Indigo Dye Pits of Kano

 We were trying to make the best of our time together in Kano.  Pam was leaving on Monday the 11^th. There was the wedding reception, Pam’s send forth celebration and souvenir shopping to be done.  Most of the places I wanted to check out-- the ancient Kurmi Market, Central Market, the Fabric Market and Indigo Dye Pits had already been visited by the other AVE’s who live in or near Kano.  I was  glad they agreed to revisit at least Kurmi and the Dye Pits after I arrived.  I found my way to the market across from the Central Hotel on my own, but ran out of time before I could get to  another area of the city where thousands of different types of fabric are sold

 After a couple of stops our driver dropped up off at the pits.  We would have to find a taxi or tuk-tuk (canopia) to get back to the house at Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education because the driver who had picked us up 2 hours late, had another engagement.

A man who introduced himself as Hadim greeted us outside the gate to the Kofar Mata Dye pits.  He recognized Pam from her previous visit and chatted with her briefly.   He explained to us that the pits were set up in the late 1400s and were among the oldest in Africa.

I was a bit disappointed when we walked through the archway and onto a multilayered area of concrete like platforms dotted with pits ranging from three to about eight feet in depth.  Only about four of the  30 or so pits appeared to be in use.  Most were filled will trash—discarded water sachets, paper, twigs and the place didn’t generally look as if it had been given the respect of care earned by its historical significance.  We were introduce to one dyer who had worked in the trade for almost 50 years as the involved process of making the indigo dye and coloring fabric was explained.  A few yards away was the ‘ironing room’.  As we approached a rhythmic whomp, whomp, whomp could be heard above the roar of traffic outside the gate.  Four men knelt on either side of 2 logs that were about 2 feet in diameter. In ancient traditional fashion, they alternately pounded pieces of fabric to ‘iron’ or flatten them after they had been dyed and dried.

Then on to the finished products: we were surrounded by vendors showing off fabric of different sizes and shapes who explained the significance of each design—bride and groom, rising moon and sultans guards, among others.  Pam and I bought squares of the bold blue fabric.  Barb decided the products looked too much like 70s tye-dye to invest in. Oh well, so much for historical significance.

Wedding in Kano

We were all invited to the wedding of one of our country representatives’ sons.  Actually as we learned later, the invitation was to one of the receptions held for the bride.  The Hausa marriage process is an interesting one which involves separate events for men and women. 

Earlier we had been asked for our measurements and color preferences. To our surprise, outfits were made that we were asked to wear to the reception. Except mine wasn’t quite ready for the Sunday afternoon event.  I wore a traditional dress given to me as a gift by the ladies of Yankari Block in Bauchi.

We walked to the house and found the event in progress.  There were women and children all over, sitting in chairs in the back yard, sitting on the ground under a tent, sitting in every room of the house.  Outside an all female group from Niger played wonderful traditional music.  We were served food in take away type containers, but other groups of women shared large plates and bowls of rice and stew.

Then we danced...and were showered with Naira! What fun! I thought it was the bride who was showered, but the bride never came out of the room where she sat demurely on a stool in the corner of a room surrounded by her entourage.  We were invited inside to meet the new bride and to take have pictures taken with her.  She is a lovely young woman who graciously accepted our congratulations.  Because of what I know about her in-laws, I’m sure she’ll be encouraged to seek professional opportunities beyond producing as many children as possible, which often seems to be the primary expectation of women here in the North.

The group finished playing and packed up to leave and the celebration seemed to be coming to an end.  We thanked Nafisa for the invitation and her hospitality and walked to the front of the house only to find a (all male) band was setting up in the front yard for the party to continue.

This type of traditional wedding is a multi day affair which I believe started on Friday.  Even the following Monday there was an exchange of gifts between the in-laws.  The groom provides clothing (including underwear), yams, kola nuts and other foodstuff and livestock along with a dowry to the bride’s family to secure the union.

My Send Forth from Bauchi

It was at the Monday staff meeting that my final departure from Bauchi was announced.  I didn’t anticipate the swell of emotion as I spoke about my departure.  The journey and experience from October 14^th when I arrived in Bauchi to this day had been both rewarding and challenging. 

As I glanced around the table, fond memories were revisited: the women of Yankari Block-Rabie, Helen, Aisha and Maryam, my soul sisters who were essential to my education in the culture behind the culture; the guys from finance, always ready to say No, but in a helpful way; Bright, the energetic M & E staff person; the System Strengthening team, and of course, Nurudeen, my colleague and coordinator of the Teacher Education component, and all the others.

The Acting Director proposed a send forth on Thursday afternoon, my last full day at work.  A couple of people were volunteered to coordinate the event then we were all off to take care of the business of the day.

It’s an extremely busy time for all project staff--third quarter reports are due, as are projections and plans for the upcoming year.  The annual work plan conference was scheduled in about two weeks and drafts and revisions had to be done.  There is no ‘down time’ when it comes to international development projects; particularly this one which I feel is understaffed.

The women of Yankari Block minus one.

Knowing the crunch under which everyone was working made me more grateful for the time everyone took out of their busy schedules to say goodbye.  It was a fun-filled, reflective occasion. I hope it wasn’t recorded :-).

I was touched by the sentiments expressed by my colleagues.   After being invited to come back to continue working with the project, the parent organization decided the liability of protecting volunteers and interns was too great, so I was in a sense, ‘kicked to the curb’.  It was a decision that disappointed many. They jokingly suggested marrying me off to one of staff members, so I could become a Nigerian citizen.

Great friendship have been made and I hope cultural barriers have been bridged in the process

Point and Kill

My colleague invited me to dinner with his family.  His children who range in age from 10 to 5 years of age are my adopted grandchildren.  He and his wife have extended warmth and opened their home to me during my stay in Bauchi.  She is an excellent cook, owns a catering business and often brings breakfast and lunch to the office for her husband and me.


He had some errands to run before going home.  I was curious when he pulled up to a roadside eatery.  (There are numerous open places to eat along the roads here--a woman cooking masa, suya stands, kilishi joints, everywhere).

What is this place? All I could see were foil packages on a grill. The sign read "Point and Kill".  My imagination went into overdrive. What does this mean? What is sold here?


Come here, he said, directing me behind the grill and to a large tin tub filled halfway with water and two huge catfish.   He repeated "Point" directing his finger at the tub, "and Kill"--a chopping block nearby bore evidence of a gutted fish.


Oh, this is similar to the "You Buy, We Fry" seafood places at home.


The fish, grilled in foiled with spices (hot) and potatoes was indescribably  delicious!

Last Movement in Bauchi

Wednesday I took part in my last school monitoring visit before leaving Bauchi and had dinner with my adopted Bauchi family.  Tomorrow Thurs) the office has planned a 'send forth' gathering for me. Friday I leave for Kano, then to Sokoto next week. Melancholia is setting in.

About the monitoring ..teams of project staff have been going to each of the 10 local governments in which the project supports a total of 10 public, Islamyia and non-formal schools to check on their progress after rounds of training have been completed. These monitoring visits have been scheduled every Wednesday for the past three weeks.  With the frenetic schedule on which development projects operate, sometime things go haywire.  One team left their team leader behind.  He and another partner had to take a hired car because two of the project vehicles had been scheduled for long distance trips.  As a result, this team could only visit one of two schools.  Travel to the second school required an all-terrain vehicle, not the Toyota Corona (yes!) they hired.  

My team also had to use a hired car for the hour and a half drive to the Alkaleri local government. I have no idea what happened to divert the project car we were scheduled to travel in.

One class was being held in this 3-room school

Anyway, our driver Ephraim was good and managed to keep the car upright as we straddled gullies, avoided herds and drove through fields to get to one Tsyangaya school.

Many of these Islamic schools which are operated by local Imans are held under trees or make-shift structures.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a regular, 4 classroom ETF (Education Trust Fund) structure at the edge of the village bordering the farming area.  

Writing slates prepared by the Imam for study of the Koran

One class was in session with a little over 30 pupils, all boys ranging in age from 7 or 8 to early teenagers, in attendance.  A check of the enrollment register showed that the contact person for more than two thirds of the boys was the Imam.  Parents literally turn their boy children over to religious leader for care and spiritual guidance.  Many of these boys come from other states and never get to see their parents or families again.  The problem of the almajari is huge in northern Nigeria.  Hundreds, no thousands of boys roam the street begging for money and handouts.  Their education is limited.

Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children is the projects primary focus.

This situation appeared a little different.  The boys were receiving more than religious education as a few were asked to read  information randomly selected from the board. (Memorization rather than actually learning how to read is a problem).  We were told there was also a girl's school in the village that is not supported by the project.  Unfortunately we were unable to visit that school.  I would have liked to compare facilities, resources, instruction, etc.

Reading Has Not Been Fundamental

Something happened with the instruction of children in Northern Nigeria.  Wait, this is a mis-statement, better nothing is happening with the instruction of children in the North.  They are not being taught to read.  Through this project, the Early Grades Reading Assessment (EGRA) was administered to about  2, 000 Grade 4 pupils.  The test was originally administered last spring in English, the official language of the nation. The results were dismal.  Students were tested again in their mother-tongue-Hausa in the fall.

Last week, I participated in a workshop where the results of the mother-tongue language testing were reported along with planning the way forward. About 70% of the students could not read in their first language.  I suppose the science of reading instruction has changed over the years, but it appears that many primary school teachers don’t have the training needed to teach students how to develop this fundamental skill. Even though instruction during the first three years is in Hausa, traditional methods of instruction have not given kids basic literacy skills. They should be able to read in Hausa in Grade 1. Memorizing items from the blackboard and repeating text does not produce independent readers.

So what’s next? A big intervention by USAID and other international partners? Yes, but what will the government do to address this serious deficiency? State education officials who attended the two-day workshop were dismayed at the results and seemed focused on changing the situation, first by making parents aware of some of the things they can do to support good reading habits and then through rigorous teacher training.


President Jonathan promoted a movement—Bring Back the Book during the national elections.  Will the effort to teach reading and to get Nigeria youth to read be a well supported long termed focus or….

A Foreigner—No Matter How You Look at It

Illustration from article in The Economist --"Being Foreign"
"It is becoming both easier and more difficult to experience the thrill of being an outsider"

I don’t really know the basis of my expectations when I decided to share my teaching skills in West Africa for a year. Living and working in a Black nation was going to be a first for me. I have visited many, from Haiti to  Trinidad and Tobago to Ghana, taking note of the wonderful similarities between us of the African Diaspora, as well as the pervasive vestiges of colonialism that plague us.  My perspective from my orientation on Pan- Africanism (beyond the continent) from the likes of Dr's. Gossie H. Hudson and Walter Robinson at SIU; Dr. Morris Johnson whose founding of Simunye, embraced the connection on an educator to educator level; and artist and historian, Dinizulu Gene Tinnie, among others led me to anticipate a “welcome home” with open arms greeting from the sisters and brothers of Nigeria.  That has not quite been the case.  Assimilation and acceptance into another culture is a complex process. Even in this 21^st century ‘flattened’ world numerous barriers exist. This perspective is different than looking at the hospitality extended by Nigerians, particularly in the northern part of the country—it’s more like the reality behind the hospitality.

A couple of experiences have give pause to my ‘open arms’ expectations.  At a staff meeting, the program officer, a native Ethiopian with American citizenship was introduced by the director as “a real African-American” which, I guess, makes me something akin to Spam.  On more than one occasion this same person has joked about me finding my “roots”.  During the height of unrest surrounding the election period, a statement about the dissident group Boko Harem targeting foreigners, whether they were Black or white gave me the idea for the title of this post.

  Where many in the African Diaspora continue to search for our tribal connections, I never expected such—well, I’m going to label it disdain by those who know their tribes and can usually readily recite their family histories.  I am well aware of the roles of volunteers here, not solely to share our knowledge and experience, but as ambassadors and connectors between nations and cultures. (Ok, that’s sort of nirvanaish, but perspectives on neocolonialism are not part of this post).

Learn the language for greater acceptability or, do the best you can to manage common phrases. Efforts to use basic greetings and phrase are appreciated, but there are those not-so good hearted jabs that come from time to time. We speak English—well it’s neither American English nor British English, but “Naijanglish”—a combination of British English and Nigerian language syntax.  Initially, to my ear even Nigerian English needed translation.   In some ways, this subtle intolerance is comparable to the attitude many in my home community react to immigrants who struggle with English.

 The best prices on almost everything are obtained in the open markets as opposed to some of the many convenience type stores.  Except, the vendors spot a foreigner immediately, and prices are elevated.  Then serious bargaining is required.  A bunch of bananas was purchased by one of the drivers for 300 Naira, but the vendor wanted to charge me 500 even though I was with the same driver who got a better price when he was alone.  It’s just assumed that all foreigners, especially Americans, have money to burn!

We are referred to as ‘expats’ and receive somewhat different support that the ‘locals’. Additional support for professionals living and working outside the environment of their native country particularly where living conditions are so dissimilar is understandable, but discontent is openly expressed by the ‘locals’ who don’t share that point of view.

And so as a foreigner in Naijaland I continue to try and put my American sensibilities in check. Despite coming from the most diverse nation in the world, I suppose one just must ‘go with the flow’ learn as much as possible about the local culture and not stress over those things of which we don’t have control. Core attitudes of people, their personalities, approach to familiar and unfamiliar situations, and don’t really appear to differ significantly from one place to the other. We have easier access to each other throughout the world, understanding, acceptance and yes that "t' word tolerance takes a little longer.

Excess Baggage

Just a few weeks before heading home and I have a dilemma.  I thought I had packed rather judiciously to come to Nigeria—3 bags including a carryon piece that ended up having to be checked.  I  carried educational materials so, my bags were overweight.   All of those things pamphlets, workbooks, bookmarks, pens, pencils, etc., have been distributed.  Now I have 5 bags ( and no souvenirs yet)! Hmm, what to do :-)???

Teaching at the Women’s Vocational Centre

Malam Usman, Coordinator for the Doya Centre program

Elevating women to a status of first class citizenship is slowly evolving in the northern states of Nigeria.  A number of groups and projects support the need for education for girls, yet there is much to be done.  Many girls don’t have the opportunity to attend or complete school.  Those  who do attend school lag behind their male counterparts  in both literacy and numeracy skills.  I suppose there are many reason for these differences.  Even though there has been an increase of attentions and support for girl child education throughout the country more needs to be done and positive results will hopefully come in time.

An energizer to start the session

For five weeks while I was here in Bauchi, I worked with facilitators at the Doya Women’s Centre on strategies for literacy instruction. Girls who have dropped out of school attend classes at the center.  Eighteen women who teach courses on English, Hausa, mathematics, tailoring, knitting and hair dressing among other vocational skills took part in the sessions. The center is supported by the Adolescent Health and Education Development Center (AHEAD). Personally I feel the students, all girls between the ages of 13 and 18, should also be provided instruction in skills related to living in the 21^st century—computer, cell phone, photocopier repair, even auto repair. Why not?

The facilitators were all very enthusiastic and have high expectations for their students.  One of the vocational teachers said she wanted her students to learn all they could and be able to live independently.    The facilitators agreed to meet with me just after regular school hours, so many had to bring their children to our sessions.  The youngest participant was about a year old. I think the children enjoyed themselves as much as their mothers. 

Hopefully, engagement with this group will continue as it will help build a solid foundation for the education of girls using learner centered instruction.


On our last day together, the ladies were encouraged to write any questions they had on index cards and I answered them at the end of the session. Here are some of their questions and comments just as they were written:  

1. "In your name Madame I can see Mc in your surname. What does that Mc mean as I see it in so many names of the people?"


2." Black Americans don't want to be called Nigro but I read it in the card you distributed to us. And what does that card mean?" (The card was a bookmark about Zora Neale Hurston.  This was definitely not a short answer question!)


3."After you have finish your period of lecture in Nigeria, when are you coming back to see what you have tought at the back?"


4."Apart from English, can you speak in another language again? If so which tribe?"


5. My question is that do you have children? If yes how many are they in number" and on another--"What is the name of your children?"


6. "You have said you don't have a husband. Is he died or not?.. When (do) you go back to America?"


7. I want to communicate with you when you are back in your country.


8. "Hello Ma.  I am just to thanks for what you have tought us. May God bless you."


I am blessed.