Mentoring Beyond the Borders

By Linda Jefferson, CPM, linda.jefferson@osp.nc.gov
featuring David Osborne, CPM, odr01@doc.state.nc.us

Few things can have the far-reaching positive effect than a successful mentoring relationship. When done well, mentoring offers enormous benefits to both the mentee and the mentor. Most often mentoring is thought of in terms of one-on-one individualized interactions. The North Carolina Department of Correction is broadening that concept with an agency-to-agency approach with the Nigerian Prisons System from Nigeria, Africa. It is truly mentoring beyond the borders.

David Osborne & Host  Committee with Nigerian Prison System Representatives

The Department of Correction, Division of Prisons, established a peer-to-peer exchange with the Nigerian Prisons System in 2007. The ingenious idea stemmed from the Controller General of the Nigerian Prisons System attending an American Correction Association Conference in 2006 where the Department of Correction was the host agency. Mr. Olusola Ogundipe, Controller General, was interested in reforming the Nigerian Prisons System and was impressed by the North Carolina Department of Corrections model. North Carolina has 79 prisons statewide with 40,000 offenders.

David Osborne, Assistant Director of Prisons and 32-year veteran of the Department of Correction, was chosen to lead the project team. David was the architect behind the plan where top level Nigerian prison officials toured prisons in North Carolina. He worked closely with Mr. Joseph Lofton, a retired Prison Administrator from the Department of Correction, and Dr. Abel Ekpunobi, businessman in Chapel Hill and former professor at North Carolina Central University, to develop a stellar program that would meet the needs outlined by Mr. Ogundipe.

The program, referred to as the Nigerian Prisons Peer Exchange (NPPE), involved the Nigerian Prisons System sending 60 of its managers to visit select prisons in North Carolina during a one-year period. This would be accomplished by sending up to five managers per month for a four- to five-day orientation of the North Carolina Prison System. With the exception of arranging transportation to the prisons, the Nigerian Prisons System paid all costs associated with the program.

Thirty-five Division of Prison employees volunteered to serve on the host committee which was responsible for guiding the tours at assigned prisons. David determined which prisons would be visited based on the managers from the Nigerian Prisons System. Both female and male prisons were visited.

The first group of five Nigerian Prisons System managers came in October 2007 and the second group came in December 2007. A third group of managers came the week of Memorial Day in 2008 and included 10 Nigerian Prison System managers. A fourth group of managers was supposed to come in July 2008, but the visit was delayed due to budget constraints. All groups met with top level Department of Correction and Division of Prisons officials during their visit.

The Nigerian Prisons System managers learned about the business enterprises of the prisons visited. They also learned how technology was used to run an efficient prison system. The guests learned that many of North Carolina’s prisons grow their own food to curtail the costs of feeding inmates. The group was not only interested in the health care system, population control, and prototype prison, but also education services and work programs at the prisons.

When asked how the NPPE was received, David said it was well received by all involved. According to David, it was an opportunity for North Carolina’s Division of Prisons to showcase what it does best. He said it was an honor to be chosen by the Nigerian Prisons System as a model for their reform initiatives. David mentioned that his division had shared information with other countries before, but nothing of the magnitude of the NPPE.

David credits skills he learned in the Certified Public Manager® program for the successful planning and implementation of the NPPE. He wants to see the program continue and wants the Nigerian Prisons System managers to feel comfortable calling upon him and his agency as they move forward with their reforms. According to David, the ultimate success of this program would be the Nigerian Prison System adopting some of the practices, procedures, and guidelines used by the North Carolina Prison System.

David invites Society members to be a part of the NPPE if they are interested and their agencies allow them to participate. Interested parties should contact David at the email address above.

© Copyright 2009, American Association of Certified Public Managers®