and maintain documentation regarding data models, measures, and infrastructure as they are developed
– Design database specifications and modify existing software packages to meet specific research project needs.
– Write sections of scientific papers, funding proposals, grants, and abstracts.
– Conduct data audits, compile results, analyze and summarize audit findings.
– Coordinate and manage the collection, delivery, entry, verification, analysis, and reporting of data.
– Provide advice regarding data collection and analysis required for research projects.
– Recommend modifications to processes related to data collection and data entry conventions and develop implementation plans.
Support all forms of CODE’s research and evaluation.
– Responsible for the application of complex statistical and technical skills toward the collection, analysis, and translation of statistical data for a variety of research projects.
– Conduct statistical research and analysis and compiles and interprets statistical records and reports for research projects.
– Identify the appropriate method of statistical analysis and apply statistical techniques to interpret data.

Requirements
– HND or Bachelor’s Degree in Statistics, Mathematics, Research or related discipline
– At least 4 years of working experience in Research Data Analysis within the development space
– Experience in Programme Research
– Experience in Research & Statistics within the development space
– Experience in conducting and organising qualitative fieldwork
– Experience in designing qualitative research tools
– Evidence of having delivered or contributed to the delivery of high-quality social research outputs
– Experience in conducting and/or managing reviews and evaluations of projects that use both quantitative and qualitative monitoring and impact data.
– Experience with working with teams across diverse locations (local & international)
– Ability to collect, analyse and produce good quality data and information
– Proven skills in data management with concrete knowledge of open-source tools
– Experience with database management, word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software
– Well organized, with ability to track multiple projects and deadlines.
– An ego-free attitude when it comes to taking constructive feedback and running with it.
– Ability to work methodically and meet deadlines.
– Positive, flexible, solution-oriented, and excited to work with a diverse team of professionals working toward a common goal

Method of Application:

Interested candidates should fill the form provided. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

DEADLINE: 25th February 2022

APPLY HERE