Friends of Nigeria Newsletter Selections, Spring 1999

Spring 1999

Marge Shannon Snoeren, Editor

Vol. 3, No. 3

Among the hundreds of foreign observers in Nigeria for the elections were former President Jimmy Carter and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin Powell who co-led a US observer team selected by the Atlanta-based Carter Center and the Washington-based National Democratic Institute. Carter observed elections in Abuja; Powell monitored elections in Lagos.

Fewer than expected turned out at the polls as many believed that a victory for Obasanjo was predetermined because of his strong financial support and organizational assistance from wealthy, powerful, retired military officers. There were doubts about the fairness and democratic process and these were justified by accounts of rampant irregularities.

Jimmy Carter observed 60 persons register and vote at one poll he monitored. Later the results showed that 600 had voted. When Carter asked how the 60 had become 600, the poll manager suggested that it had happened when Carter was not looking at the voting booth. Carter told the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) that the election fraud was so widespread that it was impossible to judge whether the results were accurate. He added that there did not seem to be a nationwide pattern favoring one party.

Nigeria's Transition Monitoring Group corroborated that parties backing both candidates were guilty of cheating and that electoral officers colluded across the country to falsify results. Nevertheless, when the results were finally tabulated, Obasanjo was declared the victor, capturing 63 percent of the 30 million votes cast, while Falae took 37 percent.

Nigeria has never had an election after which the loser accepted defeat. Thus, it is not surprising that, justified or not, Falae declared the election was a farce, a charade, and immediately urged Nigerians to take to the streets. Although there was relatively little disorder during the elections, eight people, including five policemen, were subsequently killed in election-related violence. Some reports cited up to 14 deaths.

Falae has called for the formation of a government of national unity with representatives from all of Nigeria's three political parties while Obasanjo has called on his defeated rival to participate in the democratic process of the country, which he pledged to carry on. The most recent news indicates that Falae may yet challenge the election results in court. Obasanjo is scheduled to take office on May 29, ending 15 years of military rule in Nigeria.

The return to democratic rule began with local government elections on December 5 which brought 774 Council Chairmen and 8,500 Councillors into the process, and which allowed three of the nine participating parties to continue on to state and national elections.

State elections took place January 9 with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) taking 20 state governorships. The All Peoples Party (APP) took 9, and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) took 6. Approximately 24.6 million, of the estimated 30-40 million electorate, turned out for the election, slightly less than the 26 million who voted in the local elections in December. The elections were generally peaceful, although none were held in Bayelsa State because of recent clashes between security agents and residents seeking a greater share of oil wealth. Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku was satisfied with the elections, which he deemed, in general, organized.

The dominance of the PDP in the local and state elections, made it essential for the APP and the AD to make an alliance, to prevent the PDP from running away with the succeeding elections. That alliance had been blocked until then, however, because of the major differences between the APP (many of whose members supported the late dictator General Sani Abacha) and the AD (many of whose members opposed Abacha), and because the INEC maintained that it was not feasible for the two parties to contest the next election on the same banner.

Elections for the National Assembly took place on February 20, with generally low turn out, particularly in the troubled Delta region where apathy and community-led boycotts kept potential voters at home. The low turn out might also have been the result of the low status given to the parliament in the draft constitution where power is believed to rest mainly with the president.

A high level of irregularities was noted throughout the country by international electoral monitors, which caused concern for the presidential elections to be held the following week. An exceptional level of irregularity occurred in Bayelsa and Port Harcourt; in many instances, accreditation did not take place, ballot-box stuffing occurred, and counting deviations were reported. The irregularities throughout the country did not, however, mar the credibility of the overall result, according to the international monitors. Once again, the PDP had an overwhelming victory in the National Assembly polls, followed by AD, and then APP.

The contenders for the office of President were whittled down to two by the time of the election. Obasanjo won the nomination of the PDP. He is a Yoruba, the son of a middle-class Baptist family from a town near Lagos, who first came to power in 1976 after a failed coup attempt took the life of military leader General Murtala Muhammed. Obasanjo later turned over power to Shehu Shagari, following presidential elections in 1979 and returned to his farm at Otta, taking up farming, writing, and sitting on several international commissions. In 1995 he and 43 others were sentenced to jail for allegedly plotting a coup against Abacha; he was released in 1998 when General Abubakar took office.

Obasanjo was the only Nigerian military leader ever to hand over power to an elected civilian. Nevertheless, Yorubas distrust him because of his military past, and because he draws much of his support from the Muslim-dominated north which produced other military leaders.

To broaden his appeal, Obasanjo, who represents the older generation, selected a relatively youthful Atiku Abubakar, 52, a retired civil servant and skillful politician from the north, to be his running mate. The two had only a vague platform of national unity.

Samuel Oluyemisi Falae became the joint presidential candidate for both the AD and the APP. Falae, born 60 years ago in a village near Akure, is a graduate of both the University of Ibadan and Yale University in the US, with a background in economics and banking. He had been a civil servant for almost 30 years, and had held the position of Permanent Secretary in the cabinet from 1971 to 1981. He was also the Managing Director/Chief Executive of Nigerian Merchant Bank from 1981 to 1986, before he was appointed secretary to General Ibrahim Babangida's government and later Minister of Finance. He also oversaw Nigeria's Structural Adjustment Program.

Falae left government in 1990 and sought the Presidency under the Social Democratic Party, one of two approved political parties. He and 22 other presidential aspirants were disqualified by Babangida, however, in 1992. He later supported the candidacy of the late Moshood Abiola, whose own election was annulled by Babangida.

Falae then joined the opposition National Democratic Coalition in the campaign against the Abacha regime. He and 16 others, including Wole Soyinka, were charged with treason in 1997; he was freed after Abacha's death in June 1998, as part of the national reconciliation efforts. Falae then sought the presidential candidacy through the AD party. Like Obasanjo, Falae had only a vague campaign platform.

Editor’s Note: The Nigerian News Editor and author is Acting Director of the African Studies Program at Indiana University. She specializes in issues of economic development, especially those related to the family, agricultural policy, and rural credit, and has spent more than 12 years teaching, conducting research and traveling throughout Africa.
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Neither of us had a piano or any music. But by the end of the conference, we were determined to do this wild, unlikely thing. We wouldn’t do its for altruistic reasons. We would do it to maintain sanity.

From idea to actuality, I traced the concert in letters I wrote to my family every Sunday, right after ingesting two chloroquine phosphate tablets along with strong hot tea (rainy season) or a half bottle of Star (dry season).

Nsukka, Apr. 30
The music conference is over. I'll be leaving Nsukka in an hour to travel back with Barton Dozier. Last night I sang two songs from Camelot and one written by Joan Kral. It's been a wonderful week—hardly any rest. Joan and I have decided to give a concert.

Ughelli, May 30
Joan came from Abraka yesterday to plan our concert for around the first of October. We worked out a program of Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, and several things in English and want to present it in Warri at a school which has a good auditorium and piano so Joan can also perform solos.

In the meantime, my music professors at Florida State kindly sent music and recorded accompaniments, so I began rehearsals in mid-May.

Ughelli, July 18
What a wonderful week this has been! Joan came and we bicycled to Government College in the rain and practiced there for three hours. It was wonderful to sing again.

We went over to see Clara Isenberg, (10) 64-66, (Marge Wilkinson's, (9) 63-65, housemate) who leaves within the month for Louisiana. After dark, we discovered neither bicycle had a light. Marge tied a little kerosene lamp on the front of my bicycle and we inched our way home, through the blackest and longest two miles I've ever traveled.

Ughelli, Aug. 7
Last night I had a good practice. No one was near, except the flying insects. I sang as—ah—forcefully as I wanted to!

Warri, Aug. 11
Joan, her roommate Sally Kinkel, (10) 64-67, and I came to Warri Friday afternoon and haven't stopped since. Joan and I have been practicing steadily and hard, and the results are promising.

Warri, Aug. 13
Mother, see if you can find in my music cabinet Cast Thy Burden Upon the Lord, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, and at least two more good Bach hymns because I want to replace Agnus Dei. It is too esoteric for our audience.

Warri, Aug. 22
Joan and I practiced yesterday and things are moving right along. She's leaving for a visit to Liberia for a few weeks where her sister, Barbara, was a PCV. Barbara was one of five girls who crossed the Sahara. You may have read about it in Life Magazine.

Ughelli, Aug. 27
This has been a beautifully quiet week—no one here but me. I've been reading, eating, sleeping, walking, and every night I practice for at least two hours. It's the best part of the day. If you could find Schubert's Ave Maria in the key of F or G, it would be a tremendous help. I have it in the key of B flat, which is just too high.

Ughelli, Sept. 5
Yesterday I recorded four songs for my professor Mr. James and sent them to him for critique. I'm so excited about this concert. I've had encouragement from many people.

We found a better piano at the Warri British club. They would let us borrow it if we could move it ourselves—no small thing, that. We hired two men with a large handcart to take it from the club to the auditorium. Joan hopped up into the cart to steady it and played as we rolled along.

Ughelli, Sept. 20
School starts today and this term will go by in a hurry. The concert is three weeks away. People can't believe we're going through with this.

Ughelli, Sept. 27
Last weekend, Joan and I went to Eka to practice on a new piano one of the nurses has. I wasn't in very good voice after a strenuous week, but we got a lot accomplished, taping the things we did on a trial run through and listening to the results. I am anxious for everything to go "well-well".

Sunday night I caught a ride home with the Seismic crew's water truck. They had to lift me into the cab it was so high. Roads were in bad condition because of rains. Three lorries mired in mud two or three feet deep blocked the road completely. At 11 p.m. all the local gentry, fretful babies notwithstanding, were out to watch the proceedings.

One of the many Nigerians riding on top of the water tank had a transistor radio. No doubt he was looking for high life music but found the BBC playing Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The crowd quieted down and listed to the whole thing— all four movements—a golden moment.

Ughelli, Oct. 3
I'm having a dress made for our concert. The seamstress, Mrs. Ubredi, has done a lovely job with white lace over pink cotton. Yesterday when I was trying it on in her open-air shop, quite a crowd gathered and one man craned his neck so far as he drove by that he nearly swerved off the road.

Singing for the first time in well over two years is giving me stage fright. This weekend while we were practicing, a lot of little kids gathered outside. When I hit a high note in the Mozart aria, one little boy began to cry.

Ughelli, Oct. 7
Tomorrow I go to Warri for our final weekend practice. I still have a few qualms—I guess that's natural. We’re giving two performances. The first is the 16th at Government College for students of three schools. Paul and Jane Hoover, (8) 64-66, are coming along with Mr. and Mrs. Pincetich, (staff) 66-68, Ginny and Ann, and the doctor and his wife. Many people express interest, and that helps a lot, as well as your encouragement.

Ughelli, Oct. 15
I'm really excited about the concert tomorrow night. My dress is finished and fits fine. A lady in Warri is keeping the dress in her air-conditioned bedroom so it won't mildew. Marge is lending me some glittery bracelet and earrings, and Judy (Olmstead), (9) 63-65, has a surprise—a decorative hair clip, I think.

Ughelli, Oct. 18
Saturday morning— the big day—I woke up with laryngitis! All day was a nightmare of Vicks vaporizing, cough drops, brandy, massages and hot tea. I could hardly utter a sound and was really broken up because so many people had come so far to hear us. Finally, the PC doctor, Mike Taylor, came, took my temperature (101 degrees), and encouraged me to go on in spite of everything, so I did.

It was a success! We left out two songs, transposed one up since I couldn't produce any low notes at all, and still people enjoyed the performance. Dr. Taylor sat in the front row, with smiles and smelling salts in case anything happened.

Mr. Pincetich said that he wished more PCVs would display their skills in ways like this concert. Alice Loeffler made me a corsage and brought it all the way from Uromi. Helen Kale sent a bottle of perfume. At the end of the performance, we received a standing ovation. I was truly overcome.

Next weekend we are giving the concert again in Ughelli at Government College. A lot of our friends are coming from other places. Joan, Sally, and Helen Kale will spend the night here and we’ll all socialize afterwards. Sunday I'll fix pancakes for everyone and we can play softball.

Ughelli, Oct. 25
I started Saturday in leisure, proceeded in turmoil, and ended at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning in total collapse. Saturday morning Joan and I went to Government College to rehearse in the auditorium where the concert was to be that night. I sounded a bit creaky, not having sung all week, but felt 100% better. Bob Finlay, (9) 63-65, Jack Poons and Ray Engelke, (both 10) 64-66, PCVs at Government College, came to listen.

Soon after we got back to the house, Helen Kale, arrived with suitcase, two huge paw paws, a pineapple, and a lovely carving I'd ordered in Benin. We were just finishing lunch when Dave Pritchett, Carl White, and Ray Engelke, (all 11) 64-66, zoomed up, all on one Honda. Things really started moving then.

Soon Paul Kerschner, (13) 64-66, and Dave Head, (11) 64-66, arrived after a ten-mile bicycle ride—really hot and tired, but bubbling over. Everyone came to the kitchen to talk while Helen and I started making pumpkin pies. Helen mixed and I rolled out dough on the top of the refrigerator, the only clear space. Then everyone had to take a bath, me last, and Joan and I simply didn't have time to get nervous. Sally's friend Arthur drove us to the concert in his Landrover; we rode in style, long dresses trailing in the breeze.

The concert was a tremendous success! We performed better than we ever had and enjoyed every minute of it, me especially. After I introduced the song The Wonderful Month of May the audience of 500, largely students, began talking. When they didn't stop, I muttered to Joan, "Well, I shouldn't have said anything," and the tape picked it up! Then, after introducing Das Fischermaedchen I turned to Joan and said, "Quick—play before they start talking"—that's on the tape, too.

Ughelli, Nov. 19
In spite of our resolution to the contrary, Joan and I are going to give our concert in Benin the night before I leave. Benin has never had such an event. No other volunteers in the world have done this sort of thing. The new Regional Director, Mr. Holmes, and Dr. Taylor, think this concert can be held up to Peace Corps Volunteers everywhere as an example of cultural achievement! We finally consented to do a command concert.

Jackson, MS, 1999
In Benin, on December 19, 1965, the night before I left Nigeria, Joan Kral and I were taken to a huge auditorium by police escort! We were rushed into the building to find it over-flowing—people were sitting in the windows. And we gave a wonderful, final performance.

Editor's Note: After returning to Mississippi to teach in the Jackson Public School system for several years, the author went on to earn a masters and doctorate in music arts, and has taught at Jacksonville State University (AL) and Presbyterian College (SC). She now teaches at Millsaps College, (Jackson, MS), gives folk music concerts across the south, and has just retired from 25 years of choir directing. In addition, she fosters animals, which have been injured or abused—eleven are in residence at the present.
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Recent visitors to Nigeria report that the indomitable spirit and eternal optimism of its citizens have returned with a vengeance. Nigerians are talking openly about the future of their country and asking who will help shape that destiny. The promise that Nigeria will be governed by civilians for the first time since 1985 has stirred up the traditional cacophony of Nigerian opinions.

However, as sanctions and isolation of the recent past suggest, the giant of Africa needs help to regain its past glory. Nigerians, now understand that in a global economy no country can remain isolated. Nigeria boasts of highly talented men and women, but in a global economy the country will benefit from the assistance of its friends and allies. Nigeria needs friends with technical, managerial and economic knowledge to help rebuild the tattered economy, revamp the moribund educational system, revitalize the comatose agricultural system, resuscitate the dysfunctional civil service machinery, revive from death throes the discredited and inept public utilities, and help ordinary Nigerians to regain confidence in their government and national institutions.

FON can become a critical partner in efforts to revive Nigeria, for many reasons. First, many FON members served in Nigeria in their youth and formed lasting impressions of the potential of that great country. Second, many FON members served in rural Nigeria, the area that needs the most help. Third, FON members served in all parts of Nigeria, a very important distinction in a country paralyzed by the "federal character" question. Fourth, many FON members have reached the pinnacle in their professions and know how to make things happen. Fifth, FON members have developed a network in the United States and other parts of the world that could be useful in efforts to revitalize Nigeria.

Perhaps, the most important reason why FON is a credible friend of Nigeria is the undisguised love and affection that members continue to show toward Nigerians and Nigeria. Even many years after their Peace Corp service, FON members continue to be interested in the progress of Nigeria and assist Nigerians based in the United States. The question is, during the inevitable mad rush of many to do business in Nigeria under the incoming civilian administration, what will the long-time friends of Nigeria do?

Are they going to sit back and watch those with no emotional investment in Nigeria have a field day? Are they going to wait for unscrupulous business entities to shortchange Nigeria again through sharp business practices? Are they going to sit back and watch the educational system of Nigeria become an international laughing stock? Are they willing to let infants and young children die and young mothers meet death during childbirth? Will they watch educated men and women go unemployed because of ignoble national policies, perpetrated in collusion with fair-weather friends? Finally, can long-term friends of Nigeria pass up the opportunity to strengthen democratic principles in Nigeria?

Hopefully, FON members will respond to the above questions with a resounding "No!" FON should become part of the international effort to revive Nigeria. As businessmen and women, academics, managers, technocrats, community organizers, financial juggernauts, current and retired public officials, FON members should participate in credible efforts to assist Nigeria. Among non-Nigerian groups who could participate in efforts to revive Nigeria, FON is the most credible.

Editor’s Note: The author is a Health and Sustainable Development Consultant in Washington, DC, holds academic appointments in three universities and is a member of FON and its Scholarship Program Steering Committee.
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From the earliest days, expectations about the impact of returning Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) were high. "The most important development in the future of the Peace Corps will be the impact of returning Volunteers on American society," Sargent Shriver announced in 1963. Peace Corps would be the Harvard of foreign assistance whose alumni would not come home merely to fit into established work places. RPCVs would remain part of an extended Peace Corps family, loyal to a core of international interests distilled from their experience. In due time, they would transform the direction and aims of America’s institutions, making them into better world citizens.

That was the vision in those heady early years. But, unlike detailed plans for programming impact with PCVs overseas, there was no blueprint for achieving tangible goals with RPCVs. The task was left to spontaneous combustion.

So what has happened in 38 years? It is difficult to assess. Some 150,000 RPCVs have diffused back into American culture. The majority has little to do with Peace Corps. As defined by practice, the agency focuses on placing and supervising current PCVs in priority development programming, and returning them home safely. Rhetoric aside, budget allocations and staffing suggest that Peace Corps is largely indifferent to RPCVs.

On their own, 150,000 RPCVs have certainly not transformed American foreign assistance. Congressional and popular opinion today are more reactionary about foreign development assistance than they were during JFK’s presidency. RPCVs may subtly influence the globalization of certain private American and international institutions, but how can that be measured?

The impact of the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) can be assessed. How successful is this central RPCV alumni organization?

The first waves of RPCVs did not want a national organization, at least not one under the influence of the federal government. Lord, Not Another American Legion was the title of a position paper circulated at the first national conference of RPCVs in March 1965. A large majority wanted a national association only if one bubbled up from local groups. Fourteen years passed before a National Council of RPCVs was incorporated in 1979. Seven years later, it had less than 1,500 members, no paid staff, and no clear program agenda. In 1986, a high-spirited 25th anniversary Peace Corps conference organized by RPCVs in D.C. against White House opposition changed things dramatically. It was attended by some 5,000 RPCVs.

Within a year, National Council membership leaped to over 5,000; geographical and country-of-service RPCV groups rapidly proliferated; and conference earnings, membership dues and grants made it possible to open a D.C. office with paid staff. WorldView magazine and several modest program initiatives were launched. A new governance structure incorporating board members from local and country-of-service groups was put in place. Working in coordination, RPCV organizations achieved behind-the-scenes legislative victories in Congress.

They successfully lobbied for the first significant increases in the Peace Corps budget in many years, for removal of country director appointments from White House political patronage, for a Congressional goal of 10,000 PCVs, and for blocking efforts to move Peace Corps headquarters to Virginia. The White House rebuffed efforts to get qualified RPCVs appointed as Peace Corps director, with the exception of RPCV Carol Bellamy (who was appointed because of political connections and served only a brief tenure before moving on). Pleas to give the Third Goal a higher priority have had limited success.

One clear achievement is a steady climb in the membership of the renamed National Peace Corps Association (NPCA). From 5,000 in 1987, membership has reached 17,000 today. WorldView has been transformed into a distinctive magazine about the developing world with significant advertising revenue. Local and country-of-service groups are part of a national network of communication. These achievements should not be underestimated. NPCA has stabilized a membership and budget.

But program initiatives are described as unremarkable, invisible, and too weak to justify significant alumni contributions. NPCA staff praises its Global TeachNet with some 3,000 domestic teachers but it does not have wide appeal to members. One is hard pressed to say that NPCA is having a large public impact here or abroad. There may be at least three reasons.

The organizations could collaborate to define an effective program agenda with funding though subcontracts. This requires Peace Corps to dedicate a larger portion of its budget to the Third Goal, helping fund NPCA. Thus far, no Peace Corps director has been willing to take the Third Goal this seriously or delegate this much control to NPCA. The Third Goal lacks traction with Congress, Peace Corps, RPCV alumni, and outside funders.

NPCA could develop an activist overseas program agenda (some country-of-service groups have done this on a small, effective scale). Alumni and funding sources would likely have more interest in programs rooted in the unique grassroots development experience of RPCVs. The board, however, has not decided if NPCA’s focus should be domestic or overseas. Two things seem clear. The NPCA mission ought to have stronger direct impact. There must be at least one visible, compelling program to attract alumni loyalty.

The relationship needs to be redefined. It should be mutually beneficial in tangible terms or NPCA should strike out in bolder, independent directions with programs rooted in the unique experience of volunteers. Congress might directly fund high-impact NPCA programming, as it funds many national nonprofits, with a strong Congressional champion—a Senator Dodd or a Kennedy or a Lugar.

Governance decisions are fundamental to NPCA impact. Until NPCA becomes a high-impact organization it will not have strong appeal to alumni or other funders. With 17,000 members, the organization needs a strong, national board to establish ambitious goals and produce results.

It is often argued that RPCVs have little in common once the Peace Corps experience is over and modest success is all we can expect of NPCA. It is possible that whatever special promise RPCVs represent is richly fulfilled through random acts of individual kindness rather than incisive collective actions.

Still, NPCA’s potential is a haunting challenge. It might be able to cut through American cynicism about foreign assistance; to pioneer innovative development models; to expand the ethic of volunteer service worldwide; to translate alumni loyalty and know-how into a well-financed force.

This new frontier requires a sharper mission focus, more visible programming, and path-breaking leadership.
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by Nicole Lowery, Ashoka Desk Officer for Africa

Ashoka identifies and supports these remarkable innovators by providing them with a stipend to cover their living expenses for three years during the crucial launch or "take-off" phase of their initiatives. Each is the author of a pattern-changing idea, these social entrepreneurs possess a rare combination of creative vision and practical organizational skills which enables them to mobilize the people and resources needed to resolve the most pressing issues confronting their societies. Since 1980, Ashoka has helped more than 900 exceptionally talented social entrepreneurs who have built programs that are producing continuing benefits for millions of needy people in 33 countries around the world.

Ashoka has a three-part mission: to identify and help launch creative ideas which bring fresh insight to social problems; to amplify the scope of those ideas by facilitating outside support and encouraging collaboration among our Fellows; and, through our education efforts, to spread the ideas of our Fellows and promote the concept—and profession—of social entrepreneurship.

A brief example illustrates how our Fellows approach existing problems from a new perspective. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has struck much of central Africa with devastating result. Due to lack of resources, Nigeria's health care system has not been able to provide effective health education nor services to most of the country's 120 million people, especially concerning HIV/AIDS. Ashoka Fellow Pearl Nwashili, founder of the organization STOPAIDS is containing the spread of HIV/AIDS by working with high-risk populations (e.g. prostitutes in Nigeria’s motor parks). She is establishing AIDS centers in every motor park in Nigeria to provide information, condoms, vitamins, and referral services. She is also working to enhance and develop overall health service provision.

Ashoka has been electing Fellows in Nigeria since 1991. Currently, they have 19 Nigerian Fellows who are working in fields including disabilities, law and legal aid, human rights, vocational training, women’s income generation, AIDS prevention, children’s education, and the environment.

This is an extraordinary moment for Nigeria, as a new political atmosphere emerges. We are witnessing the opportunity for the growth of an effective civil society and viable non-governmental organizations. Fellows in Nigeria, in addition to their own projects, are finding ways to collaborate on issues of national interest. For example, four Fellows working in the field of disabilities (Foluke Idowu, Cosmos Okoli, Chris Omusi, and Peter Tiamiu) have collaborated with another Nigerian Fellow (Clement Nwankwo) with expertise in human rights to advance the rights of disabled Nigerians. Their collaborative advocacy work complements their service-oriented projects by making Nigerian institutions more sensitive to the needs of disabled people.

FON and Ashoka share a commitment to innovative, grassroots development. Who better than RPCVs to share in the opportunity to partake in a valuable exchange of ideas and invest in critical social changes in Nigeria and around the world? For more information about Ashoka Fellows and how to become involved with Ashoka, please call 703-527-8300.
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The Soyinka voice sounds especially vivid in this volume because these are lectures, to which Soyinka has given a cadenced, poetic title. Unlike his previous volume, Open Sore of the Continent, there is little wrath here. The Burden...the Muse, is, rather, an attempt to understand the dynamics of reconciliation, about which Soyinka frames provocative questions:

1. How can the victims of oppression arrive at forgiveness? To this question, Soyinka provides no definitive answer, but suggests some necessary conditions, most specifically, artistic expression of the wrongs with which memory is "burdened."

2. Second, in a roundabout way, Soyinka asks whether forgiveness ought to be forthcoming. As a practical matter, he acknowledges that some form of absolution has to occur if vengeance is not simply to be endlessly repeated, generation after generation, century after century.

To read this book is to hear an argument eloquently made. To understand the book, this reader at least needed to tease out the skein of Soyinka's argument. Victimization, he seems to be saying, requires its factual narrative, the unburdening of memory in expressiveness (literary, dramatic, musical). Reparations in some form must be forthcoming from the perpetrators of this victimization. And only then may true reconciliation occur.

Always interesting, often exasperating in the density of his writing, Soyinka the dramatist occasionally sacrifices clarity for drama. For example, when he presents the pantheon of Black writers—of the Diaspora and otherwise—he renders them as combatants, Negritudinists and their opponents, when their responses to colonization and assimilation are themselves more than interesting enough.

The 200 pages of this volume are loaded with food for thinking. Soyinka contrasts Senghor's adoration of the French idea of egalite with Martin Luther King, Jr.'s insistence on Christian forgiveness, yielding equality. In another nugget of clarity, Soyinka explains the relationship between the cultural conversion of Francophone Africans, their literary preeminence, and muted political activity. For those who like to try to make sense of history, this is heady stuff.

Beyond what his book is about, it is also "about" Wole Soyinka. That it is not focused on Nigerian reconciliation, but on broader "possibilities of harmonization," tells us once again what role Soyinka plays, and perhaps how he sees himself, an international champion of humanism and democracy. Despite understandable pressures for Soyinka to become for Nigeria a Vaclav Havel or Nelson Mandela, he knows this is not his destiny. "I am not a saint," he told CNN in late February of this year. Indeed, Soyinka is a dramatist whose forte lies in revealing and expressing conflict; he knows he would be badly miscast as a diplomat, or a professional peacemaker.

At the end of this book we hear that Soyinka voice sounding forth: "...I possess neither wish nor temperament to abandon the continuing, combative imperatives of the dialectics of human history." The continuing combat that troubles our human race's claim to humanity are what he has explored in these pages.