Blogs

Rice seed - Rice is what the country produces and what the country eats

Local Seed Systems Before Crisis: What the Abuja Round Table Taught Us

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

A national round table convened by Oxfam and ICRISAT in Abuja explored how local seed systems protect farmers when insecurity and shocks disrupt supply. A Bauchi state assessment found 98% informal…

women-farmers-field-school-jigawa

Seeds of Change: What Women Farmers Are Teaching Us About Food Security in Jigawa and Bauchi States

Maxwell Osarenkhoe, Mohammed Jada

Women farmers in Jigawa and Bauchi are showing what it takes to build food security from the ground up. Through the Crop Diversity for Food Security in West Africa project, women-only Farmer Field…

Participant using a GALS tool: Vision Road Journey

Rethinking the Rules: How Drawings and Time-Tracking Are Changing Families in Kebbi State

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

In Kebbi State, an innovative EU-funded project is using simple drawings and time-tracking drawings to challenge traditional gender roles. Discover how 80 community champions are balancing unpaid…

Gusi Ward Kwaya Kusar Community Led Development Grant Champions

Water, Classrooms, and Peace: The Transformative Power of Community Planning in Nigeria

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

In the development sector, we often speak about ‘shifting the power’ and building local resilience. However, true sustainable change occurs not when we plan for communities, but when communities are…

Local residents of Wawa Ward standing together to support the new peace agreement and community development plans in North East Nigeria.

Bridging the Divide: How Two Borno Communities Ended a 70 Year Conflict

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

For seven decades, a bitter and often violent boundary dispute defined the relationship between the Kubuku and Wawa Wards in Borno State. Rooted deep in the mountainous terrain of the Kwaya Kusar…

A group of community volunteer teachers standing together outside a school building in Kwaya Kusar.

Taking Ownership: How a Borno State Community Funded Its Own Future Through Local Agency

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

For years, the systemic gaps seemed too wide to bridge. But through the Social Cohesion Project, implemented by Oxfam in Nigeria and our National partners Christian Rural and Urban Development…

A passionate community member demanding corporate accountability and transparency in HCDT funds management.

Niger Delta Oil Divestment: Communities Demand HCDT Transparency and PIA Amendments in Eket Townhall

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

For decades, Nigeria's oil producing regions have borne the heavy environmental, social, and economic burdens of extractive activities. While frameworks like the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and its…

Three Oxfam colleagues lean in closely together to collaborate over a laptop screen during an intensive working session. Photo Credit: Maxwell Osarenkhoe/Oxfam

The Courage to Adapt: Inside Oxfam in Nigeria’s 2026 Country Learning Review

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

Inside Oxfam in Nigeria’s 2026 Country Learning ReviewProgress is rarely a straight line. In the complex landscape of development and humanitarian work, creating lasting systems change requires more…

A diverse group of community members and organizers smiling together in front of an Oxfam International Women's Day 2026 banner in Kwaya Kusar, North-East Nigeria.

Rights. Justice. Action: How Rural Communities in North-East Nigeria are Rewriting the Rules for Women’s Equality

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

From instant educational scholarships to abolishing discriminatory land laws, see how Oxfam and local partners in Borno and Adamawa states are moving beyond advocacy to rewrite the rules for women's…

Group of 25+ participants in orange and green shirts raising hands, symbolizing a collective commitment to end GBV at an Oxfam event in Biu

From Awareness to Action: Forging a Path to Digital and Offline Safety

Maxwell Osarenkhoe

From Awareness to ActionThe 16 Days of Activism campaign, supported by the EU and German Government, successfully focused on the theme UNITE to End Digital Violence Against All Women and Girls in…