Friends of Nigeria Newsletter Selections, Summer 2004

The Friends of Nigeria Board of Directors, meeting Aug. 5 during the National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) biennial convention, selected a designated nonprofit cause, nominated officers, and took steps to fine-tune membership communications.

The board voted unanimously to seek funds from itself and from members and readers to sponsor two volunteers working in Nigeria through the British-based nonprofit Volunteer Service Overseas (VSO).

Three incumbent officers and a new secretary were nominated unopposed at the board meeting and elected unanimously by FON members attending the NPCA/FON meetings in Chicago.

Officers elected to terms running through summer 2006 were four incumbents—Greg Zell, (06) 62–64, president; Frieda Fairburn (09) 64–66, vice president; Peter Hansen, (27) 67–68, treasurer, and Andy Philpot, (VSO) 65–67, newsletter editor. David Strain (07) 63–66, was selected to succeed retiring board member Ken Sale as secretary. Mike Goodkind (16) 65–67 and Virginia DeLancey (04) 62–64, were reelected unopposed to the board, as were all five officers. Newly elected board members, whose candidacy was announced in the last FON Newsletter, were Bob Perito (16) 65–67 and Lucinda Boyd (05) 62–64.

The board lauded newsletter editor Andy Philpot, who was honored at the Chicago meeting by the NPCA for producing the best RPCV country of service newsletter.

The newsletter also received numerous compliments among the 216 FON members and newsletter readers who responded to the recently tabulated FON membership survey [see related article this issue]. Members expressed interest in continuing to receive news about fellow RPCVs, and the respondents were enthusiastic to learn about Nigerian charities. The membership enthusiastically supported an ongoing program to offer FON-sponsored donations to designated charities. The survey also showed that members want information about other charitable organizations serving Nigeria. In the past, FON has collected money as an organization for charities, such as PCNAF, Ashoka and Books for Africa. Through the newsletter, FON has also provided information about other nonprofit organizations that members might want to support.

The survey also reported that 86 percent of respondents thought FON should help the JFK Library collect interviews for its Peace Corps Collection. FON has been asked to facilitate interviews, and Vice-Presidaent Fairburn suggested that each training group put together a written history to be included in the JFK Library’s collection.

New publication initiatives slated for the coming year include an updated membership directory to be distributed in early 2005, and a selection of current, continually updated Nigeria-pertinent links on the FON website. (See page 15.)

Treasurer Hansen reported that FON had a net closing balance on June 30 of $5,515, which increased after the conference by $811—the net proceeds from the FON Nigeria dinner and Annual General Meeting held Aug. 6 in Chicago. Vice President Fairburn, in a note to the board, thanked Boyd and FON member Dave Pritchett (11) ’64–‘66, the organizers of the dinner, for a successful event that managed to make money.

The board approved an ’03–’04 budget of $5,778. Revenue comes largely from dues—paid directly to FON or passed on by the NPCA—and “pass through” contributions sent directly to designated charities.

Organizational expenditures in ’03-’04 included $5,018 for production of the newsletter, a figure expected to rise to $5,200 in the current fiscal year. The budget also includes a variety of administrative expenses, such as mailing and maintenance of FON’s website.

The board noted that several members had complained that they were receiving email spam which they attribute to the FON membership listserve. The board decided that unwanted e-mail is a regrettable hazard of contemporary communication and that the FON listserve was as secure as other similar mailings most board members and FON members regularly receive. The board agreed to inform members of the inevitable and ongoing need to work with their internet service providers to maximize the safety and content integrity of their email.

The Great Ponds Book Cover
by Elechi Amadi

In the second, and most dramatic, of the novels, The Great Ponds, war is presented in microcosm, beginning with a little skirmish over fishing rights. The trilogy creates its own universe, Erekwe-land (read ‘Ikwerre’), which is as specific as Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha County. Consisting of six interlocking villages peopled by farmers, fishermen, trappers, wrestlers, carvers, musicians and tapsters, this bounded area pretty much constitutes the known world. Even cosmic events are defined internally. For instance, Chiolu, one of the villages fighting for the ponds, is in the other two novels referred to as ‘the place where the sun sets’. The ‘skirmish’ in The Great Ponds widens and widens until it has drawn in all six villages and even some of their erstwhile distant neighbors. Amadi closes the book with a remarkable epiphany in which the ‘skirmish’ blurs, then clears into a simulacrum of World War One. Or, if we readers prefer, we can see in the allegory of the ponds a crystalline image of today’s oil conflicts in Nigeria, or murder for land in the Middle East.

With The Slave, a sad, ethereal book, all this violence comes full circle: conflict has become a given, a preexisting condition which governs the present. The first book (The Concubine) having opened with a personal brawl which set in motion a string of tragic events, the last book begins by recalling an old clan dispute which will not go away and which turns out, in the end, to have already drawn in the gods in a way which altogether preempts human agency.

Amadi’s writings, ballasted by personal experience, illuminate Nigeria’s particular conflicts. In an interview, he once said, ‘The novelist should depict life as he sees it without consciously attempting to persuade the reader to take a particular viewpoint. Propaganda should be left to journalists.’ The ideas and feelings of these novels, so remote from propaganda, were obviously learned in a hard school. Sunset in Biafra, a memoir, chronicles one large phase, at least, of the author’s education.
‘Sunset in Biafra’—even the title is a sarcastic gloss on the Biafran emblem, a rising sun. Sunset is journalistic, so we should not be surprised by its partisanship. The book grew out of the direct experience of a member of a minority group under the heel of their traditional oppressor, the Igbo. This oppression was exacerbated by the exigencies of Biafra, including the Biafran sense of their own oppression. Even though Amadi achieves a measure of balance—the Igbos were sorely provoked, the Federal soldiers also commit atrocities against the Ikwerre—he has no sympathy for the doomed cause of ‘the secessionists.’ Most of the book describes the sufferings of the author and his people, who are regarded by the Biafrans as potential or actual ‘saboteurs.’ At the end, when the war-tide turns, these suspicions bear predictable fruit.

Since I first learned about Elechi Amadi, perhaps 20 years ago, from a New Yorker review by John Updike, all of this remarkable writer’s books have had time to go out of print (although they can readily be found on-line). The novels appear on many college reading lists, and I, myself, have taught The Great Ponds to high-school seniors who said they liked it. As one critic who taught in Africa writes, ‘I have met many students who frankly admitted that, of all the African novels they have read, The Concubine was the only one they could respond to, because it presented an exact copy of village life as they knew it.’ The trilogy has provoked numerous essays, including at least one piece of sharp feminist criticism. It appears in a small-town library bibliography of multi-cultural books about women and marriage. I confess to the untenable, foolishly iconoclastic, blatantly partisan opinion that The Great Ponds is better than Things Fall Apart.

This article is based upon Amadi’s four best-known books: The Concubine (1966), The Great Ponds (1969), Sunset in Biafra (1973),The Slave (1978). All four are in the African Writers Series, Heinemann Education Books, London. Amadi is also the author of four verse plays, two volumes of poems and essays, and one further novel, Estrangement (1986).

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Nigeria Update Session In Chicago Covers Diverse Subjects - Seminar Explores Concubines And Polio

FON members and their guests finished a Nigeria Update Session Aug. 7 in Chicago with a scholarly view of concubines in Kano’s royal palace and a sobering report on how social and political forces in Nigeria caused a resurgence of polio just months before its targeted worldwide eradication.

The Nigeria Update, attended by about 40 persons, was held at De Paul University in Chicago as part of the 2004 National Peace Corps Association Conference. Featured speakers were Paul Carpenter, manager of office operations for Rotary International’s Polio Plus eradication program, and Heidi J. Nast, associate professor of international studies at DePaul. Nast is author of Concubines and Power, Five Hundred Years in a Northern Nigerian Palace, scheduled to be published in January by the University of Minnesota Press.

Carpenter, who served as a Peace Corps volunteer two decades ago in Malawi, described how community development strategies and political efforts have finally helped to resuscitate a $3 billion polio immunization program in Kano State that was nearly brought to a halt and threatened for all eternity a program to eradicate polio.

As of Aug. 3, 80 percent of the global polio cases this year came from Nigeria, and by the end of 2004, the worldwide total could be several thousand—seriously delaying Polio Plus’ stated goal of creating a certified polio-free world in 2005, the speaker said. Polio has spread from Nigeria to 10 previously polio-free nations in Africa, Carpenter said.

Kano State’s suspension of key elements of its eradication program followed a similar but unrelated pattern of resistance in Turkey—which two years ago became the last European country to become certified polio-free, he added. Key Muslims in Kano State and minority Kurds in Turkey promulgated rumors that their respective central governments were trying to poison them.

“Whenever you have a minority population that’s not really satisfied with its national government there is mistrust,” Carpenter said. “When people come bringing some drops of ‘you don’t know what’ [vaccine] and they want to immunize your kids, you’re not sure what it’s going to do. You might come up with some stories that the national government is trying to exterminate you, trying to poison your children, trying to render them sterile.”

Carpenter cited the example that in Turkey, Europe’s last known victim of polio was a boy whose father “hid him when the vaccinator came because the father was led to believe that those drops would sterilize his child and prevent the boy from ever having children. Now the family is absolutely humiliated. The boy is paralyzed for life.” (Turkey and Europe were certified polio-free in 2002.)

As recently as two years ago, Nigeria, including the north, seemed on track to eradicate polio., Carpenter pointed out. In August 2002, the Emir of Kano was pictured in local news photos publicly immunizing children in the palace.

But elections in April 2003, viewed as fraudulent in much of the north, triggered a northern Nigeria backlash after the new national president, southerner Olusegun Obasanjo, heartily endorsed the polio eradication effort. Rumors about the safety of the polio vaccine then spread through northern Nigeria, particularly Kano State.

“Hardliners in the north kept up rumors. Tests were conducted to determine if the vaccine was tampered with or contaminated. Kano wouldn’t believe [or acknowledge] the test results,” Carpenter explained. Less than 50 percent of Kano State’s children were vaccinated, he added.

In the end, a strategy emerged. “It took a lot of different efforts. It took some cajoling, it took some humiliating, it took some threatening. It really took constant effort before Kano [state government] agreed to implement the immunization,” he said.

The strategy “had to be done without having the northern Nigerians losing face. The Sultan of Sokoto made public statements supporting polio vaccine, and religious leaders in North Africa issued fatwas saying it was a duty to vaccinate children. As cases spread northward in Africa, Saudi Arabia threatened to cut off access to Mecca pilgrimages if Kano didn’t clear up its act”.

Finally, on July 31, the Kano State governor publicly vaccinated his own children under the positive glare of news coverage. Carpenter pointed out that while the vaccination program is getting back on track, northern Nigeria still faces obstacles, because “there are about 300 leaders not on the same page. There isn’t a single influential person to bring the public along.”

Polio Plus, which Carpenter said has contributed more than $600 million to fund immunizations in 122 nations since 1988, may be faced to ask its supporters for more money to finish the eradication task it is funding with its partners—the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and host nations.

“Any time you have a campaign like this the funding is limited. How do you tell people [donors] that you need $100 million more” to finish the job, he said. In 2003, more than 35 cases spread from northern Nigeria to 10 previously polio-free nations—Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Lebanon, Niger, Togo, and in June 2004, the Sudan. (Elsewhere, the disease survives in pockets of India and Pakistan.)

“In the end,” Carpenter said in conclusion, “we still have hope. We still have a lot of people interested in fighting the disease. We have no substantial resistance that we know of. Who knows what might happen in Kano, but we hope that the negative image of the vaccine is behind us. We hope that these Nigerian children, like all children of the world, will never again fear polio.”

Also speaking was Heidi J. Nast, associate professor of international studies at DePaul. Trained as a geologist, she analyzed detailed maps of the monumental palace of Kano and interviewed members of the Emir of Kano’s household to create a meticulous portrait of concubines as a powerful but outdated political and economic force.

“The demise of concubinage is a story of the demise of agriculture as the focus of the local economy,” Nast said.

Unlike a popular stereotype of concubines as women of pleasure whose only duties were to provide sexual pleasure for their master, the royal concubines of Kano were organized into complex labor hierarchies and collectively wielded considerable power throughout the state. Muslim law and values defined their rights, she said.

Nast said her research showed that the concubines controlled the production of indigo-dyed cloth centuries before men took over management of that increasingly lucrative commodity. Royal concubines, representing their communities of origin, helped the king cement territorial alliances, and their freeborn children provided additional human capital, “like seeds, born in the granaries, [who were] then sent out in marriage.” Historically, concubines influenced agriculture in tandem with the woman who controlled grain prices for the kingdom in the marketplace.

Today, Nast pointed out, the current princes in Kano have refused to take on concubines, although 12 concubines remain in the palace, down from 400 or more in the 16th century.
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In May, 1967 as our group’s (AG/RD XVI) tour was finishing, the start of the Biafran Civil War resulted in an order to evacuate my station, Bori, Ogoni, Rivers District. Bori to Enugu to Lagos. In Lagos plans needed to be made quickly. Members from our group had received draft notices. Some went home to see if they would have to serve two more years. One, seeing no alternative, left for Sweden. For me, it was Europe, with all my worldly possessions in a Kano bag.

On my return home to NY that fall, I hooked up with some of the guys from my group. Some RPCVs had begun meeting with Nigerian students to see how we could help others understand what this civil war was about; it was the time of “teach-ins.” The students from Eastern Nigeria had had their scholarships stopped by the government, and they were having a difficult time. In the best of traditions, a big dance was held at the Edison Hotel off Times Square to raise money. Jerry Federlein, fellow group member, and I went. There would be a live Hi-Life band! As the music began, I started to look at who knew how to dance to this music. I was good; I had danced with the young women at the Lido Club in Port Harcourt, and wanted to find someone who “understood” how to dance the Hi-Life. During the evening, I spotted a young woman dressed regally from turban to sandals. And not a bad dancer. But who was that stiff, blond headed guy she was dancing with? If you could call that dancing! She was obviously a student from Nigeria, and from her looks, probably the daughter of some chieftain. So, I got myself up, crossed the floor, and asked her to dance. Which we did. And she was a very good dancer. After the dance, I walked back to our table, perhaps looking somewhat dejected. I told Jerry that she wasn’t Nigerian — she was from Boston. She had been in the Peace Corps too. Nigeria X. But she was not a Nigerian student. Then Jerry told me that he had danced with a student. A senior from White Plains High School (just north of New York City). I met this imposter from Boston a couple of times again, at meetings and another dance. She kept surprising me, that Marge Haynes, and 35 years later she still does.

We danced out of New York in 1970 by giving up our rent-controlled apartment, and after traveling around Greece for nine months, eventually found our way to New Haven, where Marge got a job working with Dick Mastain (Education Director, Enugu, 1965-1967) at an Educational Institute he had set up. I began work at a research center at Yale, and soon thereafter got a Masters in Public Health. We left New Haven in 1975 with three-month-old Evan Patrick in tow to head to Boston (Marge’s hometown). Marge was to begin a Masters Degree program in Child Development at Harvard (which she completed in 1977). I began work in the health field, eventually picking up a PhD in Medical Sociology, and in 1995, Marge fulfilled a lifelong dream by completing law school. I have continued to work on health-related issues, now focusing on improving care for Medicare beneficiaries (pay attention Nigeria 1 – 10, you’re at that age now). Marge has her own practice in labor arbitration and employment meditation.

In these diverse settings we have inhabited, the experiences in Nigeria have remained a continuing source of remarkably vivid remembrances. The kindness shown to strangers like myself; the wisdom of the Irish priests who made sure there were vegetable gardens next to all the village churches (“If we don’t fill their bellies, Patrick, we will never save their souls.”); the need to let folks make choices (the agnostic volunteer who gave his allowance to a village, only to have them decide to build a church.); the insights of Nigerians who always seemed to understand the situation better than I did; the joys of friendship when material differences were eliminated. Each of these remembrances has a story; each should not be confined to that part of our memory that only comes alive when it is time to tell a story. In ways I still find remarkable, they continue to help define my life.
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We received a total of 216 replies, representing about 13% of the readers of the newsletter, the majority of the respondents being members of FON. Such a rate of return is very encouraging and we thank all those who replied and added their thoughts and comments to the open ended questions.

And the survey shows……

* that the newsletter continues to have great approval. Almost all respondents (215 out of 216) read it, the majority thoroughly. The editor is reading your suggestions and comments about emphasis and topics.

* that our website, friendsofnigeria.org, is much less successful. It does not seem to meet many pressings needs. Only about a third of our respondents visit it even briefly and many did not even know of its existence. Extracts of the newsletters are on the site as well as announcements and links to other Nigeria and Peace Corps related Web sites. The board is considering additional features to increase interest. Photos and further good links for current events are needed as well as a more creative approach. Please direct all suggestions to Frieda Fairburn, FON vice -president.

* that our fundraising efforts are generally supported (70% felt comfortable with FON sponsoring and raising funds for specific charities in Nigeria). The description of our new effort appears on page one of this issue. Just over half the respondents would be interested in hearing about other organizations working in Nigeria. (If you know of an organization that warrants attention, submit its name to Andy Philpot, editor of the newsletter.)

* that nostalgia lives. The Peace Corps Collection at the JFK Library has lots of interest. 80% of 177 people liked the idea of contributing audio tapes to the collection. Please see the article on RPCV Archives in this issue. The board is also working on ways to organize a PC/Nigeria written history for FON and the Archives at the JFK Library.

* that interest in volunteerism remains high. The topic of experiences and available possibilities seems appropriate for the newsletter or even the web site.

Our thanks to all those who took part.
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The RPCV Archival Project

Bob Klein (Ghana) 61–63 has devoted much time and effort to collecting material for the JFK Library Peace Corps Collection. He asserts that the “heart of the Peace Corps’ story lies within the experiences of the thousands of individuals who have served as Volunteers through the decades, throughout the world, in diverse jobs and settings.”

The Archives at the RPCV Collection are “the repository for personal materials about the individual and group experiences of those who served from its inception in 1961 to the present. It collects personal papers, such as letters and diaries, representative sets of photographs, oral history interviews, and other items of unique archival value.” A bit of immortality for us all?

You can participate in the project by adding your story and that of others to the growing RPCV archives. We all know RPCVs around us and could arrange to interview each other. Audio tapes are fairly easy to make and a project guide prepared by Bob Klein including suggestions for interviewing is available from Frieda Fairburn. Bob reports that the average interview takes about one and a half to two hours. Any training group reunions coming up? Check the RPCV Archvial Project website at www.jfklibrary.org/fa_rpcv_intro.html. Click on “Finding Aid” to either personal papers or oral histories for what has already been collected. Several Nigeria RPCVs have already become involved.

If you have personal papers to donate, they must be first-hand accounts and originals. Do not send items to the Archivist until you have contacted him and he instructs you to send them. Personal letters, diaries, photos are acceptable. Send your list with a brief description of contents and dates to the following: James Roth, RPCV Archivist, John F. Kennedy Library, Columbia Point, Boston, MA 02120 or to james.roth@nara.gov.

Each volunteer’s story is unique but the whole collection will make a wonderful tapestry of Americans in service to their country and to the world.

Dave Hibbard 01) 61–63, Carl Petersen (07) 63–66, Beth Petersen (07) 63–66, KatherineYezerski Madonald(13) 65–66 and Larry Lipton (14) 65-67 are the only contributors so far from Nigeria RPCVs in the collection. Ed.
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