A Nigerian Men’s Workshop
Chioma Okonkwo, the Regional Reference Person for Nigeria and West Africa, recently initiated a Zoom workshop for men in Nigeria. Our first attempt at Zoom was a test run and only a few persons attended. However, the test run gave clearer direction on how to have a more inclusive men’s workshop.
PLANNING THE WORKSHOP
I immediately announced the idea of a men’s workshop to the men in our Nigeria men’s group. Just like me, a lot of them were excited about it, and some quickly volunteered to be on the organising and tech teams. I formed a team of volunteers into a small WhatsApp group to facilitate coordination.
We began the planning process, treating the event with all the seriousness it deserved. We agreed on a date and time. We shared roles. A lot of thinking and planning and sessions went into the organising. We designed and published a flyer and a Google Form to help us easily collate the registrations. About forty-seven men registered online.
We reached out to the women, our greatest allies. They suggested topics we might wish to consider. We included those topics in our programme. We planned the programme and assigned roles and jobs. We subscribed to Zoom and tested the platform to rehearse our roles. Everything worked well.
THE WORKSHOP
On 11 October 2020, about 7:00 pm, we began the first Zoom workshop for RC men in Nigeria! Thirty-seven participants hooked up to the Zoom link.
We played songs by Fela Kuti [a Nigerian musician and political activist] and Osita Osadebe [a Nigerian Igbo musician] while the participants arrived. We welcomed everyone. We did introductions in our dialects to bring to bear the colour and beauty of our diverse languages.
We listened to and discharged on what it means to be a man, our earliest childhood memories as boys, and what is hard about being a man.
We also had a panel, a demonstration on what is hard about being a man, and a support group.
The issues raised included being expected to always have the answers, to always be strong and never cry, to always compete, to swallow every hurt and pain, and to meet the demands of family, relations, community, church, society, and so on.
We looked at men’s dominance and the common perception that the world is a man’s world.
We looked at climate and men, with a three-way mini-session in a breakout room.
We brought our highlights and appreciations back to the main room. We were also reminded of the importance of writing reports about RC events. We did farewells and ended with some more music.
As usual, Internet connectivity was a challenge. It barred some from participating and kept frustrating some others. It actually locked me out for about fifteen minutes. But luckily, we had anticipated such and had our Plan B. I was glad my support leader took charge seamlessly.
There has been joy and a sense of fulfillment since the workshop.
Trans Ekulu, Enugu State, Nigeria
(Present Time 202, January 2021)