Nearly four months after Kafanchan’s post-election violence, we were sad to learn from John Dada that staffing at Fantsuam is still suffering the effects.
Chollom, the network administrator who was displaced during the troubles, has now understandably relocated to Jos. Likewise Yakubu, a recent arrival, has also returned to Jos at the insistence of his worried family.
Before the troubles Kafanchan was widely perceived to be safer than Jos, so the UK team were disturbed to learn from John that this is no longer true. He said: “I think this is the often unseen and untold price that organisations and individuals continue to pay for sectarian violence, even long after the incident itself. Jos now appears safer than Kafanchan - but the FF view is, if we did not stay to promote the peace, who would?”
On the positive side, two new female volunteers have joined FF, one of whom will be taking over the role left vacant by Yakubu's departure.
To learn more about the situation at Kafanchan please read Lagun Akinloye’s article for Think Africa Press, which the team were also pleased to see had also appeared in the Daily Times. John said: “I was wondering where the Daily Times story came from, then I realised it was Lagun's report! It was very well written, and Daily Times has a high urban circulation in Nigeria. The national exposure which Lagun's article gives us is great.”