scenes from Nigerian universities
Kaduna State images:
Here's a photo I had taken of myself having dinner with a Nigerian friend in a rather upscale Hausa restaurant in in Zaria. I wanted to show Japanese friends that they weren't the only ones who sit on mats on the floor while eating. I also recommend the restaurant to Japanese who, like me, get tired of being offered chairs when in Africa. Just take your friends to Shagalinku restaurant. Unfortunately you often need a reservation to eat on the mats. There's usually plenty of room on the chairs.
Arewa House research and documentation center in Kaduna is the major research facility for the northern states of Nigeria. The center is located in the capital of the former Northern Region in the house of the late premier of the former Northern Region, Ahmadu Bello, and is affiliated with the university in Zaria which bears his name. Anyone doing research in Northern Nigeria should contact the director to use the research collection and facilities. Those include the best restaurant in the Unguwan Sarki neighborhood, some of the most qualified, helpful and friendly staff in Nigeria, and some of the most beautiful surroundings.
The University of Jos, on the cool, well-watered, ethnically diverse and naturally beautiful Jos Plateau, is one of the most popular universities in Nigeria. It has the only American Studies program in the west African region, and the Vice-Chancellor, Monday Mangvwat, is determined to make the university Nigeria's leading institution for area studies. Professor Mangvwat is a historian, and an old friend, and on my last visit to Nigeria put me up at the Council Guest House, the former Vice-Chancellor's residence. Let's enter and view the grounds from the guest house. From the guest house one can view the Social Sciences Building. The building, like so much of Nigeria's ambitious higher education program, was never finished, but it still holds some lively lectures and discussions.
Kano State images:
Kano is where most overseas visitors to northern Nigeria enter. Thus the Bayero University Guest House is one of the busiest in Nigeria, and one of the most popular. Be sure to make reservations if you go. Here's another shot of the entrance gate when it was being repainted. Here are some friends and I relaxing there in the late afternoon.
Sokoto State images:
I spent my Fulbright year at the University of Sokoto, now Usumanu Danfodiyo University, and I have many photos from my time there, but only one here, and it's from my last visit, in summer 2000. Maybe later I'll put up more, including ones from my Fulbright year.
Also on my 2000 visit, I finally visited the grave of Captain Hugh Clapperton, the first European to visit Sokoto and return. It's kind of embarrassing that historian like me didn't go there first, but I did finally get there. The grave is not in good shape, and a local farmer had to tell us where it was. He said there used to be a marker, but that some Europeans came and took it away, saying they were going to repair it. That was years before, and they never returned with it. The site became the graveyard of some of the first colonial troops to die in the conquest of Northern Nigeria, and has since become a Christian graveyard. Although Clapperton's grave is unmarked, it is not hard to find, since the surrounding graveyard is still in use.
scenes from Ghanaian universities:
Here are two pictures of the library at the University of Ghana, Legon. The library was built when the university was founded, at the end of the colonial period. The obvious Asian influence is a legacy of the British empire, the greatest empire in the history of the world, upon which the sun never set [blah, blah, blah]. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been any direct Asian influence. Here is the signboard for the Noguchi center, set up to promote medical cooperation between Ghana and Japan. Dr. Noguchi was a specialist in tropical medicine who also lived in the United States, but in those days Asians were not allowed to naturalize as US citizens. The University of Ghana is an excellent university, as well as a beautiful, relaxing place to be. I recommend it to any academic interested in exchange programs to Africa.
Ghana is a favorite for academic researchers, and my M.A. advisor, Merrick Posnansky, took many archaeology students there for research. This is me slaving away on the small finds register while a Ghanaian friend waits for me.
scenes from Kenyan universities:
I went to Kenya to visit my wife, who was based at the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Nairobi research center for 6 months, so I didn't do any research, although I did give a talk and visited several departments at the University of Nairobi. The campus is located right next to downtown Nairobi, one of the most modern and international cities in Africa. This is the view from the History Department at the main campus. Nairobi is an interesting city, with many modern buildings, but with scenes like this as well. I hope to visit there again before long.
last update: November 12, 2002The
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