The Social Group Landscape

Chapter 5 The Social Group Landscape 5.1 Introduction The chapter will outline the social groups in the Federal Capital Territory that were engaged via the projects summarised in the previous chapter. This chapter begins with an outline of the ‘landscape’ of the social groups, designed to illustrate the types of group, their history and various characteristics (age, membership, mission statement, rules etc.). Of especial interest in this chapter was the engagement, if any, of the groups with Abuja, did they make the best use of their geographical proximity to it or not? What were the characteristics of the groups that successfully acquired the benefits from this proximity to Abuja compared to those that did not? If groups did try to lever benefits, then what did they try to gain? As noted in Chap. 4, there are many social groups in the Federal Capital Territory and indeed throughout Nigeria, such as the Esusu. The various projects engaged with the social groups in a number of ways, and indeed the MDG project attempted to setup their own bespoke social groups rather than attempting to work primarily via existing ones. The bespoke groups were adapted towards the delivery of project outcomes, and many of them have continued to exist even after the MDG project officially ended in 2014. The MDG project worked primarily through extension staff already employed via the ADP and Area Councils, so people often saw ADP and MDG, in particular, as being one and the same outfit. Hence the social groups in FCT, as for Nigeria as a whole, represents a complex tapestry. While the projects worked through many groups, and successfully so, unfortunately the time-defined nature of ‘top down’ projects as set out in Chap. 4 does impose a limitation. In this chapter little will be said about how projects attempted to lever social groups as that will be covered in Chap. 6. Instead, the focus will be upon setting out the broad landscape of the social groups and how the groups attempted to lever (or not) their own wider social networks. Many of the points covered in Chap. 2 will come into play, such as the role of ‘leaders’ and champions both within and outside of the groups and the issue of trust. As noted in Chap. 2, the leveraging of resources from the wider network is part of the social capital of the groups. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 S. Morse and T. R. S. N. MacNamara, Social Networks and Food Security in the Urban Fringe, GeoJournal Library, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-46359-5_5 111 112 5 The Social Group Landscape 5.2 Examples of Social Groups in the Federal Capital Territory In this chapter the authors have selected the social groups shown in Table 5.1. These social groups have all been selected from six relatively small villages in the Bwari and Kwali Area Councils. Given their more rural location and the predominance Table 5.1 The Social Groups included in the analysis Area council Village Table Social groups Bwari Guto 5.3 Christian Association Muslim Association Akugbelodo Youth Association Agbajeshi Women Association Abwa Tnajenu Bagyi Girl Association Kuzhako 5.4 Bwadanda Youth Association Akugbelodo Girl Association Ayenajiyi Women Association Yaupe 5.5 Community Development Association Youth Association Ayenajeyi Women Association Sunape 5.6 Ayenajiyi Women Association Akpajishi Youth Association Ayenaje Women Association Gyeyidna Akugbelodo Gyeyidna Association Kwali Kilankwa I 5.7 Moslem Farmers Association Women Association Youth Association Millennium Development Farmers Multi-purpose Association Bebwalo Farmer Field School Ayedo Farmer Field School Kilankwa II 5.8 Sheshinbwa Group Bebwalo Youth Association Garri Processing Group Multipurpose Farmers Association Youths Association Agricultural Associations Women Association Religious Groups Millennium Development Goals Farmers (MDG Farmers) 5.2 Examples of Social Groups in the Federal Capital Territory 113 of farming households, these villages formed the primary focus of the various food security projects discussed in Chapter 4, but most notably CAY-Seed. The villages were also involved in the MDG project, and some were involved in the YIIFSWA and DFID funded projects. The list in Table 5.1 by no means covers all of the social groups in those villages, but it does cover the majority of them and especially those whose members were predominantly involved in crop production and marketing. Hence it is unsurprising that projects designed to improve food security would choose to work through these experienced groups. The absence of major towns in Table 5.1 was recognised by the project teams, and indeed there were some attempts to explore the potential of social groups in the larger towns as well. Table 5.2 lists some of the social groups that were identified as part of the CAY-Seed project in Bwari and Kwali towns; the towns that were the headquarters for the respective Area Councils. Some of these groups, especially those in Kwali town, had also been involved in YIIFSWA and the DFID projects. Many of the households in the groups based in the towns relied on paid employment and trading rather than agricultural production. Nonetheless, they are mentioned here because they did provide some points of interest and given that the towns are also administrative and political centres, each with its own urban fringe, they are important. Summaries of all the social groups listed in Table 5.1 are set out in Tables 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 and 5.8. The information within these tables is based upon the results of a semi-structured questionnaire-based survey undertaken between 2015 and 2016; the survey of the social groups in the two larger towns took place between 2017 and 2018. Table 5.2 Some of the groups found in the two larger towns of the Area Councils Area Council Town Table Social groups Bwari Bwari 5.9 Youth Association Muslim Association Christian Association Kwali Kwali Yegborolo Nupe Women Wing Cooperative Society Yema Multipurpose Women Cooperative Society Yala Market Women Cooperative Society Kwai Caf Widows Association Shekinah Group Favor Group ECWA Women Cooperative Kwali MDG Farmer’s Cooperative Matan Angwan Hausawa Cooperative Overseas Quarters Women Association Muslim Sisters Da’wah Forum Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria 114 Table 5.3 Social groups in Guto (a) Foundation and membership (at the time of writing) Group name Year founded Total members Male Akugbelodo Youth Association 1987 500 500 Female 0 Education Meetings Membership payments Primary/secondary 7 members have NCE 3 members have degrees Twice monthly Y Christian Association 1998 40 15 25 Primary/secondary 2 members have NCE Every Sunday Y Muslim Association 1972 400 400 0 Primary/secondary 5 members have NCE 3 members have degree. Every Friday Y Abwa Tnajenu Bagyi Girl Association 1993 50 0 50 Primary/secondary 2 members have HND Once a month Y Agbajeshi Women Association 1992 75 1 74 Primary/secondary Once a month Y (b) Mission Mission Written constitution Indigenous/external origin Membership criteria Akugbelodo Youth Association Formed to help the community. Y Indigenous Males in the community above 15 years Christian Association Facilitate building projects in the Church and to strengthen the relationship amongst members of the church Y Indigenous Member of the Church Muslim Association Facilitates building projects in the Mosque and to strengthen the relationship among members Y Indigenous Member of the Mosque Abwa Tnajenu Bagyi Girl Association Formed to help single unmarried females in the community Y Indigenous Unmarried single women (continued) 5 The Social Group Landscape Group name (b) Mission Group name Mission Written constitution Indigenous/external origin Membership criteria Agbajeshi Women Association Formed to help married women in the community Y Indigenous Married women (c) Registration and leverage of proximity to Abuja Group name Registered with area council Attempts made to leverage proximity to Abuja Examples of leverage Akugbelodo Youth Association Yes (Bwari AC) Yes Supply of electricity to the community and the government is tarring the major road in the community. The association is presently talking with government officials for assistance in the building of a hospital and in the supply of pipe-borne water to the community Christian Association No No – Muslim Association No No – Abwa Tnajenu Bagyi Girl Association No No – Agbajeshi Women Association Yes (Bwari AC) Yes Raise funds to buy cooking pots, spoons and plates which they usually rent out as source of income for the group. The group is presently talking with government officials for assistance in the building of a hospital and in the supply of pipe-borne water to the community 5.2 Examples of Social Groups in the Federal Capital Territory Table 5.3 (continued) 115 116 Table 5.4 Social groups in Kuzhako (a) Foundation and membership Social groups Year founded Akugbelodo Girl Association 1993 Ayenajiyi Women Association 1972 Bwadanda Youth Association 1971 Total members Female Education Meetings Membership payments 0 35 Primary/Secondary 2 have HND – Y 60 0 60 Primary – Y 100 100 0 Primary/Secondary – Y 35 Male (b) Mission Group name Mission Written constitution Indigenous/External origin Membership criteria Akugbelodo Girl Association Help single unmarried females in the community. Y Indigenous Unmarried females Ayenajiyi Women Association Help married women in the community Y Indigenous Married women Bwadanda Youth Association Help the community. Y Indigenous Males above 15 years (c) Registration and leverage of proximity to Abuja Registered with Area Council Attempts made to leverage proximity to Abuja Examples of leverage Akugbelodo Girl Association No No – Ayenajiyi Women Association No No – Bwadanda Youth Association Yes (Bwari AC) Yes Supply of electricity to the community Assistance in the building of a hospital, supply of pipe-borne water and the provision of farm inputs to the community 5 The Social Group Landscape Social groups (a) Foundation and membership Group name Year founded Total members Female Education Meetings Membership payments Ayenajeyi Women Association 1976 40 Male 0 40 Primary Three with Secondary Monthly Y Samari Yaupe Community Development Association 1975 50 50 0 Primary/Secondary Two with NCE One with HND Twice monthly Y Youth Association 1994 30 30 0 Primary/Secondary Three with NCE Twice monthly Y (b) Mission Group name Mission Written constitution Indigenous/external origin Membership criteria Ayenajeyi Women Association Formed to help the married women and widows in the community Y Indigenous Married women Samari Yaupe Community Development Association Formed to help the community Y Indigenous Married males Youth Association Formed to help the youths and community Y Indigenous Unmarried males (c) Registration and leverage of proximity to Abuja Group name an acronym Registered with Area Council Attempts made to leverage proximity to Abuja Examples of leverage Ayenajeyi Women Association Yes (Bwari AC) Yes Buy cooking stands for members in the community. The association is presently talking with government officials about assistance in the construction of roads, building a mast for telecommunication networks and in the supply of electricity to the community Samari Yaupe Community Development Association Yes (Bwari AC) Yes Supply of water (borehole) to the community. The association is presently talking with government officials for assistance in building masts for several telecommunication networks and in the supply of electricity to the community Youth Association No No – 5.2 Examples of Social Groups in the Federal Capital Territory Table 5.5 Social groups in Yaupe 117 118 Table 5.6 Social groups in Sunape (a) Foundation and membership Social groups Year founded Total members Male Akugbelodo Gyeyidna Association 1970 60 60 Female 0 Education Meetings Membership payments Primary/Secondary 3 with NCE 2 with degree – Y Ayenajiyi Women Association Gyeyidna 1980 48 0 48 7 have none Others have primary/secondary 1 with NCE – Y Ayenajiyi Women Association 1982 36 0 36 5 have none 31 have Primary 8 have secondary – Y Akpajishi Youth Association 1972 40 40 0 Primary/Secondary 1 with NCE 1 with degree – Y (b) Mission Mission Written constitution Indigenous/External origin Membership criteria Akugbelodo Gyeyidna Association Formed to help the members and community in general Y Indigenous Males above 15 years Ayenajiyi Women Association Gyeyidna Formed to help the married women and widows in the community Y Indigenous Married women Ayenajiyi Women Association Formed to help the married women, widows and to develop the community. They help in keeping the village clean Y Indigenous Married women Akpajishi Youth Association Formed to help the community Y Indigenous Males above 15 years (continued) 5 The Social Group Landscape Group name (c) Registration and leverage of proximity to Abuja Social groups Registered with Area Council Attempts made to leverage proximity to Abuja Examples of leverage Akugbelodo Gyeyidna Association Yes Yes Supply of bore-hole water and chairs to the community. Talking with officials for assistance in constructing masts of several telecommunication networks, good roads and in the supply of electricity to the community Ayenajiyi Women Association Gyeyidna Yes Yes Purchase of clothes which are worn during meeting days. Talking with officials for assistance in construction of good roads, masts of telecommunication networks and in the supply of electricity to the community Ayenajiyi Women Association Yes Yes Purchase of chairs, plates and spoons which they rent out as source of income for the group. Talking with officials for assistance in construction of good roads, masts of telecommunication networks and in the supply of electricity to the community Akpajishi Youth Association Yes Yes Supply of bore-hole water to the community Talking with officials for assistance in building masts of several telecommunication networks, good roads and in the supply of electricity to the community 5.2 Examples of Social Groups in the Federal Capital Territory Table 5.6 (continued) 119 120 Table 5.7 Social groups in Kilankwa I (a) Foundation and membership Social groups Founder/year founded Moslem Farmer Association An enlightened Iman Women Association Total members Male Female Education Meetings Membership payments 85 85 0 Mixed: None, primary, secondary and tertiary Meets every Friday after Jumaat prayers Y Mrs O (ADP) 70 0 70 Mixed: None, primary and secondary Meetings held on Wednesdays of every week. Y Youth Association Mr YB (2000) 500 375 125 Mixed: None, primary, secondary and tertiary General meetings are held twice every year but monthly meetings are held regularly Y Millennium Development Farmers Multi-Purpose Association Mrs O (ADP) 34 25 9 Mixed: None, primary, secondary and tertiary Not specified N Bebwalo Farmer Field School ADP (2007) 30 Now defunct Ayedo Farmer Field School ADP (2007) 30 Now defunct (b) Mission Mission Written constitution and rule book Indigenous/external origin Membership criteria Moslem Farmer Association Executing projects in the mosque and for rotational farming. Ensure religious coexistence and harmony in the society Yes Indigenous Moslems with outstanding character, greater than or equal to 18 years of age and willingness to be financially committed Women Association Empowerment of women financially. Harmonization of women to give them a voice in the community No External (ADP) Married women Youth Association Community development and group farming Yes Indigenous Members must be between the age bracket of 18–50 years of age Millennium Development Farmers Multi-Purpose Association Group farming No External (ADP) No specific criteria other than being a member of the community (continued) 5 The Social Group Landscape Social groups (b) Mission Social groups Mission Written constitution and rule book Indigenous/external origin Bebwalo Farmer Field School Group farming No External (ADP) Ayedo Farmer Field School Group farming No External (ADP) Membership criteria (c) Registration and leverage of proximity to Abuja Social groups Registered with Area Council Attempts made to use proximity to Abuja Examples of leverage Moslem Farmer Association No No -– Women Association No Yes Involved in national programmes operated under the ADP structure. Benefits include access to supplies of agricultural inputs and training Youth Association Yes (Kwali AC) No – Millennium Development Farmers Multi-Purpose Association No Yes Involved in national programmes operated under the ADP structure. Benefits include access to supplies of agricultural inputs and training Bebwalo Farmer Field School No Yes Involved in national programmes operated under the ADP structure. Benefits include access to supplies of agricultural inputs and training Ayedo Farmer Field School No Yes Involved in national programmes operated under the ADP structure. Benefits include access to supplies of agricultural inputs and training 5.2 Examples of Social Groups in the Federal Capital Territory Table 5.7 (continued) 121 122 Table 5.8 Social groups in Kilankwa II (a) Foundation and membership Social groups Founder/year founded Total members Male Female Education Meetings Membership payments Sheshinbwa Group Mr L (2010) 58 3 55 Primary, secondary. NCE and OND Weekly No (some voluntary donations) Bebwalo Youth Association Not given (1998) 350 More males than females Mixed: None, primary, secondary and tertiary Monthly Yes Garri Processing Group Mr. GU 105 5 100 Mixed: None, primary, secondary and tertiary Meetings are held a day before each week’s market day to decide on prices Yes Multipurpose Farmers Association ADP (2005) 30 27 3 Youth Association 42 Agricultural Associations 30 Women Association Religious Groups MDG (continued) 5 The Social Group Landscape Millennium Development Goals Farmers (b) Mission Social groups Mission Written constitution/rule book Indigenous/External origin Membership criteria Sheshinbwa Group To raise money for payment of children’s school fees and to meet their social amenities needs through processing of cassava into gari No External (ADP) Open to all women in the community. The three male members act as advisors Bebwalo Youth Association Self-help for members. Inculcate moral values among youths and assist members financially during ceremonies Extra-mural lessons for students and guidance to further studies Linking graduates to job opportunities Yes Internal Membership requirement of 18 years of age and above Garri Processing Group Self-help of members Yes Internal Minimum of 18 years of age. Male members act as advisors No External Yes Internal Multipurpose Farmers Association Youth Association Community development services such as maintenance of roads and building/repairing of bridges Agricultural Associations Internal Women Association Internal Religious Groups Internal (continued) 123 Farm activities via rotational labour. They also make financial contributions to members who are bereaved and to those who have wedding ceremonies Open to all above the age of 18 5.2 Examples of Social Groups in the Federal Capital Territory Table 5.8 (continued) 124 Table 5.8 (continued) (b) Mission Social groups Mission Written constitution/rule book Millennium Development Goals Farmers Indigenous/External origin Membership criteria External (c) Registration and leverage of proximity to Abuja Social groups Registered with Area Council Attempts made to use proximity to Abuja Examples of leverage Sheshinbwa Group Yes No None, except for marketing purposes Bebwalo Youth Association Yes No None, except for job opportunities with government institutions and agencies Garri Processing Group Yes No None, except for marketing purposes Multipurpose Farmers Association Yes Yes In 2005, it accessed a loan from the ADP for the purchase of a tractor. implemented the Ram Fattening Project under the Special Food Security Project, headed by ADP Youth Association Yes No Agricultural Associations No No Women Association Yes Yes Religious Groups No No Millennium Development Goals Farmers No Yes Accessed loan 2 years ago from Peace Microfinance Bank 5 The Social Group Landscape 5.3 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Area Councils 125 5.3 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Area Councils 5.3.1 Introduction In this section, a brief overview of the social groups in Bwari and Kwali Area Council villages will be provided. The primary focus in these short descriptions is upon the origins of the group, its membership, access to resources and its mission (as described by the members). The organisation structure of all the social groups is broadly the same although precise titles can vary. An outline is provided as Fig. 5.1. Each group typically has an elected Chair and Vice-Chair, with other positions filled either through appointment or occasionally through an internal election process. All groups tend to collect subscriptions from their members, usually on a monthly basis, and they typically have sanctions in place for those who do not pay or attend meetings. Wealthier members of the groups also tend to make ‘once off’ contributions for special events or projects. There are various ways of categorising the groups within the six villages. One way is to consider them as being within four main types of groups found in most Nigerian communities: – – – – Religious (usually Christian and Muslim in the FCT) Youth Associations (can be either male, female or mixed membership) Women’s and girl’s groups Occupational-based associations (usually farmers and traders). Fig. 5.1 Leadership structure of social groups in Bwari and Kwali Area Councils Chairman Vice Chairman Secretary Financial Secretary Treasurer Public Relations Officer Members 126 5 The Social Group Landscape Some of the larger towns such as Kwali and Bwari also have ethnic-based associations, but these are not as common in the villages if and when they exist, largely because the villages have a more ethnically homogenous population. Many of the groups, especially the Islamic groups, have an exclusively male or female membership. Another way of categorising the groups in the villages is in terms of their origin. Indigenous groups are those whose creation is inspired by people within the local community. They may either be residing within the community or can also be indigenous to the community but currently living outside. Alternatively, external social groups are catalysed primarily by people who are not indigenous to the community. There are two sub-groups to the external category. Firstly, there are the groups created to be part of time-bound projects sponsored by the government; the MDG (and ADP) groups are examples of these. Secondly, there are local groups established as branches of national initiatives which may not necessarily be government sponsored. The indigenous groups form the majority of those in Tables 5.1 and 5.2. Of those that are classified as ‘external’, the bulk of them were founded by the MDG project although given that the MDG group worked hand-hand with the ADP there is some overlap. Group members may consider themselves to be an ‘ADP group’ while in fact the initiative for their formation originated from the MDG, even if it were ADP staff the members saw on a regular basis for project-related activities. Just to confuse matters even further, the ADP project had its own programme which also involved creation of groups. A couple of the groups referred to these as the National Programme for Food Security. What has been reported in the Tables 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 and 5.8 is the catalyst as articulated by the group members, whether they be ‘ADP’ or ‘MDG’. However, it does have to be noted that the question about ‘origin’ is open to a degree of variable interpretation, and this is a point that will be discussed later in the chapter. Some groups, for example, are part of a nation-wide network not sponsored by any branch of government. A few respondents at first interpreted such groups as ‘external’ as their creation was inspired by people living outside of their community. However, upon further probing they changed this answer to ‘indigenous’ as the key movers were locals with no direct involvement from anyone outside the community. Some of the groups were registered with their Area Councils; the FCT equivalent to Local Government Areas (LGAs) that are in all other states in Nigeria. The reason for registration is that it allows them to access government support and bank loans. In order to register with the Area Council, the group has to have a constitution along with a set of official positions (Chair, secretary etc.) as set out in Fig. 5.1. They have also to pay a small registration fee. Another question the groups were asked in the survey was whether they made efforts to capitalise on their geographical proximity to Abuja in order to lever benefits for themselves and for their community. This is a challenging question, for just like questions relating to their origin, the answer can be open to various interpretations. For example, while a group may claim that it does not try to lever its proximity to Abuja, individuals in the group may well do so in order to access employment 5.3 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Area Councils 127 opportunities. Also, a group may not necessarily recognise that what it is doing is ‘leveraging’ its linkages. For example, in some cases groups said that they were not attempting to lever any connections with Abuja but on further probing they agreed that they have networks that include members of their community now working for the government in Abuja and they do occasionally approach them for support with a project they have in mind. In some cases, there appeared to be a distinction between a regular occurrence planned and sanctioned by the group members while at other times there were more sporadic attempts often linked to a specific need, but which may still be at the planning stage and yet to be authorised by at least some of the group. Thus, in this context the authors define leverage to span both of these as they imply a degree of coordinated and outward thinking attempting to take advantage of the opportunities thought possible in Abuja. Individual actions, without any sanction or support from the group, have not been included as ‘leverage’. Only where the group has supported the individual and helped them has this been defined as ‘leverage’. It is important to note that this definition does not necessarily mean that the ‘application’ or ‘request’ was successful. While Tables 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 and 5.8 outline the main characteristics of the social groups in the Bwari and Kwali villages, short vignettes of some of them, primarily from the Kilankwa communities have been included here to provide the richness behind the tabulations. Stories could be written about each social group in Table 5.1 but that would take up too many pages and is not possible in this monograph. The main purpose of the authors here is to ‘bring out’ the very human side of the group and its members and this can best find expression in the stories that members tell about themselves. They are not concerned about an over-emphasis on the mechanistic side of their group structure and function, rather their words give their personal story reflecting valuable insights as to how they see themselves rather than how the authors perceive them. 5.3.2 Kilankwa I The Moslem Farmers Association began when an “enlightened” (the term used by the group members) Imam, in the company of other religious opinion leaders who saw the need to raise a structure for worship and integration among members of the Islamic faith in Kilankwa I. The idea was presented during the Friday prayers (Jumaat) and was widely accepted by all. They operate effectively by meeting every Friday after Jumaat prayers to decide on what to do with voluntary contributions collected from members, select the next member to benefit from rotational labour, an important function of the group. Another very important part of the meeting was to encourage members on the fundamentals of the Islamic faith. The group is not registered with Kwali Area Council, largely because they do not seek support from the Area Council or apply for bank loans. The group has an exclusively male membership, with a fluctuating strength of around 85. Being entirely male is because it is an Islamic group but also because of the rotational farming they engage in. 128 5 The Social Group Landscape In essence, the members of the group work on each other’s farms on a rotational basis. They can provide labour for non-members of the association, but they require payment for those services although for good causes they will also provide their services free of charge. They consider themselves to be successful because a large and permanent mosque building project which they have worked on and funded is nearing completion. The group does not have an on-line presence, but some members interact among themselves on Facebook and Watsapp. Because their operations are confined to the village, they have not made a concerted effort to take advantage of their position at the urban fringe. Some individual members have levered benefits such as the pursuit of education at the University of Abuja and employment opportunities open to them in Federal and FCT institutions. They finance themselves through voluntary contributions/donations and income from farm labour. Mrs. O, a staff of the ADP under the National Programme for Food Security, mobilized women to come together to form the Women Association. As noted earlier, many of these projects set out to establish their own ‘specialised’ groups rather than make use of existing ones, of which the Women Association in Kilankwa I is an example. During the programme, resources were provided so that pens could be built for sheep/goat rearing, poultry houses and grinding engines so that the women could generate their own income. In addition, the project also encouraged the women to get involved in tree felling and firewood sales. The group is exclusively female with a membership of around 70. Disciplinary measures are not so pronounced in this group compared to others as it was seen by its members as a ‘looser’ voluntary enlistment created specifically for the project rather than requiring any longer-term commitment. For the same reason, the association did not register with the Area Council. While there are no male members of the group, men are employed by them to do work. The general level of education of members is low, the most educated among them is a secondary school certificate holder; there are no plans to upskill members because there was no obvious link in their opinion to the various income-generation activities. Even if the project has run its course, members continue to meet as they feel they have achieved a lot, including the provision of soft loans for their members. The group is not on-line and only mobile phones are used to communicate among members. While they see themselves as a ‘looser’ group when compared to many others, they have managed to lever their presence in the urban fringe. This was possible via the project run from Abuja and would like to go further although they are not sure how best to go about it given that the project has now ended. While they are not registered with the Area Council politicians call upon them during election campaigns. An Immigration Officer, Mr. YB, mobilized the youths of Kilankwa to form the Youth Association after sharing the idea with the local Chief and his cabinet. The idea was accepted by all and activities of the group commenced over 18 years ago. General meetings are held twice every year, but monthly meetings are held regularly to help steer the association. Membership number around plus or 500 members. It has more males than females in the ratio of 3:1. Members have to be between 18 and 50 years of age. New members are welcome while members above the age of 50 are requested to become advisors to the younger members. The group plays a number of vital roles in 5.3 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Area Councils 129 the community such as providing labour for specific activities including farm work, road repairs and local bridge construction. The group also makes contributions to support members during marriage ceremonies and funerals. The group has its own farm and a portion of the income from the sales of produce is retained to help fund activities. They have received no funding from projects such as the ADP and MDG, but wealthy members make voluntary donations when needed. Failure by members to attend meetings and group farm work more than three times attracts a fine of N1, 000. The education level of members ranges from having no formal education to tertiary level. However, on average members are secondary school certificate holders. There are plans to upskill members by providing them with financial support to attend training but at present the funds available are low. However, the management help link members with opportunities for vocational skill development and with identifying opportunities for employment. They consider themselves successful, in fact it is seen by many both within and outside the group as the most viable group in Kilankwa I. They undertake an internal evaluation at every meeting through an examination of financial and progress reports. The only use they make of their proximity to Abuja is via the identification of training and job opportunities for members; they cited a recent example which was the appointment of a member to the Nigeria Fire Service. Other than that, they do not make any effort to lever this proximity to Abuja. As with many of the groups discussed here, the Youth Association is used by politicians during election campaigns. The Agricultural Extension Agent, Mrs O from the ADP also worked within the MDG programme and helped set up the Farmers Multi-Purpose Association. The association was led by a Chairman and Secretary, who were elected to office under the supervision of the ADP Extension Agent. Their activities focussed mainly on growing crops on a group farm and focussed mainly on producing maize and beniseed (sesame). The MDG project provided them with inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and tractor hiring services. Revenue from the group farm was used to fund borehole repairs and road construction as well as providing soft loans to members. Membership was voluntary at the time the association began but membership was closed once the farming activities commenced. This was done to avoid the problem of people trying to join after the bulk of the farm work had been completed but seeking to gain benefits. Membership included both males and females (25 males, nine females), and was not renewable due to the time-limited nature of the MDG programme. The group folded once the programme ended. Sanctions and penalties were applied to members who defaulted on loan repayment. The association was not registered with the Area Council, largely because they saw no need given that it was created by the MDG and ended at the close of the project. Members were mostly secondary school certificate holders, however there were some graduates and those with non-formal education. During the project, members were trained in various aspects of agriculture such as the use of fertilizer and pesticides. While the group has since disbanded, they consider it to have been successful as they had good harvests and revenue from their farm. Other than their involvement in the MDG project which was run from Abuja there was no attempt to lever their presence within the urban fringe. 130 5 The Social Group Landscape The Kilankwa I community has two groups of ‘farmer field school’; Bebwalo and Ayedo. ‘Bebwalo’ in the local Gwari language means ‘moving forward’. Both groups were formed and registered with the Federal Capital Territory under the Farmer Field School of the ADP in 2007 and has a fluctuating membership strength of about 30 farmers each. Each of the groups had their own farm, and the main crops cultivated were maize, groundnut and cowpea, with an Extension Agent available to provide technical assistance. The revenue generated from these farms was deposited in a corporate bank account, from which withdrawals were made to give loans and other financial assistance to members. With the closure of the Farmer Field School Project of the ADP, their strength has been reduced and they do not meet regularly. However, while they were constructs of the ADP project, the main reason given for the groups demise was not the ending of the project per se but defaulters in the groups who borrowed a lot of money but refused to repay despite all attempts made by members to recover the loans. 5.3.3 Kilankwa II Mr. L, an extension worker with the ADP, mobilized women to form the Sheshinbwa Group over eight years ago and the group continued to meet and function once the project ended. Volunteers joined the group without any financial registration, just willingness to participate. The group has a communal farm where they grow cassava for the production of gari (a processed form of cassava). The group is divided into three separate sub-groups responsible for taking turns to sell gari at market days. This sub-division is done in order to reduce supply to the market and to avoid a drop-in price due to over-supply. A portion of the revenue received from the sale of gari is used to support the group and provide for the welfare of members. The group also receives voluntary donations from wealthy members. Soft loans to the tune of N10,000 are given to members and these are repayable after three months with an interest of N1,500. Defaulting members are penalised with an additional N500 paid every month after the due date of loan repayment. The group has a fluctuating membership of about 55 women and three men; the men function mainly as advisors. It is registered with the Kwali Area Council even though it does not have a constitution; a special consideration was given to them. The general level of education of its members is secondary school certificate, though a few of the female members also have a Nigeria Certificate in Education and Ordinary National Diploma certificates. There are no plans to upskill members because they are involved in routine activities such as farming, especially of cassava, and marketing that are well known by all. They are not on any online platform. Since the ADP project ended, they have continued to function but have not attempted to lever their presence in the urban fringe, although the proximity of Abuja does provide advantages with regard to marketing their farm produce. However, the distance to Kwali and Abuja markets provides a significant challenge given the high cost of transport. The group 5.3 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Area Councils 131 does regard itself as progressive and is currently planning to buy a grinding machine to help improve their production of gari. A community leader, representing the youths in the local leadership cabinet under the chief, initiated the formation of the Bebwalo Youth Association in the 1990s. With the gradual increase in the number of graduates from the community, the association gained more formal recognition and registered with Kwali Area Council. The association has a fluctuating membership of about 350, having more males than females. The group is funded from monthly dues of N200 paid by each member and also membership fees raised during registration of new members. Members are fined (N500) if they are absent from meetings for more than three times without permission. Misbehaving members do not have the financial support of other members during their social functions. They consider themselves successful and a good number of their members are training in vocational skills and academic advancement. They make no use of their proximity to Abuja, except for exploring the possibility of job opportunities. The National Program for Food Security (NPFS) was the platform on which the Gari Processing Group in Kilankwa II was formed, although the origins were more indirect. After the end of the NPFS, Mr. GU, an ‘opinion leader’ in the community mobilized participants under the programme, mostly women, to come together and form the group. Thus, the group was not formed as part of the programme but followed it; this provides a significant contrast to the creation of the Sheshinbwa Group noted above. The group has a female-only membership but has five male advisors. The Chairman oversees the activities of the group and all officials are elected into offices by majority votes. Meetings are held at the end of every month, a day before each week’s market day to decide on prices. From the gari which is sold, members are required to remit the value of ‘two measures’ back to the group. Non-remittance of these ‘two measures’ to the group attracts a fine of N1,000. Soft loans to the tune of N50,000 are given to members after careful consideration of her ability to repay. They consider themselves successful because members are generally satisfied with the operations of the group. Kilankwa II has a Multipurpose Farmers Association registered with Kwali Area Council. The membership strength of the asociation is 30 (27 males and three females). In 2005, it accessed a loan from the ADP for the purchase of a tractor which is used on a rotational basis by all of the registered members of the association. The association successfully implemented the Ram Fattening Project under the Special Food Security Project, headed by the ADP. However, the project ended due to discontinuity of funding by the Federal Government. Despite this, the association meets regularly to discuss ways of moving the association forward and to write development proposals to the Area Council. The Kilankwa II Youth Association is open to all youths above the age of 18 years, and active registered members fluctuate between 40 and 45. It has a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Auditor and various ad-hoc committees covering matters such as the group’s constitution, elections and projects such as road maintenance. The primary objective of this social group is to identify the local needs of the community and join forces to attract the attention of the Area Council leadership to 132 5 The Social Group Landscape assist in the development of the community. Periodically, the youths come together to offer community services such as maintenance of roads and building/repairing of bridges. Kilankwa II also has a number of other associations. The Agricultural Associations comprise a loose federation of various specialist growers’ associations such as the Yam Growers Association, Maize Growers Association, Cassava Growers Association, Guinea Corn (sorghum) Growers Association and Rice Growers Association. The names are pointers to the crops they cultivate. These organizations are registered with the Area Council and each of them has a membership ranging from 25 to 30. The Women Association meets regularly to discuss issues that affect them in the community. They feel that they work well together and are registered with the Area Council. They were able to access a loan from the Peace Microfinance Bank (Peace MFB); a private bank with headquarters in Abuja and branches throughout the FCT. The community has a Christian Farmers Association as well as a Muslim Farmers Association. These religious associations assist followers of the two faiths in Kilankwa II to carry out farm activities via a system of rotational labour. They also make financial contributions to members who are bereaved and to those who have wedding ceremonies. Finally, the Millennium Development Goals Farmers is a group who participated in the Millennium Development Goals project have organized themselves into a group that still meets regularly, even though the MDG project had ended. 5.4 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Towns 5.4.1 Introduction As noted earlier, the main emphasis of the analysis presented in this chapter was upon the more rural communities of Bwari and Kwali rather than the major towns in those Area Councils. The towns are large, and many who live there are not primarily farmers although many of them would be food processors, traders and retailers as well as part-time and relatively small-scale farmers. Some groups were engaged in the projects mentioned in Chap. 4, largely because of their wider involvement in yam marketing, although there were many growers of the crop in the groups even if farming was more of a secondary activity. The groups in Bwari and Kwali towns also tended to be connected to Abuja primarily by virtue of their being important administrative centres and focal points for politicians. Many of the people in the towns also commute to Abuja to work. MDG management often noted that some groups in Bwari were less committed to the project as they gradually moved away from farming and in some cases sold off their land for construction; land prices in areas near to Abuja are at a premium. Hence there was potentially a significant degree of ‘leverage bias’ among the social groups in the two towns, and that is why they have not been included in the analysis shown in the next section. In this section a brief 5.4 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Towns 133 Table 5.9 Social groups in Bwari town (a) Foundation and membership Social groups Total members Youth Association 200 Muslim Association Christian Association Male Female Honorary Titles Mission 90 110 No Help in the development of Bwari town 300 300 0 Yes Confer the title of ‘Sheik’ Help all Muslims in Bwari 350 250 100 No Help all Christians in Bwari (b) Registration and leverage of proximity to Abuja Social groups Attempts made to use proximity to Abuja Examples of leverage Youth Association Yes Frequently visit senators and other highly placed politicians in Abuja o assist them in capital intensive projects and also to donate funds which they use to help the less privileged and physically challenged Muslim Association Yes Frequently visit the national Imam who resides in Abuja to assist them in capital intensive projects such as building mosques, buying mats used for prayers and kettles for ablution Christian Association Yes Frequently visit senators who are Christians that reside in Abuja town to assist them in capital intensive projects and also to donate funds which they use to help the less privileged and physically challenged outline of some of the groups that were engaged during the projects are included, and details on the social groups in Bwari town are presented in Table 5.9. 5.4.2 Bwari Town The Youth Association was formed to help the development of its members and the Bwari Town community in general. The association has about 200 members of which 90 are males and 110 females. The interaction of the association with Abuja 134 5 The Social Group Landscape is very high as they frequently visit senators and other highly placed politicians to assist in capital intensive projects. They also donate funds which they use to help the less privileged and physically challenged. The town also Muslim and Christian Associations. The Muslim Association came into being to help all Muslims in Bwari. It has about 300 members of which all are males. The interaction of the association with Abuja is again high and they frequently visit the national Imam who resides in Abuja in order to seek assistance with capital intensive projects such as building mosques, buying mats used for prayers and kettles for ablution. The association confers the title of ‘sheik’ to well-educated people who are also very knowledgeable in the Holy Quran. The Christian Association was formed to help all Christians in Bwari, and especially those who are physically challenged and widows. The association has about 350 members of which 250 are males and 100 are females. The interaction of the association with Abuja is also high and they frequently visit senators who are Christians to assist them in capital intensive projects and also to donate funds. 5.4.3 Kwali Town Kwali Town has many groups with a primarily female membership and only a few examples are provided here. The Yegborolo Nupe Women Wing Cooperative Society was created in 2003 with the objective of fostering unity amongst the Nupe women in the community. It has as well the aim of promoting unity and integration among other ethnic groups as well as the common objective of assisting members financially and morally. They have also ventured into business opportunities such as farming and the sale of general merchandise. The Yema Multipurpose Women Cooperative Society was created in 2006 with the sole purpose of promoting unity amongst the women of various ethnic, religious and cultural diversity in Kwali community. It also helps to empower its members financially. The Yala Market Women Cooperative Society was created in 2001 with the objective of fostering unity and empowerment amongst several ethnic women groups who are mostly non-indigenes in marketing of food items. They are also involved in the buying and storing of food to maximise financial returns when market prices are favourable. The Kwali Widows Association was formed in 2007 by the late chairman of Kwali Area Council. He established the association to help address the plight of widows in his community. Ever since the demise of the founder the association had been under the patronage of his wife. The Overseas Quarters Women Association came into being in 2016 as a way of fostering unity in the neighbourhood and to eradicate poverty. The Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA) Women Cooperative was formed on the 21st April 2005 with the intention of creating an avenue for women to venture into business. It was formed when ten members came together with the sole purpose of raising funds for business. It also helps with skill acquisition and training. The Matan Angwan Hausawa Cooperative was formed in 2008 with the aim of assisting its members financially and also promoting peace and unity amongst the Hausa women settlers of 5.4 Social Groups in Bwari and Kwali Towns 135 Kwali community. The Muslim Sisters Da’wah Forum was formed in 1992 for the purpose of promoting Islam amongst the women and children of Kwali Area Council. Their concern was also the need for creating awareness of the value of unity and peaceful coexistence with people of other faiths in the community. Another Muslim group, the Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria, was established in 1990 for the purpose of propagating Islam among women in their local dialect and any other commonly spoken language in Kwali community. It is an example of a local branch of a national movement. Kwali Town also has a number of groups linked specifically to the MDG and BMGF projects. The Shekinah Group was formed in 2017 primarily because of the CAY-Seed project. Members felt it was an opportunity for the less privileged women in the community to acquire some knowledge and skills regarding seed yam production and also to help empower them with the proceeds gained from the harvest. Like the Shekinah group, the Favor Group was also born in 2017 and founded by Madam RO of the Rhema Hospital, Kwali, and Abuja. As with the Shekinah Group, the intention was for the group to be able to best lever support within the CAY-Seed project and help support its members in seed yam production and marketing. Finally, the Kwali MDG Farmer’s Cooperative was formed in 2005 with the primary aim of bringing both male and female farmers together for the purpose of assisting one another financially and to work with the MDG project. 5.5 Characteristics of the Social Groups As the reader would have seen from the foregone, the social groups in the six villages of Bwari and Kwali Area Councils that were included in the survey are highly diverse in terms of their mission, age, origin and other characteristics. A summary of some of the characteristics for the sample of 30 social groups in Guto, Kuzhako, Yaupe, Sunape, Kilankwa I and Kilankwa II are shown in Table 5.10a. Social groups in Kwali and Bwari towns have been left out of the table given that these are much larger towns with many social groups and those mentioned in Sect. 5.4 are but a very small sample. The groups in Table 5.10a are equally divided in terms of numbers between Bwari and Kwali Area Councils (15 groups for each Area Council). The average age of the social groups in Table 5.10a is around 30 years but varies between eight and 48 years. For the most part, the groups were initiated by either an individual or a small group of people who saw the necessity for a group and then established its mission. Many of those who founded the groups are now deceased but for the most part, their mission has remained constant since their origin and typically spanned a spectrum of ‘self-help’ (i.e. only supporting members). As the members are more communityorientated they often focus on the poorer and more-needy within the community such as widows and their children. Some (four out of 30) are religious-based (Islamic and Christian primarily) while the majority (26 out of 30) are secular. Membership of the groups was 108 on average, but the variation was large; from 30 to more than 136 5 The Social Group Landscape Table 5.10 Summary of characteristics for social groups in Guto, Kuzhako, Yaupe, Sunape, Kilankwa I and Kilankwa II. N refers to the number of groups answering the question (a) Based on full-sample of 30 Characteristic Number of groups (N) Average Standard deviation Age of social group (years) 21 30 14 Total membership (number of people) 27 108 144 Male members (number of people) 22 78 145 Female members (number of people) 22 33 37 Number of groups (N) Area 30 Written constitution (or rule book) 26 Origin of social group 30 Count Bwari 15 Kwali 15 Yes 20 No 6 Indigenous 23 External 7 17 Registered with Area Council 30 Yes No 13 Leverage of proximity to Abuja 30 Yes 16 No 14 (b) Based on reduced sample of 23 (7 social groups established by the ADP/MDG removed) Characteristic Number of groups (N) Average Standard deviation Age of social group (years) 17 34 11 Total membership (number of people) 21 127 158 Male members (number of people) 18 92 158 Female members (number of people) 18 33 38 Number of groups (N) Area 23 Written constitution (or rule book) 20 Origin of social group Registered with Area Council Leverage of proximity to Abuja Count Bwari 15 Kwali 8 Yes 20 No 0 23 Indigenous 23 External 0 23 Yes 15 No 8 Yes 10 No 13 23 5.5 Characteristics of the Social Groups 137 500. Eight of the groups had no female members while six had no male members. The average male membership of the groups was 78 while for females it was lower at 33, although the large variation in number of members means that this difference is not statistically significant at P<0.05 (t-value = 1.4; df = 23). A majority of the groups (20) had a written constitution although this was often referred to as a rule book, and 23 groups were described by their members as ‘indigenous’ to their communities (i.e. the initial thrust to set them up came from within the community and not from outside of it). Of the seven groups that were regarded by their members as non-indigenous, or ‘external’ to the community, all of them were established by the MDG and ADP. The MDG project had a defined start and end date, and groups were established by them as a means of disseminating their interventions. The ADP is an on-going programme. The MDG project co-opted existing extension staff from the ADP and indeed from the Area Councils, so some care has to be taken here with interpreting the primary agency involved in group formation. When members refer to ‘ADP’ they may well be referring to activities undertaken by ADP staff within the MDG project although the ADP also had its own groups. Despite this, the fact that these groups still survived after the close of the MDG project is interesting and will be picked up in greater depth in Chaps. 6 and 7. Social groups can register with the Area Council and this allows them to borrow money from banks, including those specialising in microfinance, and to seek other support from the Area Council. Groups pay the Area Council to register and the sums can vary. A total of 17 groups were registered with their respective Area Council (Bwari or Kwali) while 13 were not. Interestingly, those that were registered included just two of the external groups as it was a pre-requisite that those who wished to gain credit via the MDG had to register. But it needs to be noted that not all of the MDG (ADP) groups accessed credit. None of the religious groups were registered with their respective Area Council. For those that were not registered this was usually because they were very ‘local’ in their focus and thus did not see any benefit from registering as they did not wish to access credit facilities. In terms of leveraging their proximity to Abuja, some 16 out of the 30 groups claimed that they had or were in the process of leveraging benefits while 14 said that they had not. This finding will be further unpacked in Sect. 5.6. The groups in Bwari and Kwali towns that were engaged with by the projects had some things in common with those in the villages, although even within the relatively small subset included here, they were often larger in size and more orientated towards the processing and marketing of produce and supporting business ventures. It was also interesting how often groups in those towns stressed the purpose of promoting ‘unity’ in their respective community; a point that was not mentioned at all for the social groups in the villages. The towns are much larger in population than the villages and are understandably far more diverse ethnically than are the villages. Hence it is common in the larger towns of Nigeria to see social groups based on ethnicity and for them to espouse a need to promote improved relations both within their own community and the wider one in the town. 138 5 The Social Group Landscape 5.6 Leverage of Proximity to Abuja As noted above, the majority (16) of social groups in the villages had made or were making efforts to make use of their relative proximity to Abuja. Those that were established as part of the ADP and MDG projects (seven in total) did see themselves as leveraging proximity to Abuja, but they may not have set out to do this by themselves; instead it was part of the arrangement when they were established by agents of the respective projects. If these seven groups are taken out of the equation as ‘special cases’, then the characteristics of the remaining 23 groups are shown in Table 5.10b. The ‘reduced’ sample has 15 groups from Bwari and eight from Kwali, and of these the majority (13) were not leveraging their proximity to Abuja. The social groups that did not lever support from Abuja usually claimed that their local focus meant that it was not relevant or necessary for them to try and do so, although in fairness it does need to be noted that a few did say that they would like to but did not know how to go about it. However, some respondents noted that individuals within the social groups did benefit from educational and job opportunities in Abuja even if this was not primarily related to the activities of the groups per se. By the definition of ‘leverage’ employed by the authors, these individual actions were not included. Only when the group had it as a stated goal or objective, and provided support with seeking employment for members, did the authors classify this as ‘leverage’. For those who have attempted to gain leverage from their relative proximity to Abuja, including employment opportunities, many respondents mentioned the usefulness of having someone in a position of power ‘from the community’ as a point of contact. That apart, the benefits being sought other than employment were usually to help support the following: • Infrastructure e.g. the supply of electricity to the community, provision of new roads, building of hospital/clinic, supply of water (boreholes), telephone masts • Farm inputs e.g. fertilizer and pesticides. • Training e.g. in agriculture. • Equipment e.g. funds to buy chairs, cooking pots, spoons and plates which are rented out as source of income for the group. • Clothing e.g. clothes which are worn during meeting days. The provision of infrastructure was mentioned by almost all the groups as a significant gain, or an anticipated gain, from leverage and is not surprising given the relatively high cost and need for expertise with regard to construction and maintenance of infrastructure. These are the kind of gains that village communities would struggle to provide by themselves. The provision of farm inputs, such as machinery, fertilizer and pesticide, is also understandable given that these are predominantly farming communities. The MDG project supplied such inputs as a major part of its activities when it established groups, as indeed did the ADP. The MDG project encouraged its groups to set up their own farm from which they could learn about new techniques in agricultural production, and in the first three years the groups received support with a range of inputs which also included improved planting material and, 5.6 Leverage of Proximity to Abuja 139 in the case of those wishing to engage in livestock rearing, veterinary support and medicines. The MDG project also provided training. Thus, the mention by groups of infrastructure and agricultural inputs as ‘supports’ being sought from Abuja is unsurprising. Perhaps more surprising is the mention of raising funds for equipment, such as cooking utensils, and clothing, although these were only mentioned by a few of the women’s groups. Regarding the characteristics of social groups that would make them more likely to try and lever proximity to Abuja, Table 5.11 presents the results of a regression analysis performed on the full sample of 30 groups, and Tables 5.12 and 5.13 present the descriptive statistics for the variables included in the analysis as an aid to interpretation. In the regression analysis, leverage (0 = no and 1 = yes) was the dependent variable and age of social group members (years), number of male and female members, origin (indigenous = 1 and external = 0) and registration with Area Council (0 = no and 1 = yes) as independent variables. The area (Bwari and Kwali Area Council) where the social group was located was not included as an independent variable. The regression model is as follows: Leverage = Intercept + β1 age of group + β2 number of male members + β3 number of female members + β4 origin + β5 Area Council registration + error The regression model is statistically significant and does have a relatively high adjusted coefficient of determination (83%). Based on this analysis and using a ‘cutoff’ point for statistical significance of 5% (0.05), it appears that there are a number Table 5.11 Regression of a number of social group characteristics with leverage of proximity to FCT Predictor Coefficient Standard Error t-value Intercept −0.2791 0.1952 −1.43 ns Age of group (years) 0.001535 0.006447 0.24 ns Male members (number) −0.00063 0.000334 −1.9 ns (0.082) Female members (number) −0.00567 0.00179 −3.17 ** Origin of group (external/indigenous) 0.439 0.247 1.78 ns (0.101) Registered with Area Council (no/yes) 0.9368 0.1199 7.81*** Source SS MS F 5 3.90894 0.78179 17.52*** Residual Error 12 0.53551 0.04463 Total 17 4.44444 Regression DF Leverage of proximity to FCT (dependent variable): 0 = No; 1 = Yes Origin of the group: 0 = External; 1 = Indigenous Registration with Area Council: 0 = No; 1 = Yes S = 0.2112 R2 (adjusted) = 82.9% Statistical significance ns = not significant at P<0.05 *P < 0.0.5 **P < 0.01 ***P < 0.001 140 5 The Social Group Landscape Table 5.12 Characteristics of groups in terms of their leverage of proximity to Abuja. These characteristics are based on the full sample of 30 social groups (a) Some group characteristics in terms of their leverage (no or yes) of proximity to Abuja Variable Leverage of proximity to Abuja Age (years) No Yes 12 32.7 14.2 Number of members No 13 137.3 163.7 Yes 14 81.6 122.1 Number of male members No 10 91.3 158.3 Yes 12 66.9 139.9 No 10 45.0 42.6 Yes 12 23.3 28.8 Number of female members N Mean 9 25.8 Standard deviation 12.6 (b) Some group characteristics in terms of the origin of the group (external or indigenous) Variable Origin of group Age (years) External Indigenous Number of members External Indigenous Number of male members External Indigenous Number of female members External Indigenous N Mean 4 10.78 2.1 34.2 11.0 17 6 Standard deviation 42 17.5 21 127.4 158.2 4 13.8 14.2 18 92.3 157.8 4 34.3 33.3 18 32.9 38.1 (c) Some group characteristics in terms of their registration (no or yes) with Area Council Variable Registration with an Area Council N Mean Age (years) No 8 26.0 Yes 13 32.0 13.7 Number of members No 11 78.5 108.2 Yes 16 129.0 163.9 Number of male members No 9 61.7 129.8 Yes 13 89.3 159.5 No 9 27.7 27.5 Yes 13 37.0 42.4 Number of female members Standard deviation 13.6 of significant predictors, notably registration with the respective Area Council and number of female members. Groups registered with an Area Council tended to leverage their proximity to Abuja and this is not all that surprising as registration may reflect groups that are more outward looking and thus not likely to stop at registration with their Area Council but may also be willing to go beyond that local scale and 5.6 Leverage of Proximity to Abuja 141 Table 5.13 Origin of groups and registration with Area Council in terms of leverage of proximity to Abuja. Figures are the counts of groups within each category based on the complete sample of 30 social groups (a) Leverage and origin of the group Leverage No Origin of group External Total Yes 1 6 7 Indigenous 13 10 23 Total 14 16 30 (b) Leverage and registration of the group with the Area Council Leverage Registered with Area Council Total No Yes 8 5 13 Yes 6 11 17 Total 14 16 30 No look to lever advantages from Abuja. The results also suggest that leverage is more likely to occur with groups having smaller numbers of female members. None of the other variables are statistically significant, although the number of male members and whether the group is external or indigenous in nature have probabilities that are 10% (0.1) or less. Age of the group is not a significant factor. But, as noted above, there is a complicating factor here as external groups created by the MDG project or the ADP will, almost by definition, consider themselves as leveraging their proximity to Abuja. These groups were, in a sense, created by a project to lever benefits from the project and thus one could argue that the analysis in Table 5.11 has a degree of inbuilt bias. An arguably fairer analysis of factors influencing the likelihood of groups leveraging their proximity to Abuja would require the exclusion of the seven MDG/ADP groups, and the results of a regression analysis on this reduced set of data are shown in Table 5.14. Here the regression model is: Leverage = Intercept + β1 age of group + β2 number of male members + β3 number of female members + β4 Area Council registration + error Note that the ‘origin’ term has been removed. The reduced regression model in Table 5.14 is still statistically significant and also has a very high adjusted coefficient of determination (91%). The descriptive statistics for the variables in this reduced sample are shown in Table 5.15 and Table 5.16. The results of the regression analysis in Table 5.14 suggest that group size (numbers of male and female members), and whether the group is registered with the Area Council, are all statistically significant factors at the 5% (0.05) probability level. The point has already been made about registration with Area Councils and how this may relate to leverage but perhaps more surprising is the relationship between group size and leverage. One would have expected that larger groups would have been more likely to leverage proximity to Abuja, perhaps because more people would equate 142 5 The Social Group Landscape Table 5.14 Regression of a reduced number of social group characteristics with leverage of proximity to FCT. This analysis was performed on a total of 23 groups, none of whom were created via the MDG project Predictor Coefficient Standard error t-value Constant 0.0958 0.1852 0.52 ns Age of group (years) 0.002579 0.00472 0.55 ns Number of male members −0.00064 0.000244 −2.63* Number of female members −0.00452 0.00135 −3.35** Registration with Area Council (no/yes) Source Regression DF 0.92584 0.08766 10.56*** SS MS F 38.58*** 4 3.67549 0.91887 Residual Error 11 0.26201 0.02382 Total 15 3.9375 Leverage of proximity to FCT (dependent variable): 0 = No; 1 = Yes Registration with Area Council: 0 = No; 1 = Yes S = 0.154 R2 (adjusted) = 90.9% Statistical significance ns = not significant at P < 0.05 *P < 0.0.5 **P < 0.01 ***P < 0.001 to more ‘social capital’ and hence capacity such as having personal connections. It has been noted in the literature (Chap. 2) that larger groups tend to provide greater support for members, especially in the case of women, for precisely this reason of capacity (Wellman 1991). As Wellman (1992) has noted: Presumably, larger networks are more gregarious, more communicative and, hence, more supportive. Wellman (1992) But the ‘leverage’ results in Table 5.14 suggest the opposite; smaller groups are more likely to leverage the proximity to Abuja than larger groups, and this was the case for both the numbers of male and female members. Why smaller groups would be better in this regard is open to some speculation. It could be argued, for example, that larger groups are more unwieldly while smaller groups may be focussed, nimble and versatile. Larger groups may possibly suffer from a form of “bystander intervention” (Wellman 1992) discussed in Chap. 2; there may simply be a tendency to leave the work of identifying and pursuing contacts to someone else. However, from the discussions held with the group members it is not possible to be definitive about such a conclusion and the influence of group size on leverage would certainly warrant further research. There are some other characteristics of the social groups not summarised in Table 5.10 but which may have an influence on the likelihood of seeking leverage with Abuja. Education, for example, could be one of those. However, no data 5.6 Leverage of Proximity to Abuja 143 Table 5.15 Characteristics of groups in terms of their leverage of proximity to Abuja. These values relate to the reduced sample (23 social groups) included in the regression in Table 5.14. This sample excludes those social groups established by the MDG (ADP) project in FCT (a) Some group characteristics in terms of their leverage of proximity to Abuja Variable Leverage of proximity to Abuja N Mean Age (years) No 8 28.0 11.4 Yes 9 39.7 7.6 No 12 143.9 169.1 Yes 9 105.4 149.4 Number of male members No 9 101.1 164.7 Yes 9 83.4 160.1 Number of female members No 9 43.9 45.1 Yes 9 22.0 28.1 Number of members Standard deviation (b) Some group characteristics in terms of their registration with Area Council Variable Registration with Area Council Age (years) Number of members Yes Number of male members Number of female members N Mean Standard deviation No 6 31.0 Yes 11 35.9 10.8 No 7 100.0 133.6 14 141.1 172.3 11.8 No 7 75.7 146.2 Yes 11 102.8 170.9 No 7 24.3 25.2 Yes 11 38.5 44.8 Table 5.16 Social group registration with Area Council in terms of leverage of proximity to Abuja. Figures are the counts of groups within each category. These data are based on the reduced sample size of 23 social groups; it excludes the 7 social groups established by the MDG and ADP projects Leverage No Registered with Area Counci l Total Yes No 8 0 8 Yes 5 10 15 Total 13 10 23 were collected on the educational level for each of the group members and the feedback received on this was quite generic. Most of the groups had mixed levels of education spanning ‘none’ through to tertiary level. Indeed, there was no evidence that any of the groups sought to identify themselves in terms of education (as an elite), and neither did it emerge as a criterion for membership. Far more important 144 5 The Social Group Landscape in terms of membership was gender, religion, status (married or unmarried in the case of women), age (in the case of the youth groups) and occupation (for farmer groups and those involved in marketing of produce). In the main towns of Bwari and Kwali there were some groups that were specifically differentiated along the lines of ethnicity, as noted above, but this was not present in the villages. Finally, it is necessary to raise the need for caution regarding how questions about origin and indeed interaction with wider networks are interpreted by the respondents. The summary provided in Table 5.10 and subsequent analyses in Tables 5.11 (all 30 social groups) and 5.14 (reduced sample of 23 social groups) were based on a number of questions that sought to explore the origin of the group (indigenous or external) and whether the groups levered support from their wider networks to access benefits from Abuja (no or yes), but in practice this did take a lot of probing and answers were not always so clear cut. For leverage the point has already been made about defining what ‘leverage’ means, and thus what could comprise a ‘yes’ answer. Origin of the group also elicited a range of responses, and as noted above there can be an interaction between ‘origin’ and ‘leverage’ as seen most notably with the MDG/ADP groups. The challenge that was faced can be illustrated further with the results of a briefer set of interviews with members of the 12 social groups in Kwali Town. As already noted, the discussions with members of these groups was less in-depth than those held with the social groups in the villages, and a summary of the responses is shown in Table 5.17. Of the 12 groups from Kwali Town, none of them claimed an origin from outside of FCT, only three of them said that they had connections with other social groups outside of FCT and only four said that they had any connections with wider social networks outside of the local community. But when asked about the frequency of connection to other organisations outside of their community, 10 Table 5.17 Ways in which groups express their wider connectivity. These data are taken from the 12 social groups in Kwali town. There are two sets of questions here, all asked of the same groups in Kwali. The first (a) ask for binary (no/yes) answers while the second (b) uses a scale (a) Connectivity expressed in terms of yes and no Question asked of the group Yes No Does the group originate from outside the FCT? 0 12 Does the group have a connectivity with other social groups outside of FCT? 3 9 Does the group receive assistance from foreign donors? 1 11 Does the group engage with people in wider social networks outside of the community? 4 8 (b) What is the frequency of connectivity between the social group and other organisations outside of the local community? None Less frequent Frequent Very frequent 2 3 5 2 Note The Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria in Kwali specifically mentioned that they are part of a wider national network yet it seems that they did not see themselves as ‘originating’ from outside of Kwali 5.6 Leverage of Proximity to Abuja 145 said that they did have this albeit to varying degrees of frequency. This would seem to be at odds with some of the other answers, and clearly much can depend upon how the question about ‘connections’ is asked and interpreted by respondents; a point that is also relevant for multi-faceted and complex frameworks such as SCAT designed to assess social capital (Krishna and Shrader 1999). SCAT includes questions about connections whereas simpler measures such as Putnam’s Instrument (Putnam 1993) rely more on assessing membership, which is often recorded and thus more objective, rather than connectivity which can be open to interpretation. Overall, the general sense based upon answers to all the questions set out in Table 5.17 was that these groups in Kwali did have greater connectivity outside of their local community than was seen from the village-based groups, but not necessarily any evidence of better success in terms of leveraging benefits from their proximity to Abuja. 5.7 The Role of Champions One aspect which emerged from all the discussions with the social groups in FCT was the critical importance of leaders, champions and destabilizers as seen from the perspective of the group members. Almost all the indigenous groups had their roots with a key significant individual or small group of people who had a vision for the group and helped to define its purpose. When the groups were asked about their origins, many of these originators, sadly were deceased, but their charisma and legacy still permeated the group and lived on amongst the membership. The group initiators clearly had a degree of socialized charisma (Samnani and Singh 2013) which sparked the groups into existence for the benefit of members and the wider community and which continues to exist amongst their members to this day. For the groups that were created by the MDG project there was still this sense of being sparked by a ‘leader’, and that too had important ramifications, but this is a point that will be returned to in the next chapter. On the more negative side, almost all the groups were struggling with some of their membership who did not pay their dues or take part in activities, something that was consistently mentioned as one of the major challenges that they faced. Almost all groups had procedures, which they referred to as a ‘rule book’ or constitution, in place to deal with recalcitrant members, typically by fining them or excluding them from benefits. The ‘destabilizers’ were without doubt seen as a threat to the groups. This threat was understood to be an ‘infectious’ spread of bad behaviour as others in the group might also begin to question why they should be paying their dues or taking part in activities if others did not. At another extreme, and as will be discussed in the next chapter, there were occasional instances of serious theft and damage such as this added to the woes with which groups had to contend. When asked about this, group members often spoke of the importance of the rule book and trust in the leadership to enforce the rules. This chimes very well with the points made by Hooper et al. (2010) and others regarding what members see as a main function 146 5 The Social Group Landscape of leaders in groups; to restrict self-interest and free-riding amongst members and thereby maintain the values of the group. Indeed, what often emerged from the discussions was the importance of perceived ‘champions’ and ‘destabilizers’ within the wider community and indeed outside of it and not just within the groups. This was surprising at first as the literature on leadership tends to be almost entirely focussed on the roles of leaders and role models within groups, but it should be remembered that the groups exist within a community and many of them, at least in part, see themselves as serving that community. Indeed, for those groups that were involved in trying to leverage benefits from Area Councils and especially Abuja, the rationale for doing so was almost entirely framed within the context of aiding the wider community and not just group members. Hence while many of the ‘champions’ mentioned by group members may well be members of other groups it is perhaps not surprising that the horizons of ‘leadership’ go beyond the group boundary. It also has to be noted that translation of terms is challenging here. What is being referred to as ‘leaders’ or ‘champions’ could equally mean their ‘role models’ or ‘heroes’ in other words those whose behaviour and dedication to the community provide a model for group members to emulate. Table 5.18 provides a brief outline of some of the key ‘champions’ or ‘role models’ mentioned by members of the social groups in the villages as having an influence on their membership and indeed on occasion provide the sense of ‘cohesion’ that ensures the group function. These are not presented as quotations but an attempt has been made to use a form of words as close as possible to those used by the respondents so the reader can get a sense of the esteem in which they were held. ‘Destabilizers’, the opposite to ‘champions’, were also mentioned but have been omitted from the text to avoid any offence being taken. 5.8 Conclusions There is a rich tapestry of social groups in all the villages included in this study, with a variety of purposes and goals and differing in characteristics such as age, size of membership, gender of members etc. While the results presented in the chapter are based on 30 social groups found within just six villages in two of the Area Councils (Bwari and Kwali) the richness is evident. The majority of the social groups were indigenous in the sense that they originated from within the community, but there were some, most notably perhaps the ones introduced by the MDG/ADP projects, that were created by what the members term ‘outsiders’. Indeed, it was interesting to note the differences between the external groups, such as those facilitated by the MDP/ADP projects, and the indigenous ones, especially in the vision they had as their mission. This is perhaps not surprising as the MDG/ADP groups were primarily established to help with the attainment of project goals, such as increasing agricultural production, while the indigenous groups spanned a variety of ‘aims’ such as helping their members and the wider community. 5.8 Conclusions 147 Table 5.18 Some examples of champions in the Federal Capital Territory communities Code Male/female Notes MUY Male Born in 1970, MUY is the secretary to the chief of Guto, his honesty and contribution to the community by providing basic amenities are worth emulating. He is a man everyone speaks so highly of and would always want to be like. He is known for being very honest and his major contributions to the society in providing basic amenities HI Female A widow with two children living in Guto. Her unusual determination to succeed makes her very hard working and with this she can meet her children’s basic needs. She is an inspiration to other women. She lost her husband in 2011 but never allowed her children to beg. Her determination to succeed makes her go to the forest to cut firewood and sell it. With this source of income, she has been able to put her two children through school. Her hard work has been inspiring to many women AS Female Born in 1986, AS is a native of Sunape both by birth and marriage. Her good nature and character made her so much admired and highly regarded by both men and women of the community. She is a compassionate and very hard-working woman who depends on pot making as her means of income besides farming. Her pot making made her so independent that even in the absence of her husband, she is still able to cater for the family. Also, because of her financial contributions to the development of the community, she was made the women leader of the Akpajeshi Women Association DI Male DI is the Chief of the Yaupe community and is the most celebrated man in the community. Everyone talks about his benevolence towards widows, orphans and the poor especially during Christmas. DI is a man who has given hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak in the community DD Female An indigene of Gyeyidna by birth and marriage born in 1979, DD is admired by most women in the community due to her exceptional kind character and her passion for formal education especially for her children. She is known to have made sacrifices for the progress of her family and community. She is the treasurer of the Ayenaje Women Association. She inspires many young women in the community RB Female A native of Kuzhako community both by birth and marriage and born in 1981. RBs massive contribution to the development of the community makes her an inspiration to her community. Unlike some women who leave financial responsibilities to their husbands, RB helps her husband in paying of school fees and undertaking of other financial burdens of her home. She is an inspiration not only to her community but to neighbouring villages (continued) 148 5 The Social Group Landscape Table 5.18 (continued) Code Male/female Notes DAV Male Also known as Sarki by his people, DAV is the head of the community. He was coroneted the Chief of Sunape in 2006. He is well loved and respected by the people of his community mostly due to his pro-active response to issues affecting the development of his people. As the chief, he has responsibility for the entire community and presenting their problems to the appropriate body (Area Council). He also teaches in the community primary school and encourages parents to enrol their children in school. He is well known for his kind nature and ability to influence public opinion on various matters JB Male A pastor with ECWA Church, Sunape, he is a native of Sunape by birth and born in 1973. He was the first person from the community to travel to Jerusalem for seminary tutelage and one was of the team that that introduced Christianity to the community. His integrity won him the position of treasurer to the Chief of the village. His zeal in promoting the success of his people makes everyone hold him in high esteem. Also, his kind heartedness leads him to giving farmers fertilizer as an encouragement to boost their production. All these attributes made him a strong voice in the community HA Male A native of Gyeyidna community by birth. HA happens to be among the few natives still alive who migrated from Apyakokwoyi to Gyeyidna. Presently, he is the oldest man in the village and as an elder who is known for his wise counsel, vast experience, knowledge and honesty, people tend to seek his opinions on various matters. HA was also a key member of the team that integrated Christianity into the community MY Male Popularly called Masani, MY is an indigene of Gyeyidna born in 1974. MY is the adviser to the Chief of Gyeyidna Community. He is an active politician and was once a delegate of his ward (Ward Executive) which consists of Gyeyidna and other communities. MY commands respect from his people due to his compassionate nature and his power of authority. His influence on his community earned him secretary to his church for 12 consecutive years AD Female An indigene of Kuzhako by marriage, she was born and bred in Guto (a village near Kuzhako) in 1991. She is presently the Gimbiya (women leader) of the community. The benevolence and love she shows towards the less privileged makes her one of the most loved women in the community to an extent that whenever she speaks, she commands respect. Her political prowess and leadership qualities are that exceptional that the community places much trust in her leadership BD Male Prominent member of the Kilankwa Multipurpose Farmers Association and a major spokesperson for the youth. He is a graduate from Ekiti State University and has participated in many training sessions and workshops organised by projects within and beyond Kilankwa II MI Male Another influential person in Kilankwa II. He is a teacher at the Secondary school in Kilankwa and knowledgeable on a wide range of diverse subjects. Community members hold him in high esteem (continued) 5.8 Conclusions 149 Table 5.18 (continued) Code Male/female Notes AI Male An elder and the present Chairman of the Millennium Development Goals in Kilankwa II. He commands influence and authority in the community and an elder in the Evangelical Church called ‘Winning All’ LZ Female Known for her progressive leadership role of the women’s group in Kilankwa community. Her ability to gather women together during political events as well as for immunization activities earns her a reputation of trustworthiness. Analysis of the social groups leveraging of their proximity to Abuja required two approaches. While an analysis of the wider sample of 30 social groups provided some insight, it was potentially biased caused by the inclusion of the seven social groups established by the MDG/ADP projects. After all, these groups had been primarily established by the MDG/ADP projects with the sole purpose of ensuring that they would benefit from the resources that Abuja was required to offer to them. Hence a further analysis was conducted using the 23 non-MDG/ADP social groups and results suggest that there were some group characteristics that seemed to be associated with leverage of benefits. Smaller groups, both males and females, tended to engage in leverage of benefits more than larger groups, perhaps reflecting a more focused and nimble approach possible within smaller and closely-knit groups compared to larger ones. Registration with the Area Council also made a difference. Groups that register with the Area Council would be expected to have an ‘outreach’ mindset and thus to also make efforts to leverage proximity to Abuja. If they go so far as to register with their Area Council, then why stop there; why not extend their thinking to Abuja as well? Age of the social group had no relationship with leverage in the regression on the larger or the reduced samples. For those that did try to lever benefits from Abuja worked primarily through people that they knew in positions of power (primarily government), and the primary focus of the networking was through those who came from the same community as the social group. Benefits that were sought were divided into the following categories: • • • • • Infrastructure Equipment Farm inputs Clothing Training. Of these, infrastructure (roads, water and electricity supply, clinics etc.) and farm inputs/training are logical and anticipated given that infrastructure is expensive to provide. The cost of such facilities was totally beyond the resources available to the social groups; the MDG had one of its many foci on improving agricultural production and the ADP project was also highly focussed on agriculture. Less expected, perhaps, are clothing and some of the equipment (e.g. furniture) that was sought by the social 150 5 The Social Group Landscape groups. Success of the leverage was difficult to assess as while the groups may well have exercised some pressure it is likely that government also responds to many other sources of pressure, including political. Thus, attempting to disentangle the contribution made by one source is challenging. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the analysis was the role of leaders (‘champions’) and indeed ‘destabilizers’ both within and outside of the social groups. Champions played a key role in group establishment and in the successful function and impact of the groups. Most of the groups obtained income from membership fees as well as once-off contributions, and each of them mentioned the challenges of having members who did not pay their way or contribute their time. Hence the significance of a ‘rule book’ and leaders able to enforce the rules. More surprising was the frequent mention of the influence of other ‘champion’s (or ‘role models’) outside of the group but who played an important role in the wider community which included influencing the groups. The role of some chiefs and their officials was one example of this positive influence, along with teachers and elders. However, it did not end there and even ordinary members of the community, not holding any title or position, could still be a role model looked up to as an inspiration. Both men and women played this role. On the more negative side, ‘destabilizers’ were also present both within the groups and the community. This is an aspect not often available in the literature where the emphasis tends to be on the characteristics and function of leaders within groups, and clearly there is a need for much more research on the interplay between social groups and the wider communities within which they are embedded. In the following chapter the focus will change and rather than explore the leveraging of benefits by groups the emphasis will be upon the leveraging of groups by projects teams.