Downtown Africa
Speaking to Vanguard at the ceremony commemorating 75 years in Nigeria, the Country Director of the Council, Lucy Pearson, described the British Council in Nigeria as a success story.
“We are 75 years in Nigeria and have impacted millions of lives of Nigerians, institutions and organisations across education, society, examination and even industries. This gives a broad picture of our work over the years. It is a long-standing deep and mutually beneficial friendship between Nigeria and the UK. So it makes our job working in the British Council easier because of that long-standing relationship,” she stated.
Talking on what the British Council had done in Kano over the years, the Director noted that the council had been working with leaders and advocates of change in the state to impact on more lives across the state.
According to her, “We have done a lot of programmes in Kano that include atticism, which is a program that involves young people in universities and voluntary leaders and advocates of change in their communities. We are also working with young people to give them 21st-century skills that have to do with football.”
She also explained that their projects were not without challenges, saying “The challenge so far is where the British Council focuses in Nigeria, in such a large country with diversity, of nearly 200 million people, is how to make an impact in many communities. So, where to focus and have the most impact, how do we respond to the needs of the country across many states and across many communities we are working with are the basic challenges we are having.”However, Lucy stated that the British Council was proud of the work it was doing in partnership with many Nigerians and organizations, adding that the Council would continue to work and impact on the lives of millions of Nigerians for a long time.
Vanguard
