Every Stone

Democracy still has a fairly tenuous grip in Nigeria.

In 2005:

• About 40 percent thought the last elections were not free and fair;
• About 20 percent through they were free and fair with major problems;
• Only 9 percent thought they were free and fair (pg. 3, Brief No.35).

From 2000-01 to 2005:

• Support for democracy decreased from 81 percent to 65 percent.
• Satisfaction with democracy decreased from 84 to 25 percent.
• Belief in civil and political liberties declined from approx. 90 to under 50 percent.
• Those who want to give democracy more time to work decreased from 79 to 55 percent while those supporting change to another form of government increased from 17 to 39 percent.

Campaign culture here is still evolving. It’s interesting to see trials of different models of management here — ad hoc, etc. i.e. If I ask three people to discuss and plan this event without me, will they do it? Would a more hierarchical structure in which each person is requested to report back regularly be more effective?

What’s emerging is something very different from anything our team has seen before, and something that they’re working to assess and work with each day to meet set goals and objectives in the campaign. A lot of it is culture: punctuality is not particularly important here, and the relationship between employer and employee is complicated, etc. What’s driving our guys particularly nuts, and rightly so, is the very different structure surrounding communication and decision-making. There’s no campaign manager as we know it in the US, and communication is irregular even without the cell and power outages that can make getting a line to someone difficult.

There were some really positive developments today. The new researcher is really excellent. Very positive today, although a key member of personnel was two and a half days late for a project. (Not uncommon.) And, as always, I’m really enjoying getting to know the folks I’m working with, both US and Nigerian. They’re remarkable all around.

Because it amused my mother so much I’ll repeat the story of my first introduction in the War Room. G introduced me, and one of the editors immediately asked, “Is that ‘Ms.’ or “Mrs.’?” His neighbor continued teasingly, “Is she Muslim?” So now we remember them as my first Nigerian suitors.

Driving has been dangerous. C had to talk to our driver after the third time we made a narrow escape. He also has a habit of taking routes the guys, who’ve been here long enough to know Abuja decently well, are unfamiliar with. Often our seatbelts don’t work, and that’s when I cling to the door and pray. A woman in our campaign has been in two accidents in the last week, the second of which totaled her car.

Skyped/iChatted tonight with great success, or, at least, more success than G’d led me to expect from Skype in Nigeria. On iChat, my picture was clear; on Skype, his was. But on both audio was very good, unlike on the slower, wireless internet at the office.