Unlocking Effective Coordination and Localization in Nigeria: The Transformative Power of Information Management

Richard Sennoga shared insights from his tenure as the capacity-building lead in Nigeria.

Can you tell us when you first joined iMMAP Inc. and your time leading the IM capacity-building program?

Richard: I began working with iMMAP Inc. in 2016 through the standby partnership program. My first assignment was with OCHA's Information Management Unit (IMU) in Khartoum, Sudan. After completing the six-month deployment, I was sent to the OCHA IMU in Erbil, Iraq, then to UNICEF as an Education Sector IM officer in Maiduguri, and later as IM capacity building lead with iMMAP Inc. in Abuja, Nigeria. We assessed IM capacity-building needs across the BAY states and prepared a training package for humanitarian partners. @Sulaiman Badamasi was one of 31 participants in our fifth training round, held in Maiduguri from 18-22 March 2019. He was nominated through the Education Sector and was a monitoring and evaluation officer with the International Rescue Committee.

What is the overarching goal of the capacity-building program?

Richard: iMMAP Inc.'s IM capacity-building program began in January 2018 to enhance the technical capacity of humanitarian partners, empowering them to utilize data and information effectively for evidence-based planning in humanitarian action.

How does iMMAP Inc.'s IM Capacity Building program improve the coordination of interventions across the BAY states?

Richard: Information is the foundation for effective coordination. Timely and reliable data directly impact coordination quality in humanitarian settings. In the crisis-affected BAY states of northeast Nigeria, effective coordination backed by quality data on partners' operational presence, needs severity, demographic characteristics, and population movement trends is crucial for common situational understanding. The capacity-building program closes IM capacity gaps, ensuring local humanitarian partners can use limited resources optimally. With the right data and IM skills, partners can make informed decisions, plan interventions, and prioritize needs effectively.

How critical is iMMAP Inc.'s capacity building to promoting response localization?

Richard: The story of Sulimans's appointment as iMMAP Inc. Nigeria's capacity-building lead illustrates how developing local capacity improves results by increasing local ownership and sustainability. Through this program, iMMAP Inc. creates conditions for full involvement of the indigenes. Although initially implemented by international personnel, Sulaiman, a native of Yobe State, has proven the program's sustainability. Under his leadership, the program has been enhanced with new technological innovations, benefiting humanitarian partners by building their skills and capacities to utilize information effectively for saving lives and reducing the suffering of crisis-affected people.

What thematic goal of the training program is being actualized with Sulaiman as the lead?

Richard: Local capacity development is a key theme iMMAP Inc. is actualizing. Building and strengthening the national workforce's capacity is challenging but essential for any strategy in planning and responding to crises. It balances rapid, effective response and long-term impact and empowerment. The Internship Program, supervised by Sulaiman, enrolls fresh graduates from the BAY states to learn as they work, building local expertise that reinforces ongoing action and proactively challenges the status quo by assessing risks and implementing measures to mitigate crises' impact.

Can you guess how many participants have been trained so far?

Richard: As of September 2019, 397 humanitarian partners had benefited from iMMAP Inc.'s IM and training of trainers (TOT) activities. With the online learning management system (LMS), over 1800 partners have been reached with capacity-building services as of May 2024. Sulaiman's pursuit of that key role is a success story from a local capacity development and sustainability standpoint. Working with the local population has vast merits compared to working for them. Building and strengthening local capacity encourages nationals to act on local issues, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment.

??Read the full story: https://immap.org/story/boosting-localization-by-capacity-building-in-information-management-in-nigeria/

??Find out more about our work in Nigeria: https://immap.org/nigeria/