Many Africans living in the United States have difficulty finding a suitable mate. African and black American dating are two very different things. There are different value systems, cultures, and beliefs. Not being aware of the differences can ruin a relationship. Long gone are the days of meeting people in bars. The Internet has made it possible to meet people who share the same interest. Many people find their king or queen on African dating sites.

African and Black American men are quite different

Have you ever dated a black man who was not from the United States? If you have, then you may have noticed some stark differences between black men born in Africa and black men born in the United States. Like most continents, Africa has many different countries and cultures. Although each country is different, family and education are very important to most African people.

African men believe in courting their women. Most believe a woman should not pay for a date. This does not mean African men do not like strong independent women, because they do. They just also believe that a lady should be treated like a lady on a date. African men expect women to cook, clean, and be educated.

African men highly value education. Most get advanced degrees. Most African men look down on the urban American culture of hip-hop. They want a woman who is interested in global events and self-improvement. Women who mimic urban American culture are a turnoff to educated African men.

Family Values

Although family is important to African men, they do not all believe in monogamy. Having more than one wife is common in some African countries. This is unacceptable to most American women. It is important that you ask the man you are dating if he believes in polygamy. You should talk about the issue on the first date. You should not ask in a condescending way, it is best to ask the question out of curiosity. If he believes in polygamy, you may want to reconsider starting a relationship with him.

For some women dating a man with another family in Africa is not an issue for them, Some women justify continuing to date him by saying that several men born in the United States have multiple families that they do not support, and that at least African men support their families. However, most women want their African man to be a one-woman man.

You may or may not meet his parents right away. Some countries teach their men to only introduce a women when he is ready to marry her. You should find out how he feels about this issue before you start a relationship with him. If you do not like the idea of being an unknown person to his family for months or years, you may want to end the relationship, before your heart gets broken. If you do get married, you should prepare to be around his family a lot. Africans are very close to their family.

Where will you live?

Does he plan on moving back to his home country? If he is, you should decide in the beginning of your relationship if you are willing to relocate to Africa. If you are willing to relocate to his home country, then the two of you should plan a vacation there before you get married. You might feel like you have found a new home, or the culture differences might shock you back to the United States. Either way it is best to visit before you accept his marriage proposal, and start your new life together.

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African Dating Questions:

Where can I buy Golden Tree chocolate in the US?

This girl I’m dating went to Ghana once and loved this chocolate. I figured I’d try to get her at least a few bars of it for her birthday in a few months. I cannot find this anywhere in the US and I can’t seem to find a place to order it online. Ideas?
I tried the Golden Tree website and it’s geared towards investors or someone looking to order a shipping container of this. I’m looking for 2-3 small boxes or gift packs.

Type in Golden Tree Chocolate.com in the web search bar space and there is a web site or 2-3 for it ..Hope this helps…Happy Birthday to the GF.

Gender Sensitivity Among Nigerian Ethnic Group

INTRODUCTION

“Gender”, in common usage, refers to the differences between men and women. Encyclopaedia Britannica notes that gender identity is “an individual’s self-conception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex.” Although “gender” is commonly used interchangeably with “sex,” within the academic fields of cultural studies, gender studies and the social sciences in general, the term “gender” often refers to purely social rather than biological differences. Some view gender as a social construction rather than a biological phenomenon.

According to wikipedia.com; The word gender comes from the Middle English gendre, a loanword from Norman-conquest-era Middle French. This, in turn, came from Latin genus. Both words mean ‘kind’, ‘type’, or ‘sort’. They derive ultimately from a widely attested Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root gen-, which is also the source of kin, kind, king and many other English words.[4] It appears in Modern French in the word genre (type, kind) and is related to the Greek root gen- (to produce), appearing in gene, genesis and oxygen. As a verb, it means breed in the King James Bible: 1616: Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind. — Leviticus 19:19

The gender awareness among Nigerian of different ethnic group varies, and this can be viewed from the aspect of the major constraints women face in public/private and traditional positions: their overall work load and the moral pressures and negative attitudes of both men and women towards women in leadership. As a result, many women were not empowered to fit into for leadership positions. The study is therefore ment to show that for women to be able to participate meaningfully in democratic processes, including local politics, more support would be required for candidates for political positions at household as well as community levels. At the household level, women would need support and assistance with domestic chores in order to release time to participate in local politics and leadership. At community level, Local Councillors be they men or women, would need to better understand the existence of gender biases against women’s participation in local participation processes and their role and responsibilities to counter such biases.

On the other hand the Nigeria, The most populous country in Africa, Nigeria accounts for over half of West Africa’s population. Although less than 25% of Nigerians are urban dwellers, at least 24 cities have populations of more than 100,000. The variety of customs, languages, and traditions among Nigeria’s 250 ethnic groups gives the country a rich diversity. The dominant ethnic group in the northern two-thirds of the country is the Hausa-Fulani, most of whom are Muslim. Other major ethnic groups of the north are the Nupe, Tiv, and Kanuri. The Yoruba people are predominant in the southwest.

About half of the Yorubas are Christian and half Muslim. The predominantly Catholic Igbo are the largest ethnic group in the southeast, with the Efik, Ibibio, and Ijaw (the country’s fourth-largest ethnic group) comprising a substantial segment of the population in that area. Persons of different language backgrounds most commonly communicate in English, although knowledge of two or more Nigerian languages is widespread. Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, and Ijaw are the most widely used Nigerian languages.

The Nok people in central Nigeria produced terracotta sculptures that have been discovered by archaeologists.[4] In the northern part of the country, Kano and Katsina has recorded history which dates back to around AD 999. Hausa kingdoms and the Kanem-Bornu Empire prospered as trade posts between North and West Africa. The Yoruba kingdoms of Ifẹ and Oyo in the western block of the country were founded about 700-900 and 1400 respectively. Yoruba mythology believes that Ile-Ife is the source of the human race and that it predates any other civilization. Ifẹ produced the terra cotta and bronze heads, the Ọyọ extended as far as modern Togo. Another prominent kingdom in south western Nigeria was the Kingdom of Benin whose power lasted between the 15th and 19th century. Their dominance reached as far as the well known city of Lagos which is also called “Eko” by the indigenes Now the role of gender will be different according to the ethnic groups in nigeria but before we dwell into that what is the term “gender role” A gender role is a set of perceived behavioral norms associated particularly with males or females, in a given social group or system. It can be a form of division of labour by gender. It is a focus of analysis in the social sciences and humanities. Gender is one component of the gender/sex system, which refers to “The set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity, and in which these transformed needs are satisfied” (Reiter 1975: 159). All societies, to a certain effect, have a gender/sex system, although the components and workings of this system vary widely from society to society. Most Authors recognize that the concrete behavior of individuals is a consequence of both socially enforced rules and values, and individual disposition, whether genetic, unconscious, or conscious. Some researchers emphasize the objective social system and others emphasize subjective orientations and dispositions. Creativity may cause the rules and values to change over time. Cultures and societies are dynamic and ever changing, but there has been extensive debate as to how, and how fast, they may change. Such debates are especially intense when they involve the gender/sex system, as people have widely differing views about how much gender depends on biological sex.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this research is to analyze women’s socio-economic roles, their changing contexts and opportunities, as it is in among various ethnic group in Nigeria over space and time, to achieve this the objectives are:

Analyze the roles of men and women at household and community levels

Identify common constraints to women’s participation in leadership positions

Identify ways through which communities can encourage and support women to participate in leadership at local levels

To analyze gender issues and the socio-economic role of women in the traditional and modern sectors,

To provide countrywide data on opportunities and constraints on women including status of women in education, health, politics, natural resources and civil society, and

To suggest policy measures to improve education and opportunities to enable women at all levels to participate in the new economic order effectively.

STUDY AREA

The study area is Nigeria, which has over three hundred and fifty(350) ethnic groups in 36 states, but the reseach will focus on the three major once with interest in other group such as Ijaw, Edo and Isoko ethnic groups they are introduce briefly below;

The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (èdèe Yorùbá; èdè = language). The Yoruba constitute approximately 21 percent of Nigeria’s total population,[1] and around 30 million individuals throughout the region of West Africa.[2] They share borders with the Borgu (variously called Bariba and Borgawa) in the northwest, the Nupe and Ebira in the north, the Ẹsan and Edo to the southeast, the Igala and other related groups to the northeast, and the Egun, Fon, and other Gbe-speaking peoples in the southwest. While the majority of the Yoruba live in southwestern Nigeria, there are also substantial indigenous Yoruba communities in Benin, Ghana and Togo, as well as large diasporic Yoruba communities in Sierra Leone, Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Trinidad, the Caribbean, and the United States.The Yoruba are the main ethnic group in the states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo, which are subdivisions of Nigeria; they also constitute a sizable proportion of Kwara and Kogi states as well as of the Benin.Many people of African descent in the Americas have claim to Yoruba ancestry (along with several other ethnic groups) to some degree. A significant percentage of Africans enslaved during the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade in the Americas were Yoruba.

The Igbo, sometimes (especially formerly) referred to as the Ibo, are a West African ethnic group numbering in the tens of millions. Most Igbos live in southeastern Nigeria, constituting about 17% of the population of the country; they can also be found in significant numbers in neighboring Cameroon and other African countries. Their language is the Igbo language.The traditional Igbo religion believes in a benevolent creator, usually known as Chukwu, who created the visible universe, the uwa. Opposing this force for good is agbara, meaning spirit or supernatural being.Apart from the natural level of the universe, they also believe that it exists on another level, that of the spiritual forces, the alusi. The alusi are minor deities, and are forces for blessing or destruction, depending on circumstances. They punish social offences and those who unwittingly infringe their privileges. The role of diviners is to interpret the wishes of the alusi, and the role of the priest is to placate them with sacrifices. Either a priest is chosen through hereditary lineage or he is chosen by a particular god for his service, usually after passing through a number of mystical experiences. Each person also has a personalised providence, which comes from Chukwu, and returns to him at the time of death, a chi. This chi may be good or bad.

The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. There are also significant numbers found in regions of Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, and Chad and smaller communities scattered throughout West Africa and on the traditional Hajj route across the Sahara Desert and Sahel. Many Hausa have moved to large coastal cities in West Africa such as Lagos, Accra and Cotonou, as well as to countries such as Libya, in search of jobs that pay cash wages. However, most Hausa remain in small villages, where they grow crops (Hausa farmers time their activities according to seasonal changes in rainfall and temperature) and raise livestock, including cattle. They speak the Hausa language, a member of the Chadic language group, itself a sub-group of the larger Afro-Asiatic language family.

The Ijaw (also known by the subgroups “Ijo” or “Izon”) are a collection of peoples indigenous mostly to the forest regions of the Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers States within the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Some are natives of Akwa Ibom, Edo and Ondo states also in Nigeria. Many are found as migrant fishermen in camps as far west as Sierra Leone and as far east as Gabon along the West African coastline. They are believed to be some of the earliest inhabitants of southern Nigeria. The Ijo people number about 9 million. They have long lived in locations near many sea trade routes, and they were well connected to other areas by trade as early as the 15th century

Isoko While some people believed that the Isoko people originated from the Benin Kingdom, others, like Professor Obaro Ikime, believe this to be untrue. Ikime states “If there is any aspect of the history of the various peoples of Nigeria about which no one can speak with any exactitude, it is that which deals with the origins of our peoples.”The belief that most of the Isoko groups are of Benin origin were views held and expressed in the 1960s and 1970s. These views were “decidedly simplistic and were based on British Intelligence Reports of the 1930s”and Ikime’s field work of 1961-1963

Edo people Benin City is called Edo by its inhabitants and in certain contexts individuals from all parts of the kingdom will refer to themselves as ovbiedo (child of Edo ). Except when speaking English, no Edo person ever refers to himself as “Benin” or “Bini”. These are non-Edo words of doubtful origin used by Europeans as an adjective and for the dominant people of the Edo kingdom and their language. Perhaps, this can be linked to the pre-colonial practice of naming areas after major geographic landmarks, in this case the Bight of Benin. It is on record that in 1472, the Portuguese captain Ruy de Siqueira brought a sailing ship as far as the Bight of Benin under the reign of Oba Ewuare. Egharevba provides further confirmation that Europeans named areas after major geographic landmarks. According to him, the label Lagos (the popular capital City of Nigeria) can be traced to the Portuguese because of its proximity to the lagoon. It has been suggested that “Benin” or “Bini” derive from the Yoruba phrase Ile-ibinu (land of vexation) which was purportedly uttered by Prince Oronmiyan declaring the fundamental fact that “only an Edo prince can rule over Edo land.” This Yoruba-based etymology of “Benin” or “Bini” is doubtful since there is evidence indicating that these words already occur in Portuguese writings about Edo dating back to the fifteenth century. According to Crowder, “unfortunately little is known about the early history of Oyo, for there was no written language, unlike Benin which was first visited by Europeans at the end of the fifteenth century.” Not until the end of the seventeenth century are there any definite dates for the history of Oyo which is no doubt linked to the later contact with the Europeans. The different close neighbors refer to the Edos by different names. For example, the Urhobos call the Edos ikhuorAka (the people of Aka), the Ikas (Agbor) use the label ndi-Iduu (the people of Iduu). Along this line of reasoning, the Yoruba phrase Ile-ibinu, later corrupted to Ubinu, may be Yoruba’s label for the Edos in light of the constant warfare against the Oyo empire by different Edo kings. This explanation is particularly striking because the Yorubas (for example, the Ekitis) refer to the Edo as Ado and not Ubinu. However, according to Egharevba it was Oba Ewuare Ne ogidigan (The great), about 1440 A.D to 1473 A.D, who changed the name of the country to Edo after his deified (servant) friend. Prior to this, the land had been called the land of Igodomigodo. Thus, the City has been known afterwards as Edo ne ebvo ahirre (Edo the City of love) because through love Edo (the servant friend) was able to save Ewuare from a sudden death.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The study will be limited to the areas such as

Cultures and gender roles,

Gender equity,

Women in leadership position,

Women empowerment,

Gender equity,

Women empowerment: education,

Women and HIV/AIDs,

All of the issues listed above will be viewed in terms of the various ethnic groups in Nigeria and more over what obtains at present compared to the past. The data would be collated and a comparative analysis would be made.

ETHNICITY IN NIGERIA

To begin with, ethnicity1 may be defined as “the employment or mobilization of ethnic identity and difference to gain advantage in situations of competition, conflict or cooperation” (Osaghae 1995:11). This definition is preferred because it identifies two issues that are central to discussions on ethnicity. The first is that ethnicity is neither natural nor accidental, but is the product of a conscious effort by social actors. The second is that ethnicity is not only manifest in conflictive or competitive relations but also in the contexts of cooperation. A corollary to the second point is that ethnic conflict manifests itself in various forms, including voting, community service and violence. Thus, it need not always have negative consequences. Ethnicity also encompasses the behaviour of ethnic groups. Ethnic groups are groups with ascribed membership, usually but not always based on claims or myths of common history, ancestry, language, race, religion, culture and territory. While all these variables need not be present before a group is so defined, the important thing is that such a group is classified or categorised as having a common identity that distinguishes it from others. It is this classification by powerful agencies such as the state, religious institutions and the intelligentsia such as local ethnic historians that objectifies the ethnic group, often setting in motion processes of self-identification or affirmation and recognition by others. Thus, ethnicity is not so much a matter of ‘shared traits or cultural commonalities’, but the result of the interplay between external categorization and self-identification (Brubaker, Loveman and Stamatov 2004:31-32).

Most analysts agree on the basic constitutive elements of ethnic groups but disagree on how and why they were formed, why ethnicity occurs, why it occasionally results in violent conflicts and what should be done to prevent its perverse manifestations.. As Ake (2000) and Mustapha (2000) have correctly argued these distinctions have been overemphasized as use of one does not necessarily preclude the other. Most scholars combine more than one perspective in their analyses. Essentialism, the earliest of the four approaches, arose from cultural cartographies and greatly influenced modernization theorists whose positions became the points of departure of the other three approaches. The following sections examine the interplay between the ethnicity and gender issues

TALCOTT PARSONS’ VIEWS OF GENDER ROLES

Working in the United States, Talcott Parsons developed a model of the nuclear family in 1955. (At that place and time, the nuclear family was considered to be the prevalent family structure.) It compared a strictly traditional view of gender roles (from an industrial-age American perspective) to a more liberal view.

Parsons believed that the feminine role was an expressive one, whereas the masculine role, in his view, was instrumental. He believed that expressive activities of the woman fulfill ‘internal’ functions, for example to strengthen the ties between members of the family. The man, on the other hand, performed the ‘external’ functions of a family, such as providing monetary support.

The Parsons model was used to contrast and illustrate extreme positions on gender roles. Model A describes total separation of male and female roles, while Model B describes the complete dissolution of barriers between gender roles.(The examples are based on the context of the culture and infrastructure of the United States but I have simulated it to that of Nigeria)

Model A – Total role segregation

Model B – Total disintegration of roles

Education

Gender-specific education; high professional qualification is important only for the man

Co-educative schools, same content of classes for girls and boys, same qualification for men and women.

Profession

The workplace is not the primary area of women; career and professional advancement is deemed unimportant for women

For women, career is just as important as for men; Therefore equal professional opportunities for men and women are necessary.

Housework

Housekeeping and child care are the primary functions of the woman; participation of the man in these functions is only partially wanted.

All housework is done by both parties to the marriage in equal shares.

Decision making

In case of conflict, man has the last say, for example in choosing the place to live, choice of school for children, buying decisions

Neither partner dominates; solutions do not always follow the principle of finding a concerted decision; status quo is maintained if disagreement occurs.

Child care and education

Woman takes care of the largest part of these functions; she educates children and cares for them in every way

Man and woman share these functions equally.

Gender roles can influence all kinds of behavior, such as choice of clothing, choice of work and personal relationships; E.g., parental status and traditional belief in Nigeria.

GENDER ROLES AND SOCIALIZATION

The process through which the individual learns and accepts roles is called socialization. Socialization works by encouraging wanted and discouraging unwanted behavior. These sanctions by agencies of socialization such as the tradition, religion, family, schools, and the communication medium make it clear to the child what behavioral norms the child is expected to follow. The examples of the child’s parents, siblings and teachers are typically followed. Mostly, accepted behaviour is not produced by outright reforming coercion from an accepted social system. In some other cases, various forms of coercion have been used to acquire a desired response or function.

In majority of the traditional and developmental social systems, an individual has a choice to what should he or she extent as a conformed representative of a socialization process. In this voluntary process, the consequences can be beneficial or malfunctional, minor or severe for every case by a behavior’s socialization influence forming gender roles or expectations institutionalizing gender differences. Typical encouragements and expectations of gender role behavior are not as a powerful difference and reforming social trait to a century ago. Such developments and traditional refineries are still a socialization process to and within family values, peer pressures, at the employment centers and in every social system communication medium.

Still, once someone has accepted certain gender roles and gender differences as an expected socialized behavioral norms, these behavior traits become part of the individual’s responsibilities not influential roles in gender relationships on a personal and social levels to the individual’s own socializing role or self (identity). Sanctions to unwanted behavior and role conflict can be stressful.

CHANGING ROLES

“

Girls can wear jeans

And cut their hair short

Wear shirts and boots

‘Cause it’s okay to be a boy

But for a boy to look like a girl is degrading

‘Cause you think that being a girl is degrading

But secretly you’d love to know what it’s like

Wouldn’t you

What it feels like for a girl

”

Source: The Cement Garden which appears in the Madonna song, “What It Feels Like for a Girl”

A person’s gender role is composed of several elements and can be expressed through clothing, behaviour, choice of work, personal relationships and other factors. These elements are not concrete and have evolved through time (for example women’s trousers).

Gender roles were traditionally divided into strictly feminine and masculine gender roles, though these roles have diversified today into many different acceptable male or female gender roles. However, gender role norms for women and men can vary significantly from one country or culture to another, even within a country or culture. People express their gender role somewhat uniquely. Gender role can vary according to the social group to which a person belongs or the subculture with which he or she identifies cultural identity. Historically, for example, eunuchs had a different gender role because their biology was changed.

GENDER ROLES AND FEMINISM

Most feminists argue that traditional gender roles are oppressive for women. They believe that the female gender role was constructed as an opposite to an ideal male role, and helps to perpetuate patriarchy. For approximately the last 100 years women have been fighting for the same rights as men (especially in the 1960s with second-wave feminism and radical feminism) and were able to make changes to the traditionally accepted feminine gender role. However, most feminists today say there is still work to be done. Numerous studies and statistics show that even though the situation for women has improved during the last century, discrimination is still widespread: Women earn a smaller percentage of aggregate income than men, occupy lower-ranking job positions than men and do most of the housekeeping work[citation needed]. Some women, such as the editors of the Independent Women’s Forum, dispute this claim. They argue that women actually earn 98 cents on the dollar when factors such as age, education, and experience are taken into account. However, feminists believe these factors are not independent of gender. In fact, gender socialization informs the kind and length of education women receive, as well as the age at which women enter the workplace and the time spent working. Opponents counter that, regardless of what forces influence these factors, the evidence of wide-spread discrimination against working women is quite weak.

Furthermore, there has been a perception of Western culture, in recent times, that the female gender role is dichotomized into either being a “stay at home-mother” or a “career woman”[citation needed]. In reality, women usually face a double burden: The need to balance job and child care deprives women of spare time. Whereas the majority of men with university educations have a career as well as a family, only 50 percent of academic women have children. The double burden problem was introduced to scientific theory in 1956 by Myrdal and Klein in their work “Women’s two roles: Home and work,” published in London. When feminism became a conspicuous protest movement in the 60′s, critics often argued that women who wanted to follow a traditional role would be discriminated against in the future and forced to join the workforce. This has not proven true as such: although some women, especially single parents are denied this choice due to economic necessity, there is little or no discrimination against women who remain in traditional roles.[citation needed] At the beginning of the 21st century women who choose to live in the classical role of the “stay at home-mother” are acceptable to Western society. There is not complete tolerance of all female gender roles – there is some lasting prejudice and discrimination against those who choose to adhere to traditional female gender roles (Sometimes termed being femme or a “girly girl”) , despite feminism, in theory, not being about the choices made but the freedom to make that choice.[8] Women who choose to pursue careers and higher education are also similarly stigmatized by certain religious groups. Often accused of “trying to become a man” and “abandoning their children” if they pursue anything outside the role of mother, mistress, and maid

SITUATING GENDER ISSUES IN NIGERIAN CONTEXT

Methodology used

Interview and the use of questionnaire was employed about 350 questionnaire was administered to about five different ethnic group in Nigeria based in Lagos. Respondents included leaders from local ethnic group in Lagos, religious groups, women’s, youth and other people from different group. Special emphasis was put on the female respondents, A geographic approach was also used, with group concentration as emphasis of choice of location as most Ijaw, Isoko people reside in the riverine areas of Lagos notably, Ilaje-bariga, Okokomaiko, Orile and Ajegunle while the Igbo people reside in Alaba International, ladipo etc where they do their business and the Hausa people are located in Alaba-rago, mile-12, and Isolo-Mushin.

GENDER ROLES AT HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY LEVEL

Gender roles are distinct in any society. In each ethnic group, there are definitions of what women and men of that society are expected to do in their adult life. Children are socialised to internalise these roles. Girls and boys are prepared for their different but specific roles. Most times when a man is seen doing women’s tasks, other members of society regard him as a coward, docile, or stupid. When a woman does what is presumed a man’s task, such a woman is regarded as too tough or being “more than a woman.”

Tasks women are unable to do, they engage paid labour for. Women are hunting and fishing to improve the nutrition standards of their families, yet traditionally in the Nigerian ethnic group society, these were exclusively men’s roles. Men and women gave different reasons why women work more than men did in the past especially among the Igbo ethnic group and some part of the south notably the isoko’s

Men’s perceptions

Women’s perceptions

We pay so much bride price that we expect our wives to work hard in order to pay back.

In a way, we buy the women. “Once you buy somebody, that person should work for you.” An Igbo respondent said

Some women enjoy hard work to please their husbands and in-laws and to show respect even if they are not yet married to you. A Yoruba man explains

Some women do not want to be helped with household work. They view household work as their domain and they do not want men to interfere.

Some women believe that they are married to work for their husbands and they view it as a failure on their part if their husbands want to help.

When we help our wives with household work, some of them gossip about it and this makes us unwilling to continue helping with such tasks, some Yoruba respondent explains

Men take women as slaves. An Hausa lady responds

Men are selfish. They do not want to work.

Men who have more than one wife find it hard to work for all the wives and leave the women to fend for themselves and their children. Hausa and Yoruba ladies explains

When further examining men and women’s tasks it was discovered that very few tasks were exclusively done by women or men. It was agreed that, apart from giving birth, men and women perform all other tasks. Roles specific to men were identified as: – digging graves, fathering a child, digging pit latrines, paying bride prices, marrying women and `disciplining’ women.

Disciplining women

Disciplining women as a role for men generated a lot of diverse view among different ethnic group but about 40% of the man agreed that it is the duty of a man to discipline his wife and this 40 percent is across board all ethnic group especially amongst the Yoruba and Hausa people. Men were pressed hard to explain what they meant by “disciplining.” The men argued that women need to be guided when they make mistakes. They punish them by beating. Apart from disciplining women, the issue of domestic violence and the treatment of women as minors was also raised by some female respondents. Reasons were explored why men batter their wives. The male respondents explained that women provoked men to beat them. One man said that: “Yoruba women have a sharp tongue and since men do not want to answer back, they beat them”.

SHARING OF DOMESTIC ROLES

A comparison was made between a home where there is co-operation and sharing of work between spouses and another where there is no such co-operation. It should be pointed out that in a household where there is no co-operation and sharing of work, there is: famine, poverty, quarrels and fighting, children not attending school, sickness, poor clothing, separation or divorce and stealing. Whereas a home with co-operation is characterised by: abundant food with many granaries in the compound, love, respect, wealth (e.g. more cows), children going to school, good health, good housing, and better clothing.

The respondents pointed out that a home with co-operation is more desirable. However, they recognised that the majority of households in the communities were characterised by some of the elements of lack of co-operation. They knew very few men who helped their wives with household chores and those notable for this act are the Isoko men they always help in domestics especially cooking infact they are known to be good cook. It was pointed out that such men are usually called names and sometimes they cannot mix freely with others for fear of being ridiculed by their colleagues.but other groups especially the Igbos and the Hausas are on the contrary

But men need to take up more responsibilities in the home. Some of the tasks that men could assist with in the home include: collecting water, taking care of themselves, collecting fire-wood, pounding Yam, caring for children, doing more farming – putting in more hours per day, weeding, harvesting, and cooking. In order to reduce the stigma of men helping their wives with domestic chores, women groups Men also complained that women are very quarrelsome. They said that some men want to discuss certain issues with their wives, but the women become hostile and do not want to discuss anything with them.the practice whereby women go to the farm and the men sit back at home among the Igbo Edo and Isoko has since been faced out and most of the men are now taking responsibility of such actions at home.

WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP IN COMMUNITIES

This topic is discussed in the context of leadership in a community. Qualities of a good and a bad leader will be identified and whether or not women have such qualities. But it should be noted that Nigeria as a country is the grasping in the euphoria of bad leadership and the solution to this problem as expressed by some quarter is the need for women to be in the helms of affairs but some have proposed otherwise. They were linked to the discussion on gender

Qualities of a good leader

A good leader should:

Be honest some of Nigeria’s leaders sometimes lie to us about information received from the state or from the central government in Abuja. A good leader should be accountable to the people by informing them about decisions taken during the meetings of the councils; this has been absent and explains the reasons why people like Salisu Buhari, Evans Ewerem and other leaders lied about there qualification, all are men.

Be well informed – because of high levels of illiteracy and lack of access to information, some of the leaders were taking advantage of this to misinform the communities for their personal benefit. A good leader should consult people about their needs and problems

Not use his/her privileged position for personal gains – some infact most of Nigerian leaders were using their privileged positions to harass women into sexual relationships and communities were unhappy about such leaders;

Be development oriented – some leaders did not encourage people to start income generating activities or mobilise them to undertake development programmes in their communities. It should be noted that a good leader is one who educates or sensitizes those he or she is leading so that they can improve their well being and that of their communities. A Leader should plan for their areas and advise the people on all aspects of development. He/she should stimulate people’s initiatives, cooperate with them and co-ordinate development activities.

It should be further pointed out that some leaders were sickly and not able to perform their duties. An issue was raised that some leaders may have diseases like AIDS which makes them too weak to work and yet they do not relinquish their leadership roles. This was raised in a few places but seemed to be a sensitive issue – whether people who are already suffering from AIDS should be elected to leadership positions or not.

Then we should examine whether or not women have the desired leadership qualities. In most cases women possess most of the good leadership qualities. However it should also be noted that a certain number of constraints to women’s participation in leadership:

Constraints to women’s participation in leadership

men do not allow their wives to attend meetings, even when they themselves already hold such positions, as they fear that women are being lured into relationships with other male leaders;

women’s workload causes poor time-keeping and prohibits their effective participation;

lack of respect for women as leaders by both women and men;

lack of transport (meetings are usually far and most women do not own cars);

low educational levels among women;

culturally determined factors: women are shy, lack confidence, have a low self-esteem;

separation or divorce – when this happens a woman has to go away. This creates a problem if she is a leader;

marriage (girls cannot hold positions of leadership in a community because they sooner or later get married and go to another community, so they are not elected to leadership positions).

women are normally not considered eligible for leadership.

FEMALE CIRCUMCISION IN NIGERIA

Female genital cutting (FGC), also known as female circumcision in Nigeria, is a common practice in many societies in the northern half of sub-Saharan Africa. Nearly universal in a few countries, it is practiced by various groups in at least 25 African countries, in Yemen, and in immigrant African populations in Europe and North America. In a few societies, the procedure is routinely carried out when a girl is a few weeks or a few months old (e.g. Eritrea, Yemen), while in most others, it occurs later in childhood or adolescence. In the case of the latter, FGC is typically part of a ritual initiation into womanhood that includes a period of seclusion and education about the rights and duties of a wife. The 2003 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (2003 NDHS) collected data on the practice of female circumcision in Nigeria from all women age 15-49. The 1999 NDHS collected data on female circumcision only from currently married women. In this chapter, topics discussed include knowledge, prevalence, and type; age at circumcision; person who performed the circumcision; and attitudes towards the practice.

KNOWLEDGE AND PREVALENCE OF FEMALE CIRCUMCISION

About half (53 percent) of Nigerian women age 15-49 have heard of the practice. There are marked variations in knowledge of female circumcision by residence, region, education, and ethnicity. About two-thirds of urban respondents have heard of female circumcision, compared with less than half of women in rural areas (69 versus 45 percent). In general, women in the south are more than twice as likely as women in the north to haven heard of the practice. These variations by region and residence are a reflection of ethnic differentials. The Igbo and Yoruba, who are primarily resident in the South East and South West, respectively, have greater knowledge of female circumcision than the ethnic groups primarily resident in the north.

Table 13.1 also shows the prevalence of female circumcision by background characteristics, which follows the same patterns as knowledge of circumcision. The proportion of women who were circumcised at the time of the survey was greatest in the southern regions, among the Yoruba and Igbo, and among urban residents. The high prevalence of female circumcision among the Yoruba (61 percent) and Igbo (45 percent) helps to explain regional and urban-rural differentials, since the Yoruba and Igbo traditionally reside in the South West and South East, which are more urban than the north. More than twice as many of the oldest women as the youngest women are circumcised (28 versus 13 percent), suggesting that there has been a decline in the practice. Caldwell et al. (2000) have reported a decline in the prevalence of female circumcision among the Yoruba.

AGE AT CIRCUMCISION

The percent distribution of women by age at circumcision is presented in Table 13.2. Female circumcision in Nigeria occurs mostly in infancy (i.e., before the first birthday). Three-quarters of the women who underwent circumcision were circumcised by age one. Twenty-one percent, however, were circumcised at age five or older. There are marked variations in the proportions of women circumcised in infancy by residence and ethnicity. For instance, almost nine in ten Igbo and Yoruba were circumcised during infancy compared with less than half of those in other ethnic groups (45 percent). Infibulation, the most severe form of circumcision, is more likely to be carried out on women circumcised at a later age than on the very young. The table shows that 37 percent of those cut before the age of one had been infibulated, while 49 percent of those circumcised after the age of four were infibulated. It should be noted that the total number of respondents infibulated was 57.

Nigeria is a male dominated society and women are seen as inferior to men. Women’s traditional role is to have children and be responsible for the home. Their low status and lack of access to education increases their vulnerability to HIV infection. Certain social and cultural practices also make them vulnerable to HIV.

HIV/AIDS AND NIGERIAN WOMEN: CAUSES

Marriage practices

Harmful marriage practices violate women’s human rights and contribute to increasing HIV rates in women and girls. In Nigeria there is no legal minimum age for marriage and early marriage is still the norm in some areas. Parents see it as a way of protecting young girls from the outside world and maintaining their chastity.

Many girls get married between the ages of 12 and 13 and there is usually a large age gap between husband and wife. Young married girls are at risk of contracting HIV from their husbands as it is acceptable for men to have sexual partners outside marriage and some men have more than one wife (polygamy). Because of their age, lack of education and low status, young married girls are not able to negotiate condom use to protect themselves against HIV and STIs.

Female circumcision

Female circumcision/female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice whereby all or part of the external female genitalia is removed by cutting. Around 60% of all Nigerian women experience FGM and it is most common in the south, where up to 85% of women undergo it at some point in their lives. FGM puts women and girls at risk of contracting HIV from unsterilized instruments, such as knives and broken glass that are used during the procedure.

Sex work

Although prostitution is illegal in Nigeria there are more than a million female sex workers. HIV infection rates among sex workers have been estimated to be as high as 30% in some areas. There are low levels of condom use among sex workers because of a lack of knowledge about HIV transmission and poor acceptance by male clients.10

Gender roles around the world pin women into positions where they lack the power to protect themselves from HIV infection and where, if they are infected, they lack opportunities to receive treatment. Negative assumptions about women’s roles and discrimination against them must be challenged and women must be empowered to help themselves and to protect themselves.

Women who have been raped need to have access to post-exposure prophylaxis – medical techniques which can reduce the chances of HIV infection if the victim of a rape is treated quickly. In many (mainly African) countries with high levels of sexual violence against women and high HIV prevalence, this treatment is not freely available to women.

Protecting women from HIV is not solely women’s responsibility. Most HIV+ women were infected by unprotected sex with an infected man. Preventing infection is the responsibility of both partners, and men must play an equal role in this. If no HIV+ men had unprotected heterosexual sex, the number of women newly infected with HIV would plummet. Even in the United States, there is still much more to be done to protect women. There has been criticism that sex education in schools in the USA is based on the idea that sexual fidelity until marriage is the best way to prevent STD infection. This won’t protect a women if she is infected by the man she marries, and it leaves her vulnerable and ignorant if she changes her mind, and has sex before marriage. This is why women must be taught about reducing risk by using condoms, and condoms must be easily obtainable for women.

Violence against women, discrimination, gender-based inequalities, prostitution – these are all social issues which undeniably need to be changed, but which might take decades to alter. Women who have HIV need to access to treatment, and women who don’t have the virus need to be able to protect themselves. If, in the short term, it is impossible to empower women to be able to insist on condom use, then efforts must be made to find an alternative solution.

There are plans underway to develop a microbicide – a gel or cream which can be applied vaginally, without a partner even knowing, and which would kill HIV, preventing infection. Tests have been being done for a number of years, but medical experts say that even if all goes well, such a gel is still at least 5 years away.

There are many issues surrounding the development of microbicides. Even if such a product can be shown to be both safe and functional, it will then have to be made palatable to consumers from different countries and cultures. One particular issue is pregnancy. Women in developing countries may want a microbicide that prevents HIV infection but which allows pregnancy to occur, whilst other women may want to be protected against both HIV infection and pregnancy. Given that a number of faith-based organisations espouse anti-contraception views, it seems likely that a microbicide which does not prevent pregnancy will be more easily accepted.

Many women may not think they are at risk for HIV infection. There is still, in some places, a myth that HIV infection is something that happens to other people – to men, to injecting drug users, to people from other ethnic groups. This falsehood needs to be cleared up, and countries around the world need to empower women to be able to protect themselves.

CONCLUSION

The Gender and ethnicity in Nigeria. This is a research paper undertaken to create awareness at the community level on the need to support and enable women to effectively utilise the opportunities provided by the Constitution and to examine the reaction or opinion of different response from ethnic group in Nigeria

The Gender and ethnicity in Nigeria paper provided the opportunity me to explore the relationship between women and men in discussing and examine the issue of women in leadership positions, HIV/AIDs, Female Circumcisions, households, and changing roles and amongs the various ethnic group in Nigeria. A strategic location was chose which is Lagos that houses all tribes and ethnic group (in large proportion) in Nigeria.

The respondents included leaders from ethnic group, religious groups, women’s groups, youth, and other small groups. Specific emphasis was put on women. During the course of the research work, respondents used their experience to evaluate and responded to each question about how far women had come in the struggle for equal participation in community and leadership, the challenges and constraints they face, and how this process can be supported.

The paper focused on household and community roles for both women and men. While there was agreement by both men and women on what women do, men’s roles were disputed by women and some men. They insisted that even when men undertake certain roles, they do as little as possible. The discussions revealed that women do all the reproductive work, undertake most of the productive work and take up a bigger share of community roles. Women are continuously taking up roles that were traditionally men’s tasks.

The experience of analyzing the integration of gender into ethnic groups in Nigeria and development planning has shown tentative success. The most important aspect of such follow-up should be sensitisation and building the capacity of elected policy makers and implementers to enable them to integrate gender in policy making, planning and implementation of programmes.

It must also be noted that Incorporating equal opportunities for women and men into all Community policies and activities that is “Gender mainstreaming involves not restricting efforts to promote equality to the implementation of specific measures to help women, but mobilising all general policies and measures specifically for the purpose of achieving equality by actively and openly taking into account at the planning stage their possible effects on the respective situation of men and women (gender perspective). This means systematically examining measures and policies and taking into account such possible effects when defining and implementing them.”

“Action to promote equality requires an ambitious approach which presupposes the recognition of male and female identities and the willingness to establish a balanced distribution of responsibilities between women and men.”

“The promotion of equality must not be confused with the simple objective of balancing the statistics: it is a question of promoting long-lasting changes in parental roles, family structures, institutional practices, the organistation of work and time, their personal development and independence, but also concerns men and the whole of society, in which it can encourage progress and be a token of democracy and pluralism.”

“The systematic consideration of the differences between the conditions, situations and needs of women and men in all Community policies and actions: this is the basic feature of the principle of ‘mainstreaming’, which the Commission has adopted. This does not mean simply making Community programmes or resources more accessible to women, but rather the simultaneous mobilisation of legal instruments, financial resources and the Community’s analytical and organisational capacities in order to introduce in all areas the desire to build balanced relationships between women and men. In this respect it is necessary and important to base the policy of equality between women and men on a sound statistical analysis of the situation of women and men in the various areas of life and the changes taking place in societies.”

RECOMMENDATIONS

Solutions to women’s constraints to leadership: The following solutions were proposed to these constraints:

Men should learn to trust their wives. Women should also behave well so that their husbands can trust them;

Men should take up household work. When women go for meetings for example, men should assist in collecting firewood, water, cooking and taking care of the children;

Change of attitude by men and women towards women’s leadership. Women need to learn to support each other more;

Sensitisation of men so that they can allow their wives to participate in leadership;

Family planning; having fewer children will create more time for women.;

Education of girls as future leaders;

Organising adult literacy classes for women;

Sensitisation regarding the negative cultural attitudes towards women.

1 Training and sensitization programmes

These leaders need to be able to analyse and articulate development plans for their communities. Both women and men Local Council members will benefit from training in government work, information gathering, consensus building with their electorate etc., which will enhance their capacity to better undertake the role they have been elected for.

This provides an opportunity to involve them in issues, which require a new way of thinking. At present day, politicians know that gender and women’s empowerment is an issue that they cannot ignore. A sensitisation and training programme for elected Local Council Members would be very useful..

Gender awareness training for technical officers

Whereas politicians are responsible for policy making, technical people are in charge of the implementation of these policies and they advise politicians on policy issues. The technical experts in different sectors such as health, education, agriculture and community development need to know how to integrate gender considerations into programme planning and implementation. Most of them have had training that was gender blind. Integration of gender concerns in technical fields is important for the implementation of policies. The technocrats who are mainly at district level, need to recognise that gender is a crosscutting issue and need to be trained on how to integrate gender issues in the development programmes.

Training for lower levels development workers

Gender issues need to be integrated at all levels of programme implementation. At community level, most development programmes are implemented through extension workers in different fields, like agriculture and health. These field workers could be trained to integrate gender in what they do. Furthermore there are the teachers at primary school level. Some of them could be selected for training in gender issues to enable them to make gender central to their work.

Training the field workers is important, as they have the opportunity of close interactions with grassroots people. Training field workers would ensure that gender is included in all their community work, which reaches the majority of the people. It is important that such training be joined to instructions on the use of participatory approaches, which -one- would build upon the interest, creativity and hopefulness raised during the gender and decentralisation programme, and -two- would provide room for “local” solutions, taking into account cultural and customary laws that hinder women’s full participation in politics and leadership.

Information-Education-Communication materials

It is important that all the whole sensitisation and training process be re-enforced by IEC materials in the local languages. Posters based on the issues raised during the programme should be produced to bring the results closer to the people and to enable them to better appreciate the situation.

Evaluation and monitoring

Monitoring and evaluation tools need to be designed based upon both the gender assessment study as well as the report of the Gender equity programme. These tools should focus on gender representation at all the local government levels, and at state and federal government, as well as impact of the various training programmes.

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Sierra Leone: Microfinance Demand and Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Impact

Sierra Leone: Microfinance Demand and Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Impact
By Kenday S. Kamara, October 2008

With a population of about 6 million people, composed of 20 ethnic groups, “with Temne (30%), Mende (30%), Creole (10%) and Other (30%) making up the composition; and with an estimated 935,800 households, Sierra Leone has one of the lowest human development index (HDI) with economic growth estimated at 5.5 percent and inflation at 2.2″ (UNDP). The country is scarred by a decade long civil war. And since January 18, 2002 when the war was officially declared over, majority of Sierra Leoneans are today still struggling and in dire conditions.

The persistence of poverty is causing irreversible harm to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Sierra Leone and the good life of her people. The level of poverty and the extreme low levels of incomes due to massive unemployment in Sierra Leone exceed colonial levels by over 60 percent and is not getting better. The country has been classified by a United Nations Human Development Report “as one of the poorest countries in the world with widespread poverty, high infant mortality rate about 182/1000 and life expectancy, among the least in the world, about 38 years; low adult literacy rate estimated at 30% while only 35% of the population had access to safe drinking water in 1998″ (UNDP). The country was ranked bottom of the 177 countries listed in the UNDP’s Human Development Reports from 1991 to 2004. 

The economic costs of unchecked poverty trends will be severe. In the late 70s and the 80s, the widespread students’ discontent in the country anticipated the nemesis that befell the country in the 1990s-which could be rightly described as “the age of consequences” when the country had to go through the most brutal civil conflict in modern times claiming thousands of lives with many thousands losing their limbs and causing severe economic losses and the effect on the country’s GDP extremely damaging. What this indicates is that the persistence of poverty is creating major security risks and the pervading scenarios of resource scarcity is only causing increased mortality rates as a consequence of unmitigated disease proliferation under extreme conditions.  

The social indicators of development in Sierra Leone that fell drastically in the course and aftermath of the 10 years scourge the country underwent putting Sierra Leone at the bottom of UNDP’s Human Development Index has not changed much today. More than 80% of the population still falls below the poverty line of $1 per day. Containing poverty, therefore, will require increasing the current levels of support programs that target poor and very poor populations in Sierra Leone and also support increase of women’s access to financial services.

Microfinance support structures, for instance, have been found to be quite relevant to poverty alleviation and gradual and steady development in developing countries. And it is no rocket science the way microfinance works: micro loans provided to multiple beneficiaries through microfinance support channels are used as revolving investment funds benefiting many beneficiaries all at once.

However, considerable leadership and organizational development work has to be done to build the capacity of microfinance institutions and micro-financed beneficiaries in Sierra Leone. This is necessary for the microfinance support machine in Sierra Leone so that it exists in a way that it feeds on the success and growth of microfinance supported programs. The growth of microfinance supported programs would translate to supporting more microfinance outreach programs to benefit more Sierra Leoneans thus fueling the engine of economic growth. Periodic programs impact assessments are necessary as well to assess whether microfinance supported programs have had the desired impact on beneficiaries and on the economies of beneficiaries’ in various communities. 

Per capita poverty in Sierra Leone today is four times as dismal as those in countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal and 10 times as dismal as those in Botswana and South Africa. Sierra Leone is renowned for widespread corruption and as one of the world’s most corrupt countries with a per capita income to be the lowest in the world. The current administration must therefore urgently implement a durable national strategy to address the persistent poverty threat through well regulated microfinance structures.

The youth, women and children are by far the most vulnerable to poverty. Widening unemployment increases the mortality rate, and worsening GDP devastates the country at gargantuan proportions. Emerging graduates from higher institutions of learning and vocational institutes are also highly vulnerable to the fallout from the widening unemployment rate in the country, including lack of savings, inadequate healthcare, and almost zero productivity in all sectors of the economy. These categories of unemployed are understandably loath to bear the burdens of the transitioning new political leadership while a whole new crop of politicians continue to corrupt apace.

Launching an effective regime for robustly coordinated microfinance structures presents an opportunity for APC leadership. The APC leadership must strive to bring microfinance channels into a system that establishes the common understanding for the widespread development impact of microfinance loans being one of the main ways beneficiaries create employment for themselves and be able to overcome food insecurity, address emergencies, and pay for medical and lifecycle expenses. With an efficiently regulated microfinance supply structure, the social impact of microfinance growth can also be seen in the growth of education and in the number of children able to complete secondary education in beneficiary communities. Further, microfinance stakeholders would become empowered in terms of increased self-esteem gained from being able to provide for their family and increased decision-making at the enterprise level.

Untapped Potential

Sierra Leone can learn a great deal from Latin America and East Asia’s experience with successfully active microfinance programs. “The largest distribution of loans and mobilization of savings in terms of GNP are recorded in South East Asia (Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Indonesia), and Latin America (Bolivia, Honduras, Panama, Jamaica, and Colombia)”.

Sierra Leone’s microfinance sector, on the other hand, is at a very nascent stage, composed of a mix of projects coordinated by NaCSA (National Commission for Social Action) and some international and other local NGOs. About 60 microfinance NGOs, projects and programs in the country are coordinated by NaCSA’s Social Action and Poverty Alleviation (SAPA) program (a government run retail MFI). Only 10% of financial services to micro and small businesses were estimated in 2003.

A distinguishing characteristic of Sierra Leone’s financial sector is its high exclusivity, mostly serving the middle class, supporting high margin type enterprises and people with guaranteed salaries. The economic activities of commercial banks are primarily on treasury bills rather than investing assets on business sector lending. 

Effort to develop the microfinance sector in order to create an inclusive financial sector that has the potential of directly impacting at least 20% of the total population in terms of income and employment generation in a sustainable manner is a sound approach. The relevance of microfinance to economic development is evident and the gradual integration of microfinance into high level commercial financial activities of banks is key to building an all inclusive financial system.

“NaCSA is a governmental body that was established as a ‘Social Fund’ in November 2001 by an Act of Parliament as the successor to the National Commission for Reconstruction, Resettlement and Rehabilitation (NCRRR). The NaCSA Microfinance Program (MFP) is primarily a technical assistance and training vehicle for building a viable, sustainable and growing microfinance sub-sector. It operates with its own staff and through the NaCSA network of 16 decentralized offices.” A recent ACP-EU-supported national survey of MFIs coordinated by NaCSA evaluated the degree of transparency of reporting processes and the kind of increases in efficiency and progress towards operational self-sufficiency these MFIs are making. The March 2008 survey outcomes were meant to determine the kind of sustainability objectives to be pursued. Data from the national survey are meant to be used to increase the effectiveness of ACP-EU interventions in terms of capacity building, internal controls and promoting a customer orientation.

Given the unique nature of the ACP Business Climate Facility (BizClim)-an ACP-EU joint initiative financed under the 9th European Development Fund (EDF) as a proactive capacity building international development program-the NaCSA coordinated survey project provided the opportunity for ACP-EU to play a leadership role in helping to develop a shared understanding of sector needs and gaps, and to provide vision and strategy for bridging challenges. The ACP-EU values the strategic and deliberate setting of objectives, specific policy replication activities and targets, and building capacity. The ACP-EU survey thus made an assessment of the strategic positioning and comparative advantage of ACP-EU in the broader microfinance context in Sierra Leone and vis-à-vis other players in the microfinance arena. It also examines the relevance and significance of ACP-EU investments and technical assistance to ACP-EU-funded microfinance programs.

ACP-EU has offered its capacity (of programs flexibility and professionalism) to contribute to microfinance development and to help Sierra Leone meets her Millennium Development Goals (MDG) measured in terms of cutting poverty in half by 2015. Sierra Leone has need for support to diversify her community level economies and economic activities if it is going to meet her MDGs. ACP-EU has a distinct capacity to innovate in this area by using the best means available (a microfinance demand and supply survey) to find out about the programs impact of microfinance in Sierra Leone by asking the various stakeholders for their perceptions. Ahmed Saybom Kanu, Administrative Officer for Statistics Sierra Leone explained in a meeting with the author of this essay “that the issue of micro credit has greater sociological dimensions. How these dimensions are looked at, varies. Therefore, it is good to learn more about microfinance and how the sector can be expanded with greater outreach.”

Unfortunately, former president Kabbah’s NaCSA squandered an opportunity to properly manage the resources provided by the ACP-EU that could have helped underwrite the transition to a vibrant micro financed economy: instead of efficient management of micro loans, it opted for the politically expedient path of giving away micro loans without proper loan management mechanisms. Many of the microfinance beneficiaries, particularly party affiliates, reacted by misusing micro loans resulting in billions of leones used in misplaced priorities. The Kabbah government had less motivation to impose stringent microfinance-efficiency standards, let alone be transparent and conform to ACP-EU standards.  The current APC leadership should now be expected to actively debate the capacity of NaCSA on the development of a vibrant microfinance sector. The emphasis should be on creating opportunities for the poor and low income people. In that regard, the country’s large informal structure needs to be stimulated and developed through a well coordinated microfinance supply system to absorb huge numbers of the population to become gainfully self employed. “Estimates are that the informal sector accounts for at least two-thirds of the total labor force, and 70% of the urban labor force. More than half the population is under 20 years of age. Of the total population around 65 percent lives in rural areas” (UNCDF).

The Microfinance Landscape

 The commercial banks are both major players in the Sierra Leone economy and the country’s leading lending institutions. Commercial banks’ leadership will therefore be indispensable in the creation of a national regime to coordinate microfinance opportunities. But commercial banks have shown little or no interest in microfinance and they hesitate to help establish a national system capable of channeling the necessary funds to microfinance activities. These banks provide mostly basic financial services with a client base of about 85,000 clients.

Fortunately, the Sierra Leone Commercial Bank (a bank partly owned by government) is beginning to recognize the growth potential of microfinance alternatives. The bank has created opportunities in microfinance borrowing using a group-guarantee methodology with loans to be provided to groups. Also, the other government owned banks, the National Development Bank (NDB), the National Cooperative Development Bank (NCDB), and the Bank of Sierra Leone’s community (chiefdom) pilot banks have involved in wholesale and retail finance to MFIs.

The government needs to support the enabling environment to expand the landscape of microfinance operations in Sierra Leone by providing tax breaks to mainstream commercial banks to encourage these banks to support innovations in the area of microfinance. Greater involvement of mainstream commercial banks in microfinance lending should be more than sufficient to quickly transform the nation’s microfinance infrastructure from a relief orientation to a self sustaining business-like orientation. The greater involvement of commercial banks strategy will complement the effort of institutions like World Hope International (WHI); the Association of Rural Development (ARD); the American Refugee Committee (ARC), and the Grass Field Women’s Development Association which transformed itself into PRIMED (Promoting Initiatives for Micro Enterprise Development) which have been the most recognized microfinance institutions in Sierra Leone.

The government should also take advantage of the potential of the two indigenous financial mechanisms that provide access to credit-the Osusu or rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs) and moneylenders. The ROSCAs are common throughout the country and they serve as mechanisms for people to save for medical, bundu society, bride price, or school fees. The moneylenders found throughout the country (with the common terms of borrowing being a 2 for 1 system) have also been crucial in providing microfinance to hardworking Sierra Leoneans at the informal level. The government should provide formal support mechanisms to directly encourage the development and growth of the activities of these ROSCAs and moneylenders rewarding those ROSCAs and moneylenders that successfully manage high numbers of beneficiaries. This performance-based support system would allow ROSCAs and moneylenders to compete for funds by implementing government microfinance goals through a combination of creative ROSCA and money lending initiatives, including the creation of ambitious innovative enterprises and the implementation of regulations that allow high recovery rates. ROSCAs and moneylenders are potential developers of microfinance facilities. Their innovative lending technologies will need to be supported by sustained government subsidies to help them grow and become affordable enough to formalize their activities.

Furthermore, the government should support research and development on and the deployment of innovative microfinance lending technologies and legal status. The need for a fully operational credit bureau to improve the flow of information on current and potential bank customers is becoming even more relevant.

Expectations of the Commons

Microfinance and the enhanced self-esteem that comes with it is the Holy Grail for economic development in Sierra Leone. By meeting microfinance start-up, expansion, consolidation, and integration are sufficient ingredients to support national economic growth. With the capacity to develop and test products in existing markets and new markets the economy booms and repayment of microfinance loans is ensured. Various client-built awareness programs can also be benchmarked from elsewhere to make MFI programs effective in Sierra Leone.  The financial flows from microfinance activities would provide a national macroeconomic shock absorber, with more funds from recovered micro loans automatically flowing to growing the economy.

Further, successes of successful MFIs need consolidated. Also, strengthening MFIs and using the right organizational formalization and industry norms (management oversight, organizational policies, procedures and systems) are required. When the productivity of MFIs is increased their scale and scope grow and prices should be adjusted to ensure profitability.  Again, the convenience of a special regulatory framework in place for MFI growth will sow seeds for growth and the ambition to venture into new markets.

MFIs should be integral to the formal financial sector. Understanding, therefore, the volume of demand for microfinance can help determine sources that can finance their growth. Demand oriented products can be introduced in communities and in turn successful MFIs in these communities can pay taxes and licensing fees to government to support national economic growth. Also understanding the banking system in Sierra Leone and the modalities involved in providing financial services to poor and low income people can finance growth and attract capital from private capital markets and deposit takings from the public.

Addressing opportunities and constraints for development of the microfinance sector in Sierra Leone is critical. There is a high unmet microfinance demand in the country. By getting to know the gap between the demand and supply of credit for micro and small business activities, to understand the impact of ROSCAs and traditional money lenders to microfinance in Sierra Leone is also critical. The private sector has literally been found to be the engine for growth in developing societies as well as developed societies. But if microfinance beneficiaries can only be financed by collecting cash collaterals then the very essence of microfinance is negated. Grants and soft loans to help build the capacity of microfinance operations in the country are necessary and they define the very essence of microfinance – character and capacity building to help the hopeless succeed in generating income for themselves and to manage their income competently. With microfinance, Sierra Leoneans lacking adequate subsistence and living in poverty are given a chance to start somewhere. The success of microfinance sustains real national economic growth.

And perhaps, however, the most daunting concerns about microfinance is the question of regulation. Microfinance beneficiaries could simply be tempted to renege on their obligations to repay micro loans, undermining the very concept of micro financing completely. Most fundamentally, they would jeopardize the collective benefits of the national microfinance regime. Therefore, the incentives to develop a credit history must be strong, and the price of default in lending must be high. Capacity building of regulatory authorities and development of effective regulatory tools (also a salient recommendation by the 2008 ACP-EU BizClim financed national survey) is essential for effective regulation of microfinance.

As microfinance institutions face increasing demands to put in place stringent regulatory measures, the primary enforcement strategy for dealing with recovery of microloans is to impose the threat of temporary exclusion from the microfinance regime and the loss of future access to micro-credit opportunities. Uncooperative beneficiaries would also lose access to high volume investments, for instance, in the mining and agricultural sectors.

The time has come for the government to enable the growth of microfinance lending technologies. A national microfinance enabling regime would serve the nation’s economic interests by promoting innovation and opening up new opportunities and services.  Based on the outcomes of the recent ACP-BizClim-supported microfinance demand and supply survey of microfinance beneficiaries and MFIs, demand shows the distinctiveness to be greater than total supply. Strong commitment to sustainability and increased outreach as well as profitability and scale are emphasized.  The industry needs considerable support to build capacity, capital base and plans for expansion. The concept of microfinance itself is cost-effective in terms of contributing to development and poverty alleviation. Dollars invested are used more than one time. To therefore foster growth of microfinance, character and capacity building infrastructures need to be supported. Character and capacity building supportive infrastructures have the potential “to bring microfinance institutions to such a scale that they can play a role as an integrated part of the broader financial sector.  Successful implementation implies the identification of constraints to sector development and a concerted effort to put in place the various building blocks needed to help bring microfinance to scale and to support financial sectors to become more inclusive” (UNDP).

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Nigeria Girl Picture

A Winnable War
When Tooele City Mayor Patrick Dunlavy was 3 years old, he contracted polio. It was 1950, the height of the epidemic, and doctors were unsure how to deal with the disease.

Grandpa and the Deer

At first, he thought they were the noblest of creatures. Everyday one or two would visit our meadow, grazing like little brown and white lawn mowers across the four acre expanse. “Beautiful creatures,” he would smile. But by the time the whole ordeal reached its volcanic conclusion, the fuzzy four-legged former friends would be forever known as Devil Deer ― The Purveyors of Hell. I had never seen anything like it except, perhaps, in Donald Duck cartoons. My dad had gone off the deep end when it came to what the calmer part of the family tree jokingly dubbed “The Deer War.”

Dad is a retired nurseryman, as was his father before him. It is in his blood. Grandfather to eleven adult grandchildren, my youngest came as a surprise, and Dad happily discovered that his new (and probably last) granddaughter, Alex, was the only grandkid who arrived with a green thumb. Dad was so proud, and it didn’t matter that Alex was a girl. As only someone born before the days of women’s lib and Gloria Steinem could say with a straight face, “Girls are capable nurserymen too, you know.”

Over the summer of her seventh year, Dad taught Alex any and everything about plants, and was particularly proud of the way she could pronounce the Latin names. Mom was overjoyed that Dad finally had a plant buddy.

On misty mornings Dad would mutedly call Alex into the front room for an up-close look at the beautiful creatures grazing in the meadow. Alex called it the Bambi Show, as Dad and she would gaze appreciatively at the majestic deer. Dad would snap picture after picture of “his” deer, showing his prized photographs to anyone he could snare. Then, came the day: planting time for the vegetable garden and flower garden.

From years of experience, Dad knew what deer like to eat and so he made an effort to plant marigolds along the garden perimeter in a humane bid to stave off the deer that might happen to view his new garden as more of a kitchen. “The marigold smell keeps the deer in the meadow,” he confidently declared. “There’s plenty to eat out there,” he would tell Alex.

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

So Dad and Alex planted zucchini, watermelons, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes, and every day was filled taking care of that pretty little garden. The neighbors marveled at the bounty Dad’s garden produced. People would drive past our colorful place with the stunning flower gardens and the orange and yellow dahlias, where sweet smelling roses, bonny sunflowers, tall stately hollyhocks and the morning glories that Alex had planted from seed made their home along the flagstone path.

Dad had laid all the path stones himself and planted the fast spreading Moneywort groundcover sneaking between each stone. Breathtaking. As a botanical piece’ résistance, Mom purchased two massive petunia plants in huge baskets and hung them next to the back door.

One day, Dad happily noticed not just the usual two deer but seven; two adults and five fawns, to be exact. They were the cutest little things, following their mamas all over the meadow, eating the meadow grass down, and as the days passed, they began to move a little closer to the house. One morning he noticed the petunias in the three foot baskets had just disappeared. Dad’s eyes narrowed as he recognized the telltale signs that trouble was afoot, and it had arrived on four feet! There were little droppings on the ground and when Alex asked what they were, he mumbled something about them not being Raisinettes. “That my dear, is war.”

The deer had gotten to Mom’s precious petunias; a line in the sand (or in this case, soil) had been crossed.

Next went the sunflowers. If Dad wasn’t already bald, he would have been from pulling his hair out. He wanted to protect his vegetable garden and that is when Alex got an education.

Dad erected twirling ground flower stakes in an opening volley to scare the Devil Deer away.

CASUALTIES OF WAR

He was already resigned to losing casualties every day, and those cheeky deer had no compunction about walking up on our porch ― right up the stairs ― and munching every rose off its stem.

Dad would tear onto the porch armed with a pot and a spoon, and bang the heck out of the pan. Early in the game the deer would scatter in all directions. It was like watching Donald Duck with the chipmunks.

But there was soon a point when they wouldn’t even glance up whenever Donald Dad flew out the door, pot and spoon at the ready. They must have thought he was playing music just for them. They would merely stare at the crazy man with flowers hanging out of both sides of their mouths (The deer mouths, not Dad’s…).

Now we were up to eight deer; one more plus Santa and a sleigh and we’d really be in business.

Then it happened; the vegetable garden took a hit. A new theatre of war had been declared.

By this time, Dad was experiencing knee problems so he would send out his little soldier, Private Alex, armed with the pot and spoon. Even with Dad’s bad knee he would sometimes hobble out to the battlefield with his cane and wave it up and down. “You Devil Deer! Did you come from Hell? Get out of here. That’s my dinner you’re eating. Those are my beans!” The only thing missing from the cane was the white flag.

We could almost see the deer laughing, enjoying the excitement of it all. Alex launched a new offensive, running through the garden with her umbrella open, and that seemed to snap the deer out of their green bean coma and they would run. Well, not exactly run; more like a saunter.

DON’T’ FENCE ME IN

Dad bought some fencing. He laid netting over the green beans and around the whole garden area. “That should take care of it,” Dad harrumphed. That very evening, I looked out the window to see all eight deer inside the fencing, their faces under the netting enjoying their green beans. And they were their beans, don’t let anyone kid you. They knew someone had planted a smorgasbord just for them. Not since the Pilgrims and the Indians had such a feast been laid.

Dad was livid. He complained all day long about the Devil Deer. He bought magazine after magazine to find the cure. Here he had been a nurseryman all his life and had never had such a problem with deer. The Devil Deer had ended up smashing all his watermelons as they stumbled through the garden to gobble up the cucumbers. They had to be stopped.

And now, the incident that once and for all sent Dad over the edge.

One day, near dusk, he looked out the back porch and saw all eight deer wolfing down Alex’s morning glories; the ones that she had so painstakingly grown from seed. “ALEX!” he shouted. “Get the umbrella!” She came bounding down the stairs and headed automatically out to the veggie garden until she saw what the deer were eating. “NOT MY MORNING GLORIES!” She grabbed her umbrella and started flapping it like wings. “GET OUT OF HERE!” She rushed the door as fast as her eight-year-old little legs could carry her, and chased the deer off the porch. She wrangled them into the meadow, screaming at the top of her lungs, and although the deer looked at her like they couldn’t believe what this crazy little creature was doing, she did scare them away.

She also scared our neighbor who jumped off his tractor and came flying over to our house to see “if Alex had been shot or something.” When we explained to him about the sacred morning glories and the Devil Deer, he just shook his head.

“It’s time to let it go Harold. You even got your granddaughter all wound up!” Dad didn’t say a thing. He actually didn’t say much after that day.

Two weeks passed without a single word about the deer.

“Did a package come for me?”

“No Dad, are you expecting something?”

He’d shake his head no, but four weeks later a package arrived. The stamps announced that the mystery package had originated in a foreign country. It seems that internet banking scams are not the only things that come from Nigeria. The box was about a ten inch cube and it smelled faintly of cat urine.

“Dad, what is this?” I asked, wondering what the faint odor of cat urine rising from the package could possibly mean.

He grabbed the package from me, trying his best to mask the mischievous grin on his face. “Nobody eats my granddaughter’s morning glories!” He opened the package and it turned out that it actually was cat pee but, not the kind you’d imagine. He had ordered lion urine from Nigeria to pour in the garden. “Grandpa, how do they get the pee?” asked Alex. “From the circus,” he replied.

“You didn’t, Harold.” Mom gasped. “Did you actually order lion pee to scare those deer away?” she asked, with a disgusted look on her face. “Do you think our deer will even recognize the smell of lion pee? How much did you pay for that?”

I don’t think Dad heard a single word she said as he headed for the garden with his cane, a little girl’s umbrella, and a box of Nigerian lion pee. As I watched him hobble to the garden with a new mission, and a revived sparkle in his eye, I knew that I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that there are no lions in Nigeria.

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Hot Ethiopian Ladies

teddy afro new song – Top 20 Beautiful Ethiopian girls

African Dating Questions:

What are some good African American meals?

Whilst in America, I went to a food fair and found an African American stall. Nice ladies working there too. I’ve had African food, couscous, hot lambs, Morrocan, Ethiopian etc, but had never heard of the nexus of African American food?

What are some great dishes

After attending an HBCU (historically black university/college), I know a thing a two about black cuisine. Try fried chicken. Talapia. Ham hock. Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Ribs. G/L!

 

Chinese hand-held fan

A hand-held fan is an implement used to induce an airflow for the purpose of cooling or refreshing oneself. Any broad, flat surface waved back-and-forth will create a small airflow and therefore can be considered a rudimentary fan. But generally, purpose-made hand-held fans are shaped like a sector of a circle and made of a thin material (such as paper or feathers) mounted to slats which revolve around a pivot so that it can be closed when not in use.The movement of a hand-held fan provides cooling by increasing the airflow over the skin which in turn increases the evaporation rate of sweat droplets on the skin. This evaporation has a cooling effect due to the latent heat of evaporation of water.

Fans are convenient to carry around, and the folding kind in particular are compact to carry.

Hand-held fan

In China, screen fans were used throughout the country. The earliest known Chinese fans are a pair of woven bamboo side-mounted fans from the 2nd century BC. The Chinese character for “fan” (扇) is etymologically derived from a picture of feathers under a roof. The Chinese fixed fan, pien-mien, means ‘to agitate the air’.

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Fans were part of the social status for the Chinese people. A particular status and gender would accord a specific type of fan to an individual. During the Song Dynasty, famous artists would often be commissioned to paint picture on the surface of a fan.

The folding fan was invented in Japan in the 8th century and taken to China in the 9th century. The Akomeogi (or Japanese folding fan; 衵扇; Hiōgi) originated in the 6th century. These were fans held by aristocrats of the Heian period when formally dressed. They were made by tying thin stripes of hinoki (or Japanese cypress) together with thread. The number of strips of wood differed according to the person’s rank. They are used today by Shinto priests in formal costume and in the formal costume of the Japanese court (they can be seen used by the Emperor and Empress during coronation and marriage) and are brightly painted with long tassels. The Chinese dancing fan was developed in the 7th century. The Chinese form of the hand fan was a row of feathers mounted in the end of a handle.

In China, the folding fan came into fashion during the Ming dynasty between the years of 1368 and 1644, and Hangzhou was a center of folding fan production. The Mai Ogi (or Chinese dancing fan) has ten sticks and a thick paper mount showing the family crest. Chinese painters crafted many fan decoration designs. The slats, of ivory, bone, mica, mother of pearl, sandalwood, or tortoise shell, were carved and covered with paper or fabric. Folding fans have “montures” which are the sticks and guards. The leaves are usually painted by craftsman. Social significance was attached to the fan in the Far East. The management of the fan became a highly regarded feminine art. The function and employment of the fan reached its high point of social significance (fans were even used as a weapon – called the iron fan, or tiě shān in Chinese, tessen in Japanese). Simple Japanese paper fans are sometimes known as “harisen”. In Japanese current pop culture, Harisen are featured frequently in animation and graphic novels as weapons.

Printed fan leaves and painted fans are done on a paper ground. The paper was originally hand made and displayed the characteristic watermarks. Machine made paper fans, introduced in the 19th century, are smoother with an even texture.

Folding fans (扇子 Japanese “sensu”, Chinese: “shànzi”;) continue to be important cultural symbols and popular tourist souvenirs in East Asia. Geisha of all types (but maiko most often) use folding fans in their fan dances as well.

See also: Chinese paper art; gunbai

Japanese fans are made of paper on a bamboo frame, usually with a design painted on them. The fan is primarily used for fanning oneself in hot weather.

The fan symbolizes friendship, respect and good wishes. They are given on special occasions, and they are also an important stage prop in Japanese dance.

It was also used in the military as a way of sending signals on the field of battle, however fans were mainly used for social and court activities. They were used by warriors as a form of weapon, actors and dancers for performances, and children as a toy.

The fan stands for many things, the Japanese believe that the handle of the fan symbolizes the beginning of life and the ribs are for the roads of life going out in all directions.

Europe

Ancient Greek statue of a lady with blue and gilt garment, fan and sun hat, from Tanagra, 325-300 BC, Altes Museum, Berlin

Eros offering a fan and a mirror to a lady. Ancient Greek amphora from Apulia, Archaeological Museum in Milan, Italy

 

Depiction of an 18th century folding fan with French design patterns.

Archaeological ruins show that fans were used in ancient Greece. In Europe, during the Middle Ages, the fan was absent. Christian Europe’s earliest fan was the flabellum (or ceremonial fan), which dates to the 6th century. These were used during services to drive insects away from the consecrated bread and wine. Their use died out in western Europe during the Middle Ages, but continues in the Eastern Orthodox and Ethiopian Churches. Hand fans were reintroduced to Europe in the 13th century and 14th century. Fans from the Middle East were brought back by Crusaders. In the 15th century, Portuguese traders brought fans to Europe from China and Japan. Fans became generally popular.

In the 1600s the folding fan, introduced from China, became popular in Europe. These fans are particularly well displayed in the portraits of the high-born women of the era. Queen Elizabeth 1st of England can be seen to carry both folding fans decorated with pom poms on their guardsticks as well as the older style rigid fan, usually decorated with feathers and jewels. These rigid style fans often hung from the skirts of ladies, but of the fans of this era it is only the more exotic folding ones which have survived. Those folding fans of the 15th century found in museums today have either leather leaves with cut out designs forming a lace-like design or a more rigid leaf with inlays of more exotic materials like mica.

One of the characteristics of these fans is the rather crude bone or ivory sticks and the way the leather leaves are often slotted onto the sticks rather than glued as with later folding fans. Fans made entirely of decorated sticks without a fan ‘leaf’ were known as brisé fans. However, despite the relative crude methods of construction folding fans were at this era high status, exotic items on par with elaborate gloves as gifts to royalty.

In the 17th century the rigid fan which was seen in portraits of the previous century had fallen out of favour as folding fans gained dominance in Europe. Fans started to display well painted leaves, often with a religious or classical subject. The reverse side of these early fans also started to display elaborate flower designs. The sticks are often plain ivory or tortoiseshell, sometimes inlaid with gold or silver pique work. The way the sticks sit close to each other, often with little or no space between them is one of the distinguishing characteristics of fans of this era.

In 1685 the Edict of Nantes was revoked in France. This caused large scale immigration from France to the surrounding Protestant countries (such as England) of many fan craftsman. This dispersion in skill is reflected in the growing quality of many fans from these non-French countries after this date.

In the 18th century, fans reached a high degree of artistry and were being made throughout Europe often by specialized craftsmen, either in leaves or sticks. Folded fans of lace, silk, or parchment were decorated and painted by artists. Fans were also imported from China by the East India Companies at this time. Around the middle 1700s, inventors started designing mechanical fans. Wind-up fans (similar to wind-up clocks) were popular in the 1700s. In the 19th century in the West, European fashion caused fan decoration and size to vary.

It has been said that in the courts of England, Spain and elsewhere fans were used in a more or less secret, unspoken code of messages[1] These fan languages were a way to cope with the restricting social etiquette. However, modern research has proved that this was a marketing ploy developed in the 18th century – one that has kept its appeal remarkably over the succeeding centuries. This is now used for marketing by fan makers like Duvelleroy in London who produced a series of advertisements in the 1960s showing “the language of the fan” with models displaying antique fans with this “language”.

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Nigerian Online Dating

Do You Prefer Social Network Sites Or Online Dating Sites ?

The overall number of memberships found on social network sites exceeds dating sites. The largest online social network is face book with a staggering ninety million members. Many of these sites are free with the sites earning revenue from advertising alone.

These sites are not just used as a tool for finding singles but more so for forming communities through referral systems. These systems are similar to offline connections so there can often be a more trusting factor compared to online dating sites. On the down side, if your simply looking for love not everyone on these sites are there for a romantic reason, so its not advised to be too forward too fast. There is more of a “get to know you” and building trust factor on these sites. Its more about friendship and building a group of friends and keeping up to date with each others lives.

The romantic matching capabilities aren’t as effective as online dating sites. The largest online dating site, plenty of fish is a free dating site and has around ten million members. If its love your looking for, dating site members will share a more common goal and the agenda is more direct. These sites often provide members dating advice and relationship experts to assist with your searching.

Chat rooms are a common means for more personal interaction prior to a real life meeting. Some negatives for this dating concept are that active members are smaller than social network sites. People often exaggerate their qualities to attract partners. This can range from mis-leading photos, their employment status and age. Dating site members often express frustration when making contact with other singles via email and receiving small amounts of reply emails.

Fraud members are also common, however this largely depends on the quality of the dating site you join. Nigerian money laundering scams or foreign mail order brides are scams to look out for. Well organized dating sites will screen their members to weed out the fakes. Dating sites usually charge subscriptions and member complaints are common due to fake members and dubious public marketing. There are many quality free online dating sites on the net so research these options when deciding which site is best for you.

On closing, some advice to take away from this would be to not only include online options, but to equally explore and pay attention to offline opportunities such as singles events or interacting at other social functions.

African Dating Questions

Someone I met at an online dating site is asking for $ to be sent to Nigeria?

There were a ton of red flags from the start, but I didn’t think there was any harm in emailing back to her. After a few weeks this person now wants me to send money through Western Union to Nigeria to help pay for the school certificate to be released or something like that.

Anyway, is there someone I could forward the email to and have someone from law enforcement go to the address where the money is supposed to be sent? I’d like to send this Nigerian dating scammer who preys on lonely guys to jail.

call your local FBI field office. there is generally a deparment that deals with these types of crimes. or, you can start with your local police department. they may have a unit that can help, as well.

Nigerian jailed for fraud Queenslander A Nigerian court sentenced an internet dating scam to steal a man man over $ 20,000 from a Queensland.

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Hot African Women Video:
Beautiful Women Hot Chicks Models Interviews New Albums Music(African Entertainment News)

African Dating News

Microbicide Gels Evaluated for AIDS Prevention – Science in 2011
Success of a gel that is used before intercourse (and without a partner knowing) has energized a field. Trials are set to begin for pills and a vaginal ring.

I have a fetish for black women…?

cause they are hot, unlike white women who make me go limp cause they have no lips or azz and they too pale, its been this way since puberty, is this normal?

I mean seriously which would you choose this:

http://www.jamati.com/online/style/top-10-sexiest-african-women/

or this: http://bargainprofessor.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/ann_coulter_headshot.jpg

thats why I’m stickin to black women bro. alot of white females I’ve seen have flat asses I mean some white girls got azz too, but I mostly see that in black women.

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Nigeria Single

Sandra Izsadore single ‘NIGERIA’.mp4

African Dating Questions:

i am hiv +. how do i meet hiv + Single male in my country. i am from nigeria living in lagos?

i am looking for a serious relationship. i would like to known what sites i can met people with hiv + male

Go to a hospital.
Steal the patients files
And his information
I’ll leave you to the rest
Just find a way to get those files

Tourist Attractions in Nigeria

Are you one of those travel freaks who have explored Nigeria to the fullest? If you have not, you have missed one of the most cherishable moments in life. Book cheap flights to Nigeria and explore the city now. There are over 70 exciting destinations including hundreds of other tourist spots which are not possible to cover in a single trip. But you need not worry, as you can enjoy flying cheap frequently by Virgin Nigeria Airline to most of the destinations in Nigeria. Deemed a low cost airline, Nigeria Airline is based at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and it covers 14 destinations. With availability of cheap flights to Nigeria, the influx of tourists increased over the years. To book flights by Nigeria Airline, visit its corporate site or visit a travel portal; you will certainly get the best airfare deals.

Here are few of the exotic sight seeing spots in Nigeria:

• Azurnini Blue River: Located in Abia State, the river is known for its crystal-clear blue water, sandy beaches, and canoe rides
• Arochukwu: Houses the cave of the famous long JuJu oracle
• Yola Municipality: Known for its undulating topography of three sister hill chains
• Ibeno Beach in Akwa lbom State
• Ogbunike Cave: A wonder of nature Anambra State
• lgbo-Ukwu, an ancient town known for its bronze artifacts
• Yankari National Park: One of the most developed Wildlife park in Nigeria
• Wikki Warm Springs at Yankari National Park, prized for its warm water
• The Hills of Benue:  Known for hills of various shades and tourist appeal
• Lake Chad for boating.

The aforementioned is only a partial list of the many sight seeing locations in Nigeria. Why miss the opportunity when you can avail cheap flights to Nigeria on airlines like Virgin Nigeria Airline.

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