FON news Spring '13.pdf - Friends of Nigeria

Friends of Nigeria Newsletterwww.friendsofnigeria.org Spring 2013 Vol 17, No 2FON Teams with Queen Obasi in Health InitiativeBy Lynn Olson (10) 64-66Queen Obasi, who with her familyand friends prepared a Nigerian dinnerfor FON in Minneapolis last summer, isnot only a great cook, she also dispensesgood humor and medicine to people inisolated and impoverished villages in Imo& Abia states in eastern Nigeria. Born ineastern Nigeria in the village of Amakohia,Imo State, Queen eventually madeher way to the US with husband Cyprianand seven-month old daughter Vivian.She had nursing and midwifery degreesfrom Nigeria, so she quickly found workin Minnesota and is still working as anurse in a St Paul hospital as well as inthe St Paul Public Schools. However,Queen was never able to forget home.Her father believed they should geteducation where they could but alwaysreturn to help those at home. He did justthat, building the first vocational schoolin Amokohia.Spring 2013New patient at clinicMeanwhile, Queen earned a BSN(Bachelor of Science in Nursing) fromBethel College and a Master’s degree inCommunity Health from Mankato State,and gave birth to another daughter and ason, all in Minnesota.After her father passed in 1993, asthe first child, she became responsible forthe school he had built. Eventually shehad to close it because of managementproblems including serious graft whichleft the school essentially bankrupt. Thebuilding sat empty for some years ingrave disrepair. However, there isnow hope for a better building tohouse medicine and to be a venuefor health education and chronicdisease management for AfricanCommunity Health Initiativewhich Queen founded in 2006.Just the year before, Queen,with the help of her husbandCyprian, did a needs-assessment inUmugolo, Cyprian’s village wheremost of his relatives stilllive. What they found,other than the expected malaria, worms,etc. was undiagnosed diabetes andhypertension....causing strokes in greatnumbers.Since then, Queen has been goingback to Nigeria at least once a year,taking volunteer nurses, doctors andher daughters, Vivian, who’s seeking amaster’s degree in community health,and Lisa, a pre-med student. Cyprianoften goes ahead to collect the medicine,wheelchairs, walkers, and othersupplies which have been sent ahead toAbuja to go through customs. That, ofcourse, is another whole story! Then withboth volunteers from the US and fromNigeria, they spend at least one day ortwo in as many as seven villages, testing,diagnosing and treating almost 2,000men, women and children. Educationin nutrition and general health is also alarge part of the health mission.Funding comes primarily fromthe Obasi’s, their friends, family, andco-workers from whom she received theMinnesota Nurses’ Association 2012Distinguished Service Award. In addition,three Nigerian American familiesare sponsoring their own villages.The old school that Queen’s fathercreated is now being used only as an outsidecenter. But it is the future hope fora Resource Center which is badly neededto house medical and testing supplies,,store the wheelchairs, walkers, canes,and crutches which have been donatedWaiting for treatmentand, most importantly, a Lab. Queenhas trained volunteer Nigerian nurses inhow to test the liver and kidneys every 3or 6 months for those being treated forchronic diseases. It will also be used formedical maintenance programs, checkingblood sugar and blood pressure weeklyand giving medicine to diabetics, savingmany lives. In addition, the Center willserve for educational classes including diabetesmanagement and general life styleto maintain good health. Those childrenalready wormed by Queen’s team will beable to receive worming medicine every6 months. The building will be securedand only trained people will have accessto the medicine and supplies.FON donated $3000 last summerand it all went to begin rehabbing theschool in order to turn it into the muchneeded resource center. There are threestructures in a U shape and the roof wasfalling in on all of them. First the grassand trees had to be cut and pulled awayand then the roof had to be removedfrom all three structures. New roofinghas been partially put into place and,once completed, the ceiling and electricalwork, walls, doors, windows, toilets,and borehole (water supply) will be thenext phase. Thanks to FON, Queen andCyprian Obasi have begun to completethe dream of her father to bring back totheir communities that which they havelearned abroad.FON Newsletter 1

President’s ColumnPresident’s FarewellBy Mike Goodkind (16) 65-67This month I have the pleasure aftersix years (who’s counting) of turning overthe presidency of Friends of Nigeria toGreg Jones. The organization is in goodhands. Greg has made major contributionsto FON’s growth as an organizationthat is doing some useful things onthe ground in Nigeria and has an activepilot program to benefit the Nigeriandiaspora in the United States. Gregspearheaded our giving program to theFantsuam Foundation. This initially benefitteda microloan program, primarilyfor women undertaking small businesses.He nimbly helped us shift our focus tobroader programs, and then, to emergencyaid when violence struck the heartof Fantsuam’s service area in the Kafanchanarea. Greg organized our successfulBoston meeting in 2009, and has beena consistent leadership force and sourceof wise counsel as long as I’ve served aspresident.FON’s roots lie with its role as analumni association for former PeaceCorps and other expatriate volunteersand staff working in Nigeria. In the pastfew years we have expanded that visionwith such programs as funding smallbut potentially life-changing projectsspearheaded by VSO volunteers, whoincreasingly are coming to Nigeria fromother African countries. In a partnershipwith the Peace Corps Nigeria AlumniFoundation, we are providing scholarships,targeted for women at the AmericanUniversity of Nigeria. We providedsupport for operating room power supplypacks to the We Care Solar projectbefore international donors became morenumerous. As Greg fully understands,FON cannot remain a standalone groupof Nigeria Peace Corps alumni. We canpass along our vision or hang on until wedisappear — which is going to happenwhether FON continues or not. I lookforward to having Greg, our board andour members nudge us forward andperform the tasks needed to make newinitiatives and a durable legacy a reality.Personally, I do hope to continueactive involvement with FON, mostimmediately with our website and overallcommunications effort. At some point Imight write a longer reminiscence aboutthe wonderful folks who continue toinspire me at FON, but right now I’dsimply like to thank the many FON supporters,members and directors who havecontributed so much to FON and madethe tasks I was assigned or undertookfeasible and almost always a pleasure.New President’s HelloBy Greg Jones (22) 66-68I have been imposing on MikeGoodkind these past eight months bynot taking over the FON Presidencybecause of my bout with Multiple Myeloma.I am happy to report that I amsufficiently on the mend to allow Miketo take a well-deserved exit. You neverget cured of MM, but they can put it farenough into remission that somethingelse will have a chance get you.I will not claim to have a big personalagenda for FON. Mike has led an organizationwith a vibrant list of activitiesand a board that is incredibly eager tochew over proposals until they arrive atthe best outcome. I certainly think of mytime in Nigeria as a formative experiencein my life. Returning to my classroomas part of the Nigeria Trip in 2008 wasa thrill. On that same trip finding anorganization like Fantsuam Foundationdelivering a broad spectrum of developmentfinance and social services wasquite satisfying. I am still a big advocatefor Fantsuam, but the personal contactis now over 4 years old, and we all knowthings change fast in Nigeria.The annual NPCA meeting thisyear is in Boston, June 28-29. FONdoes not plan any formal presence there,but members of the committee thatorganized the Boston FON meetingin 2009 will host a dinner on Saturdayevening for any FON members whochoose to join us. The NPCA eventends with “an awards ceremony for ourWofford, Shriver and Ruppe award(Continued on next page)FRIENDS OF NIGERIANEWSLETTERQuarterly publication of Friends of Nigeria, Inc.www.friendsofnigeria.orgaffiliate of theNational Peace Corps AssociationEditorJim Clarkwjclark016@gmail.comLayout EditorOwen Hartfordhartfordo@earthlink.netAssistant EditorWarren Kellerwarrendkk@yahoo.comNigeria News EditorVirginia DeLanceyv-delancey@northwestern.eduBook EditorDavid Straindestrain@pacbell.netProofreadersEarl (Buzz) WelkerSteve ManningAlice O’GradyMary-Ann PalmieriPrinterLeesburg Printing CompanyLeesburg, Florida-------------------------FRIENDS OF NIGERIABOARD OF DIRECTORSPresidentMike Goodkindgoodkindm@gmail.comVice PresidentGreg Jonesgregory.j@comcast.netMembership ChairBarbara Tansey Bushbtbush@earthlink.netTreasurerPeter J. Hansenpjhansen@ia.netSecretaryMurray Frankmwfrank17@gmail.comNewsletter EditorJim Clarkwjclark016@gmail.comLucinda Boydboydcinda@gmail.comSteve ClappSteve.Clapp@informa.comVirginia DeLanceyv-delancey@northwestern.eduFr. Edward Inyanwachiesinyanwachi@dons.usfca.eduLynn Cloonan Olsonlynn.olson59@gmail.comAndy Philpotawphilpot@shaw.caJohn Romanoroman001@umn.eduGregory Zellgregzell@mindspring.com2 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

FON NewsWinners of First FON/PCNAF Nigerian Female LeadersScholarship AnnouncedBy Jim Clark (12) 64-66and Steve Clapp(06) 62-64Dr. Kimberly Sims, Assistant Professorand Department Chair for Internationaland Comparative Politics at theAmerican University of Nigeria-Yola, recentlyannounced the winners of the firstFriends of Nigeria (FON)/Peace CorpsNational Alumni Foundation (PCNAF)Nigerian Female LeadersScholarship. SistersHadiza and Queen Sabofrom Northern Nigeria,both with strong academicrecords and communityinvolvement but littlefinancial support wereidentified and selectedas the first scholarshipwinners. In her announcement,Dr. Sims had thefollowing to say aboutthese two students:“A tragedy which hadbeen unfolding over thelast few years involvedtwo particular students,Queen and Hadiza Sabo, both studentsin the Department of International andComparative Politics, and both in theirsenior year. These two young womenhad been attending AUN with no effectivefinancial support from their family.They had lived hand-to-mouth, butclung tenaciously to their hopes of a universitydegree. All the while, universitybills mounted while both young womenstruggled with chronic health problems.The two were sent home from AUNlast year — where they attempted tofind jobs, without luck. They illustratedwhat is grimly axiomatic in Nigeriansociety — that without a bachelor’sHadiza, Queen & Dr. Kimberly Simsdegree, one can not hope to be hired ineven low-level entry positions. This is aparticularly grievous situation for youngwomen, who already exist in a relativeposition of vulnerability in Nigerian society.With only one year until completionof the degree, they were desperate tofind a solution to pay the sum owed tothe University — a considerable sum.They were willing to work, and haddrawn up various vending businessproposals, but all doors appeared closedto them. They were in an abject state ofdespair — Hadiza confided in me thatshe felt that there existed ‘no hope, nohope at all.’When my colleaguesin the department of Internationaland ComparativePolitics heard of thisdesperate situation, theytook the unprecedentedstep of starting a scholarshipfund. They staunchlysupport the sisters, whoare dedicated and talentedstudents. Not only doesthe department believestrongly in the potentialof these young women,but likewise our universityPresident, Dr. MargeeEnsign, has demonstratedher ongoing support of these youngwomen. They are not only gifted withgreat potential, but thankful beyond ordinarygratitude. To quote Queen: ‘….tobe able to continue our education is…. amiracle, our miracle.’(President’s Column Continued from page2)winners and reception complete withbeer, wine, soft drinks and heavy horsd’oeuvres”, so we will not be preemptingany NPCA dinner.FON is required by our bylaws tohave a bi-annual meeting. Mike Goodkindhas suggested the Asimolar ConferenceCenter in Pacific Grove, CA onOctober 17-20. It is a beautiful location,and they have very nice facilities, but it isnot cheap, and there is no close academiccommunity from which to draw speakers.But having beaten the comparativelyrich academic bushes around Boston in2009 for speakers to enlighten us on Nigeriawith no success, I suggest we havea meeting that concentrates on what ourown members have to say and reestablishinglinks with fellow Nigerian PCVs.It should be a wonderful time to reflectand refresh and plan our future.We certainly have issues to confrontas an organization. Should we continuejust as an alumni organization ofNigerian PCVs, or is it viable for us toreach out to the Nigerian expatriate communityfor new members and a contemporaryfocus? How can we best impactthe course of events in Nigeria with ourlimited means and outdated contacts?Would members like FON to organizeadditional trips back to Nigeria? Is therea role for super-annuated former volunteersto make an impact on the countrythat helped them to define themselves intheir youth?Assuming the presidency of an organizationlike FON is certainly a stimulatingchallenge. I hope I am sufficient tothe task and that FON can continue asthe vibrant organization Mike Goodkindhas handed on to me.Spring 2013FON Newsletter 3

Letters to the EditorLetters tothe EditorDear Friends of Nigeria,First, thank you for your generouscontribution to Ashoka. Your supportenables us to find the next leading socialentrepreneurs in Nigeria and around theworld.As you may already know, Ashokais the world’s leading organization thatsupports social entrepreneurs—individualswith innovative solutions for solvingsome of the world’s most pressingsocial challenges. For example, OluseunOnigbinde is a social entrepreneur andAshoka Fellow from Nigeria who isleading a movement to increase transparencyand accountability in the budgetingprocess in Nigeria and make complexbudget information easier to understandand increasingly accessible to citizens.Our network consists of nearly 3,000social entrepreneurs like Oluseun whoare working in a wide range of sectorsincluding health, education, economicempowerment, and civic engagement.Over the course of our 30 year history,our mission has evolved to not onlysupport the top social entrepreneurs likeOluseun, but also to create a world whereliterally every individual has the skillsand resources they need to be a changemaker within their own community. Weknow it is a lofty goal, but we sincerelybelieve that it is achievable, especially ifwe partner with organizations similar tothe Friends of Nigeria group who shareour values and vision.As volunteers who have served inNigeria, we know that you have deepknowledge of the country and a passionfor positive social change. We would loveto partner with you to support socialinnovation in Nigeria in a few differentways:1. Help us find the next leadingsocial entrepreneurs in Nigeria.2. Connect change makers and socialentrepreneurs to resources.3. Enable Ashoka to find and amplifysocial innovation.Your financial gift, no matter howsmall or large, can help us achieve ourmission of finding the next Nigeriansocial entrepreneurs such as Lucy Kanu,a Nigerian Ashoka Fellow who hasdesigned a process for economic empowermentthat prioritizes local aspirations,introduces outside resources withoutfostering dependence, and is replicableacross sub-Saharan Africa.We look forward to working withyou and the Friends of Nigeria group.Megan Coolidgemcoolidge@ashoka.orgDear Editor,I enjoyed so many things in the Fall2012 newsletter, especially the two “Reflections”(one by my friend Bob Criso)and all the Letters to the Editor. So Iwant to pass along a recent experience,knowing that many FON readers havehad something similar surprise them intorecollections of their PCV days.I’m on Amtrak after a visit to friendsin NYC. I hear the woman in front ofme speaking an African language into hercell phone. No, actually she is weavingback and forth between - could it beIgbo? - and English. Then, I hear a windingdown and an Igbo word I recognize,“odemma,” before she hangs up.“Are you Ibo?!?” I practically screamat her after getting up and moving toface her.“How did you know?!?” she practicallyscreams back. I end up sitting withher until she gets off the train. She is theprincipal of a school in Worcester, Mass.(I live in Amherst.) She’s even a distantrelative of my Igbo tutor during training,Ifeanyi Menkiti, who ended up aphilosophy professor at Wellesley. (Myfriendship with Ifeanyi taught me someof what I know about being a poet.)When Rose Mgbojikwe gets off the train,a woman across the aisle says how muchshe enjoyed Rose’s and my conversation.So now I am in another non-stop conversationuntil we get to Springfield.Did Peace Corps lead me to the ForeignService or an international aid job?Nothing like that. But does it, almostfifty years later, keep expanding my horizonsand enriching my life in unexpectedways? Oh yes.Penny Callan Partridge (23) 66-67Dear Editor:I recently read Adam Kirsch’s reviewin the NYT Review of Books of SaulBellow’s 1959 novel, “Henderson theRain King”. This was one of the booksincluded in our Peace Corps footlockerof books. I read it pretty much as aninteresting story fifty years ago. Uponreading Kirsch’s review, I realize howappropriate the book was for us whowent out, like Henderson, to a remoteAfrican village. Kirsch notes that oneof the refrains of the novel came from apoem by Shelly: “I do remember well thehour that burst my spirit’s sleep.” LikeHenderson, we PCVs were having newexperiences that ‘burst the spirit’s sleep’,that opened us up to new thinking aboutlife and society and created a desire toshare these new insights with others; thisnew consciousness of the world aroundus mightily influenced our lives after thePeace Corps.Regarding the footlocker of booksitself, I have mixed feelings. On the onehand it was great to have somethingto read on lonely days and nights, andmuch of my understanding of contemporaryAmerica today comes from thebooks I read under the tilley lamp fiftyyears ago…Malcolm X, W.E.B. Dubois,Eldridge Cleaver, Ralph Elison, JamesBaldwin etc. What an education! Nevertheless,the culture around us was the4 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

Letters to the Editorgreater gift.Does anyone, by the way, have a listof the books we received in that gloriousfootlocker, or know how it was puttogether, and by whom?Charles AhlgrenNigeria 04, Orlu/NsukkaDear Editor,I was in Nigeria as a PCV from ‘61-‘63. I taught at Queens School, Enugu,then married another PV HershelHerzberg and moved to his compoundat Mother Teresa’s School in Nsukka.I taught geometry there for July andAugust, then French at the Universityof Nsukka where about 30 PCVs wereteaching. In the afternoons I developedsewing projects in five villages in thebush.I would visit Father DesmondMcGlade in the bush. He had lived inNigeria for 30 years, spoke fluent Igboand had built two churches; each held3000 people! He was delightful!He had an Israeli engineer drillingfor water and the whole village came towatch the water leap out. I took photosand made him a little album which hecarried the rest of his life!Father McGlade, Father Butler andother Holy Ghost fathers were involvedin the Biafran airlift. During the warthey wrote me detailed letters which Istill have. I was delighted to learn thatsome of the children whom they hadpushed onto the planes have done well. Ialso remember Father telling me that onenight the heavy wooden plank used topush cargo off and the children on, fellonto his head. He had a head wound andknew the Bishop would never let him return.So he slipped into Sierra Leone andthen came back. The Holy Ghost Fatherswere expelled from Nigeria after the waras it was felt by feeding the Biafrans andrescuing the children they had prolongedthe war. He was crushed.Father McGlade was in New Guineafor about a year, but spent the rest of hislife in various parishes in California. Ilast saw him in May 1997-he showed methe little photo album!We raised three beautiful childrenin San Francisco. I thought one of themmight be a Peace Corps volunteer, butthey have gone into medicine, educationand environmental planning.After the review in FON, I got DavidKoren’s book. It was excellent! Howfantastic David, that you were able toreturn and do so much for the airlift! Youlearned more Igbo than I did!!I was glad to see the letter fromGeorge Eaton. You missed the 50th-onlyfour of us showed up. Hi George!Dorothy Crews Herzberg (03) 61-63Dear Editor,In the Fall 2012 issue of the Friendsof Nigeria newsletter, received just today,October 17, 2012, there is a letter to theeditor from James Jablonski (XII 64-66),in which he mentions a (Holy Ghost)Roman Catholic priest named DesmondMcGlade and asks David Koren if hehad contact with Fr. McGlade. It isclear from his letter that Mr. Jablonskithought highly of the good Father Mc-Glade, as I did.I’d like to contact Mr. Jablonskiabout his inquiry. Fr. McGlade livedjust down the road from the high schoolwhere I was the principal: PremierSecondary School in Ukehe, aboutmid-point along the road from Enugu toNsukka. He often stopped by my schooland I often stopped by his residencealong that road for tea or even a meal. Ioften had other PCVs stay at my placeand Fr. McGlade would come by to meetthem and help with the preparations toensure an outstanding meal.In fact, I met Fr. McGlade onthe fateful day that he was headed toNsukka, only to be seized and torturedby Nigerian forces just outside thatuniversity town, never to return to hisparish. I remained at Premier SecondarySchool even after the war had begun andthe Nigerian forces had taken Nsukka,but were turned back by Biafran soldiersjust at the road where my school waslocated, an action I watched as it happened.I also remained behind even afterbeing ordered out by the US Ambassadorin Lagos (not to mention being placedbefore a firing squad by Biafran soldierswho were certain I was a spy) because Istill had students who were from villagesin parts of the region that they couldnot get back to because of the war, andI said I would not leave until they wereall located with village families aroundUkehe, which was finally accomplishedin July 1967.In any event, I would very much liketo make contact with Mr. Jablonski toreview memories of the good Father Mc-Glade. I have tried to find him online,but have been unsuccessful. Would youplease help?Thanks, Rick Machmer,Nigeria 18, 65-67, Ukehe,Eastern Nigeria/BiafraDear EditorI just want to congratulate you,David Strain and others that contributedto the last (Fall 2012) issue of the FONNewsletter. I thought the perspective onthe prominent topic of the Biafran warwas as balanced and thorough as I haveseen - including David Strain’s review ofJosh Arinze’s book and the letters to theeditor. I particularly saw some stuff Idon’t remember hearing before in David’sreview, and appreciated it. I don’t knowhow much of that was directly fromArinze’s book (I haven’t read it) and howmuch was David’s own knowledge orresearch, but if it is based on the bookitself, Mr. Arinze is certainly also to becredited, assuming it is accurate!The Nigeria News section was alsoespecially good this time, I thought,as was the President’s Column andyour own article. Well done! Can youforward this to David Strain and MikeGoodkind too - I would have includedthem in the recipients but don’t remembertheir email addresses.Best,Steve ManningNigeria 12, 64-66, IbadanSpring 2013FON Newsletter 5

ProjectsFON Board Creates Emergency Fund for Nigerian Studentsat the Heller SchoolBy Greg Jones, (22) 66-68Providing emergency assistance toNigerian students attending BrandeisUniversity’s Heller School is the latestproject undertaken by Friends of Nigeria(FON).The idea for an emergency fund forNigerian students facing short-term financialcrises was originally proposed bythe associate dean of the Heller School (agraduate school specializing in InternationalDevelopment associated withBrandeis University in Waltham, MA) atthe FON board meeting in WashingtonDC in 2011. At the meeting, he statedthat Nigerian students as well as manyother foreign students have emergencies– a sudden illness, an accident, a theft,or a cultural misunderstanding – thatjeopardize their abilities to continue theireducation. He suggested an emergencyfund that local FON people wouldadminister that could be called upon bystudents when they face these emergencies.In response, FON President MikeGoodkind appointed a committeeconsisting of Murray Frank (an alumnusof the Heller School), Akintade Aboaba,Barbara Bush, Steve Clapp, Jim Garafolo,and Greg Jones and asked them tomeet and discuss available options. Asubset of the committee subsequentlymet with nine of the Nigerian studentscurrently attending the Heller School tosolicit their opinions on FON’s involvement.The committee discovered thatthese students were an incredibly bright,articulate group of young people deservingof FON’s attention.As a result of these meetings, a subsetof the committee was charged withdeveloping a set of procedures and animplementation plan that was subsequentlyapproved by the committee as awhole. The key components of the planare as follows:1. Define an emergency as an eventor problem which, if not solved,would prevent students from continuingin school.2. Establish $500 as the maximumsupport for any emergency with allawards being non-interest bearingloans while the recipients arestudents with repayment expectedmade when recipients began receivingincome.3. Name Murray Frank as the FONpoint person to be notified of anemergency. (Greg Jones will get acopy of the notice as a “back-up” ifMurray is not available.)4. Establish that requests for funds bepresented to the committee, thateach committee be notified viaemail and that decisions on suchrequests be provided in 24 hourswith a check will be drawn anddelivered, hopefully in person.5. Name Barbara Bush to act astreasurer and coordinate with PeterHansen to establish a 501c3 bankaccount for this project.6. Establish that FON general fundsshould not support this projectbeyond the initial $2000 and thatadditional funds be sought fromthe Boston area FON communityand from Nigerians in the diaspora.The FON Board voted to supportthe recommendation of its FON-Hellercommittee and has appropriated $2000to start the Fund’s operations with theunderstanding that the Fund will bereplenished by fund-raising.The committee’s intention is to buildrelationships with Nigerian students atThe Heller School. There is a programfor hosting students during vacations andholidays that we will publicize to Bostonarea FON members. Ideally, these studentsmay become valuable contacts forFON when they return home to Nigeria.A small review panel (appointed by theFON President) will establish proceduresand criteria for timely responses. Theactivities of the Fund will be reported periodicallyto the FON board of directors.COCIN Community Development Project-Panyam ReforestationBy Silvester Odundo (VSO Internationalvolunteer)From healthcare to environmentaleducation, Friends of Nigeria (FON)through its small grants program continuesits involvement in improving thelives of Nigerians.In July 2012, FON’s grants committeeunder the direction of chair AndyPhilpot agreed to fund a project submittedby VSO international volunteerSilvester Odundo that would lead to thereforestation of areas in and around Panyamin Nigeria’s Plateau state. Panyamis located some 40 miles southwest of Josand has a population of almost 11,000.The Church of Christ in Nigeria (CO-CIN) Community Development Project(CCDP) was awarded $1,200 to assistin the development of a forestry initiativethat would promote environmental(Continued on next page)6 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

Projectsawareness and assist in the startup of treenursery that would be used to replenishlost hardwoods.The project got underway in June2012 after funds were approved andwired to Nigeria. According to Odundo,churches and schools in the area havesince been actively engaged in the projectassisting in the establishment of nurseriesthat currently contain nearly 6,000young tree seedlings. Odundo has alsotrained nearly forty coordinators whoare already visiting schools and churcheslecturing on climate change and sustainablemanagement. A technical guide onmanagement of the moringa oleiferatree has been compiled and is ready fordistribution.According to Odundo, despite somechallenges, the project team is lookingforward to an eventful and prosperous2013. “January” he stated “has beenfurnace hot with exceptional harmattanwinds, but weekly watering of treeseedlings went on undisrupted, thanks toconstant generator power”. He also reportsthat liquid fertilizer was made frompoultry droppings to nourish the soil inthe pots that since the inception of theproject they have an 85% survival rate oftree seedlings. Three environmental clubshave been started in local schools andeach club contains over 50 members.Despite these successes, Odundoreports that they have some setbacks. Hepoints to a lack of funding to involvemore schools, school strikes, difficultyin meeting with local leaders and a lowrate of survival for the eucalyptus treeseedlings. He reports, however, that theyare still very enthusiastic and are lookingforward to more meetings with localleaders, setting up an environmental dayin the area, giving more climate changelectures in schools and developing additionaltraining sessions for local farmers.News from the Fantsuam FoundationBy Greg Jones (22) 66-68 and John DadaThe leadership of The FantsuamFoundation has been busy with a socialprotection issue. “A young man in oneof their host communities got stung todeath by bees, and his uncle was accusedof having sent the bees by witchcraft tosting the young man. The elderly andthe young children are always at risk ofaccusation of witchcraft in some of ourcommunities, and we tried to step intothis case to affect a rescue and reconciliation.We have done this successfully ina few cases in the past, but in this casewe were a day too late. The elderly manwas mysteriously found dead in his roombefore we could relocate him.”FON used to help to pay for bandwidthwith Fantsuam’s US-based internetprovider and was done so to avoid theexpense of transferring money to Nigeriathat would only have to be re-transferredback to the US to pay the internet bill.Since the escalation of satellite-basedinternet costs, Fantsuam has been exploringlocal alternatives, but their rural locationcontinues to be a challenge due totheir distance from the fiber optic cablethat has been laid across state capitalsin Nigeria. Most Nigerians live in rurallocations, not in state capitals. Fantsuamis now leading a consortium of charitableinstitutions and faith-based organizationsin the Kafanchan area to negotiatebulk bandwidth purchase so that internetaccess can become more affordable.Fantsuam is talking to two of the mainbandwidth providers and arguing thatthey should make provision for ruralcommunities and especially for educationalinstitutions in these locations. Thiswill be a major achievement if Fantsuamcan pull it off this year.As a result of FON’s holiday fundraising appeal, $2025 was collected forThe Fantsuam Foundation. John Dadaexplains how they intend to use the FONmoney: “as I indicated in our last request,our grain silos are now empty after wehave used it to support the children andadults on our books during the hungermonths. If FON approves, we would liketo use this new donation to restock thesilos (these are the silos that were paid forby FON in 2012). January and Februaryare the months of grains purchase, sothe FON donation has come at the righttime to make this possible.”The types of grains and their relativecosts can be seen in the original siloarticle in the spring, 2012 FON Newsletter.As of February, 2013VSO Project (Since 2004)Total raised: $44,550.00Number of donations: 851Number of donors: 377Keep The Lorry Rolling!Fantsuam Foundation (Since 2008)Total raised: $21,836.00Number of donations: 343Number of donors: 214Results of November 2012 Solicitation:FantsuamFoundation donations: $1,535.00VSO donations: $1,120.00Unrestricted donations: $4,607.00Emily Bullock (UK) 2010-VSO Blogshttp://www.emily-in-nigeria.blogspot.com/Spring 2013FON Newsletter 7

Book ReviewsThere Was a Country,a Personal Historyof BiafraBy Chinua AchebePenguin Press 2012, 333 pages,$27.95Reviewed by David Strain (07) 63-64Chinua Achebe’s account of the creationof Biafra and Nigeria’s war to endthe secession was long awaited, and it isan important book. It garnered a page 1review in the New York Times SundayBook Review (about which more later).Achebe had been an ardent supporterof “One Nigeria” and hoped that thesporadic pogroms in the North andother inter-tribal antagonisms would bejust that, unfortunate incidents in theincremental coming together of Nigeria’sthree regions. His religious leaningswere similar. He had an appreciation forhis father’s Christianity but desired toavoid its exclusivity, and wanted to meldit with the Igbo culture and religionof his great uncle. This view of optimisticgradualism came to a crashinghalt when the January 1966 Nzeogwucoup by mostly Igbo officers coincidedwith the publication of “A Man of thePeople,” Achebe’s novel of corruptpoliticians which results in a coup.Some army types interpreted the storyas foreknowledge of or even participationin the January coup. Fearing death(one accuser said he wanted to compareAchebe’s pen with his guns) Achebe fledeast from his important NBC Lagos jobto his home in Ogidi, and thereafteractively supported the Biafran secession.Believing that readers need backgroundto properly interpret his viewson Biafra, Achebe begins the book witha substantial segment detailing, forexamples, his childhood, his educationand achievements through primaryschool, Government College (Umuahia)and University College (Ibadan), hisshift in focus from medicine to the arts,his relationships with local and Englishprofessors, all of which is interesting butalso covered at length in his 2009 “TheEducation of a British-Protected Child.”Achebe describes what he considersthe inevitability of secession followingthe massacres of over 30,000 Igbos andthe flight East of almost a million, fromboth the North and the West, after theJanuary 1966 coup and the July countercoup.Foremost in importance wasthe complicity of the Northern Regiongovernment in these acts, and the failureof the Federal Government to take anysteps to halt the slaughter or prosecutethe villains. In Achebe’s view, Igboswho, unlike the Northerners, had ledthe fight for independence and who bytalent and education had the major rolein government, business and education,were simply unwelcome in the North,and in the West where Awolowo and theYorubas too feared “Igbo domination.”“Nigeria no we,” to borrow Liberianphrasing.Achebe had major intellectual rolesin Biafra, drafting a new constitution,writing speeches for Ojukwu, acting asemissary overseas to enlist support forBiafra. He and his family did suffer andsurvived in the narrowing area underBiafran control. But there is muchmore to the war than what he witnesseddirectly, and this he describes in themanner of a conventional history text.There is also a valedictory quality insome of his writing, not surprising inan 82 year old, evidencing a desire toremember and record persons importantto him personally, who seem tangentialto the Biafran story. He has interestingthings to say about the role of writersin politics, he memorializes his friendthe poet Christopher Okigbo, he listsother writers who have been importantto him, he describes the colors of theBiafran flag and their meanings, and hemarshals the arguments for and againstGowon and Ojukwu. The result of thesecross currents and diversions is to sometimesdiminish the emotional impact ofthe war’s starvation, sufferings and morethan a million deaths imposed by theNigerian blockade. (Achebe’s argumentwould have been more compelling withstronger editing (not to mention betterproofreading.) However, with his vividdescriptions of the pogroms, the massacreby the Nigerian Army of every manand boy it could find after taking Asaba,the massacre of a thousand or twocivilians in Calabar and Aba, Achebecomplements the tale of Gowon’s ineffectiveness,his refusal to deliver on theAburi Accord (to a confederation structure),and his failure to halt the Army’skilling of Igbo army officers and soldiersin the hundreds after the July countercoup.It is a strong, fact-laden story ofthe war seen from the Igbo side.The factual underpinnings of AdamNossiter’s New York Times review arequite a different thing and bode illfor the coverage of West Africa by the“newspaper of record.” (I encourageyou to read it: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/books/review/therewas-a-country-by-chinua-achebe.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0Full of the platitudes of Nigerianpromise . . .“this turbulent and magnetic Africanmegastate,” the “Texas of Africa: .. . big and loud and brash, a placeof huge potential, untapped talent,(Continued on next page)8 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

Book Reviewsmurderous conflict and petroleumriches” but with a “capacity forirony and self-reflection” “difficult,”dangerous,” “a seething cauldron,maddening in its contradictions andcapacity for self-destruction,” “immenseenergy and human resources”and “full of promise.”these often heard congratulatory-intheir-brashnessphrases seem to be whatthe Times provides, now that its editorsare not inserting non-existent cannibalsand pygmies into the stories of their Africancorrespondents to generate readerinterest and confirm prejudices. Yes,yes, fifty-three years after independence,four hundred billion in Swiss bank accounts,the population quadrupled andthe population poorer than in 1960 . . .and Nigeria’s still a land of promise.According to Nossiter, Achebejust doesn’t get the new Nigeria andyearns for a “partially rose-tinted”colonial past, because Achebe’s a Britishcolonial-loving, America-living, effeteintellectual, “Her Majesty’s onetimebrilliant subject,” bearing “a view onesometimes hears from other elderlyNigerians confronting the chaos of dailylife.” (This particular riff by Nossiter istaken in response to a highly qualifiedconclusion by Achebe that the Britishknew how to run a colony efficiently,unlike the Nigerian crooks who tookover in 1960.) Nossiter makes a lot outof this fact scrap.But as to the Biafran war and theEast’s decision to secede, Nossiter is atriumph of ex post facto conclusions:“But they [the Biafrans] were deludingthemselves that Biafra was viable.The nascent state had virtually nochance of survival once the authoritiesin Lagos decided they weregoing to stamp out the secession inwhat they called a “police action.”Was Biafra ever really a “country,”as Achebe would have it? It hadministries, oil wells, a ragtag army,an often-shifting capital, officialcars (Achebe had one) and a famousairstrip. But as a “country,” it wasstillborn.”Well yes, at the end when Biafrawas compressed to its smallest (Achebeprovides a good map) it had only theUli airstrip and may not have been acoherent “country.” Achebe says this.But on May 30, 1967, the day of secession,it had the existing governmentalstructures and personnel of EasternNigeria, complete with post offices,water and electrical utilities, judgesand courthouses, police, roads, schools,hospitals, universities, and 15,000,000people, a number larger than many“real” countries Nossiter might acknowledgeas such, like say, Canada,South Africa, Netherlands, Belgium,Portugal, Australia to name a few. Nossitersees Nigeria as a weak-nation statelike Somalia . . .the analogy, however, isa democratic Iraq where evenly balancedcompeting tribal loyalties promote corruptionand assassination, and preventthe central government from makingpositive change.But was Biafra “viable?” Considerthe following: the Nigerian army hadlost 70% of its officers (Igbo) and amajority of its troops were Middle BeltTivs whose opposition to the Northmade their loyalty against the minorityIgbos uncertain. Britain initiallyremained neutral, until its corporate oilinterests became frightened by Biafra’stakeover of the Midwest, and by Russia’ssupply of MIG fighters (Nigeria didnot have fighter planes which had to bemanned by Egyptian mercenaries). TheRussian involvement set off a competitionto see which Cold War side couldembrace Nigeria more ardently. Nigeriacould not have affected the blockade(and Biafra’s starvation) without thehelp of the British navy, which was byno means assured given British publicopinion. Nigeria was abetted secretly bya “neutral” U.S., and President Nixon’slater attempts to change this were foiledby Kissinger and the State Department.(See: Josh Arinze, Moral Anguish: RichardNixon and the Challenge of Biafrareviewed last issue). Awolowo said,before the Biafran secession, that theWest would also pull out if the East did.Early in the war Biafra marched into theMidwest and liberated it, but Awoloworeneged. Shortly after being promotedto head of state, Gowon indicatedthat the North itself was thinking ofseceding, as it had threatened on severalprior occasions, Ahmadu Bello consideringthe 1916 unification of Northand South a disaster. In March 1968,long after the war began, many thoughtBiafra had sufficient power to negotiatethe confederation promised in the AburiAccord. There’s much more, recountedinterestingly in “There Was a Country.”Biafra was not dead on arrival.Well spare the facts, the Igbos lost,didn’t they? Nossiter has Achebe in his20-20 hindsight.Also troubling is Nossiter’s slide intosnide when he can’t command the facts,belittling Biafra or Achebe. Examples:“often-shifting capital” (implyinga capital not worth mentioning);official cars(Achebe hadone)”(implying Achebe was agovernment sponge);”Her Majesty’sonetime brilliant subject,”(implyinga British wannabe-actually Gowonwas and enjoyed being the Queen’sfavorite); “Things Fall Apart . . . afairy-tale-like re-creation” (implyingunreal, i.e. not Nossiter’s story. Seebook p. 52ff)There are more but you get the idea.As a snide turnabout, please note thatthe “turbulent and magnetic Africanmegastate” of Nigeria has not attractedNossiter’s New York Times West Africaoffice, which prefers to reside in the everso comfy, ever so less important, FranceifiedDakar. Perhaps it should movecloser to get closer to some Nigerianfacts.Next time I hope to review “Reformingthe Unreformable,” NgoziOkonjo-Iweala’s book on her and theNigerian government’s efforts to reformthe Nigerian economy. Stay tuned.Spring 2013FON Newsletter 9

RecollectionsThe Coming of the War:My Recollection of the Beginning of the War in Biafra.Kathleen Whitney (Nigeria 15) 65-67I very much appreciated StephenVincent’s account of his experience of thegathering storm in what briefly becameBiafra. It has inspired me to tell my ownversion. I, like Stephen, was in Nigeria15, and also served in what was then theEastern Region.Kathleen Whitney, then.I taught French (among other things)at Rosary High School in the town ofAwgu. The school was run by Irish nunsfrom County Cork. They (or probablytheir predecessors) had had the schoolbuilt half way up a very steep hill. Thiswas inconvenient for those of us on foot,but it commanded a fabulous view of avast plain, dotted with palm trees andsmoke from small cooking fires. Peopleused to say that on a clear day you couldsee Mount Cameroun. Stephen came tovisit me once and remarked that Awguwas like the Loire Valley of Nigeria!The first coup occurred in early January,1966, four months after we arrived.The Sardauna of Sokato, Sir AhmaduBello; the Prime Minister of Nigeria,Sir Tafawa Balewa; the Premier of theWestern Region, Chief Ladoke Akintola;and the Finance Minister, Chief FestusOkotie Eboh (among others includingmilitary officers) were killed in theprocess, presumably by Igbo and Yorubaarmy officers. The new head of thegovernment was Major General Aguiyi-Ironsi. He and most of the army leaderswere Igbos.The following spring, in retaliation,the Hausas in the North began murderinghundreds and thousands of Igboswho were living in the North. Thousandsmore Igbos began fleeing back to theEastern Region, leaving jobs, houses andschools. Trainloads of bodies of Igbopeople came down to the East. I wascoming back from Onitsha one day soonafter the coup, and police (or soldiers —I didn’t quite know) were stopping carsall along the way. The nuns at my schoolwere all ready to pack up because theysaid the Moslems wouldn’t want all thoseCatholics around. Mother Thecla saidto me, “so you may be running RosaryHigh School next month.” I said I’dquickly convert.The killing of Igbos in the Northcontinued throughout the summer. Hereare some excerpts from letters I wrotehome:Sept. 12, 1966John E., stationed in the North, sayshe has to step over bodies in the street ofhis town (Ibo bodies), and isn’t allowedto help wounded or anything. Othervolunteers in the North are hiding Igbosin their houses and sneaking them to theborder.Sept 28, 1966On Saturday I was in Enugu. As Iwas passing the market at about 11 am, Isaw a crowd of men yelling and apparentlychasing someone. I asked the taxidriver what was happening. He explainedto me, in an uninterested tone of voice,that it was only a Hausa person thatthey wanted to kill, but that he escapedin a car. Later, in another part of town,in another taxi, I saw a similar crowdbut this time there were also policemen,armed with wicker shields….The nextday I was told that some Hausas andIgbos had been killed in the market.That evening, several of us PC volunteerswere at Mary’s house. At about 10 pmsomeone remarked that there was fire inthe sky. Because of what had happenedduring the day, we immediately thoughtthat this might be an act of aggressionagainst some Hausas, and especiallybecause the Hausas who sell beef (whichcomes from the North) live in little hutsvery near where we were staying. Wewent down into the street to see whatwas happening. It was as we thought: Igboswere setting fire, in a very organizedway, to the Hausas’ huts. Apparently theHausas who lived there had already left,but it occurred to me that it would bevery difficult at this point to return tothe North. All the truck drivers, trainengineers etc are Igbos, and in fact trainshave had to stop running. At this point,Hausas who are here in the East can’tgo north and Igbos in the North can’tcome back to the East. Communicationhas halted. After seeing all that, we thensaw two policemen who were walkingvery near the fires, seemingly without theleast intention of intervening. The mostbizarre thing about this whole affair wasthat there was absolutely no panic orhysteria and most people didn’t seem tocare at all.Oct. 6, 1966…War seems to be imminent. …British are blamed for egging the Hausason with this mass killing of Igbos, sincethe Igbos are in competition for skilledjobs in the North…Last weekend waspretty awful. Apparently 1400 Igboswere killed in Jos or Kano or somewhere,and all over the East, people have begunretaliating and killing Hausas. Of course,there are less Hausas to kill here. Twentyfivein Port Harcourt seemed to be themost in any one city, but it’s still terrible.I travelled south to Owerri. EverywhereI went there was violence. It was kind ofscary. Alan and I were waiting for a rideoutside of Onitsha Monday morning andwhile we were standing there a man gotstoned to death. We didn’t actually seehim die. We saw him being stoned, andget bloody and his clothes torn off, andmen with big sticks and rocks pursu-(Continued on next page)10 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

Recollectionsing him around the corner. However, Idon’t think this had anything to do withthis Hausa-Igbo War business. He waspresumably just a thief, and…stoning todeath is unfortunately a common way todeal with thieves. Eric said he saw somepeople running after a Hausa right on hisstreet. They were carrying machetes andseemed to be quite bloodthirsty….Theredoesn’t seem to be any danger to us whitepeople, just danger of this whole countryfalling to pieces….There are rumors thatthe Hausas are arming themselves forwarfare.Oct. 17, 1966The Peace Corps volunteers in theNorth are really demoralized by all themassacres and also by the lack of food,gas, kerosene etc. Here there is less andless beef and the price of things hasincreased, actually tripled.. It’s very sadto see everything fall apart. All the unitythat this country has achieved is justsuddenly vanishing and all that’s left arelittle groups of tribes. It’s not only theIgbos in the North who have to leave,now everyone who isn’t Igbo in Igbolandhas to go to his native town, everyonewho isn’t Yoruba in Yorubaland has toleave etc. The country is full of refugees;in this school there are several.March 4, 1967There are signs all over town thatsay things like, “Beware of Strangers. Ifyou see any strangers, report them to thepolice.”March 27, 1967Officials came to my school to givea pep talk to my students. They said,“Even a form one girl [aged 12] cankill a Hausa girl!” Then they had all thestudents march to the County CouncilBuilding singing an Igbo version of “WeShall Overcome.”April 13, 1967I was riding my Honda on the beautifulback road from Awgu to the mainEnugu-Onitcha Road. As I approachedthe Enugu-Onitcha Road I suddenly sawabout twenty men with grass skirts andwar paint running down the hill towardme. They were holding muskets andyelling fierce war chants. For a secondI panicked, thinking they were comingto kill me. I stopped the motorcycle,and they ran right past me. I thought tomyself, “The Igbos don’t like the British;how are they going to know that I amnot British?”May 31, 1967……I am no longer in Nigeria but ina place called Biafra. In a flash Ojukwu(the military governor of the EasternRegion) proclaimed independence fromNigeria, set up a national anthem, createda lovely red, black and green flagwith a rising sun, and swore himself in asBiafra’s first president. Gowon, the Presidentof Nigeria, has said he will squashthe East, and the nuns at my school arequite thrilled at the idea of guerrillascoming after them. They are now “slimming”,they say, so that they can run upthe hill to Mbidi to escape.”Everyone (Igbos, that is) is thrilledabout this Biafra business. Ojukwu haspromised to protect Europeans.June 20, 1967….We are completely cut off fromthe outside world — no more letters, nomore imports, exports, no ships going inor coming out, no planes….June 27, 1967…..All the other white women havegone (even Canadian and British volunteers)except us Amazons of the PeaceCorps — and also a few independenttypes, missionaries like Betty and Dr.Anne, and nuns….There are more soldiers now. Youcan’t cross the Niger Bridge. Everyonetalks about the situation even morethan usual (except we have been advisedby Peace Corps administration not todiscuss politics under any circumstances.I had my 5th form translate one of Ojukwu’sspeeches into French, and, althoughI expressed no opinion, I shouldn’t evenhave done this.) Peace Corps has no realpolicy except “if you want to leave, leave,otherwise stay.” A lot of us whose termsare almost up want to leave soon, notreally because we’re afraid of danger butbecause we’re afraid of increasing difficultyof getting out later. [Letters endhere.]We were finally told to leave Biafra/Nigeria on July 7, 1967, the day after thewar started. We had to cross the NigerRiver in small boats and travel all theway to Lagos by “taxi” (Peugeot stationwagons crammed with about 12 passengerseach). We were stopped by soldiersmany times along the way. Once we sawa dead body in the road. From Lagos Iflew to Rome, where I had a great timeeating gelati, buying new mini-skirts andchartreuse sandals. Then on to Greece.I didn’t look back. But I guess a part ofme never left Awgu and my preciousstudents: Comfort Nwachukwu, EdithEmembolo, Phoebe Ibekwe, Theodora,and Celestina….and my colleagues:Theresa Nwoga, Innocent Eloike andthe others. Somehow I lost touch withthem all, and, sadly, do not know if theysurvived that terrible war.I travelled halfway around the worldKathleen Whitney, now, andhusband Richard Umanskya few years later (Lapland, Scotland, Morocco,Austria, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan,India, the Seychelles, and Kenya). At theend of the trip I finally got in a plane forthe first time and stopped in Lagos onmy way home. I wanted to “go back tomy village”. But I just didn’t have the energyfor it. It was the first IndependenceDay since the end of the war, and Lagoswas crazy. All I wanted to do was gethome. I doubt if I will ever go back thereagain. But that place — the Loire Valleyof Nigeria — lives on in my heart.Spring 2013FON Newsletter 11

RecollectionsApocalypse Then — Part OneBob Criso, Nigeria/Somalia 66-68Ishiagu: July, 1967Eager for news of the war, I huddledwith my students many evenings arounda transistor radio and a kerosene lamplistening to Radio Enugu. Refugees werereturning from the North with stories ofIgbos being hacked into pieces, pregnantwomen being cut open and childrenscreaming inside burning homes. Therewas a report on the radio about a trainfilled with bloody body parts that weresent down from the North “as a warning.”I was skeptical about that one untilI saw a woman returning to the villagecarrying the head of a man. She said shehad retrieved it from the train.Several weeks earlier, Ruth Olsen, thePeace Corps Director in the East, hadgiven me a van as part of an emergencyevacuation plan. I was supposed to pickup several PCV’s in the area if I got wordfrom the Peace Corps office to evacuate.(Many PCV’s in the East had already leftby this time when they were given thechoice.) I felt safe in friendly and remoteIshiagu but I didn’t realize how cut-offI was from what was going on nearby.Reality hit when two jeeps of Biafran soldierspulled up in front of my classroomone morning and ordered the principalto shut down the school. They said itwould be used for Biafran army barracks.The students left, the teachers left and Iwent home anxious and uncertain aboutwhat to do.Bob Criso, then.With no word yet from Ruth Olson,the next day I decided to check in withtwo PCV’s who lived about an houraway. When I left the red clay road infront of my house and hit the pavedroad, I entered what felt like a twilightzone. All signs identifying any buildingor giving directions anywhere hadbeen taken down. The road was a seriesof roadblocks withcut-down trees blockingpassage. Local vigilanteswielding machetes andwooden clubs mannedthem. I was stopped,searched, scrutinizedand interrogated. Allof a sudden, anyonewho didn’t know mesuspected me of being aspy or a mercenary.“Where are yougoing?”“What is your businessthere?”“Search the van!”“What is this map for?”“Empty your pockets!”“How do we know he isn’t lying?”My limited Igbo and knowledgeof the area became an invaluable asset.I made it to Laura and Jeff’s school(not their real names) but didn’t go anyfurther. The roads were too dangerousand unfamiliar to risk it. We drove backto Ishiagu to wait for word from thePeace Corps, though not without furtherintimidation and humiliation, especiallyfor Laura.Not long after reaching my house,a crowd began to gather around it. Twomen then came to the front door. Felix,my houseboy, spoke to them. Felix toldme the men wanted to know who thestrangers were. When I explained thatthey were also PCV’s, the men weren’tsatisfied. Felix was trembling when hesaid the men now wanted to search thehouse. I remember thinking if I let themcross that boundary, what would be next?“Tell them No,” I said to Felix. Themen stormed out and returned to thecrowd. Laura Jeff and I watched from awindow while two men rolled a rustedblue fifty gallon drum of kerosene undermy house.To be continuedBob Criso, now,12 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

In MemorianBy Jim Clark (12) 64-66Hubert C. ‘Nick’ Knilans (08)63-65Major Hubert C. “Nick” Knilans,94, of the Wisconsin Veterans Home inKing, passed away Friday, June 1, 2012,at the Veterans Home. Major Knilanswas an English & geography teacher atMen’s Training College in Kano duringthe years 1964-65.He was born in Delavan, WI onDec. 27, 1917 to the late Clarence G.and Laura (Nott) Knilans. Hubert ClarenceKnilans, always known as Nick,attended the local high school andworked on the family farm until April1941, when he was drafted for militaryservice. He left for Canada in October1941 where he enlisted as a pilot inthe Royal Canadian Air Force. Laterin 1941, he was transferred to the U.S.Army Air Force where he served duringWorld War II surviving 50 operationsand bringing six of his original sevenmancrew through alive. He, however,was the only survivor of his originalpilot’s course and was a highly decoratedpilot receiving awards from the BritishDistinguished Services Order includingthe Canadian Distinguished FlyingCross and the U.S. Flying Cross. Afterthe war, he retired from the USAAF andbecame a teacher in California. After a25-year teaching career, including histwo years as a Peace Corps volunteer, heretired in 1978.Even after retirement, Major Knilanschampioned the betterment of the livesof American youth with Mexican rootsand became a counselor within the Californiaprison system. He continued towork tirelessly to support programs forunderprivileged youth until his passing.Major Knilans is survived by hissister, Janice Higgenbotham of CannonFalls, Minn.; his nephews, Eric andNick Higgenbotham; and his nieces,Maureen Konley and Tanis Kahabka-Knilans. He was preceded in death byhis parents, Clarence and Laura Knilans;three brothers, Lawrence, James andMeredith Knilans; and one sister, FrancesMahar.[Source: Greater Milwaukee Todayonline magazine]Walter Taylor Lewis, Jr. (04)62-64Walter T. Lewis, Jr. passed away onThursday, December 20, 2012. Waltserved as a Peace Corps volunteer teacherin Oguta via Owerri and was a memberof Nigeria 04 from 1962-64. He alsoserved as a member of Friends of Nigeria’s(FON) board of directors for severalyears and was active in planning PeaceCorps and FON events in the D.C. area.Walt was born in Greenville, Mississippi,on April 20, 1940 to the lateLuratha Lewis and Walter Lewis Sr. Heattended Sacred Heart Elementary andSacred Heart High Schools in Greenvillegraduating in 1958. Following highschool, he attended Xavier University inNew Orleans, LA where he received aB.A. in History and Secondary Education.After graduation Walter volunteeredto teach for two years in Oguta, Nigeria,an experience to which he often referredas one of the most rewarding and enlighteningexperiences of his life. Returningfrom Nigeria, he accepted a teachingposition at Benjamin Banneker Jr. HighSchool in Washington, DC and latertaught for a short time in Grants, NewMexico. Walter returned to Washington,DC to teach for the next three years atKelly Miller Jr. High School.Soon after, Walter began workingfor the U.S. Department of Education inthe Teacher Corps program and traveledacross the United States to meet withvarious school officials and administrations— work he enjoyed thoroughly.The Teacher Corps program was the firstof several education-related programsto which Walter was committed and inwhich he served until his retirement in1994. After retirement, Walter remainedactive in education by serving as a substituteteacher at Carmody Hills ElementarySchool until 2002.ObituariesFrom his incredible experience as aPeace Corps volunteer, his world travels,his single handedly raising his daughterfrom the age of seven, his stellar 32 yearsof Federal service to his dedication tothe DC and Prince George’s County,MD schools as a teacher and substituteteacher, Walter T. Lewis, Jr. lived andenjoyed a “very blessed and fulfilled life.”Walter is survived by his daughter,Karen Lewis Smith; three sisters, fivenieces, five nephews; and a host of relativesand close friends.[Source: Legacy.com, Karen Lewis Smith]Kenneth A. Welch (29) 67-67Kenneth A. Welch, 63, of AtwaterStreet, New Haven, died Tuesday, June 5,2007 at the Connecticut Hospice Homein Branford. He served as a member ofPeace Corps group 26 during the year1967.Born in Princeton, ME on March 29,1944, Kenneth was the son of the lateRev. Maxwell M. and Elizabeth LincolnDorr Welch, missionaries in Angola, Africa.He obtained his B.A. Degree fromUCONN and his M.S. Degree fromSouthern Connecticut State University.He had worked for the State of ConnecticutAgricultural Experiment Station for39 years until his retirement on September1, 2006. Kenneth had served in theU.S. Army during the Vietnam Era. Hewas a member of the CT EntomologicalSociety; a member of the North HavenCongregational Church where he sang inthe choir, served as treasurer and was amember of the Board of Finance.He was the husband of Catherine P.Griffis Welch and the father of Brian (Susan)Welch of Monte Vista, CO, DanielA. Welch of Meriden, Amy C. Welch ofHamden and Heidi J. Welch of Syracuse,NY; brother of George (Bobbi) Merrittof Hackensack, NJ, Thomas Welch ofJefferson, ME, Susan (Fred) Smith ofRock Hill, SC, Patricia (Garland Gates)Welch of Shelby, OH.[Source: The Hartford Courant,June 7, 2007](continued on p. 19Spring 2013FON Newsletter 13

DIMENSIONAL BRAND STRATEGY AND EXECUTIONWWW.ARTHOUSEPRINT.COMT-Shirts, summer and Great Karma?By Lynn Olson (10) 64-66T-Shirts still available! We are down to only two medium shirts but lots of other sizes. Thanks to all of you who have ordered.You have earned a special place in my heart. To those of you have not done so yet, summer is coming and you really do need a newt-shirt, and....................... I can promise you great karma!FON T-SHIRT ORDER FORMNAME: ____________________________________________________ADDRESS:__________________________________________________STREET: ___________________________________________________CITY / STATE / ZIP:_________________________________________PHONE: __________________________________________________EMAIL:____________________________________________________T-shirt PricesTOTAL $☐ X-Large, Large…$23 SIZE___ number____ ___________☐ Medium, Small…$20 SIZE___ number____ ___________☐ YouthSmall, X-small……$15 SIZE__ number_____ ___________☐ Shipping Charge $5.15TOTAL______________________ARTHOUSEMail order form and either check or money orderonly to:Project: Friends of NigeriaGarment: Gildan short sleeve tee in Old GoldPrint: 2c front / 1c backAPPAREL & MERCHANDISELynn Olson: 1228 2nd St.NE, Minneapolis, MN 55413-1130(Checks should be made out to FON and shouldinclude cost of merchandise plus $5.15 for shipping/handling for each order.)Cindy Koppelman • cindy@arthouseprint.com • direct (612)321-0950 x.22114 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

Nigeria NewsEdited by Virginia DeLancey (04) 62-64Super Eagles Win the Africa Cupof NationsThe Super Eagles of Nigeria had notbeen to the Africa Cup finals in 19 years,but this year was different. The Eagleseliminated host country South Africa toearn a place in the semi-finals. Then theyeliminated the top-ranked Elephantsof Ivory Coast as well as Mali to earn aplace in the finals, while Burkina Fasoupset and eliminated Ghana to earn itsplace in the finals.Nigeria’s leading scorer EmmanuelEmenike was injured in the matchagainst Mali and was replaced in the finalgame by experienced Ikechukwu Uche.But, it was the goal by Sunday Mba, fiveminutes before half time, that decidedthe tournament. The win, watched bynearly 90,000 fans in the stadium andmillions throughout the world, was atriumph for the Super Eagles, as well asfor their coach Stephen Keshi. Keshi isonly the second African to win the trophy,both as a player and as a coach, afterEgyptian legend Mahmoud El Gohary.Although Nigeria was initially anunderdog, the team had strong supportfrom their fans at home and in thestands. Pepsi, the official beverage sponsorsof the Africa Cup, supported theSuper Eagles with their campaign, “OurNation, Our Pride,” and with competitionsat several Nigerian universities togain support for the Super Eagles. Thecompany sent students home with Pepsigift items and awarded medals, trophies,and cash to student teams. Others providedsupport, as well. The Associationof Nigerian Prostitutes (ANP) congratulatedthe Super Eagles and assured theteam of their usual support and partnership.As a further incentive to win, thespokeswoman said that the ANP woulddeclare one week of free sex if the SuperEagles could bring home the trophy. Aninvestigation revealed that some membersof the association were already inSouth Africa, “supporting” the team.In a final statement, Coach StephenKeshi dedicated Nigeria’s Africa Cupof Nations triumph to all indigenousNigerian coaches who were treated withlack of respect by sports administratorsand fans. He accused administrators ofnot being patient enough to allow localcoaches to get their programs in order,while emphasizing that the Nigerianteam had a great deal of potential.(Sources: Africa Top Sports, 2/1/2013;allAfrica, 2/10/13, 2/11/2013; Leadership[Abuja], 2/11/13; SI.com [Durban,(AP)], 2/6/13; This Day, 2/9/13,2/11/13; Vanguard, 2/11/13).President Jonathan Can Run in2015An Abuja high court has ruled thatPresident Jonathan can run for electionto a second term in 2015. The courtdismissed a suit that asked the court todeclare President Jonathan ineligible onthe basis that the Nigerian constitutionprevents him from taking the oath ofoffice of the president three times. PresidentJonathan has taken the oath twice,once after the death of his predecessorand again after he was elected Presidentin 2011. The court ruled that the constitutionallows the president two terms inoffice. (Sources: Premium Times, 3/1/13;Vanguard [Abuja], 3/1/13).Nigerian is Africa’s Richest ManOnce AgainForbes Magazine has named a NigerianAfrica’s richest man. This is thesecond year in a row that Aliko Dangotehas topped the list of Africa’s 40 richestpeople, with a net worth of $12 billion.His wealth comes mostly from hiscement business which operates in 14countries.Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africaand his family were second on the listwith $6.4 billion, followed by JohannRupert, also of South Africa, with familywealth of $5.7 billion. Only two womenare on the list, one of whom is entrepreneurand investor Isabel dos Santos,daughter of the president of Angola.(Source: VOA News, 11/22/12).Nigerian Equities Lead AfricanMarketsThe Nigerian equities market hasbeen leading African markets with areturn of 63 percent in U.S. dollar termsfor the last 12 months, as foreign investorsscramble to participate in frontiermarkets. The Financial Times (FT) ofLondon indicated that money flowinginto Africa-dedicated equity funds lastDecember reached $878.4 million, thelargest monthly inflow in two years.According to the FT, “hunters ofinvestment exotica” are turning to Africawhere some of the world’s riskiest marketsare enjoying big gains. While VietNam, Dubai, Argentina, and Kazakhstanhave all enjoyed a robust start in the newyear, fund managers have suggested thatthe real stars are in Africa — that there isa second scramble for Africa under way.Some smaller markets such as Namibiaand Zambia have not performed as well,but the larger sub-Saharan African marketshave had strong gains, with Nigerianstocks providing the highest returns.Kenya’s market has also performed well,increasing 46 percent, while Ghana’sincreased more than 17 percent. (Source:This Day, 2/11/13).Boko Haram Agrees to a CeaseFire, then Vows to ContinueAttacksAfter 42 months of attacks whichkilled about 3,000 Nigerians, BokoHaram, which has been terrorizing somestates in the North, particularly Borno,agreed on January 28 to lay down arms,soon after unknown gunmen killed13 people in Gajigana town in BornuState. A group alleged to be members ofBoko Haram came to an agreement ina closed-door meeting with the BornoState Governor, other important govern-Spring 2013FON Newsletter 15

Nigeria Newsment personnel, and religious leaders.The commander in charge of North andCentral Bornu, Sheikh Abu MohammadAbdulazeez Ibn Idris, said that afterconsultation with the leader of the sect,Sheikh Abubakar Shekau, as well as interventionand pleading from respectfulindividuals and groups in the state, theycame to terms and agreed to lay downtheir arms. He also said that Muslimwomen and children had suffered untoldhardship during the past years. However,among other demands, he insisted thatthe government should immediatelyrelease all their members from custodyunconditionally, rebuild their placesof worship, and compensate them. Anofficial of the government respondedthat the government would criticallystudy the group’s cease fire terms beforeresponding.Since January 28, however, there havebeen several kidnapping attempts, an attemptedsuicide bombing in Maiduguri,and the killing of polio immunizationworkers in Kano. Moreover, on February20, leaflets linked to Shekau were distributedin Maiduguri, disassociating himfrom the ceasefire declaration and vowingto continue deadly attacks. (Sources:IRIN [Kano], 2/22/13; Vanguard [Maiduguri],1/28/13; [Lagos], 2/29/13).Nigerian Military Attacks TrainingCamps in Borno StateNigeria’s military said it killed 17insurgents in attacks on two trainingcamps belonging to Boko Haram. Themilitary was backed up by helicoptergunships as they moved in on the campsin Ruwa forest and the Sambisa GameReserve in Borno State. The camps werefortified and had training facilities, anarmory, living accommodations, a drugstore, kitchen, and a vehicle holding area.(Source: BBC News, 2/1/13).Boko Haram Training CampsFound in MaliHundreds of Boko Haram membersstayed at training camps for monthsin Timbuktu, learning to repair Kalashnikovsand launch shoulder-firedweapons, according to a new report.More than 200 Nigerians went to Timbuktuin April 2012 for training at a nowbombed-out customs-police building, interminglingwith the al Qaeda offshoot,Ansar Dine. They fled into the desertalong with other militants, days before aFrench air strike on January 20.A senior security chief allegedly statedthat Nigerian troops are now going toMali primarily to uproot the Boko Haramtraining facilities. However, NigerianChief of Army Staff Lt-General AzubuikeIhejirika stated that it is imperative forNigerian troops to join the internationalcampaign to free northern Malifrom militants. Nigeria is a leader of theECOWAS force in Mali. (Source: DailyTrust, 2/6/13).Gunmen Attempt Assassinationof Emir of KanoEight gunmen ran toward the convoy,shooting, as the Emir of Kano wasreturning to his palace after attendinga Qur’anic graduation ceremony andcommissioning an Islamiyya school onJanuary 19. The Emir survived, but hisdriver and three bodyguards were killed,apparently shielding him from the gunmen.A total of six persons were killed,while the emir’s two sons and about 16others sustained injuries.For many, it was unthinkable thatgunmen would attack the most importantMuslim leader in the country,after the Sultan of Sokoto. The emir’ssenior counsel, Abbas Sanusi, says thatthey have no idea who might have beenresponsible for the attack, although manyanalysts suggest that this was the work ofBoko Haram and are not surprised at theassassination attempt. A former militarygovernor in north-western Nigeria, UsmanFarouk, suggested that the masseshave determined that the emirs andchiefs are now stooges of the politicalclass and believe that this must stop. Hesaid that the budgets of these rulers arelargely paid by politicians, causing thosetraditional and religious leaders to becaught up in politics and to lose theirindependence. However, Sanusi said thathe does not believe that the attack happenedbecause of religion or politics. Hesaid that the emir is 83 years old and hasbeen on the throne for 50 years, and hasnot been involved in politics.The emir and his injured childrenwere flown to Britain a day after theincident aboard a chartered aircraft formedical attention. The emir was treatedfor trauma and is said to have recoveredcompletely. While there, the Archbishopof Canterbury visited him to bring hiscondolences and condemn the attack.The emir and his sons returned to Nigeriaon February 27 aboard a Nigeria AirForce plane.During the first week of February,security forces attached to the Joint TaskForce outfit operating in Kano Statearrested a retired police corporal as oneof the suspected masterminds of theattackers, who is also suspected of commandingseveral other attacks in Kano.He provided information that led to thearrest of two other suspects, includinga university undergraduate. (Sources:BBC News [Kano], 2/7/13; Daily Trust,2/11/13, 2/27/13, 2/28/13).States Ban Motorbike TaxisThe attempted assassination of theEmir of Kano has had drastic consequencesfor thousands of young menwho face losing their means of earninga living. Because the gunmen werereported to have fled on the back of motorbikes,Kano state has banned their useas taxis, known as “achaba”. The chairof the Kano branch of the AmalgamatedCommercial Motorcycle Owners andRiders Association of Nigeria (ACO-MORAN) said that no members of theassociation had given rides to gunmencarrying out attacks, and that banningthe taxis would only lead to other formsof criminality as a result of the loss ofjobs. The ban has cost “achaba” drivers$9 million a day, according to the Chairmanof the Kano ACOMORAN, as eachof the 1.5 million “achaba” drivers usedto earn an average of $12 a day. Borno,Yobe, Adamawa, Gombe, Plateau, Lagos,and Rivers States have imposed similarbans.Kano Governor Musa RabiuKwankwaso insisted that the govern-16 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

Nigeria Newsment is creating jobs and that it plansto purchase 1,000 taxis which will beavailable to young men on hire purchase.He said that there will also be 500 busesand 250 new Toyota Corollas which willbe used as “luxury taxis”. However, asthese vehicles will be available exclusivelyto diploma and degree holders, theywill not solve the problem, although theGovernor did say that two-wheeled taxismight be allowed to return to the streetsif security improves. (Sources: BBC News[Kano], 2/7/13; IRIN [Kano], 2/12/13).Ten Polio Immunizers are killed inKanoGunmen on mopeds shot and killed10 polio vaccinators in separate attackson two polio clinics in Kano. Healthworkers had just finished a four-daypolio immunization campaign in twodistricts of Kano State and were about tostart a one-day exercise to reach childrenwho had been missed in the initialround. They were trying to vaccinate 90percent of all children under age five inorder to build up “herd immunity”, agroup’s ability to withstand an epidemic.It is unclear who was responsible for theshootings, but similar attacks have beenblamed on Boko Haram.The killings came two days afterKano-based Wazobia FM radio broadcasta popular program in which journalistsaccused traditional chiefs and governmentofficials of taking money from theWest in order to force upon them a poliocampaign that had harmful consequences,reviving conspiracy theories. Policearrested three journalists from the radiostation and accused them of inciting thekillings by hosting an on-air discussionabout rumors and conspiracy theories relatedto the vaccines. There are also suggestionsthat the killings mimicked whatwas going on in Pakistan recently wherepolio workers were targeted and killedafter the Taliban accused health workersof working as U.S. spies and wherethe CIA was blamed for the killings. Inits effort to track Osama bin Laden, theCIA paid a Pakistani doctor to seek entryto Bin Laden’s compound on the pretextof vaccinating the children — presumablyto get DNA samples as evidencethat it was the right family. That angeredsome Taliban factions in Pakistan, whichoutlawed vaccination in their areas andthreatened vaccinators.Kano is the capital of a polio epidemicwhere concerted efforts are beingmade to eliminate the virus by the end of2013. Health officials fear that the attackwill slow progress on the polio campaignin the region, as vaccinators now feardoing their work.Nigeria, along with Pakistan andAfghanistan, is one of three countriesstill considered to have endemic polio.Of the 222 cases recorded worldwide in2012, 121 were in Nigeria, according tothe WHO. (Sources: BBC News, 2/8/13;IRIN [Kano], 2/15/13; The New YorkTimes, 2/8/13; VOA News, 2/12/13).Three Korean and EgyptianDoctors are Killed in YobeSix gunmen broke into the apartmentof three doctors in Potiskum, YobeState in the early hours of the day, tiedthe doctors’ hands behind their backs,and slit their throats. The gunmen leftthe dismembered head of one of the doctorson the apartment gate. At the timeof writing, police did not know who wasbehind the killings. However, it occurredjust two days after gunmen killed the10 polio vaccination workers in Kano.(Source: Leadership [Abuja], 2/11/13).Dangote and Gates to Fight Polioin NigeriaThe richest man in Africa and thewealthiest man from the U.S. havejoined efforts to battle polio which hasresurged in Nigeria. Aliko Dangote, theNigerian businessman that Forbes hasdeclared is the richest man in Africa,and Bill Gates, founder of the Bill andMelinda Gates Foundation, announcedan alliance during a ceremony in Kano.During the four-year alliance, the Gatesand Dangote foundations will providefunding, equipment and technical supportto the Kano state government tostrengthen polio immunization. Theamount that the two foundations intendto commit in the partnership was notdisclosed. (Source: The Courier-Mail,11/27/12).Seven Foreigners are kidnappedin Northern NigeriaPolice reported that gunmenkidnapped seven foreign constructionworkers (four Lebanese, one Greek, oneBritish, and one Italian) and killed acivilian Nigerian guard at Setraco NigeriaLtd., an international construction companyin Bauchi. The gunmen initiallytossed explosives into a police station butthe officers fought back. The attackersthen moved on to the prison with theintent of freeing the inmates. When theydid not succeed, they moved on to thecompound of the construction company.At this time, it is uncertain where thesuspects and victims are.Some locals initially believed that thekidnappers were motivated by money,not extremism. They believed that theraids on the police station and prisonwere intended to distract security forcesso they could kidnap the foreigners andseek ransom, a practice that has earnedperpetrators millions of dollars in Nigeria.However, Ansaru, an Islamic groupactive in the area later claimed to havecarried out the abduction. Ansaru issueda statement that it had taken the hostagesin reprisal for the transgressions andatrocities done to the religion of Allah byEuropean countries in many places suchas Afghanistan and Mali, where Francehas been trying to drive out militantslinked to Al Qaida. It warned that thehostages would be killed if there was anyrescue attempt, but it made no demands.Ansaru also says that it is holdinga French national, Francis Colump,who was seized in the northern state ofKatsina. (Sources: BBC News, 2/19/13;Chicago Tribune, 2/19/13; VOA News,2/17/13).Seven French Tourists arekidnapped in Northern CameroonShortly after seven foreign constructionworkers were kidnapped in NorthernNigeria, a family of seven Frenchtourists was attacked by men on motorcyclesin Northern Cameroon near theSpring 2013FON Newsletter 17

Nigeria NewsNigerian border as they returned from avacation at Waza National Park. FrenchPresident Francois Hollande said that thefamily members, including four children,were seized by a “known terrorist groupbased in Nigeria” and were probably takento northern Nigeria. He warned otherFrench nationals in northern Cameroonto avoid “exposing themselves”. He alsoindicated that Boko Haram may havebeen responsible, although the groupAnsaru has also been active in the region,most recently claiming abduction offoreign construction workers in northernNigeria. Within days of the abduction,French special forces arrived in northernCameroon from N’Djamena, Chad tohelp find the family. Nigerian authoritiesalso responded, inviting Boko Haramto contact the police after they claimedresponsibility for the kidnapping, leadingto speculation that a ransom might bepaid.At least eight other French nationalsare being held by Islamist groups active inAfrica as the French lead an interventionagainst Islamic militants in Mali. (Sources:BBC News, 2/19/13; Chicago Tribune,2/19/13, 2/21/13; rfi English, 3/1/13).Iran Denies Involvement withNigerian MilitantsIran has denied connection to threemilitants arrested in Nigeria who allegedlyhad ties to an Iranian terror cellthat plotted attacks against U.S. andIsraeli sites in Nigeria. Iran’s deputyforeign minister said that such allegationswere merely the result of poor relationsbetween Iran and the West, and thatrelations between Iran and Nigeria arejust “developing”. Abdullahi MustaphaBerende, a Shi’ite sect member who isbelieved to be the leader of the group,traveled to Iran in 2006 to study Shi’iteIslamic teachings at a university. Authoritiesare still looking for a fourth suspect.They believe that Berende recruited theother suspects to target facilities in Lagos.Berende told authorities that he did seekinformation about some people andinstitutions, but that he did not take partin espionage or terror-related activities.(Source: VOA News, 2/22/13).Government Ordered to Pay ODICommunity for Human RightsViolationsA Nigerian court has ordered thefederal government to pay $240 millionwithin 21 days to Odi Community in theNiger Delta for what many call a “massacre”.It is unclear exactly what happened,but Human Rights Watch says that gangmembers in Odi killed twelve policemenin November 1999. A few weeks later, accordingto Human Rights Watch, soldiersraided the town of 15,000, destroyingalmost every building and possibly killinghundreds of people. Locals say that itthousands were killed and that the attackswere racially motivated against ethnicIjaws, with soldiers writing, “We will killall Ijaws”, on demolished buildings. TheNigerian government at that time saidthat it was rooting out terrorists and destroyingtheir base. However, the Nigerianjudge called it “a brazen violation of thehuman rights of the victims to movement,life and to own property and live peacefullyin their ancestral home.” (Source:VOA News, 2/20/13).Used Clothing Market isDestroying Nigerian TextileIndustryThe Nigerian textile industry wasbooming until the late 1990’s, but it isnow near collapse. The textile industriesin the North are either no longer working,or they are working at a minimallevel, according to the Deputy Presidentof the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce.“Made in Nigeria” clothes are doomed,according to him, because companiescannot earn enough to invest in modernequipment. In addition, the factoriesmust pay for additional security to keeptheir workers safe in many volatile regions,and electricity is often unavailable,requiring many factories to run 24 hourson generators.Many shoppers buy used clothingshipped from abroad because they areless expensive. But, many shoppers alsoprefer used clothing these days, sayingthat they would not buy Nigerian clothingeven if they had the money becauseNigeria does not produce “quality”clothes. However, many of those in thetextile industry believe that the trend ofbuying used clothing is also killing theirchances of coming back to life.The Kano State Government hastaken note of the decline of the clothingindustry and has earmarked nearly$11 billion for the establishment of agarment production center in each of the44 local government areas of the state,remodeling and converting agriculturalsupply stores in the local governmentareas into garment production centers. Ina recent trip to India, the governor of thestate interacted with investors in the sectorand visited garment industries witha view to source equipment and technicalexpertise for the proposed productioncenters and craft schools in Kano.(Sources: This Day [Kano], 3/1/13; VOANews, 2/21/13).Nigerian is Crowned MissECOWAS Peace AmbassadorHyeladzirra Banu, the reigning“Miss ECOWAS”, was crowned “MissECOWAS Peace Ambassador” in December.Contestants from Ivory Coastand Ghana were selected as runners up.Ms. Banu, age 23, who holds honorsdegrees in international relations, politicalscience, and communications, saidthat her platform will be to work withECOWAS and its partners to promotepeace, to execute development projects,and to champion youth empowermentinitiatives in the region. She has previousexperience with international organizationssuch as the Brookings Institution,Habitat for Humanity and AmnestyInternational and has served in Nigeria,as well as in the U.S. in Michigan, Texas,Washington D.C., New York, and Iowa.She is the CEO and founder of DorcaSapelFoundation which carries out18 FON Newsletter Spring 2013

Nigeria Newsdevelopment projects, and is also a DJ, amodel, and a communications scholar.The ECOWAS Peace Pageant, themost prestigious pageant in the region, isproduced by a Ghanaian-based organization,and is aimed at promoting theECOWAS Youth Agenda. It was attendedby several domestic and internationaldignitaries and featured performances bywell-known international and Nigerianmusical artists. (Source: Economic Communityof West Africa [Abuja], 2/2013).Kim Kardashian “Hosts” Concertin LagosReality TV personality Kim Kardashianhad offered to co-host the“Love Like A Movie” event with Africa’sking of R&B, Darey Art Alade, at theConvention Center of Eko Hotel andSuites, Lagos, on February 17. It was herfirst time in Nigeria and she expressedexcitement in being there, but it wasreported that she stayed at the event allof 45 minutes, made a 45-second statementon the microphone, “Hey, Naija”,and left shortly after the ceremonies toreturn home, amidst rumors of havingbeen paid $500,000 for the appearance.It was suggested that she had just 419’dthe 419ers — scammed the scammers.(Sources: Mail Online [www.dailymail.co.uk], 2/18/13, 2/19/13; PremiumIn Memorium(continued from p.6)Jonathan Paul Dey (15) 66-67Dr. Jonathan Paul Dey, 68, ofBloomington, died Monday Nov. 19,2012 at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center,Bloomington, MN. Jon was a memberof Nigeria 15 and taught high school scienceand math in Emeyor, Nigeria.Jon was born Nov. 29, 1943, inAshton, Idaho to Lutheran minister Rev.Norbert and Edna Witte Dey. He grewup in Oregon and had fond memoriesof times spent with his two sisters andtwo brothers. He earned his Bachelor ofScience degree from Oregon State Universityin 1965. After graduating fromOregon State and serving for two yearsas a Peace Corps volunteer, he earned hisTimes, 2/9/13; This Day, 2/18/13;Vanguard, 2/13/13, 2/17/13; Yahoo News,2/19/13).Nigeria Records Second HighestYouTube Growth in Sub-SaharanAfricaThe internet is having a profoundeffect in Nigeria, and YouTube is usedextensively. In 2012, the number ofviews in Nigeria grew by 125%, the secondhighest growth rate in Sub-SaharanAfrica. Ghana led the continent withviewership growth of 140%. Google’sCommunications and Public AffairsManager in West Africa said, “Nigerianshave embraced YouTube, creating andwatching locally created and relevantcontent in the different local languages.They are part of a highly-connectedglobal community that uploads 72 hoursof video every minute and watches 4billion hours of video a month.” (Source:This Day, 3/1/13).France Returns Smuggled NokArtifactsFrance returned to Nigeria fiveancient terracotta sculptures smuggledout of the country in 2010. The Nokartifacts were found in the luggage ofa French citizen at a Paris airport. It isbelieved that they were smuggled outof Nigeria to Togo, a route thought tobe used by smugglers to avoid customschecks at Nigerian airports. Their valuehas not been disclosed, but they arebelieved to be more than 3,000 years old.France’s ambassador to Nigeria said thatthe return of the artifacts was part of aglobal attempt to fight the illegal traffickingof cultural goods.Nok art has been discovered in alarge area of north-central Nigeria fromJos to Kaduna. Nigeria’s National Commissionfor Museums and Monumentsbelieves that items of Nok culture showthat it was the first society to have usediron in sub-Saharan Africa. (Source: BBCNews, 1/29/13).master’s degree from Duke University.He served in the U.S. Armed Forcesfrom 1969 to 1971 as a research specialistat Walter Reed Military Hospital inWashington, D.C. and , in 1975, wenton to earn his doctorate from DukeUniversity.Jon joined Illinois Wesleyan Universityin 1975 and was named Miner LinnaeusSherff Professor of Botany in 1990,recognizing his extensive research andnational reputation as a lichenologist. Hewas tireless in his work and in sharingthe load of his department and the University.A devoted teacher who advisedand supervised many student projects,Jon was the recipient of the University’steaching excellence award in 2009.Jon loved his family, rooting for hisfavorite sports teams, the Illinois WesleyanTitans, the Oregon State Beaversand the Duke Blue Devils. He was verypassionate about his work and consideredhis lichens and his teaching to be hisfavorite hobby.He is survived by his wife, MischeCohen, who he married on April 12,1970, in Gainesville, FL. He is alsosurvived by one daughter, Jennifer (Jim)Dey Stein, Austin, Texas; three grandchildren,Eliot, Naomi and ThomasStein; four brothers and sisters, Elisabeth(Rick) Wheeler, Tucson, Ariz.; Norbert(Rozeann) Dey, Newberg, Ore.; Carolyn(Rex) Pugmire, Salem, Ore.; and Tom(Denise) Dey, Los Alamos, N.M.; andseveral nieces and nephews. He waspreceded in death by his parents.[Source: pantagraph.com]Spring 2013FON Newsletter 19

Friends of Nigeriac/o Peter Hansen1 Oaknoll Ct., Apt 439Iowa City, IA 52246Spring 2013Non-ProfitOrganizationUS PostagePAIDPERMIT #1040Leesburg, FL 34748ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTEDMake a Contribution (Tax Deductible) to FONJoin or Renew Your MembershipSupport VSO Volunteers in Nigeria...Keep the lorry rolling!Support the Fantsuam Foundation programFor new members, please provide all of the information requested.For renewals, please include any changes (please check mailing label above for renewal date).For donations, specify how it is to be used - VSO or Fantsuam Project and/or unrestricted.Friends of NIgeriaName _____________________________________________________________________Address ___________________________________________________________________supportingCity/State/Zip ______________________________________________________________Preferred Phones ___________________________________________________________Email______________________________________________________________________Current Occupation/Employer________________________________________________________Peace Corps Nigeria group ______ PC Service 19____ to____ PC Town _____________________PC School/Agency____________________ PC Job __________________________________________ Permission to use this information on the FON website Membership Directory___ I do not wish this information to be shared with the NPCAThankYou!___ Friends of Nigeria Membership - Individual $20 x ___ years = __________ - Family $30 x ___ years = _____________ National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) - Individual Membership $35___ FON VSO Project Donation (Tax Deductible)- $35 ____ $50 ____ $75 ____ $100 ___ Other $____________ FON Fantsuam Project Donation (Tax Deductible) - $35 ____ $50 ____ $75 ____ $100 ___ Other $____________ FON Unrestricted Donation (Tax Deductible)___ I’ll help with the newsletter- $35 ____ $50 ____ $75 ____ $100 ___ Other $____________ I’ll help with special projectsComments and ideas welcome:____________________________________________________________________________________Make your check payable to Friends of Nigeria and mail to Treasurer Peter Hansen, address at top of this page.