0902 Spring 2005.pdf - Friends of Nigeria

BEER
t E
and join FON now or Renew your membership for
the price of about three bottlesl
And introducing TAYO Fatunla
---
we MAY ae SKINNY
aUT we ARe NOT MAP!

T AYO Fatunla, Cartoonist, Designer,
Illustrator, Cartoon tutor and Caricaturist is
a member of the National Cartoonists Society
and represented by Cartoon Arts
International/New York Times Syndicate,
U.S. He is also a member of the Federation of
Cartoon'ists Organisations and the National
Union of Journalists, U.K. He is a graduate of
the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and
Graphic Art, New Jersey.
While in the Art school, TAYO worked for several clients as a designer
and caricaturist and he had his work published by D.C.COMICS, creators
of BATMAN and SUPERMAN.
He has held exhibitions and workshops in the U.K., France, the U.S.,
Egypt, Finland, Nigeria, Belgium, Italy, Ireland and has attended the NSC
cartoon conventionin in Mexico. He has published his cartoons
internationally and produced cartoons and illustrations for books, newspapers, magazrnes,ana Web
Sites. He has held cartoon workshops at festivals, in schools and Libraries around U.K.and abroad. He
has been a Resident Cartoonist at Lewisham College, South East London.
TAYO was awarded Crayon de Porcelaine for his contribution to press cartoons internationally at
the Salon International Dessin de Presse & Humour, St- Just-Ie-Martel, France.
As a visiting speaker, TAYO has lectured at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and the
National University of Ireland, Galway, the University of Rouen,France and Instituto Professionale Di
Stato Per L'industra L'artigianato, Italy.
TAYO's third book OUR ROOTS is his latest project. The 116 page illustrated OUR ROOTS honours
the courage, creativity and accomplishments of people of African heritage.
Visit ... www.tayofatunla com )
or contact TAYO at tayo.fatunla@btopenworld com
Tayo Fatunla has personally given his permission for his cartoons to be reproduced in
the Friends of Nigeria newsletter.
Watch for further cartoons from Tayo in future issues.

Fe'EN1)~ OF
N'~Ee,,4
www.friendsofn
ige ria. 0rg
SPRING 2005 Vol 9, No 2
FON reaches first goal to
'Keep the Lorries Rolling'
vso Sponsorship Update
;,Ila
/C,owoada
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More than 30 FON members have contributed $2,458 to
"adopt" two VSO \'Ioluntary Service Overseas) volunteers ~'ho
are currently "keeping the lorry rolling" by serving in Nigeriawhere
no U.S. Peace Corps are currently assigned.
Emma Howard, Corporate Partnerships Director for VSO in
Great Britain, thanked FON members in January fortheir quick
response to the campaign.
The two "adopted" volunteers are Annette Uhlenberg and
Irma Fortuin.
Annette is a U.S. citizen who received a Master of Arts in
International Studies from Boston University in 2001. She is
working in Abuja for an umbrella organization serving 40 NGOs
supporting basic education. Fortuin, a Dutch national, is training
primary school teachers at the College of Education, Pankshin, in
Plateau State.
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~e.EN~ O~ Me.Ee'lJ
NE\Ii~LE""Ee
National
Editor
Andy Philpot
awphilpot@mountaincable.net
Nigeria News Editor
Virginia DeLancey
v-del.\ncey@northwestern.edu
Book Editor
David Strain
destrain@pacbell.net
Update Editor
Dave Sugarman
ilw.lcoboy@comcast.net
Production Staff
Earl (Buzz) Welker
mysk3@aol.com
Gregory Zell
gregzell@mindspring.com
Peter J. Hansen
pjhansen@ia.net
Printer
Leesburg Printing Company
Leesburg, Florida
BOARD
QU3rterly public:ltion of
Friends of Nigeria, Inc.
3ffili3[c of the
OF DIRECTORS
President
Gregory Zell
gregzel1@mindspring.com
Vice President
Frieda Fairburn
frieda@madbbs.com
Membership Chair
Peter J. Hansen
pjhansen@ia.net
Secretary
David Strain
destrain@pacbell.net
Lucinda Boyd
cindarboyd@mindspring.com
Virginia DeLancey
\ -delancey@northwestern.edu
Mike Goodkind
mgoodkind©earthlink.net
Bob Perito
rperito@usip.org
Andy Philpot
awphilpot@mountaincable.net
WebSite
friendsofnigeria.org
Website Manager
Greg Jones
Web site Newsletter Manager
CLeigh Purvis Gerber
2 FON NEWSLETIER
Peace Corps Association
Letters to the Editor
40 Years later and still fluent in
Yoruba
And, now, after almost -10years since I left
my Peace Tour of duty in Dorin, I\-e been to
Nigeria 3 times to work -September, ~003
(Abuja), March, ~OO-l( Abuja), August, 200-1
(Kana, Abuja) and anticipate going back in the
near future. It's really J joy to work in Nigeria
after allthese years, as my Yoruba is still pretty
good and has even improved because of my
recent trips. \X1hat'sreally fun is to correct the
Yoruba of non-Yorubas in Abuja who are just
learning some Yoruba, especially as they say
"good afternoon" before noon and I correct
them with the proper greeting for "good
morning". It was amazing enough back in
1965-67as a ~O year old Oyinbo (white)
kid speaking Yoruba, and it's even more
amazing to people as a 62 year old!
Here's a picture of me with drummers at
a "turbaning" ceremony in Hadeija, Jigawa
State.
I've got more pictures for those who want
to see the castle of the Emir of Hadeija, and
other scenes of Kana and the turbaning
ceremony.
And, if anybody wants to renew contact
with Nigerians they taught or worked with,
just let me know, as I now have a newer
Nigeria network.
About a year ago, because of a talk I gave at
Peace Corps headquarters, I helped reconnect
Ron Raphael
(13) 64-66 with
a former student
of his, who has
been living in
the DC area for
years, isa US
citizen, is a DC
PeaceCorps
staff member
Me! Schnapper from the and whose
Nigeria 15 training manual. daughter IS a
Three degrees of Separation
I had an unexpected e-mail from the wife
of my Principal while I was a PC Volunteer in
Maiduguri. Apparently she had seen my name
on an article I had written for the FON
Newsletter a couple of years ago!!Her husband
has passed away but she is alive and well in
Me! with drummers
at a
"turbaning" ceremony in Hadeija,
Jigawa State.
Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa! I was there at
the reunion and I was really moved by the
ceremony and my playing a role in getting
them reconnected.
I was back in DC for five weeks, after a
year of being out of the States, mostly in
Afghanistan for 8 months, 10weeks in
Nigeria, 6 weeks in Cairo (that's Egypt, NOT
downstate Illinois, for those of you in
Chicago land!) and -Iweeks visiting my younger
son in Shanghai. I'm now in Baghdad on a
one year contract, for lots of money, but no
life!Still learning about security issues and not
sure what I am allowed to share regarding my
existence here, so there'll be no more about
Iraq, for now. But do let me know if you want
to know more about Nigeria .•
Mel Schnapper (15)65-67,Washingron,
DC ~OOl~ , ~0~-88~-1066www.schnapper.com
England-he was the first Principal of
Bunumbu Training College and helped me get
through those wonderful years. It's amazing to
me how these strands of our lives keep pulling
up memories and contacts.
Buzz Welker (05)62-65
www.friendsofn
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FON reaches first goal. ..
(Continued frOIll p,1ge 1.)
VSO, ,yhich fields some ~,OOOvolunteers in Eastern Europe
and the developing world, has worked in Nigeria since 1958.
Programs focus on three key areas: secure livelihoods, education,
and participation and governance, according to the organization.
Volunteers work at federal and state government level, as well as
with NGOs, community-based organizations and the priyate
sector. Their support includes sharing skills, helping to build
organizational capacity and developing sustainable programs tbt
meet the needs of disadvantaged people.
In April, ~005, VSO is expected to merge with BESO (British
Executive Service Overseas), an organization that matches
experienced commercial consultants - the average age of
volunteers is 56 - with organizations that would not be able to
afford such expertise.
FON members are expected in the coming months to
reconnect most vividly from e-mail postcards, including
photographs, from Irma and Annette, whose assignments show
how volunteerism in Nigeria has evolved in the more than -lOyears
since Peace Corps volunteers first served in Nigeria. While both
Keeping The Lorry Rolling...
FON has several ways that members can get involved
with our VSO Support Project:
1. Learn about VSO. Visit the organization's website:
www.vso.org.uk/about/cprofiles/nigeria.as.p
2. Send in a generous contribution to "Keep the Lorry
Rolling." A coupon is on the back cover of the newsletter.
3. Consider exploring personal opportunities with
organizations such as Encore (www.peacecorpsencore.org),
which deploys RPCV s and staff members on short-termassignments
in their areas of professional expertise, or
BESO, which is linked to the VSO website.
volunteers are working closely with Nigerian counterparts, the
emphasis on their assignments clearly reflects a trend toward the
"big picture" - placing volunteers in assignments where they not
only have ma.....umuminteraction with host country nationals but
,vhere they additionally can work to improve the country's
infrastructure.
Annette's job is leadership and to help her organization, Civil
Society Action Coalition on Education for All (CSACEFA),
improve communication. She will also be involved in fundraising
and program evaluation for the umbrella group's 40 constituent
organizations, VSO's Howard explained.
In addition to teaching sample lessons to students and
observing practice teachers destined for primary and junior
secondary schools, Irma is responsible for monitoring the success
and productivity of the college's teacher training program, making
recommendations and improvements where needed.
VSO Nigeria seeks to integrate HIV IAIDS awareness into all
volunteer placements, and both Irma and Annette will be
responsible for exploring ways that they and their colleagues can
incorporate HIVIAIDS training into their roles.•
Get Involved
4. Reconnect with old friends by volunteering to lead a
group solicitation offellow RPCV s or similar FON
members.
To get started, contact either VSO Project Co-chair for more
information:
Lucinda Boyd (cindarboyd@mindspring.ner)
Mike Goodkind (mgoodkind©earthlink.net)
The Peace Corps has yet to return to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, we can go back and help with our contributions
and interest.
Photographs
Wanted
Jason Gordon (Moldova 2002-0-l)is looking for photo contributions for a large
coffee-table style photo book featuring photographs taken by PCV s all over the
world. If you "'ould like to contribute, please send a selection of your best
photographs (preferably with Host country Nationals in them but will consider
scenic) via email to jason.gordon6-1@sbcglobal net or yia snail mail at
Jason Gordon, 7815, McCallum Bh·d. Apt. 17~06, Dallas, TX 75252
Please include your name, country of sen'ice, years of sen'ice, and a brief
caption with each photograph. If sending digital, please be sure the images are
300dpi or higher.
If published, a significant amount of the revenue from the book sales will go
to support Peace Corps projects worldwide. Thank you .•
As this project is in its development stage, potential contributors should inquire about how royalties are to be allocated and
should inquire about a contract with the author to retain ownership after publication.
SPRING 2005 3

Nigeria News
Edited by Virginia DeLancey (04) 62-64
Nigeria Supports Tsunami
Relief
Following South Africa's earlier
example, President Obasanjo set up a
national committee to raise funds for
Tsunami relief efforts and he urged all
Nigerians to contribute generously to the
fund. Nigeria had already contributed $1
million to the UN fund. As of January 6,
Africa had pledges the following amounts:
African Union: $100,000
Algeria: $1,000,000
Libya: $1,000,000
Nigeria: $1,000,000
Mozambique: $100,000
South Africa Red Cross: $400,000
Kenya, which also was affected by the
tsunami, plans to contribute ten doctors
and tea for the relief efforts, and South
Africa has launched a drive to raise
$1,600,000. The UN also has appealed for
help for the tens of thousands of Somalis
affected by the tsunami for which the death
toll has risen to 298. (Source: BBC News,
1/6/1005; 17Jis Day [Lagos], 1/5/1005).
A Tsunami is Possible in
Nigeria
The Nigerian Red Cross urged
Nigerians to be prepared for the possibility
of a Tsunami-type calamity, as Nigeria's
western boundary with Cameroon is an
active volcanic region. A statement by the
See. Gen. of the society warned that the
nation has been witnessing some tidal
waves in the coastal areas, especially in
Lagos and some other coastal areas, and
some land mass has been washed away.
The Red Cross urged that the country
must develop the appropriate capacity to
manage and cope with natural and manmade
disasters. (Source: 17Jis Day [Lagos],
1/6/1005).
Abacha Loot Will be Returned
to Nigeria
The $500 million believed to have been
stolen by late military leader Gen. Sani
Abacha and hidden in Swiss banks will be
returned to Nigeria, according to the
Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria.
The decision of the Swiss government
4 FON NEWSLElTER
disregards the appeal filed by the Abacha
family last September against the
reStitution of the money. Although the
case is still pending before the Swiss
Supreme Court, the Ambassador
reportedly said that the SwissGovernment
has indicated that the $500 million is of
criminal origin and that it has to be given
back to Nigeria. This is to be a test case that
",ill be used to encourage others to follow
suit. (Source: 17Jis Day [Lagos], 1/14/
1005).
Wodd Bank Provides Loan of
$240 Million
The World Bank has provided Nigeria a
loan of $140 million to pursue economic
reforms. The World Bank Country Director
said that part of it would be used to
increase transparency and to fight
corruption, while the other part would be
used to open up the solid mineral sector
of the economy. (Source: Vanguard
[Lagos], 1/15/1005).
Nigeria Will Phase Out
Chloroquine Malaria
Treatments
Nigeria will phase out malaria-resistant
drugs such as chloroquine immediately and
adopt the World Health Organization's
recommendation to use the more effective
but more expensive artemisinin-based
combination therapy. Artemisinin is an
anti-malarial agent ell:tractedfrom the dry
leaves of a Chinese herb, Artemisia annua,
also known as quinghaosu or sweet
wormwood. According to a health ministry
statement, there is drug resistance to not
only chloroquine, introduced in the 1950s,
but also to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine
(Fansidar), introduced in the 1990s. The
problem of drug-resistant malaria has been
compounded by a wide circulation of fake,
adulterated, or substandard drugs in
Nigeria, often leading to the wrong
diagnosis of the disease and associated
drug failures. According to Nigeria's food
and drug administration agency, more than
60 percent of pharmaceuticals on sale in the
country are fake, substandard or
adulterated due to the presence of
powerful criminal gangs trading in
counterfeit drugs.
Although artemisinin-based drugs are
currently ... imported . to Nigeria, the health
mmlstry ISattemptmg to get
pharmaceutical firms to produce them
locally, and the National Institute of
Pharmaceutical Research and Development
in Abuja has launched a project for largescale
growing of the plant, Artemisia
annua. (Source: IRIN,1/15/1005).
Doctors Suspend 7-Week Strike
The National Association of Resident
Doctors (NARD) suspended their 7-week
strike on January 13, following release of
about N8 billion by the Federal
Government as part of efforts to resolve
the crisis. Although NARD suspended the
strike, it gave the government two weeks
within which all its members should
receive their full entitlements. Other
reasons for the strike included: some of
NARD's members had not been paid the
12 percent increase in basic allowance; some
had not received leave grant for two years,
annual increase for four years, and update
courses allowance in the last three years;
many NARD members had not been
promoted for a long time, nor paid the
N1,500 teaching allowance; and those who
sat for professional exams had not yet been
paid. In response, before providing the
benefits demanded by NARD, the Minister
of Health has ordered personnel
verification to ascertain the true staff status
of the Ministry.
The week before NARD suspended its
strike, the National Association of Nigeria
Nurses and Midwives (NANNM)
suspended their proposed strike, after
issuing a 7-day ultimatum to the
government to pay all outstanding salaries
and arrears owed to members of the
association. Members of the Non­
Academic Staff Union of Education and
Related Institutions (NASU) in the
Teaching/Specialist Hospitals across the
country alsowent on a five-day warning
strike over the issue of compensation.
Since the NARD strike began on
December 6, services at all teaching
(Continued
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Nigeria news ...
(Cantin liedfrom page.f.)
hospitals, federal medical centers, and state
goyernment-owned health institutions had
stopped, and hospitals recorded more than
20,000 lives lost because of the strike. The
University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital
Enugu and the Lagos UniyersityTeaching
Hospital recorded the highest number of
casualties. (Source: DAily Cbmnpian [Lagos],
1/11/2005, 1/24/2005; Diily Tmst
[Abuja], 1/5/2005; 7/'JisDiy[Lagos], 1/
24/2005; V;mgJl,ml[Lagos], 1/24/2005).
Nigerian Police Go to Sudan
A contingent of 150policemen,
including senior officers, \\'as ready to
depart at the end of January for peacekeeping
operations in Sudan. Nigeria's
Inspector General of Police assured the
Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria of the
Force's readiness to assist Sudan and any
other African country with peace-keeping.
(Source: 7/'JisDiy [Lagos], 1/24/2005).
PAN Exports 200 Cars
Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (pAN),
Kaduna, has entered the international
vehicle export market after exporting 200
Peugeot 406 cars to Cameroon, Cote
d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Gabon. This initial
export is believed to mark a major
development in Nigeria's economic
advancement and diversification. (Source:
Daily Cbmnpian [Lagos], 1/24/2005).
MSF Will Expand HIV / AIDS
Treatment Scheme
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF;
Doctors Without Borders), plans to
increase the number of people living with
HIV / AIDS who receive comprehensiye
treatment and counseling for free in Lagos.
The number currently receiying such
tre,ltment in this city of 14million people
would rise from 250 to nearly 1,000 by the
end of the year. Although 2,350 HIV
positive people are enrolled in the
program, only 50receive antiretroviral
drugs, as others have not reached the stage
where they would be beneficial.
The MSF program, based at Lagos
General Hospital in partnership with the
Lagos state department of health, offers a
comprehensive range of services, including
testing, counseling, medical care, nutritional
support, and free AR V treatment.
Nigerians lucky enough to be included in
the program pay 1,000Naira ($7.00)per
month fortheir AR V drugs, although the
fee does not cover the cost of drugs for
opportunistic infections nor the frequent
laboratory tests \\,hich are necessary.
According to government figures, 5
percent of Nigeria's adult population is
now estimated to be HIV positive, an
increase from less than 2 percent in 1991.
The National Action Committee on AIDS
(NACA) said that 100,000people would
be enrolled this year in the government's
own AR V treatment scheme, a si..-...:-fold
increase of the present number of
beneficiarit's. (Source: IRIN,1/2412oo5).
Chairman of Nigeria's Ruling
Party Resigns
The Chairman of Nigeria's rulingPDP
party, Audu Ogbeh, submitted his
resignation with effectfrom 28 February,
under pressure from President Obasanjo,
after warning him that his government was
becoming unpopular and that he might be
toppled in a coup. The resignation comes
amid increasing strife within the party that
has exposed vote-rigging by the party in
the 2003 general elections and has
undermined Obasanjo's image. Some
believe that the disputes are connected to
power plays by rival candidates jockeying
for the party's nomination in Nigeria's 2007
presidential election. (Source: IRIN,1/111
2005).
Chanchangi Airlines Resumes
Operations
Chanchangi Airlines resumed full flight
operations five days after its planes were
grounded follo\\'ing an incident involving
one of its B727-200 aircraft at Murtala
Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. Except
for two B737s, all five B727-200aircraft in
its fleet, including the one that bellylanded,
were grounded to enable a team of
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
and Aviation Safety Inspectors to carry out
inyestigations. The NCAA indicated that
the airline has had a satisfactory
maintenance procedure and that an earlier
Clean Report of Safety had been issued on
November 28. (Source: 17Jis Day [Lagos],
1/412005).
Nigerian Artist Wins Ravenhill
Fellowship Award
Nigerian artist Tobenna Okwuosa has
been named the winner of the 2004-05
Ravenhill Fellowship Award which will
provide him with a residency program at
the Visual and Performing Arts
Department, Worcester State College,
Worcester, Massachusetts. The award carries
a cash prize of $7,500. Okwuosa is a first
class sculptor graduate of the U niwrsity of
Benin.
While in the U.S., Okwuosa will work
and research on the Igbo philosophical
metaphor of the Ikenga. In Igbo
mythology, Ikenga belongs to the cult of
the right hand, or the achievement spirit of
the Igbo. He will also use the opportunity
to visit museums and institutions that
house those original works that served his
ancestors in achieving success.
The Ravenhill fellowship is awarded
annually to an African art historian, cultural
anthropologist, museum curator, or visual
artist, among others. The fellowship,
according to the founders is intended to
give deserving individuals the opportunity
to travel, conduct research, or practice their
art in North American and European
museums. (Source: Vanglf£7rd [Lagos], 1/
6/2005).
Two Admirals Dismissed
Disappearance
Pride
over
of MT African
Two Rear Admirals were found guilty
and convicted for the disappearance of the
oil bunkering tanker, MT African Pride (See
earlier story in FONNewsletter9, 1:11).A
third suspect was discharged and acquitted
of all criminal charges. The ruling
confirmed suspicions that some of
Nigeria's top military commanders are
involved in "bunkering" -the theft of
(Cantin lied on page 6)
SPRING 2005 5

Nigeria news ...
(ContinJledfi-mn p.1ge5)
crude oil in the Niger delta for sale to
tankers waiting offshore. Oil company
officialsestimate that the practice,
conducted by heavily armed gangs, steals
up to 10percent of Nigeria's oil
production of nearly 2.5 million barrels
per day.
The court martial ruled that Rear
Admirals Francis Agbiti and Samuel
Kolawole should be demoted to the rank
of commodore and dismissed from the
mvy for their negligence in allowing the
arrested tanker African Pride to escape from
navy custody in Lagos harbor last August.
Two junior navy officers told the court
martial that they \\-erepaid 250,000 naira
each (51,850)by a Lieutenant Commander
on October 31,2003, to escort the MT
African Pride from Lagos Harbor to the
high seas where the cargo was transferred
to a waiting ship and replaced by seawater.
Such cargo is e,-entually sold on the world
market, and the funds from the illegal trade
have helped keep the Niger delta flooded
with weapons in the hands of militia
groups and gangs which frequently disrupt
oil production and kidnap oil workers to
demand jobs and other local benefits.
The tribunal noted that Rear Admiral
Kolawole conspired with some officials
from the Russian Embassy who visited
MT African Pride without the permission
of the chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and that
five days after the visit, the ship, valued at
$2.2 million, disappeared.
The Federal Government has now
procured 15new patrol boats from the U.S.
to attempt to reduce the theft of crude oil
from its coastal oilfields in the Niger delta.
The boats, which have a top speed of 50
knots, will be used in the creeks and in the
high seasto stop the illegal activity. (Source:
DIi1y Tmst[Abuja], 1/6/2005; IRIN, 1/7/
2005; Vanglh1rd [Lagos], 1/4/2005, 1/6/
2005).
Nigeria Reduces Petrol Price
Increases
Last October, a strike against an increase
in the price of petroleum was called off on
the condition that the government would
reverse the price increase within two weeks.
6 FON NEWSLETIER
At the last moment, the government
reduced the petrol price increase. Although
this is a relief to Nigerians in the short nm,
it does not help the long-term goal of
breaking the cycle that makes Nigeria reliant
on imported petrol, which leads to
unpopular fuel shortages.
Nigeria exports ,1bout2.5 million
barrels of crude oil a day, but it then must
buy back petroL diesel, and other refined
fuels from non-oil producing countries,
such as Spain, at a much higher price.
Nigeria has failed to reinvest enough of its
oil export profits in its own oil industry to
maintain efficient refineries and a supply
network that can distribute the fuel to
sef\·ice stations. The restoration of
Nigeria's refineries, owned by Nigeria's
state-owned oil company, has long been a
priority. However, mismanagement,
corruption, and political appointees have
left the refineries in a sad state. In addition,
as oil prices have been rising on the
international market, the gap between the
world market price and the Nigerian
domestic price has become ever wider, and
has created a disincentive for international
im-estment. Moreover, the amount of
money spent on subsidizing fuel is a large
drain on the budget. (Source: BBC News,
11/15/2004,11/16/2004).
European Airlines Upgrade
Services to Nigeria
German carrier Lufthansa Airlines will
begin operations to Port Harcourt on April
7. The airline will fly its latest Airbus A330­
300directly to Port Harcourt every Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday, on a schedule to
meet the requirements of the local oil
industry. The airline will upgrade its
sef\'ices to and from Accra, Ghana, as well,
as it increases its services from four times
weekly to a daily flight, operating via Lagos.
The airline also has regular flights to Abuja
and daily flights to Lagos.
Air France has improved its service on
the Lagos-Paris route with the introduction
of a B777-200ER (e>..1:endedrange) fully
equipped for comfort. The 270 seat widebody
aircraft has replaced the 211 passenger
A330-200 which had previously served the
route. The new aircraft features flat beds in
First Class and offers passengers in
Business Class and Economy Class
personal videos and telecommunications
facilities.Nigerian cultural interests will also
be cared for with the introduction of
Nigerian movies on bO.:tedition of the festival will be held on
July 9, 2005. (Source: 17JisDay[Lagos], 1/
6/2005).
(ContinJled on page 7.)
www.friendsofnige
ria. org

Nigeria news ...
(Cantin /fedfivm page 6
President Obasanjo is a
Successful Farmer
President Obasanjo is the Head of
State of Nigeria; he is also a successful
farmer. A spokesman revealed that the
president has been earning 30 million Naira
($250,000) a month from his farm in Otta.
The information was made public in order
to crush rumors that he has been stealing
money from the Nigerian state. The farm is
both very large and diversified, with
various livestock, including chickens,
ostriches, pigs, and fish, as well as crops.
There is also a conference center on the
grounds where the president recently
hosted a regional summit on the crisis in
Cote d'Ivoire. The farm is managed by
professionals and much of the income in
reinvested to develop the property. (Source:
BBC News, 11124/2004).
SaroWiwa's Remains Return
Home
Nine years ago minority rights activist
Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogonis
were hanged and buried in unmarked
graves. They had campaigned against oil
exploitation in their homeland in the Niger
Delta and were condemned to death after a
controversial trial. Four years ago the
Nigerian government permitted u.S.
forensic experts to search for the remains.
The family welcomed the return of Saro­
\Xfiwa's remains to his home town of Bane
for proper interment, believing that it is the
beginning of closure but insisting that the
Nigerian government still owes a debt of
honor to families of people wrongfully
killed by the state. (Source: BBC News,
12/1/2004).
UK and Nigeria Agree to
Target Traffickers
Every year, thousands of women and
children are smuggled from Africa into
Europe and exploited for sex and cheap
labor. It is believed that more of these
women and children are smuggled from
Nigeria than from any other Afric,m
country. However, there is a tradition of
families in rural areas, not only in Nigeri,l
but throughout many countries in Africa,
sending their children to the cities to get a
better education and a better life. But,
instead of a better life, the children are
often trafficked to Europe and exploited.
While police try to solve a recent
murder of a Nigerian child whose body
was found in the Thames River, authorities
from Britain and Nigeria have been trying
to resolve some of the problems of
trafficking. The UK Solicitor General and
the Nigerian Attorney General signed a
Memorandum of Understanding in
November to share intelligence on
criminals and make it easierto e:-"'1radite
suspects. The two countries also agreed
that their police forces will share detection
methods and equipment and that the
governments will give medical and financial
support to victims, and especially to
persons prepared to give evidence against
traffickers. (Source: BBC News, 11/17/
2004).
Afrihub Initiates Nigerian
Connectivity
Afrihub plans to assist Information
and Communication Technology (lCT)
Parks in forty universities throughout
Nigeria beginning in January. TheICT
Parks will connect the institutions to the
entire world and make communications
easier. Afrihub is a U.S. based company
which has Zinox, the Nigerian IT identity,
as its country partner. The first of the ICT
Parks were to be launched by Afrihub at
the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN)
and Enugu in mid-January. The UNN
launch will be followed in the first quarter
of 2005 by launches of ICT Parks in the
Federal University of Technology, Owerri;
Federal Polytechnic, Nekede; and the
NnamdiAzikiwe University, Awka. In the
2ndquarter of 2005, AfriHub intends to
open three ICT parks in Western Nigeria
and another three centers in three
universities in the North in the 3,dquarter
of 2005. The ICT Parks are to include a
state-of-the art cyber center with more than
100PCs with high speed internet access, a
multi-line callcenter for high quality
domestic and international telephone
connections, and campus-wide wireless
ex1:ensionfor future growth. Each Park is
also to have computer and multimedia
equipped classrooms for US instructor led
technical training. (Source: Vang/fard
[Lagos], 1/5/2005).
Nigeria Wins African Youth
Cup
Nigeria won the 14Th African U-21
Soccer Championship in Cotonou, Benin,
on January 29, beating the defending
champions Egypt 2-0. Captain Isaac
Promise scored both of the goals for the
Flying Eagles. Nigeria, which had already
qualified for the upcoming W orld Youth
Championship in the Netherlands, won all
five of its matches. Nigeria also won the
trophy in 1983, 1985, 1987, and 1989, the
era regarded as the Golden Age of Nigerian
youth football. (Source: Nigeria First
[Abuja],1/31/2005).-
For the Peace Corps
Fallen
We who left you
Before our time
May return if you reach
back
And carry a world
With us
Within you.
Let our monument
Be the mark you make
In the life you lead of
peace and purpose.
Do, so that we may do
Act, so that we may act
Live, so that we may live
Again, through you.
-by
Donald Maclean
SPRING 2005 7

An Opinion Article
Nigeria's Political Prospects
by Ron Singer (Nigeria X)
January 13,2005
In 2000, many FON members bought and read Karl Maier's
17Jis HOl/se Has Fallm: Midn igbt in Nigeri.1. Going from one hot
spot to another, Maier concluded that the nation was on life
support, which struck me as unadulterated gloom-saying. Since
then, President Olusegun Obasanjo and his People's Democratic
Party (PDP) have prevailed in a major round of elections; oil and
gas revenues have become ever more vast; and the President has
sustained his heroic efforts to cleanse the Augean stables of
corruption. Somehow, then, the patient seems to have survived.
However, Nigeria today is dogged by many very serious crises,
some, ongoing, and some, more recent. Included in the second
category are several stemming directly from the elections.
Increasingly, one feels, President Obasanjo is becoming Fireman
Obasanjo.
In the Delta, disruption and violence had been at a low-tomedium
boil for decades until August 2004, when the heat was
suddenly turned up. Then, in the summer of 2003, in Warri, and a
year later, this time around Port Harcourt, the heat was turned up.
In Aug 2004, the self-proclaimed People's Volunteer Force (PVF),
an Ijaw militia, decreed that all oil production must stop by
October 1 (Independence Day)-or else. This threat was dubbed
"Operation Locust Feast," and its seriousness was exacerbated by
the fact that the PVF and other rebel groups have welldocumented
ties to the sitting (PDP) Governor of Rivers state.
Being dragged to the negotiating table by an Ijaw militia which he
had previously characterized as a band of thugs, must have made
President and former General Obasanjo sick. He still sits at that
uncongenial table.
In Plateau, a middle-belt state, Governor Joshua Dariye (also
PDP) mismanaged an ongoing conflict between Christian farmers
and Muslim herders. This conflict began with a dispute over
shrinking water and
land resources, which
soon spilled over into
partisan politics. In May
2004, as violence
escalated in Plateau, the
President suspended
Dariye and, with federal
legislative approval,
declared a sL\:-month
Suspended Governor of Plateau
State, Joshua Dariye.
8 FON NEWSLETIER
state of emergency. One
of the first acts of the
temporary
administration under
Major-General Chris
Alli was to revise figures
for the number of those murdered in Plateau's ethnic violence
from about 10,000 to almost 54,000. No recent news has emerged,
either of renewed fighting or of progress toward a negotiated
settlement.
The third disaster
area is the Igbo state of
Anambra. Sincethe 2003
elections, Anambra has
been rocked by persistent
and widespread unrest.
During the last three
months, the victorious
PDP candidate for
Governor, Chris N gige,
has had a falling out with
his political and financial
godfather, Chris Dba.
Violence has now Governor of Anambra State,
escalated to the verge of
Chris N gige.
anarchy. From the welter of charges and counter-charges, it has
emerged that this election was blatantly stolen. Recently, the
national PDP office got tough, suspending both Ngige and Dba,
and it seems likely that the Anambran election results will be
annulled any day now.
Dogged by these failures and internal scandals, the PDP is in
serious disarray. On January 11, 2005, the forced resignation of
national party chairman, Chief Audu Ogbe, a member of the
northern PDP faction led by Vice-President Atiku Abubakar in
opposition to the faction led by Obasanjo and by ex-military ruler
and multi-millionaire, Ibrahim Babangida. was announced.
Ordinary Nigerians must be wondering. "What nehl?"
What conclusions can be drawn from this litany of trouble? In
one respect, my enumeration of current hot spots has the same
weakness as Maier's. Although the three crises are only the worst
among many, you cannot really gauge the health of the whole
nation by highlighting its regional problems. In fact, a better gauge
may be a survey which was conducted in September-October 2003
by an organization called Afrobarometer, which measured degrees
of satisfaction with Nigeria's current democracy. In the north, a
majority expressed satisfaction; results in the west and middle belt
were mixed; and, in the east and midwest, there was little or no
satisfaction. At least equally significant was the finding that,
between 2001 and 2003, satisfaction eroded in every region.
A second, and signally important gauge of the health of
Nigeria is the President's responses to calls from reformers such as
Chief Anthony Enahoro and Wole Soyinka for a national
conference. The main agenda would be constitutional reform,
including the weakening of federal ties in the interest of adding
tensile strength to whatever union would remain. In the past,
Obasanjo has discredited the motives of self-proclaimed
reformers, and, indeed, over the past decade or so, Nigeria has
suffered the same blurring of freedom fighters into opportunistic
bandits that has bedeviled so many other troubled nations.
Furthermore, no one should ignore the risk that a national
conference could create expectations which, unrealized, might
trigger even more chaos. As Professor Peter Lewis puts it, "The
(Continued on page 9)
www.friendsofnigeria.
org

Nigeria's Political Prospects...
(Contin liedfrom fMge8.)
higher the build-up, the higher the stakes." As an armchair
observer, I am chary of advocating pro-Democracy measures
which could lead to the disintegration of this nation-not my
own-of 137 million people.
Now, however, presumably moved by a sense of mounting
crisis, President Obasanjo has shifted ground and agreed to a
conference. On January 13, he set the ground rules, himself,
presumably in order to maintain control: the participants would be
former heads of state, 50 other people of his choosing, and 350
other "nominees," drawn from various groups. Any decisions
would have to be ratified by the federal legislature, whose
members would not participate in the conference.
The reformers, on the other hand, have now formed a huge
umbrella organization directed by Chief Enahoro and Wole
Soyinka. They are demanding a sovereign national conference with
much wider representation, all of the delegates selected by the
people: women; environmentalists; opposition political parties
(29);labor, ethnic, pro-democracy and human rights groups; and
more. And they want the conclusions of the conference to be
binding. The negotiation -or jockeying-has begun.
What might a specific agenda look like? Would it include
strengthening the roles of the states and local councils? Which
federal powers would be negotiable? What federal structure could
work for this nation in which 40% belong to "minority"
nationalities (i.e.neither Igbo, Hausa/Fulani, nor Yoruba)? And
would decentralization really make Nigeria more governable?
There would also have to be an economic agenda. Would the
conference address present inequities in revenue sharing, whereby
the oil states, which produce 90% of the revenues, get back 13%,
the same as the northern peanut producers, who generate 2%? The
current, piecemeal approach to local development demands-­
greasing the squeaky wheel-has clearly failed.
Depending on how you see these crises and the quickening
movement toward some form of national dialogue, Nigeria today
is moving eithertoward disintegration, or beyond it. Already
looming are the 2007 elections, in which it is widely accepted that
the North will be able to reclaim the presidency. Recently,
Babangida forced a confab with Obasanjo, which immediately cast
"IBB" (aka "Maradona "), who is much less given to compromise
than even the autocratic Obasanjo, as a front runner (along with
V.P. Atiku). If nothing comes of reform efforts before 2007, but
if the center nevertheless manages to hold, the PDP will likely
become in Nigeria what the PRI was in Mexico until its recent loss
ofpower.·
Note: 17Jispiecedmwsllpon my/ollr FONNcwsletterelection amdes
and a 10ngeraJticle, "Oil: Nigeria's Slippery Politics"(Blilletin
o/tlle
Atomic Scientists,jan-Feb 2005, U!l.flW.tllebldletin.orgJ.My sOllrcesinclllde
thellsllalprint(e.g. New York Tzmes) and intemet(e.g. Nigm1 Today
Online: Nigeria2Da)@w/.con~)sollrces, p/ilspersonal com 111/117 imtions
from un.vrena' Uzcdilnlnd,a friend from Anambm; Bromren A fanby.1I7d
OIly Olren, hllman rights war/eel'sspecializing in, respectively, tileDelta
,1I7dPI.1teall;and, as IIsllal,tbe inwlllable Peter Lewis, 0/A lIIerimn
Un iwsity.
Finally, Irecommend tlMt thosewho arepartiCillarly interested in the
issllesbroae/led in this article read at least thefirst section ('Slim mmy .1I7d
Recolllmendations'Jo/thenx:entlyreleased
lights, especiallyRecommendations
0p"ta Panel report on IJllnk1l7
13-20and 23-26, which argile injawr
o/"bottom'lIp palaveJs, "mther tlMn a "top-down" sQveJugn national
con/erena'. 17xreportc.1I7/x follnd at http://www.op"tapanebr:port.org
In the latest Asoka information, two new Nigerian Fellows
were introduced.
Onimim Briggs in Rivers State is "Documenting Customary
Law" with a goal of creating legal reform. She heads a team that
visits communities to learn traditional legalpractices in order to
avoid distortions and abuses of power by traditional chiefs and
elders. Her process entails design and data collection, dialogue in
the communities, and analysis of the information collected. The
last step is to verify the findings and to create accountability for the
conclusions. The team aims to achieve consensus about
customary law with allthose involved: elders, lawyers and citizens.
Ashoka Update
Peter Azolibi in Anambra State has a staff of 17plus resources
people and over 1000 volunteers distributing information and
genotype testing for sickle cell anemia. About 5% of Nigerians (2
million) have genetic diseases with sickle cell anemia the most
predominant. The sufferers were traditionally labeled "spirit
children" and most were not taken for medical attention. Peter's
project is designed to heighten public awareness in order to lessen
the occurrence of sickle cell. An additional bonus of the project
gives those tested a photo identification which is apparently very
useful.
Both of these Fellows are expected to share their project
information to others in Nigeria and abroad for emulation.·
ASHOKA NIGERIA ~'
SPRING 2005 9

The Birth Of A New Nigerian University
FON member, Jim Garofalo, is appointed Academic Vice President
By Jim Garofalo, Nigeria (04) 62-64
Efforts to answer that question can be seen in the educational
activities started in Yola Nigeria. With the ell.1:remegenerosity of
the current Vice President of Nigeria, a pre-school, elementary and
secondary school have been create from his personal funds. He
has influenced the building of a nursing college and teaching
hospital in Yola. Two years ago he entered into a five year
mentoring contract with American University r:w ashington, DC)
to create an USA style university, to open in
September 2005 and pledged his fortune to this
endeavor.
When things have
Over the nell.1: ten years a campus will be built to fallen apart for a
house the academic programs, students, faculty and
ury long time, what
staff. Three schools will open this fall: School of Arts
can be done to start
and Science, School of Business and
Entrepreneurship and School ofInformation
to put things
Technology. In three years two additional schools
together again?
will be opened: School of Law and School of
Engineering. Over the nell.1: ten years faculty and staff will be
needed to facilitate the learning of the students, create the collegephysically.
intellectually and morally, and establish a USA higher
education "culture" (minus as many of the negative features as Adamawa
possible).
The college benefactor wants the college to be a model of how
people irregardless of gender, tribe, religion, ethnic membership
and nationality can come together into a wholesome, positive,
productive community. He wants students to become committed
to making Nigeria a place where its people can realize their
potential in a tolerant and healthy manner. In ten years student
enrollments are project to be at 4,000. Students are to be selected
by academic performance and community service criteria. There is
to be no discrimination based on gender, ethnic group, disability,
religion, etc. A mandate from the board is that at least twenty
percent of the students are to be female.
The task ahead of creating the college is huge,
and we welcome whatever support the Friends of
Nigeria membership would like to provide.
Certainly working in faculty and/ or staff positions
would be welcomed. Establishing a network of
contacts to aid in academic and service projects,
recruiting exchange faculty and students and
informing the general academic community of the
college and the opportunities there, would also be
helpful. Simply encouraging us from time to time
would be treasured by those of us more directly involved.·
Jim GarfitlohasrecentlybeenappointedAcademic
Vzce
President of AB71-American University oJNigeria, Yola,
State, Nigeria.
For specific infimnation about avaiLtb/e AA UN positions and
thecallege in general you can contract him directly until March
Garofi;(jfuquinas.ed
or at all times @un@llner:ican.edu.
1at:
•
!
General Purpose Building, ABTI-American University of Nigeria, Yola,
Nigeria 17 Runion
L
A report of Nigeria 17's reunion in
Washington D.C.last summer was reported
in the last newsletter. However, no photos
were available at the time. From left
counterclockwise: Stefan Goodwin;Carol
and John Wilson; Kevin Burke; AI Cardwell;
Jean Boyd; Joe Kapostasy; Bette; Helen and
Larry Yarbrough; Dixie Adeniran and Jack
Ellison; Rudy Reiblein; Phyllis;
unidentified friend. Photo: Courtesy Jean
BO_Y_d.
10 FON NEWSLETTER www.friendsofnigeria.org

Diary of a Peace Corps Volunteer
A Walk Down memory Lane ...from letters sent home ...July 17, 1966.
By Judith Bloch (20) 66-67
"The story I am about to tell actually happened
exaggerated by any means. Two volunteers
to me; it is not
and myself, led by
Andrew, their Nigerian ste\\'ard, \\'ent out to Andrew's fathers village
on Saturday. We went most of the way by bicycle.
Judith and some of her students at Igarra in 1966.
We started out at 8 0'clock in the morning
and took a scenic
tarred road for about 9 miles east out of U ghelli. We passed two
small villages along the road. The houses were built on a wooden
branched
crisscrossed fran1e, and \\'ere then packed with clay and dirt
to make the walls. Most of the houses were crumbling
in parts. The
roofs were thatched and were made from palm branches. Off to the
side of the road, after the villages, you could really see the swamps.
At the end of the tarred road we entered another Yillage. No
"Europeans"
had been there for over a year. We are the only
Americans here aside from a few Southern Baptist Missionaries. We
rode in and out between the houses on the dirt, and the \\'hole
village soon knew we were there. They started running
after us,
especially the children. Have you everturned around to ftnd 100
people
behind? We were on a dirt road going out of the village by
this time. As we left the town the bush started getting thicker
and the
path narrowed until it was about 10 inches wide. It became difficult at
times to pedal on the path, and more than
once that day I fell into the brush alongside.
The brush or bush along the path was about
5 feet tall, sometimes long grass or
cornftelds. These areas have been cleared and
then planted. The corn here isthick kemeled,
and fairly grainy and very tough. We don't eat
it often because if you cook it long enough
to get it soft, the kernels pop and it gets
mushy.
The land was flat most of the way. After
the cornftelc:ls, we came through
area. This was just like going through
a rubber tree
a tall
forest. Pretty soon the path began getting
swampy, and we rook off our sandals and
walked through the slushy, ankle-deep water.
Then we resumed riding for awhile, then
wading, until we couldn't
walked half a mile through
ride any longer. We
water knee-deep at
times. Andrew told us that during the dry
season there is no water at ,1// here, and you can walk on the paths. It
really seemed incredible as we have not had much rain at all yet this year.
Pretty soon it was getting too deep for wading. Andrew let out some
sort of a scream call at this point. This was to inform the canoe that
crosses from this point to one about a half-mile away, that we wanted
him to come pick us up.
We passed several people along the road before getting to this
point. Most were women, collecting ftrewood or gathering cassava
roots for marketing. The canoe came but there were enough cassava
waiting before us so that we had to wait for the canoe to go and
come back again. This took about -l5 minutes.
So \\'e just found an
old log to sit on. After awhile we felt like going wading, so \\'e pulled
our skirts thigh-high and did so.
The canoe was hand-dug out, made from a large log about ~o
feet long and -l feet wide. It was fairly leaky and in the bottom \\'ere
many places that had been plugged with pieces of rags. There was
also a small pan for taking water out of the bottom of the boat and
putting it back in the river where we preferred it to be. My friend
Rosemary didn't realize what the cloth was doing on the bottom.
There was one thin 4-inch -wide plank that was across the middle of
the canoe. We got the best seats, the plank. All the other people either
stood up or leaned against the ends. They
kept loading, and loading,
until we were fully packed in with no room to spare. The canoe edge
was gradually getting closer and closerto the water line. With all the
people, bicycles, and loads of wood, we had just 2 inches of
allowance on each side. The man stood on the back end with a 1afoot
pole to guide the rear, while another man paddled in from. The
paddles were about -l feet long and pointed
\\'ater.
where they entered the
As we started out, a light drizzle began to fall on us. There were
many flowers growing at the surface of the water: small yellow buds,
purple daisy types, and genuine white water lillies, also much string­
(Cantin lied anpage 12)
SPRING 2005 11
A /

Diary ...
(Continued from p

After the destruction
Green Initiatives Arrive in Nigeria
of Odi in 1999, the town rises again.
On Dee. 10,2004, the other Earth Rights Institute Co-Director,
Annie Goeke, and I returned from ,1two week journey to Bayelsa
State, Nigeria, hosted by colleague and leader, Gordon Abiama and
his wife, Rose. Francis Udisi, also from Odi but now living and
working in Philadelphia, has been a key Odi Green City project
leader as well.
It was a profound experience. Our presence was greatly
appreciated and our time well-utilized. The high point was the
Launching Ceremony for the Odi Ecovillage and Green City
Project. Note that Odi was destroyed by federal soldiers in 1999.
The town and its residents are still recovering from trauma,
hundreds having been killed.
The Ecovillage Project is a bright green ray of hope for the people
of Odi. Below is the Press Release for the Launching Ceremony.
A!ann,7 Haltzok
ealt!Jrts@p,wet
717-26-+-0957
King Shine welcomes Alanna Hartzok, Anne Goeke and
members of the Odi Ecovillage team.
PRESS RELEASE
ECOVILLAGE PROJECT FOR ODI
Five years after the destruction of Odi Town in Bayelsa State, a
coalition of local and international non governmental
organizations have decided to pool their resources to implement a
new approach to sustainable development that will bring
economic and social transformation to the community.
To this end, the partnering organizations are organizing a
foundation stone laying/local fund-raising ceremony at Odi Town
on November 30th under the distinguished chairmanship of His
Excellency, the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Dr Goodluck
Jonathan.
The N20 million local fund raising initiative which enjoys ,vide
support from illustrious sons and daughters of Odi from both
within and outside the country is expected to feature such high
profile personalities as the Hon. Minister of Science and
Technology, Prof. Turner Isoun, frontline Ijaw leader, Chief
Edwin Clark, Chief Abel Ebifemowei, the Speaker of Bayelsa
Assembly, Rt. Hon. Boyelayefa Debekeme, traditional rulers, top
businessmen and international representatiws of corporate
agencies organizations in Nigeria like the UNDP and USAID.
This proposed new development concept known as the
Ecovillage/ Green city, says Gordon Abiama, Director of Africa
Centre for Geoclassical Economics, one of the project partners,
during an interactive session with journalists at Odi, will stimulate
a rapid transformation of Odi Town from its current tragic state
into a new "Green City" model that ensures a healthy economic,
environmental and social community for all.
Mr. Abiama describes the Odi project as the first ecovillage
project in Nigeria, adding that the beginning phase of the is the
establishment of a Living and Learning Centre. It will aim to
promote and assist holistic sustainable community development
programmes while serving as a point of attraction for the wider
society.
Some of the platforms upon which the Centre intends to
operate, according to Mr. Abiama, are the promotion of
ecotourism, renewable energy, micro-enterprise, educational
dimensions, women's development, permaculture, information
technology and holistic health.
Already, reveals Mr. Abiama, consultations are at an advanced
stage for collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Science and
Technology on project implementation on several aspects of it.
Mr. Abiama further explainsthat the the ecovillage concept of
sustainable development rests on the recognition that villages are
treasured teachers rather than what developed communities see as
mere project beneficiaries.
What this means, he says, is that the ecovillage concept will
transform the remoteness and lack of modern infrastructure of
African village life from being the development problem to an
important piece of the answer. This means an enhancement of
village culture, community and even spirituality, while introducing
sustainable livelihoods and benefits of modern technology.
Mr. Abiama emphasizes that this solidarity with village
community way of life means a progression from a position of
self esteem rather than hopelessness and wretchedness due to the
loss of natural resources, spiritual values, livelihoods, and the
flight of village children to the city.
On a philosophical note, asserts Mr. Abiama, that until the
villages are comfortable, the cities will have no rest, and he calls on
all well meaning donor agencies to be identified with such a
positive and innovative initiative.
The overseas partners involved in this initiative are US based
Earth Rights Institute, Eco-earth Alliance and the Global
Ecovillage Network (GEN), all of which will be well represented at
the proposed ground breaking ceremony.· (Cantin lied 0/1 page 15.)
SPRING 2005 13

Nine Hills to Nambonkaha-
Two Years in the Heart of an African Village,
by Sarah Erdman (Ivory Coast 1998-2000)
published by Henry Holt and Company LLC 2003.
Reviewed by David Strain (07) 63-66
Sarah Erdman's account of her Peace Corps assignment as a
health worker in Nambonkaha, Ivory Coast, is exceptional.
Nambonkaha is a small town in northwestern Ivory Coast whose
citizens follow Islam and ancestor worship in equal measures, and
the community seems not far removed from what it was before
the colonizers intervened. Beautifully written in a self-deprecatory
style, Erdman brings a percepti"e \YJestern eye and sympathetic
heart to her exploration of ,1 village on the
cusp of change. She tackles the issues of aid
on the ground, and through the lives of the
villagers.
Erdman's writing skill creates more of a
sense of place than any recent book I can
remember. At times hilarious, at times
horrifying, her descriptions of her life with
,-illage elders, the health assistants she
recruits, the children she teaches, and the
mothers whose lives she tries to improve,
m,lke you feel a part of N ambonkaha. She
discovers that she appreciates many of the
values of this poor struggling village - its
egalitarianism and the mutual support which
holds everyone together. I was surprised that
the people are a surprisingly diverse lot for
such ,1 small place, differing tribes, languages,
religions and nationalities. From her intimate
exploration of the working of the
community, you begin to absorb why genital
T,,'o YeJrs In the HeJrl of an Alriean Village
SARAH
mutilation continues, why the use of condoms is ignored in the
face of known AIDs consequences (even by the health workers
teaching their use), why AIDs as the cause of death goes
unmentioned "out of politeness."
Modern life lurks in the outskirts. Electrical poles have been
erected but wires are not connected. Former villagers return from
Abidjan with their adopted city ways. AIDs has silently entered
village life,thanks in part to girlfriends in nearby Ferke. The
national government intrudes, and the
elders grouse that Abidjan ignores the north
- the facts bear this out.
LLS
ONKAHA
ERDMAN
TO
As Erdman finishes her second year,
electricity arrives and the ne,,- street lights
bring twenty-four hour day, to the delight
of the villagers. For Erdman, she fears that
some changes bring a deterioration, without
sufficient compensating gain, of the
community life she has come to love.
This fine book is helped by what it
leaves out. There's no palaver about the
Peace Corps or mention of other volunteers
or foreigners. Erdman focuses on the
people ofNambonkaha, on her life and
work with them, and on the effects of each
upon the other.
Read Nine Hills to Nambonkaha!!.
Available from Amazon.com, Barnes &
Nobleetc.
Sarah Erdman works in placement at Peace Corps headquarters. I met her in
November when she came to Miami at the im-itation of the South Florida group
to be one of the featured Peace corps authors reading their works at the Miami
International Book Fair. Her beautiful '-oice gave lifeto the almost poetic quality
of her prose. She received a grand m-ation.
The authors were honored by a potluck dinner. There in casual conversation
with her, I discovered her use of language carries over into casual speech. She
hopes to make a living though her writing. I hope so too .•
Greg Zell (06) 62-64 FON President
Sarah and some kids in Nambonkaha .
14 FON NEWSLETIER
. couretsy: Peacecorpswriters.org
www.lriendsoln
ige ria. 0 rg

Update file
Jacqui Basker Taylor (07) 63-65
H.iNigeria Returned Volunteers:
I am still aliw and was looking at your website to try to locate
William Melvin (09)63-65 and Charles DuPuy (11)64-66 who
were friends of mine in Nigeria. I was in Nigeria 7, located in
Bichi. I noticed I was not listed on your directory - 1'm not sure if
I am still a member of FON but want to be. I am still teachingand
just received my doctorate last year in theology and art history
from Oxford U niwrsity through the Graduate Theologic,11
Foundation. I did a study of the symbol of the cloud in Early
Christian Art in a study of a 6th c. mosaic in Rome, in Santi
Cosma e Damiano, dedicated to 2 healing saints who ,,'ere doctors
and treated people for free. I teach art in an elementary school in
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York-an inner-city
school in the midst of much powrty and the accompanying
problems. I also teach at the college level at Ne,,- Jersey City
University. NJ and the School of Visual Arts in NYC ",here I teach
art history surYeYcourses and philosophies of art.
My daughter followed in my footsteps and just returned from
teaching successfully for 2 years in Dakar, Senegal. My son, who
just married a wonderful woman from Taiwan, is a Teaching
Fellow with the City of New York in a middle-school in the South
Bronx.
I am also an exhibiting artist who lives in Westbeth, a residence
for artists, in Greenwich Village,NYG Coincidently, at my school
in Brooklyn, I taught with the daughter of the well-known
Nigerian writer, Rotimi. I haw several students immigrated from
Africa, and
I still remember some Hausa, and my daughter taught me
some Woloff on my visit to her in Senegal. My students' parents
are amazed to find a teacher who knows something of West
Afri ca.
I
Jacqui with her daughter, Ruah, her son Isaac
and his wife, Zoe.
I can be reached at my email jtaylor _basker@hotmail.com
at jtaylor9@nycboe.net
I would love to connect with old PCV friends.
Thanks. Jacqui Basker Taylor (07)63-65
or
Green Initiatives ...
(cantin liedfrOIll p,1ge 13.)
For further information visit:
http://www.earthrights.net/nigeriaieco-phn.htm
http·llw"", africaaction.org/docs99/0di9912.htm
http://www.gen-europe org/downloadslother Jeportsl
westafrica l.pdf
EarthRights Institute intends to organize ecoYillage
tours to odi in the future
Alanna Hartzok (1)and Gordon Abiama (r)
at the Launching Ceremonyof the Odi Ecovillage Project, November
30,2004.
SPRING 2005 15

Update File
Mary Blocksma (15) 65-67
-r
Me, Geoffrey Cleaver (British teacher) and Mr. G. Nwikina,
Director, Eastern Nigeria Library Board, try to untangle
some library difficulty in 1967.
I had so much fun in Enugu that I've never dared go to a
Pe.lCeCorps reunion, lest I have to explain myself. Because I grew
up in Pakistan, arriving in Nigeria felt to me like going home. I
don't remember experiencing culture shock at all. I loved my job as
a lecturer at the Eastern Nigeria University, and then as the first ever
Eastern Nigeria School Libraries Administrator, charged with
developing 1,200 secondary school libraries. I got the Eastern
Nigeria Ministry of Education (my office),Eastern Nigeria
University (where I helped train teacher librarians), the British
Council (which provided space for a model school library), and the
United States Peace Corps (which paid me) working together on
one project: some called it a miracle. I never suffered at all, except
for guilt. Although genuinely devoted and hard-working, I happily
sowed the first wild oats of my life. And what a life! I had an
apartment big enough to pinch hit for the PC hostel when it
closed, and I had a loyal employee, a man with a family of six,
who pampered me for both years: cooked, cleaned, did my laundry,
met guests when I wasn't there, and protected my privacy like a
tiger. I feltlike royalty.
My culture shock struck
hard on my return to the
United States, where, as a
global nomad, I still have not
found a comfortable fit. I went
Mary in Bay City, 2004
16 FON NEWSLETIER
to University of Michigan
for a Masters in Library Science,
hoping to return to Nigeria
better qualified for the job I
loved, but the Biafran War
prevented that. Within the year,
I married Daniel Kuhn, whom
I met shortly after my return
home, in Hawaii weeks after
he'd been nearly killed in
Vietnam, and after only ten
days of actually being together.
I put him through University
of Chicago working at the
Chicago Public Library, then
DePaul University library. In
1970,we moved to Wyoming,
where I became Director of
the Albany COlmty Library
system.
\Vhen I was thirty, my son,
Dylan, was born. At thirtyhe,
divorced, I moved with Mary in Nigeria in 1966.
Dylan to Boston to become a
writer and soon became a staff writer for Addison-Wesley's
phonetic reading program. I worked on that for three years, both
in Boston and in California, before going free-lance. I've since
authored over twenty-five books for children and adults, several
celebrating my beloved Great Lakes. Fifteen years ago I moved
back to Michigan, and started painting, living on an island,
illustrating my own work and, creating countless prints, cards, and
original watercolors and acrylics, not to mention quilts, jewelry, and
even potholders. I presently reside in Bay City, Michigan, in an old
Victorian house with high ceilings, tall windows, and great light. I
do hospice work, teach sometimes at a community college, and try,
as best I can in these tough days for free spirits, to live with
enthusiasm.
Go to cyberhobo.net
to meet my adventurous son. •
Visit Mary at her Web site beaverislandarts.coml
My dad went to Lahore in 1949,taking his wife and three
kids (I was oldest at 7) to help build a hospital and deal with
the post-Partition carnage. He was the first plastic surgeon to
work full time in what was called the Third World. He was
there for five years and, after returning home for the health
and education of his family, every year afterthat, for many
years, spent maybe a
month travelling to other
needy placestraining
doctors and doing critical
repairs. Before long, he was
persuading other Grand
Rapids doctors to do the
same. He was, I believe,
the first real doctor
without borders, an
organization that was
• • partially inspired by my
M . Paki tan h 'd 10 father, Dr. Ralph
ary m s w en age . Blocksma.
www.friendsofn
ige ria. org

"Lost" Nigeria Peace Corps People
Listed below are 217 Nigeria RPCV s, 12Nigeria PC staff, and 15 individuals who have been identified as having
served in Nigeria on a list or NPCA directory, but whose identity isunknown. If you have any information
on any of these individuals (even if it is not a complete address) please contact
Peter Hansen, 1203 Cambria Court, Iowa City, IA 52246, pjhansen@ia.net, (319)351-3375.
Nigeria 1 (1961-63)
Eisenburg, Barry S
Nigeria 2 (1961-63)
Longcore, Randall]
Mosley,Joan (Franklin)
Pibel, David M
Randazzo, Angelo T
Nigeria 3 (1961-63)
Hawkins, Thomas W
McDowell, David W
Nigeria 4 (1962-64)
Koenig, Mary Jane
Law, Shirley A
McDowell, Diane
(Kenny)
Moore, Mary Jo
Parsons, Raymond L
Sweeney, Charles H
Nigeria 5 (1962-64)
Gault, Mildred (Millie)
Sreen, Ronald M
.Jhillips, Robert L
Veatch, Laurelyn Kay
Nigeria 6 (1962-64)
Barnes, Mary Ellen
Davis, David K
Forbes, Daniel F
Hamilton, Grace A
Nigeria 7 (1963-65)
Bigelow, Judith S
Boehme, Gay (Gaston)
Chamberlin, John W
Eisenman, Avis J
Henwood, Janice (King)
Hryhoryszyn, Michael A
Jones, William R
Kingston, Barbara J
Lile, Robert C
Mason, Mary (Frederick)
Miller, Linda,
Walker, Mamie (Mimi)
Wiliiarns,Judith M
Nigeria 8 (1963-65)
Brown, Patricia D
Dittrick, John W
Rinehart, Margery L
8igeria 9 (1963-65)
Mitchell, Karen F
Sayre, Louise I
Sinclair, Lorelei
Nigeria 11 (1964-66)
Conrad, Susan
(Campbell)
Gay, Christopher W
Golden, Lewis Jack (Lou)
Lile, Audrey (Williams)
Moline, Donald G
Schisler, James
Stewart, Mary Anne
Viola, Dolores T
Weiss,J ames D
Young,JohnL
Nigeria 12 (1964-66)
Brooks, Lewis S
Heilmann, Robert H
Kajita, Alvin T
McCracken, WilliamJ
McFarland, Dennis L
Musolf, Dale W
Winch III, Fred E
Nigeria 13 (1964-66)
Bumett,Joan A
Goldman, Roberta
(Clauss)
Goodwin, Gail L
Hanley, George R
Maeder, Charles H
MyersJr, CharlesR
O'Brien, Arturo T
Nigeria 14 (1965-67)
Alexander, Lila Louise
Davis,JamesH
Long, Sharon Ann
Nigeria 15 (1965-67)
Burns, Shaun A
Fitzsimmons, John R
Gold, Valeria V
Goldberg, Jeffrey M
Kelly, John W
LeClair, David F
Martula, Carol S
MeA voy, Harold (Hal)
McConachie, Nancy J
Quigley, Mary J0
Schneider, Douglas E
Tilney, Stephen M
Turner, ThomasA
Weaver, Geraldine
(Bruchhauser)
Webster, Arthur G
Webster, Karen Ann
(Hiner)
Nigeria 16(1965-67)
Bays, James L
Harmon, Robert A
Johnson, Larry G
Powell, Laurence M
Riddell, Richard W
Stone, Gilbert D
Wilson, Vernon
Nigeria 18 (1965-67)
Gates, Robert M
Nigeria 19 (1965-67)
Black, Thomas R
Brooks, Linda (Branche)
Christensen, Sandra
Garry, Sherry
Lendon, Emily (Moore)
McGowan, Sandra
(McNett)
Norris, Martha A
Paszel, John J
Schroeder, Erwin
(Buddy
Stephens, Melvin
Tilney, Dorothy
(Holmes)
Vaughn, Roger A
Weaver, Robert L
Nigeria 22 (1966-68)
Comer, Thomas J
Lewin, Gail Ellen
Littleton, Jane L
Morl, Barrett A
Murray, Mary M
O'Brien,MS
O'Brien, Sherrin
Washington, Allen C
Can you help?
Nigeria 20 (1966-67)
Bales, Mikal E
Barich, Bill W
Barkley, William J
Bennett, Laura (Ritter)
Brown, Rosemary M
Byrnes, Edward M
Byrnes, Marilyn
Dougherry, Suzanne L
Hodgson, Karla
Hollander, Robert J
Hunter, Olivia A
King, James K
Lund, James
Shauger, Cherry (Gray)
Smith, Richard G
Watkins Jr, Robert E
Nigeria 21 (1966-67)
Crawford, Richard H
Friedman, Warren
Kemp,AnnaC
Landau, David L
MacMillan, Gail L
Nigeria 23 (1966-67)
Arnold, Vernon
Berg, Sumner
Crawford, John E
Crockett, Nancy
Johnson, Larry A
Lott,Janet E
O'Brien, Cordelia
(Cordy)
Thomas, Donald J
Nigeria 24 (1966-68)
Anderson, Alvin C
Bailey, Roland R
Barry,PatrickB
Bolton, Laurence L
Carter, Robert A
Coleman, Collie
Cunliffe, James
Hinton, Jesse W
Kilpatrick, James J
Locke, Stephen L
McLean, William W
McClintick, Max W
Olson, Larry A
Repka, Joseph A
Roberts, William R
Stockman, Ronald J
Thome, Everett W
Nigeria 25 (1966-68)
Blank III, Peter
Farley, James K
Hicks, Michael J
Jones, Walter J
Martin, Thomas J
McCann, Calvert C
McDonaldJr, Robert A
Williams, James L
Nigeria 26 (1966-68)
Bell, Brenda (Taylor)
Davis, Clyde E
Harris, Michael
Kahan/Kohan, Betty
(Davis)
Meyer, Barbara C
Meyer, Frank A
Weaver, MichaelJ
Weaver, Patricia L
Nigeria 27 (1966-68)
Burns, John H
Shaffer, Dale L
Steig, John T
Nigeria 1 (1991-93)
Haberle, Tracy (Kutigi)
Robinson, Terrence W
Nigeria 2 (1992-94)
Blumenthal, Amy
Scholla, Kurt L
Nigeria 3 (1993-95)
Debruhl, Margaret R
PCVs - no group
Albro, Stan S
Cowles, Kenneth A
Gliessman, Leslie
Harms, Dwayne H
Hesse, Jonathan L
J ono, Robert T
McIntyre, WilliamJ
Skjong, Sharon D
Smith, David L
Sneed, Millicent (Ruby)
Dillingham, Ann E Peace Corps Staff
Freedman, Beatrice G Bell,Andy
Gibson, Paul (Frank) Buchanan, S Carroll
Grendahl, Elaine M Dines, George
Hoppe, Bruce E Doherry, Georgette
Kazanis, Deno J Hartman, Don J
Kle!n, Ivan.
Jackson,JamesP
Klem, Phyllis M Jennings, Henry L
Lamb, Montague (Monty) Lanz Hen C
Martinez, Eileen Genkins) Seele~, GeZge
Thurston,John W Wahl Curtis
Turner, Michael V Wtlfu Shirle
Woods, Angela ,y
Nigeria 29 (1967-69)
Frisch, Thomas E
Hanley,JohnA
Hayman, Agnes (Lane)
Nigeria 30 (1967-69)
Phillips, Roger C
Nigeria 31 (1968-70)
Brown, Virginia E
Esler, Susan
Findley, Eleanor (Susie)
Hall, FrankJ
Keeler, Margaret Ann
Kettering, Merlyn H
Lloyd, Ronald
Schall, Maryanne C
Possible Nigeria
PCVs
Brown, Beverly J
Crampton, Judith M
Fee, Carol
Felix, Gus
Hailer, Maureen
Hartnett, Leslie A
Johnson,Joann
Johnson, Kari S
Johnson, Kerry
Little, Mary J
Maddams, Sue
Martin, Charles A
Nelson, Carol S
Quinn, Mary M
Wilkinson, Alan H

Your donation to our adopted VSO's ... Keep the lorry rolling'
Enclosed is my check for $35_ $50_ $75_ $100_ Other $ _
)
Name Peace Corps Nigeria group _
Address: Apt. _
City State/Provo Zip/Postal Code _
Country
_
Make your check payable to Friends of Nigeria and mail to
FON Treasurer
Peter Hansen,
1203 Cambria Court, Iowa City, IA 52246-4530
r------------------------------------~
I
Name
Address
Home Phone Number Work Phone _
Email PC Job _
Service 19 _ to _ Group __ Town _
PC School/Agency
Please Check Your Mailing Label for Renewal Date
JOIN OR RENEW MEMBERSHIP
_
_
_
)
Current Occupation Employer _
Permission to use this information on the Internet Membership Directory Yes_
No_
Membership Level (Check One)
_ Individual-NPCA and Friends of Nigeria $50­
_ Family-NPCA and Friends of Nigeria $65-
Tax-Deduction Donation
_Individual Friends of Nigeria only $15 _ VSO donation $ _
_Family-Friends of Nigeria Only $22.50 _
_I'll help with the Newsletter _I'll help with special projects Include your comments. Ideas welcome.
Make your check payable to Friends of Nigeria and mail to Membership Chair Peter Hansen, address below:
P)f'''~~ ~l NfS"fA
c/o Peter Hansen
1203 Cambria Court
Iowa City, IA 52246-4530
Non-Profit
Organization
US Postage
PAID
PERMIT#1040
Leesburg, FL 34748
Spring 2005
ADDRESS
SERVICE REQUESTED
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