I am a legal practitioner, partner in a law firm, I have experience in litigation, project, corporate, structured fincance, capital market transactions etc. I could have continued with strict legal practice but my thirst to participate in development through governance would not allow me. I got appointed as the Special Trade Representative to the Bayelsa State Governor and the co-ordinator of the Bayelsa CDA STARS Project in 2010.
In the past 1 year, I have been exposed to a totally different world than I was accustomed. With hindisght, I should have started this blog from day one of my development job (as I like to call my government positions) but its better late than never. I will blog on my work with the government weekly and I will try to add experiences that occurred prior to this date, especially my political campaign experience during the 2011 Nigerian general elections.
The CDA STARS Project is a solely sponsored Bayelsa State Government initiative to encourage students save for their future educational or vocational needs. The Government will open bank accounts for 1,000 randomly selected students with the sum of N40,000, hoping that these students will increase this sum by saving. When the students do increase the sum, the Government will double the amount they pay in as a reward for saving. We have visisted 9 schools till today, when we visited 2 more schools. (Visit www.bayelsacdastars.com.ng for more on the project)
The schools we visited today were located in Ekowe and Igeibiri communities of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. These communities are way in the creeks of the Niger Delta, so of course, we could only access them by boat. The boat trip was peaceful and relaxing, I must say.
The welcome we received in the schools by the selected students, teachers, and parents was mindblowing. I mean, the students sang songs for us with angelic voices that will give Naija Sings (our own Pop Idol) contestants a run for their positions. The children were excited and thanked His Excellency, Chief Timipre Sylva for the project.
The parents were filled with questions about the Project, including-what if the child dies? (my team members were stunned at this question), what if the government changes?, how will I know how much is in the account at any time?, what if the child gets pregnant or married and her husband does not allow her to continue schooling (the saddest of them all). I am happy to say at the end of the session with the parents, they were happy about the project and eager to know when the bankers would come round to collect their money!!!
My bones are aching, my throat sore from a strange "cold" attack, yet I am filled with smiles as I see the children's smiles in my mind's eye when I told them how priviledged they were to be part of this pilot project.
I also tweet daily on http://twitter.com/tonbofa
